Themes in Torchwood
Encyclopedia
Science fiction
Torchwood
discusses many themes in its narrative
s, specifically dealing with LGBT
themes associated with its homosexual
and bisexual
characters and their problems, with various characters portrayed as sexually fluid. Certain characters offer varying perspectives on orientation, although the nature of Jack
, Ianto
and Toshiko's
sexual flexibility is not discussed explicitly.
In addition to this, there is some discussion of the value of human life, the corrupting nature of power and of existentialism
through parallels drawn between characters with the repetition of thematically important lines in the course of series one, although series two saw a significant shift from the original theme of corruption to one of redemption.
describing all of the characters on Torchwood as bisexual. Series creator Russell T. Davies has said that he hopes to defy audience expectations of monosexual
characters:
Davies has also described Jack Harkness as omnisexual:
Similarly, Toshiko Sato describes Jack as someone who'll "shag anybody as long as they're gorgeous enough!". The essential Cult TV reader writes that because Jack, Owen, Ianto and Toshiko's homosexual dalliances occur "without any debate or angst", they form part of an attempt to "naturalize bisexuality", appearing to "deliberately refute and deny... gay, straight [and] bi": "a progressive challenge to contemporary ideologies of sexuality".
In "Everything Changes
", Ianto Jones jokingly refers to Jack's appreciation of his good looks in a suit as sexual harassment. In "Cyberwoman
" the pair share a kiss, although it is essentially a kiss of life, it is not done in the normal way, and resembles a kiss of lust rather than of life. At the end of "They Keep Killing Suzie
", Ianto subtly presents Jack with a sexual proposition, which the latter appears only to understand after a few seconds - he accepts by telling Ianto to meet him in his office in ten minutes, once the rest of the team have left the Hub. This is again alluded to in the Instant Messenger Transcript provided on the official website, which represents a conversation between the pair in the time remaining before their tryst. Ianto and Jack's relationship is referred to by Owen
in "Captain Jack Harkness" when he calls Ianto Jack's 'part-time shag'. Their relationship is displayed for the first time in "End of Days
" in which Ianto and Jack kiss after finding Jack is alive. Also during this episode, Ianto is clearly distraught when finding out Jack is dead, and smells his coat, reminiscent of gay cowboy film, "Brokeback Mountain
". This relationship develops further in Series 2 with Jack asking Ianto out on a date ("Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang"
), the pair sharing an intense kiss ("To the Last Man
") and Gwen walking in on them during some kind of sexual activity ("Adrift"
). The other characters also allude to their relationship; most specifically Owen ("A Day in the Death
") and Gwen ("Something Borrowed
") and ("From Out of the Rain
").
While Ianto becomes comfortable hinting on things going on while in bed with Jack around the other team members, he is uncomfortable to do so out of the Hub as Children of Earth shows.
In Series 3 he gets uncomfortable when strangers suggest that he and Jack are a couple, is offended when an elderly man under Torchwood protection refers to him as "the queer over there". At first he even tries to avoid the subject when talking to his sister, before confessing that while he is not attracted to men in general, he indeed has a relationship with Jack.
However, as the end of the 4th episode of "Children of Earth" suggest, Ianto was only able to tell Jack that he loved him when Ianto knew he was dying.
Earlier in "They Keep Killing Suzie
", Jack claims to have had a sexual relationship with twin brothers, both acrobats; however, it is unclear whether he is speaking sincerely or simply trying to distract Gwen
from asking difficult questions. However, in series two, Jack remarks to Owen that when you have been alive as long as he has "you don't make any more up" while they are in police custody in the episode "Dead Man Walking
", implying that the many past relationships he refers to are genuine.
In "Captain Jack Harkness", a subplot of the episode revolves around Jack's namesake's sexual orientation. His uneasy behaviour and his dismay at having convinced his girlfriend that they were in love combined with his flirtatious interaction with Jack suggested he was gay and trapped in an unwanted heterosexual relationship, unable to come out in his era. At the episode's climax, at a dance and knowing he was going to die the next day, the two Jacks danced and kissed, to the amazement of the 1940s guests all around them, before they had to part.
