Torchwood: A Day in the Death

[fairyd123]

As this episode ended and BBC 3 went back to showing their highly obnoxious adverts for the Lily Allen show I confess that I turned my tv off and just sat there for a moment, completely speechless. It's pretty rare for a tv programme to have that effect on me. I was convinced that the writers were going to take the easy way out - that there was going to be an alien mcguffin hidden away amongst Richard Briers' characters belongings, a handy box of nanogenes perhaps, that would fix Owen right up. A magic wand would be waved and all would be right in the world of Owen Harper. So for the twist to be that there is no twist - that Owen remained every bit as dead as he was at the beginning of the episode was a bit of a shock. It's a hell of a ballsy move on the part of the production team for Owen to remain Zombie Owen and I'm not quite sure where they're going to go with it but you have to give them kudos for being different.

I thought A Day in the Death was a wonderful episode. Considerably less barking than last week's which also meant that it was marginally less fun but it was far more emotionally satisfying. The episode could have been horribly hokey. If Dead Man Walking was all about the power of death, A Day in the Death was all about the power of hope. How the tiniest glimmer of light can overwhelm an ocean of darkness. As such it could have been rather corny and sentimental but like last week was saved by another extraordinary performance from Burn Gorman.

I thought the framing device of the world's worst therapy session was very rather clever and certainly very different from any Torchwood episode that had come previously. Burn had fantastic chemistry with the actress playing the suicidal Maggie and they played off each other really well. I really liked how unsentimental their scenes were. There were no platitudes, no false hope, Owen didn't lie that one day Maggie was going to wake up and all of a sudden it wouldn't hurt anymore. Because life is just life. It can be incredibly cruel and Maggie doesn't need or want Owen to pretend otherwise. Although man the Torchwood writers have vicious imaginations - the image of a blood drenched Maggie in her wedding dress emerging from the crashed car was truly horrifying.

Burn was again superlative - really there aren't words to describe how good he's been in these 3 episodes. Some of his scenes were like watching an acting masterclass - particularly his end monologue which was just superb and had me choking up a little. Owen in this episode was funny, flirty, feral, disaffected, terrified, violent, cruel, distinctly unhinged and at the end of the episode somewhat serene, finally at peace with who and what he is. A Day in the Death was about the life, death and re-birth of Doctor Owen Harper (and how much do I love the concept that his re-birth was the result of an alien species wanting to reach out and communicate, connect with us) Not exactly an easy task for Burn to pull off then - especially the sequence when Owen, stripped of purpose, is going ever so slightly insane in his apartment. I do think that with a lesser actor this episode would have been plain horrible but he pulled it off with ease. Genre shows rarely get any respect but if there is any justice Burn should really win an award for his turn here - it's some of the most impressive work I've seen in a long while.

But oh Jack - what have you done? By bringing Owen back from death Jack has condemned him to be forever dead. In this episode Owen is stripped of his job, his rank and his purpose. He's marginalised and reduced to little more than the "teaboy" an irony which is not lost on him. Owen has no body heat, can't feel anyone touching him, can't make love, can't eat or drink, presumably has no need of sleep and he can't even breathe. The sequence where he realises that he can't fulfill his purpose in life, that of being a doctor - of saving lives, because he has no breath with which to perform mouth to mouth resuscitation was absolutely heartbreaking. So Owen gets to die forever as Torchwood's very own Mr Glass - seems like a fate almost as cruel as Jack becoming the Face of Boe.

Loved the Owen/Ianto sequences. Interesting that Owen seems to have used Ianto as his own personal yard stick for how good his life is. For Owen it didn't matter that his life wasn't all that great because at least he had the comfort of knowing that Ianto's was worse. Poor Ianto who haunted the Hub at all hours like a ghost and whose main job was to pick up Owen's rubbish and make the tea and coffee. Ianto, who foolishly allowed the boss to fuck him occasionally when he wasn't losing his mind over his dead cyber-girlfriend. So for he and Ianto to effectively switch places, for Owen to realise that Ianto has a much better life now that he's a more fully integrated member of the team and with Jack whilst he has been relegated to making the coffee was a bitter pill for Owen to swallow. But I loved that Ianto didn't crow, didn't gloat. He was terribly apologetic when he took Owen's badge and gun, in the very awkward scene where Owen serves everyone coffee Ianto is the only one to look after him as he leaves - checking he's OK and he's the first one to encourage Owen to fight. They were such lovely nuanced moments which effectively hinted at a closer friendship between the two characters than we've ever seen on screen.

