Small Worlds

"That's what his father used to say. Oh, Jack, if only you had seen them there in the wood. They were happy. They were dancing. The fairy lights were shining."

Writer: Peter J. Hammond
Format: TV
Released: 12th November 2006
Series: Torchwood 1.05

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

Synopsis

Jack encounters monsters from his past: fairies, with the ability to choke people and change the weather, make a series of killings centred around a little girl, the chosen one. He also reunites with an old friend, but will Estelle Cole be safe when she starts to get a little too close to these fairies? And how can Torchwood stop a force from the dawn of time, masters of Earth, their domain? More importantly, what is so crucial about a little girl named Jasmine, for whom these creatures will gladly tear the world apart?

Verdict

Yet another sublime episode of Torchwood! Small Worlds was very different from the episodes prior to it and this one focused on Captain Jack and a lot of his relatively recent history. It was very interesting to hear a lot more about Jack's life, mostly what he got up to in the 20th century. His suffering by the fairies during war, how an entire team of his were murdered because a chosen one was killed thanks to the group's drunken antics. They gave out punishments. And now they were active again. Estelle was a wonderful character and her interest and desire in the fairies was brilliant to see. The relationship between Jack and Estelle was fabulous to see and despite Jack denying that it was him in the antiquate photos, claiming it to be his father, Gwen knew it was undoubtedly him. Estelle was his lover, and that was intriguing. As she grew old, he watched on and looked after her, knowing her interest in the fairies but he knew the possible dangers they could bring. When she was killed, the emotion showed was devastatingly good. Jack really cared for this women and these fairies had killed her. The mystery behind Jasmine was outstanding and the fact that she was being hunted down by Mark Goodson, a rapist, was horrific. She was still in primary school. But she had no fear, she'd communicated with the fairies and she knew she was protected. And that was obvious to see once the infamous red petals emerged from Goodson's mouth. Once they invaded Jasmine's house during the party, the fact that Jasmine had a new path to the fairies was great but it left Jack with a horrendous dilemma. He let Jasmine go to the fairies. To go with them into the wilderness abyss. Her mother was heartbroken as she lovelessly walked away. Her mother had lost her daughter and her man, by death, to the fairies. The team were disgusted in Jack in letting Jasmine go but he knew that there was no other way. The fairies would have wreaked havoc. One girl was the cost. The chosen one for the world. An outstanding episode!

Rating: 10/10