Adam

"Memory is a very delicate thing."

Writer: Catherine Treganna 

Format: TV

Broadcast: 13 February 2008

Series: Torchwood 2.05

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

Synopsis

When an alien with the power to change memories infiltrates Torchwood, the team is heavily affected: Captain Jack is caught up in memories of his lost family, Gwen struggles to remember Rhys, and it takes Jack's love of Ianto to reveal the truth.

Verdict

Adam was an outstanding episode to continue the second series of Torchwood! I think this is probably the best of the series so far and I love that it just wastes no time at all in getting things started. Right from the off Adam is treated as part of the team and it's clever to have the last piece of the puzzle in Gwen have no idea who he is, only for the power of his touch to be demonstrated as he enacted memory manipulation to make her think that he was Torchwood. He'd been around for three years as far as everyone else on the team was concerned which was fun but in truth he'd only been around for two days and had embedded himself into the Torchwood team very nicely! The side effects of some memories getting loose or even lost was good and the reaction of Gwen when she sees Rhys in her home and has no idea who he is works so well. It's a stellar performance from both Eve Myles and Kai Owen and it must have been so tough for Rhys to be looking at his fiancé and she have no idea who he was. I can't imagine Gemma doing the same to me! It would be awful. As if that wasn't enough, it was super fun for the roles of Tosh and Owen to essentially be reversed here with Owen the nerdy one and Tosh flaunting herself and extorting confidence, something that was far removed from the normal team we're used to. The moment where Owen professes his love for Tosh was sublime and I thought it was tremendous stuff from Burn Gorman to shift his character so much. Tosh being in a relationship with Adam, or so she thought, was intriguing and Adam didn't seem too fussed on her, at least until it came to the bedroom and him asking if she'd die for him which seemed an odd choice of foreplay. Trying to get Gwen to remember Rhys was good stuff but the comedy highlight was from Jack and Adam running to Gwen's house after her call. The urgency and panic was quite something and then the reaction when seeing Rhys was marvellous. Adam himself made for a fantastic villain and he was so simple but incredibly effective. The power of touch to manipulate memory was brilliant and I loved that it was a diary of Ianto's that revealed the truth. Why wouldn't Adam be within it? Adam implanting him with fake memories of murdering three girls was brutal stuff. It was up there with Jack being reminded of letting go of Gray's hands which was an incredible insight into his past and will obviously have a big influence moving forward on the rest of the series. Adam even trying to implant himself on Jack's memories of playing ball with his father and brother was very good, but Jack defied the temptation and took the amnesia pill to forget Adam, just like the rest of the team. It was a pretty simple and neat conclusion but I really liked how he was close to infiltrating the team. He was lured by Jack in particular which was intriguing and I really liked how the object that was being looked at throughout the episode having come through the Rift contained sand, which was hugely significant for Jack. Overall, a stellar episode! 

Rating: 10/10