They Keep Killing Suzie
Torchwood Season 1 Episode 8
Torchwood introduces a proper supervillain in Suzie Costello in an episode that reveals just how messed up she was.
The Review
After people are murdered with ‘Torchwood’ spelled out in blood, Gwen thinks it would be smart to use the resurrection glove from the first episode in order to check it out. Seems smart, right? Things get complicated when somehow it turns out that ex-Torchwood lieutenant gone wrong Suzie is tied up in everything. Gwen is able to use the glove when Captain Jack can’t, and somehow Suzie stays permanently alive afterwards, baffling the team. At this episode the episode was moving along swiftly, but then it gets good: really good. Suzie tells Gwen about her father, dying of cancer, and how she wants to go see him. (She also tells Gwen she and Owen had sex because of course). Gwen is a nice person, and agrees to take her. As they go, Torchwood’s base goes into lockdown: the murderer was some mentally affected man held in lockup that seemingly was overdosed on Retcon, Torchwood’s amnesia drug. The truth is worse: he’s been mentally programmed by Suzie.
Turns out Suzie is a supervillain mastermind, and it is one of the best executed twists. She kills herself when discovered, and when the murderer (Max) doesn’t see her, he’s programmed to kill. Torchwood will resurrect Suzie, she’ll lure whoever did out of the base, Max locks it down repeating some poetry, no one can catch up to her as she drains all the life force from whoever woke her up. (It would be interesting to see how Jack would respond, but he can never get the glove working). Suzie is resurrected, Torchwood is stuck, the end. Of course Ianto gets cell reception, Torchwood escapes, catches up to Suzie, and Tosh destroys the glove which ends the whole thing. It’s a surprising dark episode that is another success story for this show. It’s becoming clear that Captain Jack might have to reveal his secrets sooner than later: Suzie says something she saw whilst dead is coming for him. As well, Ianto and Jack apparently have sex because Tosh is the only Torchwood member not getting some. All told, another winner.
This show keeps up it’s steady good quality, we did get some classic Captain Jack dialogue talking about dating twin acrobats.
8.5/10. Suzie’s daring plot almost works. Bravo.
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