There are many excuses that you can use to justify Jack's actions (he acted for the greater good, etc.), but the fact remains that what he did was disgusting, ruthless, and cold-hearted. Sure, he saved millions but what kind of a sick person could even make themselves kill their own grandson? Jack's daughter knew it was for the greater good, but like a REAL HUMAN BEING she tried to stop it. Jack will never be the same for me...I don't know if I will go on to watch series 4 now. I cried so hard.
Somehow I love Jack even more after this. It's like with the Doctor. You love him even more after you see him sacrifice one person for the fate of the universe, because you know that it absolutely kills him inside. You know that if there was anything else he could do, ANYTHING at all, he would do it without hesitation. But when he knows he has to do this and you can see the painful determination on his face... you just fall in love with him all over again. It's that way here. I'm sorry, Jack. <3
it's because you think, even up to the last moment, that it can CHANGE, that it doesn't have to be like this. Because you can't bear to face reality, and then the writers put it in front of you. It's heartbreaking.
I understand why Jack did it, and approve that he did it for the greater good, but if they chose any of my four little sisters as the transmitter, I'd shoot them first. There is no way in hell that I'd let them take my family. So, I'd volunteer myself as the transmitter.
To quote Peter Davison's Doctor, at the end of Warriors of the Deep: "There should have been another way". This broke the ever-loving heck out of my heart.
Children of Earth was the best series of Torchwood, Miracle Day was good but not as good as Children of Earth, this series was so dark and emotional, but brilliant writing!!
This comment has received too many negative votesshow
This is disguiisting. absoloute pure horrific filth.
the BBC and there whole "To educate inform and entertain" what a load of crap. this is not "Pushing the evolope" entertainment it has as much edgy drama than "A Serbian Film" infact it's just essentially a TV version of that.
the first paragraph of the 1990s Broadcasting act stated that shows should have "Taste and Decensy" Russel T. Davis shit on that paragraph and is the most talentless hack on this planet
@GeorgeMillerAtkinson dude u r so isiotic it quotes that u might not like it but u watch it anyway what the hell! besides Russel T.Davis is a brilliant story writer because he DOES things like this and shows us that although we may not like it the greater good usualy requires sacrifice
Jack's daughter made an ironic prophecy when she told them that Jack is the most dangerous man because of his deathlessness he is able to do thing as though he has nothing to lose. But here, despite his own daughter not seeing it, He knows what he has to lose, He will always lose everything he has ever loved. And That is what makes him so dangerous to his enemies, he will always do what is necessary.
I dont know if i could do that like Jack. I would be too weak to do such terrible things even if its for the sake of all Children. But in this scene Jack wins so much charakter but loose so much sympathy. After that he was never the same for me. First i was very dissapointed about him but after i thought about it i know what a horrible choice this had to be.
@Giddeon100 I would disagree, it would be better killing one child even if it is your daughter's son then letting a load of children be taken by aliens as a form of drugs....I admire Jack for the courage he had to make himself do that because he didn't want to do it but he felt like he had no choice....this scene makes me cry every time i watch it :'(
@Giddeon100 if nothing else, it was established that no matter what, survival dictated Jack's personality and sometimes its less of a gift and more of a curse - great episode IMO.
The Doctor wouldnt ever turn away. He helps us in our darkest hours and this was the darkest hour of the planet Earth. The Doctor would be dissapointed but he would help us to safe the innocent children.
Okay, by the internal logic of the "Torchwood" series, the militaries of the various nations of Earth are willing to do incredibly stupid, pointless things at the drop of a hat.
@SuperMovieClipz He has a choice between killing his grandson and letting millions of other children be taken by the 456 and being turned into those weird half-dead states (seen early in the series). In the end he choice to kill his own grandson to save the millions of other kids.
i just really, really wonder how the Doctor would react if he saw this happening. Would he turn angry and shout at jack, or would he be disgusted and leave without a word,.
I never liked that Jack killed Steven. Despite Jack's past, and his ruthlessness on missions, I can't help but think that this is totally out of character. Perhaps if he thought Steven was immortal like him then that would make more sense I suppose. Also, the fashion in which Steven dies looks ridiculous.
In conclusion, sinister idea, poorly executed. Like many of RTD's episodes; on paper it works, on the screen...meh.
@akiugn I'm not arguing, first off...Anyway, I just wanted to say that Jack had no choice in using his grandson. They had very little time, and they needed one child. What could they do but take the one child closest to them? Which also kind of answers the "Steven immortality" point too. No, Jack knew he wasn't immortal. It was the only choice they had. However, I do agree on his death looking silly. If it wasn't for Jack's tears, and the moving music, I would have laughed.
@akiugn Jack had to make a decision no one wanted. It was sinister, it was evil, but the 456, and the government, gave them NO choice but to make this sacrifice. That's the entire point.
Jack isn't the Doctor. he can't come up with a brilliant idea to make the 456 go running scared. He tried that, and it got Ianto killed. This was the only viable option. If you want to say you didn't like it, fine, but don't type as if this scene didn't work, and state it as absolute fact.
To me it's no copout. It's a plot point that actually raises issues. It's saying when it comes down to it, could sacrificing a single life, one you have a duty to protect even more so as a family member, be worth it in order to spare the misery of thousands? I don't have the answer, but I'm glad this plot makes me think about it
One thing I do like about this scene is the way Dekker and Johnson are characterised. Both of them (especially Dekker) are previously shown to be fairly heartless characters, and yet upon watching Jack use his own grandson to fend off the 456 both of them are visibly disgusted.
