The end of ‘Categories of Life‘ left me desperate to see the next episode, and ‘The Middle Men’ doesn’t disappoint. The first half of the series felt quite episodic, with each week introducing situations and characters that are largely forgotten by the next episode, this is much more of a continuation of last week. It’s effectively the second half of a two-parter, dealing with the fallout from discovering that the modules are ovens for burning the “Category Ones”.

Not that it’s just more of the same: ‘The Middle Men’ begins by introducing us to Stuart Owens, played by Ghostbusters’ Ernie Hudson, giving us a face for the sinister PhiCorp, and to some mysterious goings-on in another part of the world. But as Jack investigates PhiCorp, many of his theories (and those of the audience) begin to unravel, subverting some of the clichés of the ‘evil corporation’ trope.

For the rest of the team, their mission is to escape the overflow camps. Some of the most harrowing scenes are those which depict the complicity of ordinary people, of doctors, nurses and officials, in the terrible scheme to burn the Category Ones. It makes it completely believable, as is Gwen’s disgust. She really gets to shine in this episode as she struggles to save her father.

Oswald Danes and Jilly Kitzinger aren’t in this week’s episode, but it’s strong enough that I didn’t actually notice their absence. Although the episode leaves you with just as many questions as answers, it now has a compelling seriousness of purpose – with a dark sense of humour and some explosions thrown in for good measure, of course. And the end of the episode indicates that some even harder choices are to come…Don’t forget to catch up on our audio commentaries on Torchwood: Miracle Day: episode 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.