But Owen don't you know that Ianto allowing you to touch his coffee machine is practically a declaration of love!

The TinTin conversation was truly, deeply surreal but worked rather well - helped enormously by GDL's reactions to Owen besmirching the honour of his childhood favourite!

Also I know that the Janto shippers haven't had much to cheer about in the last couple of episodes but the fact that Owen speaks about them as a couple and is clearly jealous of what they have does rather speak volumes.

I'll be honest - I don't really see the Tosh/Owen. I liked them far better as friends in To the Last Man it played a lot better. The scene where Owen is breathtakingly cruel to Tosh was hard to watch - even harder when he broke down and hurled himself into the Bay for a cathartic dip. Still gotta give Tosh credit for sticking to her guns and not being shy or ashamed any more of how she feels for him. It still comes across far more as friendship to me, even in the lovely sequence where he's confessing that he's scared to her but they do have a nice chemistry together.

Some interesting directing in this episode. Particularly the scenes with Martha and Owen and Ianto and Owen where the action was framed by the lit glass globes filled with alien plants - they really did lend an otherworldliness to the sequences.

And how much does Torchwood pay its employees? I loved Tosh's place but I adored Owen's - that place was huge! Would set him back half a million easy even in Cardiff!

The music was also fabulous - "Owen's theme" was rather haunting and I'm still humming it now.

I'm not quite sure what to make of Jack in this episode. It was a very different Jack to last week where the father/son vibe was very strong. Jack was almost cruel in this episode to Owen. He jokes about him making the coffee, stands by while Owen is "drowning himself" and he offers little support to Owen. I'd like to think that Jack was practising his own brand of tough love, letting Owen work through his problems on his own, knowing that he would come out on the other side. He certainly showed faith in Owen - allowing him to take the task of breaking in to retrieve the alien artifact. One thing I've really liked this series is that they are constantly showing us how much faith and pride Jack has in his team. I would have liked Jack to be perhaps a tad more supportive of Owen's plight, after all if anyone knows what he's going through he does, but then I guess it fit rather well into the unsentimental approach for Jack not to be offering hollow words of comfort to him.

This could almost have been the Jack lite episode there was so little of Jack, Gwen (and why does she appear to be in charge again?) and Ianto in it, but actually I think if they'd been in it more they would almost have been in the way. This was very much Owen's story.

This was also another episode in which Martha's presence was completely pointless and bless Freema her line readings were a little dodgy as well. Still at least that's Martha's Torchwood stint over with now. I did think her goodbye scene was incredibly odd. The staging was rather bizarre - they all looked incredibly uncomfortable, as if they were standing to attention as they said goodbye. And John's acting choices in that scene were very strange. There was no warmth coming from him in that scene whatsoever. Compare it to how excited Jack is in Reset when Martha appears in the Hub. I don't know whether he was just exhausted or whether he was encouraged to perform in that way but the scene was cold and awkward and the kiss somewhat embarrassing with Jack looking horrified that Martha was kissing him. A real off note in an otherwise strong episode.

But now that we are at the end of the arc I am, as I feared I would be, a little baffled and concerned as to the point of the arc. It seems clear to me that Freema's appearance was a result of internal show politics rather than any need to include her from a story perspective and whilst she wasn't heavily used in either Dead Man Walking or A Day in the Death her appearances did completely derail the team dynamic which had been so lovingly built up prior to her arrival and I can't help but resent her a tad for coming along, disrupting my show and reducing the screentime of my favourites for almost a quarter of the episodes. It's sad that her appearance, instead of making me eager to see her in Who again, has actually made me dislike the character because her presence in Torchwood was just so pointless.

The pessimist in me also can't help but feel that the producers wouldn't have showcased Burn Gorman quite so prominently in these three episodes if he was still going to be around at the end of the series. Everyone has suggested a June start date for filming of series 3 and the fact that Burn doesn't start his run in The Revenger's Tragedy until June 10th is not a great sign. Owen is now (to quote the remake of Dawn of the Dead) "Dead-ish". Realistically how much more mileage can the producers get from a character who is a walking zombie and who can't get into any fights because any injuries won't heal? You can't have him in a physical relationship with Tosh or anyone else without it effectively being necrophilia! Any relationship is going to have this dark, almost perverse edge to it - because he's dead!The producers really have written themselves into a hole and if they're not careful the antics of Dead-ish Owen will start to come across as rather Weekend at Bernies. So let's hope a magic wand gets waved by the end of the series.