I hated this scene. I hated that Russell decided this was the best way to send off the only guy in Season 1's team that didn't ragequit the show or made me want to shoot the television. I hated that it was ONLY chosen to give a reason to make the ending pitch black and evil. I hated that it was the capstone on four otherwise damn good episodes on television. And I ESPECIALLY hated that this could have all been a much more defining scene if they'd left Clement alive to take his place justin time.
Really, what was the damn point of the 'auditory signal' kill switch suddenly being brought up now instead of, oh I don't know, 40 damn years ago? There wasn't. It was a copout excuse to make things more dark. Hell, you could even HAVE the auditory signal thing still be in there, but cut it out before it killed him, but leaves him in a coma, and then at the last moment, wakes up and runs in to take Stephen's place. The one that got away came back to kill them, instead of KID FIRING WE'RE EDGY!
In the end it's not the Aliens That will Destroy us, it will be us that cause our own Destruction, after the children of earth it made me lose trust in our government because it showed how easily they can lie to us,
i know thats his grandson and all and i cryed when he said i have to kill him but is it just me or did he look quite funny in the process? still made me cry though :(
for all the people who commented about The Doctor's absence - Children of Earth was set at the same time as the Doctor Who 2009 Specials, so the 456 incident was most likely when The Doctor was stuck up on Mars with the water menace (see The Waters of Wars) during this... but really, the horrible decision Jack made brought a sense of reality and bleakness to the show and rather strengthened the depth of the plot :)
I was absolutely devastated by this scene. From the moment Jack agreed, my heart dropped. If ever there was a way to affect me emotionally, it's children in danger.
for all the people who commented about The Doctor's absence - Children of Earth was set at the same time as the Doctor Who 2009 Specials, so the 456 incident was most likely when The Doctor was stuck up on Mars with the water menace (see The Waters of Wars) during this... but really, the horrible decision Jack made brought a sense of reality and bleakness to the show and rather strengthened the depth of the plot :)
i hope jack gets what coming to him what he done was evil. the doctor would of find another way to save everyone. I hope something bad happens to jack in the next series
@heatedpaul1 It's either needs of the many or needs of the few.
Jack did it in good intentions, for the greater good. Sacrifice one life, so that many other lives could live...It sucks yes, but for the greater good, everything is gonna suck...
@heatedpaul1 Jack isn't the Doctor though, he doesn't have the abilities he has. He was grieving over Ianto's death. He could only defeat them with the equipment he had at the time. Could you not see, killing Steven tore his heart to shreds. I am 100% certain that, if Jack had known of another way, he wouldn't have chosen the path he took. Jack did what was rite for the world. NOT himself. He was been selfless. That's what makes him a great man, and a hero to many, me included!! Luv u Jack! x
I loved this so much I hated every bit of it. It was such a compelling story I got lost in it. I was numb at the end of the five days. The 456 were just... There is no redeeming characteristic about them. RTD's finest work. He's ten times better on Torchwood than Dr Who.
It's interesting how RTD generally seemed a little lame and childish with his DW works, and yet he was able to right such an incredible, dark story for Torchwood.
But damn right about the 456; normally, when a villain in a film or TV series dies, I feel a little bad for them for some reason, but the 456 are so despicable that I watch them writhing and bashing into the glass walls in pain and it genuinely makes me happy to watch it. Horrible creatures.
With the 456, I think RTD has created the best villain in anything, ever. With most villains, they're not very nice people, sure, but there's always something about them that you like; maybe they're just 'cool', or they have a 'finest hour'. But the 456 aren't like that. They don't look cool, they're just slimy three-headed parrots; they have no compassion whatsoever; there's just nothing about them that you can actually like. All you can do is hate them, which is why they're such good villains.
@Scrummy64 The 456 didn't scare me I actually found them rather pathetic, and I have a theory that the one 456 we saw was acting alone and couldn't actually back up any of its threats as he probably was a drug dealer and maybe a criminal in his society who figured he could make a quick profit. The only things revolting was the way the humans acted particularly the prime minister and they way the children were round up.
@ComputerGamerify GOD HATES YOU YOUR DESTRUCTION IS IMMINENT., AMERICA HE GREAT WHORE OF BABYLON. HOME OF THE SCUM IS GOING DOWN. YOU ARE A NATION OF P E V E R T S
One of the saddest moments in Torchwood; the death of Toshiko and Owen, the death Ianto Jones, and finally the breaking of Jack's heart when he sacrifices his grandson. Absolutely breaking, even seeing it in the most demeaning of characters in that room, everyone was in tears.
yea....that doesn't make sense because end of doctor who season 3 its revealed that Jack is the face of boe.....so he obviously lives for hundreds of thousands of years
I love CoE but in another I couldn't hate it more. It destroyed entirely the Torchwood we knew, and now the message of the series is that everything's hopeless. But it's still a bloody good story.
3: It's tear jerking. Poor Jack... He has literally nothing left to live for now. Ianto's dead, his daughter hates him, and he killed his grandkid... 3:
Something in my heart broke to see soldiers chasing the children. Then when I thought about it. . . its likely happening somewhere out there in the world right now :,(
Who's arguing? No one's arguing :-) The point of any work of art is to make people think, make them ask questions of themselves and generally get their brains out of stagnation (although, judging by much of today's television, stagnation may be the main purpose for some of it :-)))
This is so... can't find words... Jack has to live on with every dead... and to decide that you're going to sacrafice your own grandchild... ist horrible...!!!
