To the Last Man

"Chunks of the past erupting in the present."

Writer: Helen Raynor

Format: TV

Broadcast: 30 January 2008

Series: Torchwood 2.03

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

Synopsis

Once a year, for a single day, Tommy Brockless is defrosted in the Torchwood Hub to make sure he's still functioning. He is kept alive until the day he is needed, under strict instructions from Torchwood 1918. When ghosts appear at a hospital, it's clear that the time has come...

Verdict

To the Last Man was a very decent episode to continue the second series of Torchwood! I thought this was a solid continuation of the series and it was nice for Tosh to step into the limelight in a similar way to what happened in Greeks Bearing Gifts and it seemed her heart was broken once again here. I liked the idea of two different time zones merging and threatening to erupt causing devastation, and Tommy was at the heart of that as the bridge between both time zones. It was an intriguing start with him being at the hospital in 1918 and then also cowering in the present with Tosh and instructing the Torchwood team of the twentieth century to take him to ensure that his past would go as planned and he could end up in the future to save it. It was a little complicated with the timey wimey nature of the story, but it worked pretty well for the most part. It was a nice reminder that Gwen is still relatively new to the Torchwood team despite everything she has been through and this would seem to confirm that it hasn't yet been a year since the events of Everything Changes. I wonder if that was a continuity error, but I liked the detail nonetheless. Tosh was clearly trying to impress after having the date marked in her calendar at home and coming to work all dressed up, something Owen noticed which was nice as he seems to be a lot more accommodating towards her this series. That was also evident towards the end of the episode in the hospital where he was looking out for her and didn't want her to be broken if the time came for her to say goodbye to her war hero. Jack recalling his experiences of World War One and the aftermath was brilliant and him revealing the fate of Tommy really was terrible for Tosh. It turned out he would go back to being shellshocked, the reason he was in the hospital in the first place, and after going through the gap and sealing off the Rift, he would revert back to his normal self and the memories that the classic Torchwood team erased would be returned. That must have been tough for Tosh to deal with as she had clearly fallen for him, but I was a little confused by the awkwardness of their kissing and then going back to her place any way. Their relationship just seemed odd which was a shame as I felt Tosh deserved better. Gwen and Ianto had very quiet episodes but the moment where Tommy asked for tea and everyone looked towards Ianto was a magnificent moment giving rise to me and Gemma both audibly laughing. I really enjoyed it. I'd have loved a bit more of the Torchwood team from 1918 and there was a harrowing comment from Ianto about all the members always dying young. Some warning! I wasn't a massive fan of the conclusion with the mind probe having to be used by Tosh to push Tommy into using the key, and it wasn't a big surprise as she did tell him that he would return to France and they'd find his body. I'd be sceptical! It was nice though that Tosh got to say goodbye and she really went through a lot in the episode. Jack receiving the instructions from the temporal lock was a nice touch and I loved his reaction when it opened. Tosh being important to sealing the bridge and preventing two time zones colliding was great, and the little threat of that we had was good. Overall, a decent episode! 

Rating: 7/10