Fragments

"You're in Torchwood: Cardiff. The Torchwood institute was created to combat the threat posed by the Doctor and other phantasmagoria."

Writer: Chris Chibnall
Format: TV
Released: 21st March 2008
Series: Torchwood 2.12

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

Synopsis

After the team gets signs of an unidentified life form, they (apart from Gwen who's running late) go to investigate. Searching an abandoned building, the team discover they've been trapped and the building explodes. The explosion causes the team to be trapped in various places; unable to contact each other. Gwen and Rhys arrive, and as they dig everyone out, the team's lives flash before their eyes revealing how Jack, Ianto, Owen and Toshiko got recruited to Torchwood.

Verdict

Fragments was an excellent penultimate episode of the series and really allowed exploration into the history of the team member's lives. Having seen how Gwen joined Torchwood in Everything Changes, and seeing the creation of Torchwood in Tooth and Claw, now we got to see how Jack, Tosh, Ianto and Owen all got recruited to Torchwood, and it was terrific. Jack's recruitment was something I enjoyed, he was looking for the Doctor but after having his cards foretold by a youth prophet, he discovered he'd have to wait a century to find the Doctor, so he needed something to do in the meantime. So he joined Torchwood having already been offered further assignments. I really enjoyed Tosh's recruitment and showed just how intelligent she was! Incredibly so and she would go to extreme lengths for the ones she loved. Jack's arrival to save her from UNIT was fantastic. Ianto's persistence to get a job at Torchwood was very cleverly done and linked very well with Cyberwomen, tying it up fantastically. Owen's recruitment was intriguing, after the love he felt for Diane in Out of Time I wouldn't think it possible that he had loved someone as much, if not more, a few years previously. But he had and was engaged! But his fiancé had an alien growing in her brain so as you guess that didn't work out. The Torchwood team of 1999 going into the new Millennium was full of bloodshed which was intriguing, and if Jack was looking for the Doctor then he should have visited San Francisco if '99 was the year! The way the team were lured into the house full of explosives was great and now, as I expected, Captain John has returned for the season finale, and he's bringing Gray with him. A tremendous episode that has set up the series finale excellently.

Rating: 9/10