Guys, please stop arguing. There's just no point and you need to realize that a lot of people are going to have differing opinions from you and if you don't get that in your head you're not going to go far in life.
@yoonzena Even if that means your child is going to hell with them?
In the end no one wins. Though I know where you come from, most wouldn't be able to make that kind of sacrifice, I probably wouldn't. But I can't help but feel its a little selfish
@Temari125 It's massively selfish! On second thoughts, I don't know what choice I'd make. The situation is a. fictional and b. improbable and beyond human. I don't believe in contacts with aliens, so I don't know what my actual choice would be. It's all deeply subjunctive mood for me - one of the darkest area of the English grammar. Having established that, I can only talk about regular everyday life.
@Temari125 Sacrificing a few for the good of the nation is a popular philosophy. I grew up in the country where it was the main course of action for almost a century and it keeps coming back to bite me in the ass. I think there's more to life than simple math. Jack made a choice which seemed right - 12 kids lose, human race wins. And that choice came back to bite the human race in the ass. Again, it's all just a speculation, hypothetical. I'm more concerned with boring everyday choices :-)
@MBGamingLegends Exactly! No redemption, no justification for him. That's why I liked COE, no deus ex machina to save the day, only a guy who has to make this horrible decision. It's not even a real choice, he has no other option but he is still responcible and has to carry that weight for ever.
@yoonzena Yeah I totally agree! I really was expecting some kind of cliche ending like the hero saves the day but this ending with Ianto dying and then Jack killing his own grandson just came out of nowhere. A nice bit of character development for Jack.
I'm very pissed of when I see all the comments about the Doctor. This is TORCHWOOD! Why should he be here? The main character is Jack! So Jack has to save the world here! I know it's a spin-off of "dr who" so technically he could come. But where was he during all the Disasters of the past centuries? Just somewhere else! So accept that during this invasion he was also somewhere else!
The way I sort of see it, is the Doctor is drawn to Earth when the Earth is in a crisis and needs his help. In this case, the Earth DIDN'T need his help, Jack was able to save the day on his own. He just had to make an awful sacrifice to do it.
But yeah, it's pretty easy to be peeved at the Doctor over all this. xP If he HAD been there, he surely could have thought of a better way to save everyone. But he wasn't.
Think Jack went past the point of no return here. The fight was to save humanity, but in killing his grandson, Jack lost in a sense. It was all about mankind never compromising itself, never becoming heartless in the fight against 456. Then Jack makes an impossibly cold decision like that...The shame he held for himself was completely warranted. He killed a child. That's not a victory. Survival, maybe. But not a victory of humanity.
Does anybody think Jack wouldn't have been able to do this if Ianto hadn't died? When you watch the episode after Ianto's death he is so cold and distant. It's like something has broken inside of him... then he kills his own grandson and gives his daughter's words truth when she said he would only hurt them. He loses everything, even himself.
um... well on the bright side the little girl at 2:24 was cute! (dont know if she has name dont watch torchwood and not really sure why i watched this! lol not saying its bad though!)
I watch this and I can't help wondering, where was the Doctor in all this? Could it be that Harriet Jones was right and the Doctor won't always be there to protect everyone?
@GTAIVFan17 Yes, unfortunately. It's no wonder Jack ran away following this story. His whole gang apart from Gwen was dead and since he had killed his own grandson, his daughter refused to speak to him. But seeing the Doctor again in 'The End of Time' gave him a new reason to keep living.
They shouldn't have killed off the old guy from the previous time the 456 visited. They should have used him instead of the boy, it would have been a much better ending.
@jonsonsmobiles not really! 'cause the transmission could have only been sent by a child! and using Jack's grandson was a great move to make this ending even better, because we feel sorry for the kid! imagine how hard would it be to choose to kill your own grandson to save millions of children that you don't know! I nearly cried with this ending
There are many excuses that you can use to justify Jack's actions (he acted for the greater good, etc.), but the fact remains that what he did was disgusting, ruthless, and cold-hearted. Sure, he saved millions but what kind of a sick person could even make themselves kill their own grandson? Jack's daughter knew it was for the greater good, but like a REAL HUMAN BEING she tried to stop it. Jack will never be the same for me...I don't know if I will go on to watch series 4 now. I cried so hard.
sofeeuhdayveez 2 hours ago
Somehow I love Jack even more after this. It's like with the Doctor. You love him even more after you see him sacrifice one person for the fate of the universe, because you know that it absolutely kills him inside. You know that if there was anything else he could do, ANYTHING at all, he would do it without hesitation. But when he knows he has to do this and you can see the painful determination on his face... you just fall in love with him all over again. It's that way here. I'm sorry, Jack. <3
thatwhichisgiven 1 week ago
it's because you think, even up to the last moment, that it can CHANGE, that it doesn't have to be like this. Because you can't bear to face reality, and then the writers put it in front of you. It's heartbreaking.
FunFlirtyFlute 2 weeks ago
I was in tears when Jack sacrificed Steven to kill the 456
ellenkingsley 3 weeks ago
@ellenkingsley Me too, I can totally understand!!