Favourite lines:

I'm wrong

I'm broken

I'm Doctor Owen Harper and I'm having a very bad day

Oh and as for that shot from the trailer? I'm calling it now that "Jack" is the shapeshifter in that sequence...... well he bloody better be!

Comments

[phibetafunkay.livejournal.com]

Your review was dead-on what I was thinking. Burn's performances during this whole thing have been stellar. A lesser actor would have made me cringe.

I had some of the same issues with Jack in this episode, especially after the jail cell scene in the previous ep. But perhaps Jack knows that platitudes and soft-soaping the issue won't work with someone as brutally honest as Owen.

I want Owen's flat too! Man - a place like that would set me back $1.5 million here in Los Angeles.

I truly loved the Owen/Ianto scene. Ianto could have rubbed the situation in Owen's face and didn't.

Anyway, enough of my babbling - love the review. :D

[fairyd123.livejournal.com]

Pleased you liked the review. Burn was spectacular - not quite sure what the storyline means for his future in the show but it would be a crying shame for them to lose him - he is such an asset to the show.

And yeah Owen's pad was something else!

[jwaneeta.livejournal.com]

That was an excellent review -- I really enjoyed reading it!

[fairyd123.livejournal.com]

Thank you - that's very sweet of you!

[boji.livejournal.com]

Lovely review. I too was speechless and think that this is as close to a tv drama masterpiece as I've ever seen. I had a slightly different take on Jack and subtext - if I may quote myself:

On another level this episode is a glimpse into Jack's journey. his emotional path, if not the one he trod in terms of time and place.

Owen is acting out and it's implicit that he is doing so exactly as Jack did when he too first became broken and wrong. It's no coincidence to my mind that Owen uses those terms and that he refers to himself as a Doctor in this episode more than he ever has in any other, because it's Owen - undead, fragile as spun glass, yet strong enough to take voltage current without suffering - who is now Jack's heir apparent. Yeah, I could go so far as to say the subtextual love child that the doctor and Jack created - but I won't. He is Jack in younger days and yet, corporeally, is his antithesis - the ying to Jack's yang if you would.

I adored this. Just adored this. I also think that Tosh/Owen is well... I think they'll end up as friends but actual friends and not just colleagues passing each other in the hub.

I finished my review by calling for Bafta's and actually - shooting schedule aside this kind of arc makes me think of Burn staying, rather than ealving because they have something they can do/kick/against with this character now.

A brilliant episode. Stellar.

[fairyd123.livejournal.com]

Pleased you liked the review! Genre shows rarely get any kind of recognition which is a shame as Burn definitely deserves accolades for his performance.

[boji.livejournal.com]

Have friended you - hope that's okay.

[kingbantam.livejournal.com]

Even I thought that was a great ep..and the trailer..its never what it seems in TW so i am not a bit concerned..either that or I don't care anymore!

I wondered why Jack was letting Gwen lead again as well. It's odd.

[academia4me.livejournal.com]

I just assumed that they all lead different cases because there are so many, and this one was Gwen's?

[kingbantam.livejournal.com]

On reflection she came across like his tactics officer actually..like in the army..she's the Sgt Major/junior lieutenant to Jack's Senior Officer

[fairyd123.livejournal.com]

It had the potential to be a disastrous episode so I'm pleased that awful goodbye scene aside they pulled it off. You're probably right about Gwen acting as his tactics officer but suddenly having her be bossing people around again with Jack sat there looked strange.

[tya-rc.livejournal.com]

They really need to issue an OST that'll include Owen's theme. The scene in which it was used in Dead Man Walking gave me goosebumps, this one sent me over the moon!

Let's keep our fingers crossed for the magic wand. It would have been quite the easy path if they had done that with that episode, but I want to keep Owen, damnit! Burn (and Gareth) are the only two of the cast who manage to get the best out of Barrowman, and losing Burn would be a loss of quality both for the show as a whole and for the acting, methinks.


Also, I can't be the only one who noticed Owen's "Gwen, Ianto, it was fun". Should we assume that he shared the same kind of history with both...?

[marvola.livejournal.com]

Burn (and Gareth) are the only two of the cast who manage to get the best out of Barrowman,

Just going to hop in here because I agree with that completely! I even have started to wonder if they're writing Gareth into more scenes just to get a better performance from John.