In "Everything Changes
", Owen Harper
seduces a woman and then her boyfriend using alien technology. Gwen Cooper
has a boyfriend, but she reciprocates the advances of a sex-driven alien in a woman's body in "Day One
", albeit under the influences of alien-enhanced pheromone
s. Later in that episode, when the possessed woman attempts to absorb the orgasmic energy of various men at a sperm bank, one of them briefly protests that he's gay. Toshiko also exhibits bisexual behaviour: she has an interest in her teammate, Owen, but in "Greeks Bearing Gifts
" she has a sexual relationship with "Mary".
themes including the meaning of life
and the possibility of an afterlife
. Suzie Costello tells Gwen
in "They Keep Killing Suzie
" that there is no meaning to life and that "we're just animals howling in the night." The nihilistic
Mark Lynch describes his fellow regulars at the Weevil
"fight club
" as "ordinary blokes trying to find meaning in a world that doesn't have any" - hence their hobby of cage-fighting tortured captive Weevils. Mark Lynch tells Owen that the latter are not aliens but what "we" (i.e. humans, or perhaps only men) will be in a thousand years, "when we have nothing left but our rage." Toshiko
also compares humans to Weevils when the pendant Mary gives her allows her to read minds causing her to fall into deep depression and utter disappointment with existence.
The issue of mortality is also a common existentialist theme in Torchwood, raised through repeated discussion of and reference to the possibility or impossibility of an afterlife. For example, episode one features Jack questioning a recently deceased, though temporarily resurrected, man on the afterlife, who is shocked to discover he can remember nothing. Episode three, "Ghost Machine
" presented the scientific view that ghost
ly phenomena were due to imprints of strong emotions on time. In "They Keep Killing Suzie", Suzie Costello, a recurring villain, states she can remember nothing having been resurrected. She says that "there's something moving in the dark" and it is after Jack. During episode eleven, "Combat
", Mark Lynch also tells Owen about something coming "in the darkness." In episode ten, "Out of Time
", Jack warns a suicidal man that on the other side there is absolutely nothing: "It just goes black." In episode 9 "Random Shoes
", Eugene Jones dies but remains on earth as a ghost until he has saved the life of and subsequently kissed Gwen Cooper, with whom he was in love: this done, he is able to "move on", ascending - the final frame is black; it is left unclear what this symbolises. In "Dead Man Walking
", having been resurrected, Owen remembers nothing but blackness during his time dead, but he also speculates that the living "aren't supposed to remember", explicitly suggesting for the first time that there might be more to the afterlife than the characters remember and they simply never recall it because their minds can't fully process it (Similar to how Spock
told McCoy
in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
that it would be impossible to discuss what he experienced while he was dead "without a common frame of reference").
In the season finale, "End of Days
", Jack expresses existentialist sentiments regarding the religious referring to the apocalypse
. Continuing the ghost theme carried in several episodes of Torchwood, what appear to be the spirits of Lisa and Toshiko's mother appear, as well as Diane who may be dead or trapped in another time. Toshiko's mother warned of something "coming in the darkness", as Suzie Costello had done before. It is left unclear whether these were spirits or the machinations of the villain, Bilis Manger, as they urged Torchwood staff to do as he desired. In the episode's climax, biblical demon Abaddon is released from his prison beneath the Rift only to be defeated by Jack.
This is contrasting with optimistic themes presented in parent series Doctor Who
, where frequently the idea of life being "beautiful", and individual existence being significant is touched upon. Also contrasting in Doctor Who are the explicit examples of destiny and theism in the narrative, presented by the characters of the Black Guardian
and White Guardian
(both of whom are apparently representatives of an even higher power) and the Beast, who claims to have been imprisoned by a group called the 'Disciples of the Light,' a name that echoes traditional Christian
and Zoroastrian
theology.