RecentlyBlind 1 week ago
What show, and episode is this?
HTeast 1 month ago
@HTeast torchwood (spinoff of doctor who) children of earth day 5 (the 3rd season)
spirit0423 1 month ago
Comment removed
thefabulousthomasj 1 month ago in playlist Favorite videos
:'(''''
One of the most memorable moments in television history IMHO and probably one of the most heart-wrenching, too.
And there were two of those moments in "Torchwood: Children of Earth".
Thank you for posting this on YouTube.
thefabulousthomasj 1 month ago
@thefabulousthomasj What was the other moment?
thatwhichisgiven 1 week ago
I understand why Jack did it, and approve that he did it for the greater good, but if they chose any of my four little sisters as the transmitter, I'd shoot them first. There is no way in hell that I'd let them take my family. So, I'd volunteer myself as the transmitter.
MadyPrime 1 month ago
To quote Peter Davison's Doctor, at the end of Warriors of the Deep: "There should have been another way". This broke the ever-loving heck out of my heart.
ladycplum 1 month ago
Children of Earth was the best series of Torchwood, Miracle Day was good but not as good as Children of Earth, this series was so dark and emotional, but brilliant writing!!
LilJonnyRiou15 2 months ago
Why couldn't the rest of Torchwood be as awesome as Children of Earth
delta0zero 2 months ago
As much as I loved this season, it was dark, even for Torchwood. I watched it on Netflix. Wow, my jaw just dropped open...
emmyrossumfn101 3 months ago
BBC: Bringing you shit programming, one TV show at a time!
Purplecatsoup30 3 months ago
@Purplecatsoup30 Why are all of you dissing Torchwood and the BBC?!!?!?
KuroTsukiKun 3 months ago
@KuroTsukiKun well then maybe BBC should make something that doesn't suck ass and blow Michael Jackson's balls.
Purplecatsoup30 3 months ago
......i can't watch this without crying...
sonicmaster047 4 months ago
This comment has received too many negative votes show
This is disguiisting. absoloute pure horrific filth.
the BBC and there whole "To educate inform and entertain" what a load of crap. this is not "Pushing the evolope" entertainment it has as much edgy drama than "A Serbian Film" infact it's just essentially a TV version of that.
the first paragraph of the 1990s Broadcasting act stated that shows should have "Taste and Decensy" Russel T. Davis shit on that paragraph and is the most talentless hack on this planet
GeorgeMillerAtkinson 4 months ago
@GeorgeMillerAtkinson dude u r so isiotic it quotes that u might not like it but u watch it anyway what the hell! besides Russel T.Davis is a brilliant story writer because he DOES things like this and shows us that although we may not like it the greater good usualy requires sacrifice
CYMRUDUDE 4 months ago 2
@GeorgeMillerAtkinson Anyone ever told you you're a jackass??? STOP DISSING RUSSEL T DAVIES.
KuroTsukiKun 3 months ago 2
Jack's daughter made an ironic prophecy when she told them that Jack is the most dangerous man because of his deathlessness he is able to do thing as though he has nothing to lose. But here, despite his own daughter not seeing it, He knows what he has to lose, He will always lose everything he has ever loved. And That is what makes him so dangerous to his enemies, he will always do what is necessary.
dosmart 4 months ago 2
Could any of us make that sacrifice, a personal sacrifice to save the world?
TenorZero 4 months ago
@TenorZero I don't think I could because it would make me feel so guilty for the rest of my life :'(
PhantomFan1a 3 months ago
I dont know if i could do that like Jack. I would be too weak to do such terrible things even if its for the sake of all Children. But in this scene Jack wins so much charakter but loose so much sympathy. After that he was never the same for me. First i was very dissapointed about him but after i thought about it i know what a horrible choice this had to be.
R.I.P. Steven
Giddeon100 5 months ago 22
@Giddeon100 I would disagree, it would be better killing one child even if it is your daughter's son then letting a load of children be taken by aliens as a form of drugs....I admire Jack for the courage he had to make himself do that because he didn't want to do it but he felt like he had no choice....this scene makes me cry every time i watch it :'(
PhantomFan1a 3 months ago
@Giddeon100 if nothing else, it was established that no matter what, survival dictated Jack's personality and sometimes its less of a gift and more of a curse - great episode IMO.
goldvixis1 2 months ago
The Doctor wouldnt ever turn away. He helps us in our darkest hours and this was the darkest hour of the planet Earth. The Doctor would be dissapointed but he would help us to safe the innocent children.
Giddeon100 5 months ago 8
bellissimo speriamo lo trasmettino in italia!!!
TheEdenCrystal 5 months ago
that kid looks exactly like my little brother :(
FireflyLavelle 5 months ago
Jacks face :'(
Chg01992 5 months ago 22
@Chg01992 Jack's face is a piece of homosexual shit.
Purplecatsoup30 2 months ago
@Purplecatsoup30 Lol what?
pitfa1 2 months ago
@GODH8TZ lol... k
jpicker13 5 months ago
So...the 456 were defeated by the emergency broadcast system?
JamesOhGoodie 6 months ago
Okay, by the internal logic of the "Torchwood" series, the militaries of the various nations of Earth are willing to do incredibly stupid, pointless things at the drop of a hat.
JamesOhGoodie 6 months ago 2
what just happened I didn't get it when I watched the episode ?
