Well, I think that was a worthy finale to a distinctly quite good season. I loved it, and it managed the vital trick of making me not care about the plot holes. I was more or less completely unspoiled, so I just have to stop for a quick NOOOOOOOOOOO OWEN AND TOSH NOOOOOOOOOOOO! I like them both for different reasons - Tosh as a character, and Burn as an actor, even though Owen's obviously a twat - but I like that they've (probably) killed off two main characters, and done it well. Not too syrupy, but it was affecting and the others actually grieved for them. They looked so broken. And Tosh's video, waaah! But it fitted in beautifully to the themes of the episode - Jack had spent...an amount of time I'm not even going to try to figure out...feeling guilty about Gray's abduction/"death", and the video was Tosh's attempt to stop them feeling similarly guilty about her death. And heroes' deaths for the both of them, saving Cardiff/Wales/The World from a nuclear explosion, although I think when Jack & co found Tosh still alive they could have done a bit more about it than flail helplessly at her till she died. I mean, I know Owen wasn't there, but...

I thought they'd run out of ideas entirely when they started replicating last year's Doctor Who finale, with the psychotic-but-sexy mortal enemy/ex-boyfriend in a headquarters blasting music, closely followed by the hero in a crucifixion pose in that same headquarters, but it seemed to be just a minor echo. Or possibly homage.

Everyone was acting their little socks off in this. It was great. John Barrowman managed actual emotion. (Sorry, John, it's been a bit patchy lately.) Am I right in thinking the Jack/John/Gray bits of this must have been filmed early on, when Marsters was here, ie before the infamous Botox incident? James Marsters was YAYSPIKESQUEE good, Burn Gorman was bloody excellent, and got a lovely send-off scene, both in story/emotion terms and acting terms. I cried for Naoko's poor stubborn determined Tosh, and was vastly impressed with the amount of feeling and information Gareth got out despite his dozen or so lines. And Gray was effectively scary. I even quite liked Gwen this episode. Hurrahs all round.

Tosh and Ianto's meeting with the Reapers from Dead Like Me was cliched, I guess, but still, YAY FOR GUNS. Scythes and cloaks are much more aesthetically pleasing, generally, but then Ianto inna suit witha gun is pretty aesthetically pleasing all by itself. Rhys and PC Andy's double act was classic, and THEY'RE NOT DEAD. I am astonished, in a good way. (But Tosh! And Owen! Noooo!) Rhys is alive! "Where have they all gone?" "..Abergavenny?"
It's not funny without the delivery. I should really know the name of the guy who plays PC Andy by now, but he's good, anyway. And there was a lot of Tosh's TV Technology this episode. I want a computer that tells me things in huge blue letters in the middle of the screen. Actually, I probably don't. And Owen, I'm sure, was just hitting random buttons at one point in the nuclear power station.

The Least Secret Organization In The World are even less secret now, and the populace have been blown up and seen aliens and everything. I'd like it if they went somewhere interesting with this, but I'm worried they'll handwave it like Doctor Who did after the Battle Of Canary Wharf. Well, they didn't so much handwave it as completely take the piss, but whatever.

We know several more things about Jack, most importantly that his trenchcoat is in fact magic - not only is it entirely intact after 2000 years buried in the soil, it's protected all of his other clothes as well. Perhaps with a forcefield. Did they think nekkidJack would distract the fangirls too much? ..Well, maybe. And this is how Jack ends up in the Torchwood vaults as we saw in season 1. Maybe. Is that what was happening? I'm so confused. Timeline crossing makes my brain hurt - I hope somebody else is going to figure it all out so that I just need to go and read tw_timeline. Has he been in 1941 four times now?

Their explanation of Tosh being at the hospital in Aliens of London was used nicely. A classic example of something from TV Tropes, though I can't remember what. I thought it was Lampshade Hanging, but it isn't. Anyway, they knew they had a plot hole, so they drew attention to it and gave it a silly handwavey explanation, but one which had enough impact for other reasons - continuity squee & heartbreaking death scenes are a potent combination, only lessened slightly by the presence of the term "space pigs" - that it'll be a cherished moment rather than remembered as being a plot hole. I'm not sure the timelines do match up, but nice band-aid.

And the stuff on the BBC site for this episode is great - Tosh's video (waaaaah!) and Owen's logout, but then also Owen's Morgue Stocktake. Heh.