[fairyd123.livejournal.com]

John can do some lovely work - the little moments he had in Out of Time were superb but I would agree that he seems to step up more when Burn and Gareth are around - although I did also love his chemistry with Naoko in Captain Jack Harkness.

[kakareen.livejournal.com]

I know, it seemed to imply to me as well that Ianto and Owen may have...dabbled.

[fairyd123.livejournal.com]

I loved the music - thought it was wonderful.

Not quite sure what they are going to do with Owen - having a character who is dead and can't heal is rather limiting in terms of what the character can do but it would be a real shame to lose Burn.

[charli-macboyd.livejournal.com]

I really do love your reviews. And totally agree with you on every point. I too assumned that a magic wand would be waved by the end of the episode and was delighted when it wasn't.

Burn Gorman, who I never particularly liked in season 1 (character though not him), and still don't much in season 2, is however an incredible asset to the show. His acting was quite brilliant last night and I thoroughly enjoyed watching him, which surprised me too.

And the Ianto/Owen interactions were fascinating and nicely ironic. I really do love Ianto, and that fact that he's gone from loser puppy dog teaboy into something so much more, something that even Owen is jealous of.

And I'm impressed, you've made me use my brain at this hour of the morning, I normally don't wake up fully until around 1400hrs.

Once again, great review.

[fairyd123.livejournal.com]

Aw thank you - it's always nice to hear that someone likes what I write even if I did force you to use your brain at an ungodly hour!

Owen in series 1 was fairly repulsive to me even though I liked Burn as an actor but they've written him superbly in series 2.

I like the Ianto/Owen interaction too - they've been a bit quick to pair people off this series - Gwen/Rhys, Owen/Toshiko, Jack/Ianto - that for there to be a no-nonsense friendship between the Torchwood 3 staff is nice.

[lonelybrit]

Great review!

I need to rewatch, but I wonder if Gwen's taking charge was actually because offscreen Jack had asked her to. Whilst I liked that Jack was there when Owen hauled himself out of the water, I did wonder how/why the boss of Torchwood could afford the time to watch Owen on the CCTV and come after him. It is possible for TW members to 'step down' for specific missions (as Gwen was reminded in 'Meat') and I wonder if Jack maybe asked Gwen to take the lead as he felt too emotionally involved with Owen's case to concentrate on other problems and/or he needed the time to supervise Owen.

As for next week - my hypothesis is that 'Gwen' is the shapeshifter, and the fact she seriously seems to be trying to kiss Jack is what confirms to Jack that she is the alien. He knows she would never intentionally harm Rhys, and I think this would be particularly strong on her wedding day.

[leavesoflorien.livejournal.com]

As for next week - my hypothesis is that 'Gwen' is the shapeshifter, and the fact she seriously seems to be trying to kiss Jack is what confirms to Jack that she is the alien. He knows she would never intentionally harm Rhys, and I think this would be particularly strong on her wedding day.

This makes a lot of sense. I was feeling pretty confused about that little bit. Despite her infatuation with Jack, I think Gwen would not screw up her wedding day in this way. (Of course her wedding day is already pretty screwed up...)

[fairyd123.livejournal.com]

Hadn't thought of that but yes Gwen being in charge allowed Jack to keep an eye on Owen. I got the impression that he was watching Owen throughout the episode even if he wasn't obvious about it. Although sometimes the tough love approach needs to be coupled with a gentle reminder that he's there if the team need him. In this episode he very much left Owen to work his way out of his despair on his own.

I refuse to get too upset about trailers as the BBC purposefully skew them!

[cloverdilly.livejournal.com]

I do so love this review. You made a lot of extremely valid points, a few of them I hadn't even thought of! Especially the Owen/Ianto bit. Mostly, I was too busy finding it totally funny, but it was very touching the way Ianto was not only scolding Owen-the-martyr in a quiet way, he was being pretty patient and attentive and not at all critical with the machine. And Owen, being Owen, threw the Tin Tin thing back at his face.

And I also agree with the bit about Tosh and Owen. They were so much more comfortable around each other without that unrequited tension thing between then. Tosh just barges in to his flat (with super-cute hair, I might add) and starts unloading upon him her rants for the day like she's always done it. Like a flatmate, really. That scene, even with all the shouting at each other, seemed less forced than that scene with them together at the end. It was always very interesting that Owen went from "You want us to go on a date? Together?" to "You've always been looking at me!" and telling her that he has nothing to offer her. He was pretty much and vicious up until that comment, I thought.

