To the Last Man

"I left home a long time ago. I don't know where I really belong. Maybe that doesn't matter anymore."

Writer: Helen Raynor
Format: TV
Broadcast: 30th January 2008
Season: 2.03

Featuring: Captain Jack, Gwen, Owen, Tosh, Ianto

Synopsis

Once a year, for a single day, Tommy Brockless is defrosted in the Torchwood hub to make sure he's still working. He is kept alive until the day he is needed. When ghosts appear at a hospital, it's clear that the time has come...

Verdict

To the Last Man is a fantastic episode of Torchwood! Just like Greeks Bearing Gifts, this story's focus is on Tosh, and her relationship with World War One soldier Tommy. Tommy was a great character throughout and it must be difficult, but somewhat incredible, to only be alive for one day of the year. Imagine that every day you awake, a year has passed! The technological and social advances will be huge. I adored the clever reference to how, for Tommy, only 3 weeks had passed between the end of the First World War and the beginning of the Second! He'd skipped through Russian Civil War, the Versailles Treaty and the Nazis' rise to power in less than a month! I liked the shift between time zones during the story and how we got to learn a lot about the Torchwood team of the 1910s, and even see them! A classic Torchwood team - just brilliant. The way the beginning of the story started, also proving to be the climax, was wonderful and tied up excellently. The relationship between Tosh and Tommy was great and I liked the trust that Jack had in Tosh, letting her spend the day with her 'crush' so to speak, but knowing that he had to be brought back the next day. Early. Because the time had come. He was needed again. Gerald and Harriet, the members of the old Torchwood team, were as I said brilliant and when the time was nearly up for Tommy it was great that he could hear them talking to his past self. Tommy being the key, closing the breach between 1918 and 2008 was outstanding and the fact that he'd had to use the time shift to stop any chain reactions was good. And although the way Tosh reached back into his mind, now reverted back to his 1918 self with no memory of the future, his past, to get him to use the time shift was good - I just felt it was a bit unnecessary and took away a little from a tremendous story, not that it had too much of a dampening effect!

Rating: 9/10