SuperMovieClipz 6 months ago
@SuperMovieClipz He has a choice between killing his grandson and letting millions of other children be taken by the 456 and being turned into those weird half-dead states (seen early in the series). In the end he choice to kill his own grandson to save the millions of other kids.
CharleyTee1 5 months ago 3
@SuperMovieClipz what's not to get? You must be stupid. He sacrificed him in order to save millions of other children
Robotdrummerzzk 5 months ago
i just really, really wonder how the Doctor would react if he saw this happening. Would he turn angry and shout at jack, or would he be disgusted and leave without a word,.
LifterC3 6 months ago 4
oh wow, i dont think i've ever cried so much in my life.
0MegansWorld0 6 months ago
"Contains scenes which some viewers may find upsetting."
Is there anyone in the world that wouldn't find this upsetting?!
Wiggum1223 6 months ago
i think im not gonna watch anymore torchwood, i get deeply upset and distressed by it....its beyond what i can take .....
zaazi123 6 months ago 2
I never liked that Jack killed Steven. Despite Jack's past, and his ruthlessness on missions, I can't help but think that this is totally out of character. Perhaps if he thought Steven was immortal like him then that would make more sense I suppose. Also, the fashion in which Steven dies looks ridiculous.
In conclusion, sinister idea, poorly executed. Like many of RTD's episodes; on paper it works, on the screen...meh.
akiugn 6 months ago
@akiugn I'm not arguing, first off...Anyway, I just wanted to say that Jack had no choice in using his grandson. They had very little time, and they needed one child. What could they do but take the one child closest to them? Which also kind of answers the "Steven immortality" point too. No, Jack knew he wasn't immortal. It was the only choice they had. However, I do agree on his death looking silly. If it wasn't for Jack's tears, and the moving music, I would have laughed.
kevincostnermyhero 6 months ago
@kevincostnermyhero I also disagree with your last statement, but it's your opinion so I'm not saying your wrong or right.
kevincostnermyhero 6 months ago
@kevincostnermyhero That is a very good point. Fair enough I suppose :P.
akiugn 6 months ago
@akiugn Thanks for not being an arse about it, lol. :D
kevincostnermyhero 6 months ago
@kevincostnermyhero No problem, I may actually like this episode now :D
akiugn 6 months ago
@akiugn That's good. :)
kevincostnermyhero 6 months ago
@akiugn Jack had to make a decision no one wanted. It was sinister, it was evil, but the 456, and the government, gave them NO choice but to make this sacrifice. That's the entire point.
Jack isn't the Doctor. he can't come up with a brilliant idea to make the 456 go running scared. He tried that, and it got Ianto killed. This was the only viable option. If you want to say you didn't like it, fine, but don't type as if this scene didn't work, and state it as absolute fact.
RoyalGuard503 6 months ago
@RoyalGuard503 Thankyou for clarifying what has already been told to me by another user...on the same page, well done...
akiugn 6 months ago 2
@absbch You really would have to watch, or read a full recap. It's quite complex; it was a 4(?) day special series. xo
Helenn127 7 months ago
Why was the army chasing all the children? I missed this one! :'( Can someone tell me pleaseeee! xx
absbch 7 months ago
To me it's no copout. It's a plot point that actually raises issues. It's saying when it comes down to it, could sacrificing a single life, one you have a duty to protect even more so as a family member, be worth it in order to spare the misery of thousands? I don't have the answer, but I'm glad this plot makes me think about it
silentgreytiger 7 months ago 2
this is sad
AccordingToYouXx 7 months ago
@AccordingToYouXx im mean to watch it made me cry the first time i watched it when it was on tv
AccordingToYouXx 7 months ago
Jack has a daughter?!
RiverPond00 7 months ago
One thing I do like about this scene is the way Dekker and Johnson are characterised. Both of them (especially Dekker) are previously shown to be fairly heartless characters, and yet upon watching Jack use his own grandson to fend off the 456 both of them are visibly disgusted.
Scrummy64 7 months ago 3
well now we got mirical day..
scarface12347 7 months ago
Is that justin bieber? 1:42
theguyinthefunnyhat 7 months ago
@theguyinthefunnyhat
No!
absbch 7 months ago
If only he could have figured out this idea a little bit sooner...
Marcnose101 7 months ago
I hated this scene. I hated that Russell decided this was the best way to send off the only guy in Season 1's team that didn't ragequit the show or made me want to shoot the television. I hated that it was ONLY chosen to give a reason to make the ending pitch black and evil. I hated that it was the capstone on four otherwise damn good episodes on television. And I ESPECIALLY hated that this could have all been a much more defining scene if they'd left Clement alive to take his place justin time.
Neocrater 7 months ago
Really, what was the damn point of the 'auditory signal' kill switch suddenly being brought up now instead of, oh I don't know, 40 damn years ago? There wasn't. It was a copout excuse to make things more dark. Hell, you could even HAVE the auditory signal thing still be in there, but cut it out before it killed him, but leaves him in a coma, and then at the last moment, wakes up and runs in to take Stephen's place. The one that got away came back to kill them, instead of KID FIRING WE'RE EDGY!