In several episodes, particularly revolving around the character of Jack Harkness
, the value of human life is touched upon with Jack depicted as willing to sacrifice, murder and assist in suicide in several episodes. Episode four, "Cyberwoman
", has him kill Ianto's girlfriend Lisa, with full certainty she was no longer human
. In "Countrycide
", he tells one of the cannibal villagers that he used to be a professional torturer, though of course this may simply be a lie calculated to intimidate the man. In "They Keep Killing Suzie
", Jack riddles Suzie Costello with bullets, claiming responsibility for her death - "Death by Torchwood". It is implied that Jack would like to die, and he seems sympathetic when others wish to end their own lives: in "Out of Time
" he holds the hand of a man who wants (but is afraid) to die, and in "Combat
" he turns his back to allow Mark Lynch to surrender himself into the claws of a Weevil
. Jack confirms his desire to die in "Utopia
" when talking to the Tenth Doctor
, but also states that seeing the Utopians as they fight to survive against all the odds has reminded him of what it means to be truly human.
In the second season, continuing the idea of redemption in the series following Jack's reunion with the Doctor, his newfound appreciation for life is shown when he attempts to rescue the space whale from the group who have imprisoned it and are cutting up its flesh for meat, as well as his anger at Owen when Owen is forced to kill the creature out of mercy when it is further injured. In "Dead Man Walking
", following his resurrection, Owen encourages a young boy dying of leukaemia not to give up on life no matter how scary the treatment might seem by telling him that sometimes death can be defeated. In the subsequent episode, "A Day in the Death
", Owen convinces a woman not to commit suicide due to her grief over her dead husband by telling her that, if she can see even one faint glimmer of hope, life can't be as bad as she thinks. Although the team fails to prevent the Night Travellers from disposing of the last breaths of their victims in "From Out of the Rain
", Jack nevertheless regards the mission as a success as they manage to save the life of a young boy, enthusiastically hugging the child after he awakens. Jack's compassion is further highlighted when he is shown to take care of those who have been sucked through the Rift in "Adrift
", despite the fact that many of them have been horrifically physically and mentally damaged by what they have seen, preferring to help them enjoy the times when they are well rather than euthanise
them. Despite his brother having become possibly hopelessly insane in "Exit Wounds
", killing Tosh
and (indirectly) Owen, Jack refuses to kill him after he has been defeated, instead putting him in cryopreservation in the hope of someday being able to help him, stating that there had been enough death that day. Although the government in Children of Earth concede to the 456's demands for ten percent of Earth's children as the alternative is to be completely destroyed, arguing that such a sacrifice is preferable to the alternative, Jack refuses to give in to the 456's demands, constantly seeking an alternative solution as he claims "An injury to one is an injury to all", demonstrating his high value of human life.
about her double life, and finds herself drawn into a sexual relationship with teammate Owen in "Countrycide" - as had Suzie before her, revealed in "They Keep Killing Suzie". Gwen laments that as Suzie had said, Torchwood had changed her, and in "Greeks Bearing Gifts", she explained to Toshiko that she knew what she and Owen were doing was wrong, but that she had no intention of stopping.
In "They Keep Killing Suzie", the team is shocked to learn that Gwen is the only person other than Suzie who possesses a sufficient degree of empathy to operate the resurrection gauntlet. A resurrected Suzie explains she would drug people with amnesia pills to tell them about her life - in Combat, Gwen drugs Rhys as she confesses her affair with Owen so she can receive his forgiveness but not have to live with what she's done, echoing Suzie's actions. In the finale, "End of Days", after Rhys is murdered, Gwen fights Jack for the rift manipulator so that she may resurrect him, going as far as to hit Jack and even allow Owen to shoot him. In the episode's conclusion, with the rest of the team, she receives Jack's forgiveness as he understands she had been manipulated by villain, Bilis Manger.
Characters other than Gwen have had their morality tested. "Ghost Machine" depicts Owen filled with rage after experiencing a young woman's rape, capable of murdering her rapist. In Combat, having lost his lover Diane, Owen succumbs to a nihilistic underground belly in which he attempts suicide-by-Weevil
. In "Greeks Bearing Gifts" Toshiko, consumed with the loneliness of her job and feeling isolated amongst her peers, accepts a gift from an alien which allows her to read her co-workers' thoughts. Ianto, unable to let his dying girlfriend go, risks the life of his entire team in "Cyberwoman", even threatening to one day betray his future lover, Jack. In "End of Days", Jack berates his entire team for their destructive personal lives, at which point Owen shoots him, answering questions as to whether or not Owen is actually capable of murder.
