On First View: Torchwood Series 2
Guest contributor Harpal Khambay shares his first viewing impressions on the 2nd series of the spin-off.
After three days of Series 1, I cracked on with Series 2. Despite being slightly underwhelmed by the previous finale, my faith was restored upon viewing the thrilling opener ‘Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang.’ Although I disliked the Blowfish’s silly appearance, which I doubt many took seriously, I thoroughly enjoyed the episode on the whole. Obviously I knew Gwen would survive Hart’s poisoning, but I still found myself on the edge of my seat waiting for Tosh’s excellent brain and gadgets to find her. I generally couldn’t fault the episode, and found it to be a solid opening, which threw us back into Torchwood. I was also shocked to find Hart cuff himself to Gwen at the end, and genuinely didn’t know how the gang would solve it. Owen scrambled Hart’s DNA using that of the teams and all was well again. I also enjoyed Jack’s secrecy from the team as it reminded us how mystical he was. However, there was one aspect of the episode I didn’t warm to. I found Captain John Hart quite uncharismatic, and I didn’t like James Masters in the role… Sorry!
‘Sleeper’ presented an entirely different story and the revelation that Beth was a Sleeper herself really shocked me. The effects were also very good on Beth’s arm, and like its predecessor I found this to be a strong, sound episode. I loved the interaction between Beth and Gwen, and Amuka-Bird’s performance as Beth was phenomenal. Her end was a great conclusion to her story arc of self-conflict.
‘To the Last Man’ showcased how important Tosh was for the time and reminded us that she is a tragic character. This isn’t a bad thing, but in this story we see her finally get some confidence with Tommy, and be selflessness enough to help him although she knows she will have to lose him at the end. I found it to be very romantic and moving, and it’s one I’d watch every now and then, so the effect is not diminished.
As I’ve mentioned before, I love the different type of stories Torchwood is allowed to tell, and ‘Meat’ is one of them. I understand not all like this episode, but I found it to be good for introducing Rhys to Torchwood, and also liked that it was again humans in the wrong.
I really loved ‘Adam’ for the same reason as the preceding episode, as it was a different and unique story. It was also great to get snippets of Jack’s past. It was interesting as I felt that the audience firstly had to figure out what was going before Torchwood, and also Jack’s sacrifice at the end cemented how he feels about his team members and his duty to the world.
As a Martha Jones fan, I was looking forward to her appearance in ‘Reset,’ and it did not disappoint. It was great to see her independence and maturity growing, and it made me smile that Jack, Martha and I shared a secret from the rest of Torchwood. I have to apologise for my repetition, but again I found this episode enjoyable as it explored how humanity can be cruel to aliens in their quest for knowledge. Alan Dale was wonderfully villainous. I was not expecting the episode to pan out this way, making it more surprising, and come the end, shocking. Part of me believed Owen died, as it was always mentioned Torchwood workers didn’t live long, however part of me didn’t. Queue theories on Owen’s survival!
Now, ‘Dead Man Walking’ and ‘A Day in the Death’ are my least favourite episodes of the series. I felt the writers had dug a hole that they couldn’t climb out of, and that there was only one way Owen’s story could end, and even that could be disputed. Like Abaddon in the last series, I felt Owen fighting ‘Death’ itself was way too mystical for Torchwood, and ruined the episode. As for episode 8, I think it was good, but as I wasn’t fond of the whole ‘living dead’ idea. I just didn’t warm to it. I was sad to see Martha go, but found it odd that she felt the need to kiss Jack. However she was right in saying everyone else has had a go.
Although I found Gwen’s pregnancy extremely… weird to say the least, I really enjoyed ‘Something Borrowed.’ It proved Torchwood has no limits, and the Nostrovites, quite frankly, were terrifying and a fantastic adversary. I liked how the resolution wasn’t totally random, as we knew the gadget used to obliterate the egg was frequently used by Torchwood. However, there is one massive flaw: Jack and Owen would have NEVER let the wedding go ahead. Could they not have cut it out of her? Couldn’t they have sent her to sleep and got Rhys to put the word out she was ill? Speaking of Rhys, he was great in the episode and really stepped up to the mark.
It was late at night when I watched ‘From Out of the Rain,’ and unfortunately I watched it by myself. I enjoyed the creepy music, and mystery of the episode. It may surprise you I was OK with the whole ‘stealing breaths’ element, as I felt this idea was plausible, although the CGI cheapened it slightly.
I liked ‘Adrift’ and enjoyed the conflict between Gwen and Jack. It was good to see Gwen go back to her roots as a police officer and realise that at times her caring personality needs to be shushed to spare the feelings of others. I think it communicated that Gwen finds solace in knowing that others were OK, and found out where Jonah was so she could have peace of mind, which could say that she was thinking more of herself than Nikki. I enjoyed it, but it’s not one I would watch on a loop.
If you were crushed by debris, I think it’s logical that you would reflect on your life. It was fascinating to see how the characters got into Torchwood, and I think writer Chris Chibnall went all out to shock us in ‘Fragments’. Owen’s story surprised me the most. Again, it was great to piece together more of Jack, so now I kind of have a rough idea of his long and crazy timeline. It may have been a tiny bit predictable that Owen’s heartache and loss caused him to turn into a ‘one night kind of guy’ (as we saw in ‘Everything Changes’) but it still packed an emotional punch and was startling. Tosh’s story fitted into the whole ‘shy, quiet girl,’ stereotype, which ended in her imprisonment, which was the most unexpected part of her story. Ianto’s was the opposite of what I thought, and it was good to see him stand up for himself… It was also good to see how the pterodactyl ended into the hub as well. I wasn’t thrilled to see Hart back, as I was more interested to see Jack’s interaction with Gray.
Now, unfortunately I did know that Tosh and Owen were to exit at the end series two in Exit Wounds, as I read it somewhere years back. However I didn’t know the circumstances and I anxiously waited for signs of their end to pop up. But first to the start of the episode. Upon seeing Hart dancing to his and Jack’s ‘song’ I sighed as I knew what was in store. But, when he then shot Jack I was surprised, and hoped his character would become more of an antagonist. However my expectations fell again when he moaned like a child that Jack was suddenly interested in him now he was tied up… please…
What struck me was the scale of the episode, as the Torchwood team was spread out across Wales and it was clear not all would make it out alive. It was great to see each individual character shine and adapt to each situation. I was surprised at Gray’s villainy, and thought Chibnall was clever in the way he saved Jack from the pit under Cardiff.
So, fast-forwarding to Tosh. I was shocked when Tosh got shot by Gray, which was good to show he was a villain but terrible for Tosh. I was shocked and was willing her to survive. My heart actually broke upon seeing Owen get trapped, and it also melted when during Tosh and Owen’s final conversation, and I really felt like crying. It was a fantastic dramatic twist, and it was very raw. It was a sort of comfort that Tosh died with Torchwood around her, and that Owen came to terms with his death in the end… although I’d rather they survived. Tosh’s final message was very touching, and brought back down to Earth that Torchwood was dangerous, and that its workers were all still people inside.
All in all, I found Series 2 a massive improvement on Series 1, as the stories and characters became more developed, interesting and different. Join me next time for Series 3 – Children of Earth!
Thanks for reading, I welcome any questions!