Neocrater 7 months ago
In the end it's not the Aliens That will Destroy us, it will be us that cause our own Destruction, after the children of earth it made me lose trust in our government because it showed how easily they can lie to us,
TheDalekslayer 7 months ago
Comment removed
TheDalekslayer 7 months ago
i know thats his grandson and all and i cryed when he said i have to kill him but is it just me or did he look quite funny in the process? still made me cry though :(
therobloxianfilmgang 7 months ago
Absolutley fantastic acting by the children and the ones who played the parents. Watching this brought tears to my eyes :'(
tyranosauruskid 7 months ago
This has been flagged as spam show
for all the people who commented about The Doctor's absence - Children of Earth was set at the same time as the Doctor Who 2009 Specials, so the 456 incident was most likely when The Doctor was stuck up on Mars with the water menace (see The Waters of Wars) during this... but really, the horrible decision Jack made brought a sense of reality and bleakness to the show and rather strengthened the depth of the plot :)
MopHairedGit 7 months ago
I wonder how they got all the children to do that....
CalamityDays 7 months ago
NO! The Doctor was just busy saving someone else.
BeautyFreakist 7 months ago
It happens in the same timeline with WoM and all... he is a bit crazy and he cant turn back because its already meant to be.
LadyaLL96 7 months ago
what is the name of the music playing background?which one from the soundtrack of torchwood?
gunessish 7 months ago
I was absolutely devastated by this scene. From the moment Jack agreed, my heart dropped. If ever there was a way to affect me emotionally, it's children in danger.
supertrinko 8 months ago
for all the people who commented about The Doctor's absence - Children of Earth was set at the same time as the Doctor Who 2009 Specials, so the 456 incident was most likely when The Doctor was stuck up on Mars with the water menace (see The Waters of Wars) during this... but really, the horrible decision Jack made brought a sense of reality and bleakness to the show and rather strengthened the depth of the plot :)
MopHairedGit 8 months ago 2
i hope jack gets what coming to him what he done was evil. the doctor would of find another way to save everyone. I hope something bad happens to jack in the next series
heatedpaul1 8 months ago
@heatedpaul1 There really wasn't time left... I think if he just left it to take 10% of the worlds children, he'd be more evil...
vortexlisa 8 months ago
@heatedpaul1 It's either needs of the many or needs of the few.
Jack did it in good intentions, for the greater good. Sacrifice one life, so that many other lives could live...It sucks yes, but for the greater good, everything is gonna suck...
InsertSarcasmHere 8 months ago
@heatedpaul1 Jack isn't the Doctor though, he doesn't have the abilities he has. He was grieving over Ianto's death. He could only defeat them with the equipment he had at the time. Could you not see, killing Steven tore his heart to shreds. I am 100% certain that, if Jack had known of another way, he wouldn't have chosen the path he took. Jack did what was rite for the world. NOT himself. He was been selfless. That's what makes him a great man, and a hero to many, me included!! Luv u Jack! x
MissJGibson 8 months ago 3
@heatedpaul1 Like he had much of a choice.
SindielxEternal 8 months ago
@heatedpaul1 The Doctor does the same thing when there is no other choice.
He destroyed two civilizations in the time war.
supertrinko 8 months ago
This made me bawl.
This whole episode, with the children and the music.
It was a great episode, but so fucking sad :(
drshnty 8 months ago
I loved this so much I hated every bit of it. It was such a compelling story I got lost in it. I was numb at the end of the five days. The 456 were just... There is no redeeming characteristic about them. RTD's finest work. He's ten times better on Torchwood than Dr Who.
mushroomshrub 8 months ago
@mushroomshrub
It's interesting how RTD generally seemed a little lame and childish with his DW works, and yet he was able to right such an incredible, dark story for Torchwood.
But damn right about the 456; normally, when a villain in a film or TV series dies, I feel a little bad for them for some reason, but the 456 are so despicable that I watch them writhing and bashing into the glass walls in pain and it genuinely makes me happy to watch it. Horrible creatures.
Scrummy64 7 months ago
Gruesome. Heartbreaking. Horrible.
DistantDreamer93 8 months ago
Undoutedly the bleakest event of the entire Whoniverse. Ever. Poor Jack. Poor Alice. Poor Stephen.
Kaagh178 8 months ago
THIS MADE ME CRY :'(
MsBethanyyh 8 months ago
With the 456, I think RTD has created the best villain in anything, ever. With most villains, they're not very nice people, sure, but there's always something about them that you like; maybe they're just 'cool', or they have a 'finest hour'. But the 456 aren't like that. They don't look cool, they're just slimy three-headed parrots; they have no compassion whatsoever; there's just nothing about them that you can actually like. All you can do is hate them, which is why they're such good villains.
Scrummy64 9 months ago 23
@Scrummy64
That doesn't make them a good villian, it makes them a crap, one-dimensional villian. Expecting anything else from RTD is asking too much, though.
TheAmazingDaveFace 6 months ago
@Scrummy64 The 456 didn't scare me I actually found them rather pathetic, and I have a theory that the one 456 we saw was acting alone and couldn't actually back up any of its threats as he probably was a drug dealer and maybe a criminal in his society who figured he could make a quick profit. The only things revolting was the way the humans acted particularly the prime minister and they way the children were round up.
ComputerGamerify 6 months ago
This has been flagged as spam show
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GODH8TZ 6 months ago
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@GODH8TZ Wow get a fucking life, stop stalking me you little pervert. Good thing there is no god.
ComputerGamerify 6 months ago
I'm pretty sure there could have been a better way....there had to be besides this.
stsars13 9 months ago
Also what is the music that is played as Alice is with Steven and crying after the signal has been sent?