Even characters outside the main cast demonstrate the ability to redeem themselves; the earliest example is Tommy Brockless, a WW1 soldier suffering from shell shock and destined to be executed for cowardice, who sacrifices his life in his present to willingly spend nearly a century in cryosleep to await the day when he will save the world in the future, overcoming his fear at the last minute, thanks to his love for Toshiko. Beth Halloran, a young woman whose fiance is apparently killed in an alien attack, is revealed to be a member of Cell 114, a group of alien sleeper agents who program themselves with the identities of the races they invade to learn their secrets, but Beth nevertheless overcomes her programming in order to help the team defeat her 'comrades' in the invasion, subsequently forcing the team to shoot her to prevent her possibly endangering them in the future.
However, the most prominent character to redeem himself is Jack's former colleague in the Time Agency, Captain John Hart, who originally appears as a merciless killer in "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
", throwing Jack off a building and forcing the team to help him by threatening to blow up Gwen. However, in his return in "Fragments
" and "Exit Wounds
", his new attack on the team is revealed to be because he is being blackmailed by Gray to set off bombs throughout Cardiff and capture Jack due to Gray having molecularly bonded a bomb to his skin. With the bomb having been removed, John risks his life to help the team rescue Jack and defeat Gray, subsequently deciding to remain on Earth in the present and learn what Jack finds so fascinating about this time period.
Children of Earth forces Jack to confront an old sin from his past, when he was involved in a trade effort that gave twelve orphaned children to a race known only as the '456', with the 456 having returned to Earth and now seeking larger numbers of children. Although Jack is able to save the world, he is forced to sacrifice his lover Ianto and his grandson Steven to do so, prompting him to leave Earth as he is unable to cope with his grief.
The Doctor Who episode "The Sound of Drums" revealed that the Torchwood institute itself has been 'redeemed' by Jack, with Jack having rebuilt the organisation in the Doctor's honour after the Battle of Canary Wharf and the Dalek
/Cybermen war to be a more benevolent organisation that actively seeks to help humans and aliens in peril rather than regarding all aliens as enemies regardless of their motives for being on Earth.
In the spin-off novel "The Twilight Streets
", the character of Bilis Manger also goes on to redeem himself, revealing that his intention in awakening the demon Abaddon was to provide Abaddon with the strength to defeat the beings known as 'The Dark', subsequently enlisting the aid of the Torchwood team to stop the Dark in Abaddon's absence. As with all spin-off media, the canonicity of these events is unclear.
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
Torchwood
Torchwood
Torchwood is a British science fiction television programme created by Russell T Davies. The series is a spin-off from Davies's 2005 revival of the long-running science fiction programme Doctor Who. The show has shifted its broadcast channel each series to reflect its growing audience, moving from...
discusses many themes in its narrative
Narrative
A narrative is a constructive format that describes a sequence of non-fictional or fictional events. The word derives from the Latin verb narrare, "to recount", and is related to the adjective gnarus, "knowing" or "skilled"...
s, specifically dealing with LGBT
LGBT
LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...
themes associated with its homosexual
Homosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...
and bisexual
Bisexuality
Bisexuality is sexual behavior or an orientation involving physical or romantic attraction to both males and females, especially with regard to men and women. It is one of the three main classifications of sexual orientation, along with a heterosexual and a homosexual orientation, all a part of the...
characters and their problems, with various characters portrayed as sexually fluid. Certain characters offer varying perspectives on orientation, although the nature of Jack
Jack Harkness
Captain Jack Harkness is a fictional character played by John Barrowman in Doctor Who and its spin-off series, Torchwood. He first appeared in the 2005 Doctor Who episode "The Empty Child" and reappeared in the remaining episodes of the 2005 series as a companion of the ninth incarnation of the...
, Ianto
Ianto Jones
Ianto Jones is a fictional character in the BBC television series Torchwood, played by Welsh actor Gareth David-Lloyd. A series regular, Ianto appears in every episode of the programme's first three series, as well as two crossover episodes of Torchwoods parent show, Doctor Who...
and Toshiko's
Toshiko Sato
is a fictional character from the television series Doctor Who and its spin-off Torchwood, played by Naoko Mori. After a one-off appearance in the Doctor Who episode "Aliens of London" , Toshiko is re-introduced as a series regular in the Torchwood 2006 premiere episode "Everything Changes"...
sexual flexibility is not discussed explicitly.
