A Day in the Death

"You can't die twice."

Writer: Joseph Lidster

Format: TV

Broadcast: 27 February 2008

Series: Torchwood 2.08

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

Synopsis

A victim of his newfound circumstances, Owen Harper believes he needs absolution. Will the lonely girl on the rooftop help him, or will it be a mission to retrieve an alien device that is proving more lethal by the second?

Verdict

A Day in the Death was a strong episode to continue along the Torchwood rewatch marathon! This rounded out the trilogy featuring Martha Jones and dealing with Owen's death by putting the focus all on him. I thought that was probably the right move given everything that has happened across Reset and Dead Man Walking, but I do think that there still could have been a much better utilisation of Martha as a character in this episode. She seemed to just be here as a physical presence and proof that there was a replacement ready for the medical member of the Torchwood team. Despite Martha making it clear that she didn't want Owen's job, it felt a bit easy. However, the episode for Owen was a very emotional one which was ironic considering that he no longer had any feelings to give. He was suspended from his role at Torchwood which did seem like a bit of an overstep, and the comedy that came from Ianto asking him to hand over his gun and security pass was gold. It was so simple but Ianto just has that look which can provide instant humour. I felt really sorry for Tosh in this episode as she once again proclaimed her love for Owen when it seemed like he might finally perish, even after his outburst at his house which was completely unfair in my view. Now, I'm not going to pretend I know what it will be like to die or even have the threat of death looming, but to belittle Tosh when she came over to see how he was doing and keep him company didn't sit well with me. Tosh had made an effort with her hair and makeup and he barely seemed to notice her, but I guess he doesn't know what he's missing! The conversation with Maggie on the rooftop was very dark and contemplating jumping was quite the pre-titles sequence. I thought the flashback to Maggie's car accident on her wedding day and the fatality for her husband and waiting to her anniversary to commit suicide was horrific and just eery, but when she saw Owen's gunshot wound she had a different perspective. Owen describing the nothingness of death didn't seem to push Maggie any closer to jumping which I guess was a positive. I liked that the alien threat took a backseat in this episode with the detection of alien energy coming from Parker's residence, and he was the only one that could risk going in. Him not setting off heat detectors was great stuff and I loved the simplicity of Parker announcing he was awake and had been watching. He was a charming old man, but he was dying after three heart attacks and believed that the mysterious alien Pulse was keeping him alive. After Owen's readings though, it was a placebo and it was simply hope that kept him going. That soon changed though as Parker was heading for death and the realisation that Owen had no breaths to provide CPR was chilling. Martha's goodbyes were nice and whilst the kiss to Jack was a little odd, it sparked a fun look on Gemma's face and she was delighted to see her leaving. I was not! Overall though, a very good episode! 

Rating: 8/10