And good call on the Jack thing in the trailer. Even though part of me looks at those man-eating things (man-eating? sounds like Jack's idea of a good time!) remind me so much of Futurekind.

I hope you don't mind, but I'd love to add you. I just love your thoughts!

[fairyd123.livejournal.com]

Glad you liked the review and thanks for the add.

I think the Tosh/Owen friendship displayed in To the Last Man was much less forced than the Tosh/Owen they've shown in this 3 episode arc but we'll have to see where they go with it.

[ivy-b.livejournal.com]

Now you've all got me wondering about Jack this episode. I'll probably need to rewatch it, but here's my feelings:

* Jack's going for the whole tough-love approach of letting Owen find his own reason for hanging on, like he had to find. But he keeps an eye on him, he might have asked Tosh to check up on him, he watched him on the CCTV and waited for him to resurface. Kinda like a dad teaching a kid how to ride a bike- gotta let go of the bike and let the kid fall off a few times, but you're gonna be there to make sure he's alright in the end.

* LOVED the Ianto-Owen moments, they kinda have a sibling rivalry going on and my guess is on Owen's part it's fighting for dad's affections. Which in his eyes is a losing battle, cause Ianto is shagging Jack and thus clearly the favorite. I still think Jack loves them all, just in different ways.

*I like the theory Jack asked Gwen to take charge, so he could focus on Owen.

* The Jack/Martha in the end... Maybe Jack is tired? Feeling so guilty over what he did to Owen (and getting 12 people killed in the process) is taking its toll? And I'll chuck his reaction to the kiss to surprise, and maybe having enough sense not to do anything with Ianto standing right there.

[fairyd123.livejournal.com]

The goodbye scene was very odd - it's probably the first time I've felt that the entire cast was off. I guess the director could have asked them to play it such a subdued manner but it had the feel to me of a scene shot at 5:00 in the morning when the cast were all exhausted - it just didn't work.

The Ianto/Owen moments were very nice - I'd like more of them.

[tatiana-baa.livejournal.com]

Another nice one - thanks! And I agree, Burn was outstanding.
Revenger's Tragedy, eh? Do you have any more info on that, please? There's nothing at the NT site.

Jack's reactions (lack of?) did strike me as off, at first. But then he began to remind me of my own reaction to a death in my family. Sometimes one can only hold it together & function by 'switching off' emotional responses. Jack still needed to be Jack, the others depended on him. He didn't have time for the luxury of mourning. And he was setting an example of coping with the siuation. Plus, Owen is a walking accusation and constant reminder of what Jack did to him (Banquo at the feast has nothing on Owen). So he can't even go into denial. Frozen and impassive seemed the best way, perhaps.
Or maybe John was having a bad week... ;-)

I know it's realistic that Owen can no longer heal, but it does mean Zombie Owen has a limited shelf life and is in danager of ending up like the final scenes of 'Death Becomes Her'. Yep, the writers may well have painted themselves into a corner, if they intend keeping him around for long! If you're going for zombie team members, use the 'Lexx' model and have them self-healing. Lexx's dead assassin, Kai, could lose his head and just pop it back on, no worries!

I've realised what it is that bothers me about Martha: I don't believe in her. She never convinces me that she's a brilliant doctor. Some actors can convey intelligence very well (Hugh Laurie for instance, since we are talking about doctors). Freema..... can't. At least, not for me.

[fairyd123.livejournal.com]

Burn said in a recent interview he was doing The Revenger's Tragedy at the NT. It won't be up on the website yet as it's still advertising the spring season.

Yes Zombie Owen has a very limited shelf life - not quite sure how that will play out.

Freema bless her isn't the remotest bit convincing as a doctor - I think they cast the part too young. Or rather they should have cast someone who was capable of coming across as more mature - she really does come across as very young in all the interviews I've ever seen of her.

[tatiana-baa.livejournal.com]

Thanks - in that case, I'll just keep an eye on the NT site.

That's what it is, she's not coming across as mature enough. Maybe they liked Freema so much it blinded them to little things like believability.

Have you seen that yet more people have been added to The Rift? Chibnall's going now.

[http://users.livejournal.com/_bettina_/]

I've been reading your reviews for a while now and they are always spot on. I was blown away by Burn's performance in this episode. It's an amazing episode.

[fairyd123.livejournal.com]

Aw thank you - that's sweet of you to say. Glad you liked the review.