In addition to this, there is some discussion of the value of human life, the corrupting nature of power and of existentialism
Existentialism
Existentialism is a term applied to a school of 19th- and 20th-century philosophers who, despite profound doctrinal differences, shared the belief that philosophical thinking begins with the human subject—not merely the thinking subject, but the acting, feeling, living human individual...
through parallels drawn between characters with the repetition of thematically important lines in the course of series one, although series two saw a significant shift from the original theme of corruption to one of redemption.
Homosexuality and bisexuality
Torchwood deals with several LGBT themes, specifically bisexuality. Each of the main characters in Torchwood has same-sex encounters at some point in the first season, with The SunThe Sun (newspaper)
The Sun is a daily national tabloid newspaper published in the United Kingdom and owned by News Corporation. Sister editions are published in Glasgow and Dublin...
describing all of the characters on Torchwood as bisexual. Series creator Russell T. Davies has said that he hopes to defy audience expectations of monosexual
Monosexuality
A monosexual person is someone who is sexually attracted to one sex only, monosexuality being the corresponding sexual orientation...
characters:
Davies has also described Jack Harkness as omnisexual:
Similarly, Toshiko Sato describes Jack as someone who'll "shag anybody as long as they're gorgeous enough!". The essential Cult TV reader writes that because Jack, Owen, Ianto and Toshiko's homosexual dalliances occur "without any debate or angst", they form part of an attempt to "naturalize bisexuality", appearing to "deliberately refute and deny... gay, straight [and] bi": "a progressive challenge to contemporary ideologies of sexuality".
In "Everything Changes
Everything Changes (Torchwood)
"Everything Changes" is the first episode of the British science fiction television programme Torchwood, which was first broadcast on 22 October 2006.-Synopsis:Police constable Gwen Cooper comes across the mysterious organisation known as Torchwood...
", Ianto Jones jokingly refers to Jack's appreciation of his good looks in a suit as sexual harassment. In "Cyberwoman
Cyberwoman
"Cyberwoman" is the fourth episode of the first series of the British science fiction television series Torchwood. Written by Chris Chibnall and directed by James Strong, the episode was first broadcast on the digital channel BBC Three on 5 November 2006, and later repeated on terrestrial channel...
" the pair share a kiss, although it is essentially a kiss of life, it is not done in the normal way, and resembles a kiss of lust rather than of life. At the end of "They Keep Killing Suzie
They Keep Killing Suzie
"They Keep Killing Suzie" is an episode in the British science fiction television series Torchwood. It is the eighth episode of the first series, which was broadcast on 3 December 2006.-Synopsis:...
", Ianto subtly presents Jack with a sexual proposition, which the latter appears only to understand after a few seconds - he accepts by telling Ianto to meet him in his office in ten minutes, once the rest of the team have left the Hub. This is again alluded to in the Instant Messenger Transcript provided on the official website, which represents a conversation between the pair in the time remaining before their tryst. Ianto and Jack's relationship is referred to by Owen
Owen Harper
Owen Harper is a fictional character played by Burn Gorman, and a regular in the BBC television series Torchwood, a spin-off from the long-running series Doctor Who. The character last appeared onscreen in the Series 2 finale, "Exit Wounds"....
in "Captain Jack Harkness" when he calls Ianto Jack's 'part-time shag'. Their relationship is displayed for the first time in "End of Days
End of Days (Torchwood)
"End of Days" is the thirteenth episode and the first series finale of the British science fiction television series Torchwood. It originally aired on BBC Three on 1 January 2007, alongside the previous episode, "Captain Jack Harkness". The episode was written by Chris Chibnall and directed by...
" in which Ianto and Jack kiss after finding Jack is alive. Also during this episode, Ianto is clearly distraught when finding out Jack is dead, and smells his coat, reminiscent of gay cowboy film, "Brokeback Mountain
Brokeback Mountain
Brokeback Mountain is a 2005 romantic drama film directed by Ang Lee. It is a film adaptation of the 1997 short story of the same name by Annie Proulx with the screenplay written by Diana Ossana and Larry McMurtry...