Anime207fan60 9 months ago
what is the music that is playing in this clip? beautiful music, tragic scene
Anime207fan60 9 months ago
@Anime207fan60 The Children of the Earth on the Torchwood: Children of Earth soundtrack. I love that track cos it adds to this scene wonderfully.
88HUSE 8 months ago
One of the saddest moments in Torchwood; the death of Toshiko and Owen, the death Ianto Jones, and finally the breaking of Jack's heart when he sacrifices his grandson. Absolutely breaking, even seeing it in the most demeaning of characters in that room, everyone was in tears.
MagicGambit 9 months ago 3
i think the writers gt it wrong
cornevans 9 months ago
This made me cry. :(
ownssmyheart 9 months ago
yea....that doesn't make sense because end of doctor who season 3 its revealed that Jack is the face of boe.....so he obviously lives for hundreds of thousands of years
ryuhakuzo 9 months ago
@ryuhakuzo It's actually closer to 5 billion
colyou3 9 months ago
@ryuhakuzo yeah but Jack didn't die he had to kill his grandson :( x
TeamTrueman 9 months ago
this is my favourite 5 episodes of torchwood so sad yet so entertaining definetly russels best work
avptremor 9 months ago
its kind of apt the enter key used to be called 'execute'
Chrisindapurplehouse 9 months ago
2:24 lol funniest part
andyscotger 9 months ago
…I feel a bit sick after watching that :(
funkyxfish 9 months ago
Who are the bigger monsters the human race or the 456?!
Chrisindapurplehouse 10 months ago
I love CoE but in another I couldn't hate it more. It destroyed entirely the Torchwood we knew, and now the message of the series is that everything's hopeless. But it's still a bloody good story.
OverheatingMyMind 10 months ago 3
@OverheatingMyMind Jakcs back in miricle day
TheSinkingtruck 9 months ago
3: It's tear jerking. Poor Jack... He has literally nothing left to live for now. Ianto's dead, his daughter hates him, and he killed his grandkid... 3:
MaraudersForever12 10 months ago 4
steven should have little a big staute thing, that little boy saved the earth's kids
SuperRubix123 10 months ago
Dear BBC, I found the whole CoE upsetting. Please rewrite time, thanks.
SilmeBetty 10 months ago
Something in my heart broke to see soldiers chasing the children. Then when I thought about it. . . its likely happening somewhere out there in the world right now :,(
Aragem 10 months ago 67
Im sure if Jack were a child he'd sacrificed himself since hes immortal
PhantomTheifKidKaito 10 months ago
i just wanted gwen to run and keep running, save the little kid
MrDFD25 10 months ago
what is the ost for this?
lendial 10 months ago
He killed his own grandson i will never forgive jack for doing that but it is better than every kid in the world!!!
Doctorwhorulesify 10 months ago
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Doctorwhorulesify 10 months ago
He killed his own grandson to save the earth, he's immortal but he's also human.
MBGamingLegends 10 months ago
Who's arguing? No one's arguing :-) The point of any work of art is to make people think, make them ask questions of themselves and generally get their brains out of stagnation (although, judging by much of today's television, stagnation may be the main purpose for some of it :-)))
yoonzena 10 months ago
This is so... can't find words... Jack has to live on with every dead... and to decide that you're going to sacrafice your own grandchild... ist horrible...!!!
BlueBox906 10 months ago
Guys, please stop arguing. There's just no point and you need to realize that a lot of people are going to have differing opinions from you and if you don't get that in your head you're not going to go far in life.
Self1Saving1Princess 11 months ago
If it were about my child, I'd send the entire human race to hell. And I will, for my child.
yoonzena 11 months ago
@yoonzena Even if that means your child is going to hell with them?
In the end no one wins. Though I know where you come from, most wouldn't be able to make that kind of sacrifice, I probably wouldn't. But I can't help but feel its a little selfish
Temari125 10 months ago
@Temari125 It's massively selfish! On second thoughts, I don't know what choice I'd make. The situation is a. fictional and b. improbable and beyond human. I don't believe in contacts with aliens, so I don't know what my actual choice would be. It's all deeply subjunctive mood for me - one of the darkest area of the English grammar. Having established that, I can only talk about regular everyday life.
yoonzena 10 months ago
@Temari125 Sacrificing a few for the good of the nation is a popular philosophy. I grew up in the country where it was the main course of action for almost a century and it keeps coming back to bite me in the ass. I think there's more to life than simple math. Jack made a choice which seemed right - 12 kids lose, human race wins. And that choice came back to bite the human race in the ass. Again, it's all just a speculation, hypothetical. I'm more concerned with boring everyday choices :-)
yoonzena 10 months ago
Jack has to live with that forever...literally.
MBGamingLegends 11 months ago 2
@MBGamingLegends Exactly! No redemption, no justification for him. That's why I liked COE, no deus ex machina to save the day, only a guy who has to make this horrible decision. It's not even a real choice, he has no other option but he is still responcible and has to carry that weight for ever.
yoonzena 10 months ago
@yoonzena Yeah I totally agree! I really was expecting some kind of cliche ending like the hero saves the day but this ending with Ianto dying and then Jack killing his own grandson just came out of nowhere. A nice bit of character development for Jack.
