Have you ever sat through an episode of a series and thought to your self that you know exactly where this is going...and you continue to sit there just out of curiosity to see (or confirm) that you're right ? Yes - we all have, at one time or another.
Isn't it just a little disconcerting when you realize that they've double bluffed you outwitted you and pulled an absolutely blinding episode out of something you were a little blasé about ? Yep - I was well and truly taken for a ride on Sunday night with this episode.
"Torchwood - Outside the government, beyond the police, tracking down alien life on Earth and preparing the human race for the future because the 21st century is when everything changes...and you've gotta be ready" says Capt Jack Harkness' voiceover at the episode's beginning.
Torchwood is on foot, in chase mode at the episode's beginning, following an alien signal through the streets of
Cardiff. Sato givs directions as she's plugged into the city's CCTV infrastructure. A young man wearing a hooded top (a hoodie in local parlance) runs. In short this seems to be the opening of just about any crime drama currently on
UK TV. The editing is fast and furious - very "Miami Vice" inspired. The hoodie wearing youth escaped Gwen's grasp by slipping out of his top....but whatever they were chasing...they've got! Investigating the contents of the youth's pockets, she pulls out a silver, metallic device. As she presses a button, it glows to life. Everything goes dark...she's on a deserted street...alone apart from a lost little boy, dressed like a wartime evacuee. She sees his name on a tie-on label just before he fades away. Cue the title sequence.
Incidentally, something I haven't touched on before but I will now - the Torchwood title sequence is a masterpiece of minimalism and lasts around five seconds. No photos...a pulsating logo as the show's stars are listed on the left of the screen.
Wonderful things, phone books....the little boy is found by Owen by looking in the directory just as the computer search is about to begin. He's a wartime evacuee, who stayed in
Cardiff after the war and now, in his seventies, lives with his daughter. He is obviously no threat...the plot thickens. They check the hoodie wearing kid out and trace him to an area of Cardiff called "Splot"...though as Ianto corrects us, the proper pronunciation is "Splow".
This is where things pick up. As they return form a fruitless search for the suspect Owen fumbles with the gadget as they enter a tunnel. He sees a young girl, dressed in early sixties fashion, she is terrified of a leering young man who approaches her. Owen is totally helpless...as he sees the girl beaten and taken away at knifepoint. Full marks here to Burn Gorman (Owen) his performance in this scene are entirely based on his facial expressions. He doesn't...or understandably can't...say a word. He appears as intimidated as the girl, though also outraged, and angry at himself for his inability to help. This inner rage carries over to all his subsequent scenes.
A computer search shows that there was a girl raped and murdered at that location, the culprit being an Ed Morgan - who was never brought to justice. They also theorize that the alien device amplifies strong emotional echoes - the little boy WAS lost and traumatized at reaching the station, having left his family for the last time ( they dies during the war) and the rape/murder speaks for itself.
Capt Jack has not been himself in this episode, seemingly angry at the rest of the team. Although no reason for this is given, he shares a tender scene on a shooting range with Gwen. By tender, I mean echoes of Demi Moore/Patrick Swayze potting wheel scene in "Ghost" tender. There is definitely sexual tension as he shows her how to stand and hold a gun. We also find out that he doesn't sleep. Seemingly, he spends all his time at the subterranean Torchwood facility.
Meanwhile, Owen is tormented by his memories of what he saw, while Gwen now at home, revisits key moments of her relationship with her boyfriend/partner/husband. She seems to be having a conflict of interest between her ordinary somewhat slobbish husband and her day-to-day-life and the dashing, heroic Capt Jack and her alien chasing day-job.
Owen tracks down Ed Morgan, now a retired old man. Paranoid, twitchy, claustrophobic, and very quick to anger. He also manages to capture the young man with the hoodie - who admits to having stolen the alien gizmo. He has seen a vision of his own death with the gadget.
Here comes the first attention grabbing twist. While holding the device, Gwen has another vision...this time...the most disturbing of all. It is dark, she has blood on her hands and she says "Owen...he's dead...I couldn't stop it". What? Does she kill Owen?
Capt Jack assures her this is only one possible future.
It appears that the hoodie kid has ALSO seen what Owen saw, and has been blackmailing Ed Morgan. Morgan has had enough, has a knife (his weapon of choice) and is on his way to kill the kid for once and for all when Torchwood shows up.
Here's the second twist - They reason with Morgan, who gives the knife to Gwen without a struggle, then in an emotional moment - accidentally walks straight in to the knife in Gwen's hand...there's nothing she can do to stop him, as she turns pleading to Owen that "he's dead....I couldn't stop it".
Back at Torchwood, the gizmo is placed in storage.
In all honesty, I never saw that coming and was a pretty ingenious twist. This is exactly the kind of high caliber writing that will keep me tuned in every week.
Major spoilers!!!!!!!!!!! Next week - The teaser shows a power loss (up to 23%) in the Torchwood facility. Owen says that "something is wrong...beyond wrong" Someone says "it shouldn't be here" and there's mention of a........wait for it.......CYBER CONVERSION UNIT!!!! Is this a carryover from The Age of Steel/ Rise of the Cybermen? They were in a parallel Earth - so I guess they really shouldn't be here. There's a very quick (blink and you'll miss it) shot that seems to have someone in Cyber Suit - I definitely saw the trademark "handlebars" on the helmet.
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