Combat

"The Weevil has landed."

Writer: Noel Clarke

Format: TV

Broadcast: 24 December 2006

Series: Torchwood 1.11

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

Synopsis

Savage aliens are being kidnapped from the streets of Cardiff, and Torchwood want to know why. Owen is sent undercover to find out who's behind it and soon befriends the charismatic Mark Lynch. Beneath the veneer of city life, Owen discovers a shocking subculture: can he avoid being sucked in?

Verdict

Combat was another excellent episode in this first series of Torchwood! It's a unique adventure that's for sure and I liked how there was no new alien threat. Instead, we had enemies in the form of ordinary human beings and them making use of the aliens already on the loose in the depths of Cardiff. Of course, we got to know the Weevils well in Everything Changes at the start of the series but I thought they were better used here as the focus of the story. The fall out from Out of Time was also felt very strongly and I'm really intrigued to see where Gwen goes from here. She's obviously having troubles at home with Rhys but at the same time she is clearly jealous that Owen had a thing with Diane. It's clear that she loves Rhys but he doesn't quite do it for her in the bedroom and that's where she likes things with Owen. However, Owen is dealing with his recent loss in an isolated fashion here and gets into some trouble in a bar which wasn't entirely his fault. His ignorance of Torchwood and returning to work was amusing, and Jack really did have his work cut out in that regard here. His chase of the Weevil through the streets of Cardiff was fun, but the first meeting between Jack and Rhys was anything but. He's obviously having a tough time with Gwen's alternating work schedule and never being around, but the way he spoke to was absolutely disgraceful. I'm surprised she didn't break up with him on the spot. Her using the retcon drug to tell him that she had been sleeping with Owen was pretty manipulative and her desire for forgiveness made her out to be quite psychotic! This wasn't something I fully appreciated the first few times around I watched Torchwood. The way Tosh orchestrated the plan to track the Weevil and the locations where they were being subjected to a combat fight was excellent and I thought she had a really strong episode. Mark Lynch made for a really strong character as a villain and his role as an estate agent and knowing what properties were empty and able to host the combat fights was fantastic. Owen's cover story was amusing and something he revelled in which was good to see and I liked his line about wanting to be someone else. The fact Mark had a Weevil tied up was really bad and the crowd he was a part of didn't seem the nicest bunch. People with too much disposable income should be envied I guess, but seeing what they were spending that cash on was baffling! Imagine paying a grand a pop to lock yourself up with a Weevil? That's just barmy. Owen going into the cage was a good moment and the irony of Jack distracting him to allow the Weevil to maul him was good. Owen's relationship with the Weevils was really intriguing though as he sought to tap into their low telepathic field and earn control. I look forward to that featuring moving forward. Everything ends up being sorted out in a good way after all the violence that went on, and Lynch giving himself to the Weevil in the cage showed that he wasn't right in the head. That's an awful way to go. One of the episode highlights for me was Tosh's reaction when Jack used the Weevil as bait. She wasn't happy with that. Overall, a fantastic episode!

Rating: 9/10