MBGamingLegends 10 months ago
I'm very pissed of when I see all the comments about the Doctor. This is TORCHWOOD! Why should he be here? The main character is Jack! So Jack has to save the world here! I know it's a spin-off of "dr who" so technically he could come. But where was he during all the Disasters of the past centuries? Just somewhere else! So accept that during this invasion he was also somewhere else!
yuram109 11 months ago 3
I had no idea Jack had any family before this episode. I felt so bad for his daughter.
cryssibaby 11 months ago 2
Where the hell was the Doctor?!!!!!!!!! When something really bad happens he's always around, but he must have been gone now?!
kavtoM 11 months ago
@kavtoM Because humans made this happen and he knew he couldn't interfere. I'm sure he wanted to come, maybe he knew it had to happen.
TearsOfShards 11 months ago
@kavtoM
The way I sort of see it, is the Doctor is drawn to Earth when the Earth is in a crisis and needs his help. In this case, the Earth DIDN'T need his help, Jack was able to save the day on his own. He just had to make an awful sacrifice to do it.
But yeah, it's pretty easy to be peeved at the Doctor over all this. xP If he HAD been there, he surely could have thought of a better way to save everyone. But he wasn't.
MoOmBaMaStAr 10 months ago
Good tv program shame the Childs mother was always smiling.
Alphamask978 11 months ago
out of every chilld, why was he chosen
NerrissCullen 1 year ago
@NerrissCullen They were locked in, and he was the only child there. :(
DCRaider2011 10 months ago
Think Jack went past the point of no return here. The fight was to save humanity, but in killing his grandson, Jack lost in a sense. It was all about mankind never compromising itself, never becoming heartless in the fight against 456. Then Jack makes an impossibly cold decision like that...The shame he held for himself was completely warranted. He killed a child. That's not a victory. Survival, maybe. But not a victory of humanity.
Grubbo 1 year ago 10
*sob* I'd forgotten just how sad this is.
stjimmy78 1 year ago
Does anybody think Jack wouldn't have been able to do this if Ianto hadn't died? When you watch the episode after Ianto's death he is so cold and distant. It's like something has broken inside of him... then he kills his own grandson and gives his daughter's words truth when she said he would only hurt them. He loses everything, even himself.
Ringaul 1 year ago 12
@Ringaul I agree. But can you really blame him for being so broken?
SpockLover27 1 year ago
um... well on the bright side the little girl at 2:24 was cute! (dont know if she has name dont watch torchwood and not really sure why i watched this! lol not saying its bad though!)
Falcor43 1 year ago
Jack loses everything and takes nothing. He is literally my hero.
softballftw872 1 year ago 4
I watch this and I can't help wondering, where was the Doctor in all this? Could it be that Harriet Jones was right and the Doctor won't always be there to protect everyone?
glisssunseeker 1 year ago 27
@glisssunseeker doctor was having a little trouble with the end of his life i gues lmao , but your right
TheMontageNetworkHD 1 year ago 2
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StarcrossedDeath 8 months ago
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StarcrossedDeath 8 months ago
@glisssunseeker
There could be two reasons. One is, as people said, 10th Doctor was having trouble with the End of Time.
Or there could be the other reason that Gwen said during the recording of camera.
extraleague01 8 months ago
Who acts that little boy?
JordannParry 1 year ago
Bear McCausland
TheUltimateTARDIS 9 months ago
Can anyone tell the name of the song in the beginning?
C666O 1 year ago
I still cry at the kid dying at the end. This episode gave me the chills.
kewlkat8208 1 year ago 2
Did the kid die?
GTAIVFan17 1 year ago
@GTAIVFan17 Yes, unfortunately. It's no wonder Jack ran away following this story. His whole gang apart from Gwen was dead and since he had killed his own grandson, his daughter refused to speak to him. But seeing the Doctor again in 'The End of Time' gave him a new reason to keep living.
Kaagh178 1 year ago
The Children Of Earth Series always makes me cry. It's so sad.
beatlepeacelove 1 year ago
When i first watched this episode i cried basically through the whole thing.. It was so touching :'(
RunningWulf101 1 year ago
wat the hellll did i just watch? :L
JohnBarrowmanFan900 1 year ago
@JohnBarrowmanFan900 The most disturbing scene in the history of Science Fiction.
Kaagh178 1 year ago 5
0:57
"What are you doing Uncle Jack?"
Gets me every time :'(
MissMiffed 1 year ago 2
@frereasteph. even the doctor can't save everyone
sheder999 1 year ago
They shouldn't have killed off the old guy from the previous time the 456 visited. They should have used him instead of the boy, it would have been a much better ending.
jonsonsmobiles 1 year ago
@jonsonsmobiles not really! 'cause the transmission could have only been sent by a child! and using Jack's grandson was a great move to make this ending even better, because we feel sorry for the kid! imagine how hard would it be to choose to kill your own grandson to save millions of children that you don't know! I nearly cried with this ending
ClankDaxter 1 year ago
@jonsonsmobiles The 456 killed the man because of the connection, so they basically left Jack no other alternative.
2ndCorpsAnv 1 year ago
The doctor would have found another way...
Frereasteph 1 year ago 143
@Frereasteph He would have gone back in time, found child hitler, and used him instead
nerdking7254 1 year ago 5
@Frereasteph - But with the Doctor not being there..What would you of done?
kisshu7 1 year ago
@Frereasteph He only saves the world by coincidence. He probably saw this world event and ignored it tbh.
TheBambiniGiant