". This relationship develops further in Series 2 with Jack asking Ianto out on a date ("Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang"
Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang (Torchwood)
"Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang" is the first episode of the second series of British science fiction television series Torchwood, which was broadcast by BBC Two on 16 January 2008....
), the pair sharing an intense kiss ("To the Last Man
To the Last Man (Torchwood)
"To the Last Man" is the third episode of the second series of British science fiction television series Torchwood, which was broadcast by BBC Two on 30 January 2008.-Synopsis:...
") and Gwen walking in on them during some kind of sexual activity ("Adrift"
Adrift (Torchwood)
"Adrift" is the eleventh episode of the second series of British science fiction television series Torchwood, which was broadcast by BBC Three on 19 March 2008, and by BBC Two on 21 March 2008.-Plot:...
). The other characters also allude to their relationship; most specifically Owen ("A Day in the Death
A Day in the Death
"A Day in the Death" is the eighth episode of the second series of British science fiction television series Torchwood, which was broadcast by BBC Three on 27 February 2008...
") and Gwen ("Something Borrowed
Something Borrowed (Torchwood)
"Something Borrowed" is the ninth episode of the second series of British science fiction television series Torchwood. It was broadcast by BBC Three on 5 March 2008 and repeated on BBC Two one week later.-Synopsis:...
") and ("From Out of the Rain
From Out of the Rain
"From Out of the Rain" is the tenth episode of the second series of British science fiction television series Torchwood. It was broadcast by BBC Three on 12 March 2008, and repeated on BBC Two one week later.- Synopsis :...
").
While Ianto becomes comfortable hinting on things going on while in bed with Jack around the other team members, he is uncomfortable to do so out of the Hub as Children of Earth shows.
In Series 3 he gets uncomfortable when strangers suggest that he and Jack are a couple, is offended when an elderly man under Torchwood protection refers to him as "the queer over there". At first he even tries to avoid the subject when talking to his sister, before confessing that while he is not attracted to men in general, he indeed has a relationship with Jack.
However, as the end of the 4th episode of "Children of Earth" suggest, Ianto was only able to tell Jack that he loved him when Ianto knew he was dying.
Earlier in "They Keep Killing Suzie
They Keep Killing Suzie
"They Keep Killing Suzie" is an episode in the British science fiction television series Torchwood. It is the eighth episode of the first series, which was broadcast on 3 December 2006.-Synopsis:...
", Jack claims to have had a sexual relationship with twin brothers, both acrobats; however, it is unclear whether he is speaking sincerely or simply trying to distract Gwen
Gwen Cooper
Gwen Cooper is a fictional character in the BBC television programme Torchwood, a spin-off to the long-running show Doctor Who, portrayed by Welsh actress Eve Myles. The series' lead female character, Gwen has featured in every episode of the sci-fi programme to date as well as two crossover...
from asking difficult questions. However, in series two, Jack remarks to Owen that when you have been alive as long as he has "you don't make any more up" while they are in police custody in the episode "Dead Man Walking
Dead Man Walking (Torchwood)
"Dead Man Walking" is the seventh episode of the second series of British science fiction television series Torchwood. It was broadcast by BBC Three and BBC HD on 20 February 2008; it made its terrestrial debut on BBC Two on 27 February.-Synopsis:...
", implying that the many past relationships he refers to are genuine.
In "Captain Jack Harkness", a subplot of the episode revolves around Jack's namesake's sexual orientation. His uneasy behaviour and his dismay at having convinced his girlfriend that they were in love combined with his flirtatious interaction with Jack suggested he was gay and trapped in an unwanted heterosexual relationship, unable to come out in his era. At the episode's climax, at a dance and knowing he was going to die the next day, the two Jacks danced and kissed, to the amazement of the 1940s guests all around them, before they had to part.
In "Everything Changes
Everything Changes (Torchwood)
"Everything Changes" is the first episode of the British science fiction television programme Torchwood, which was first broadcast on 22 October 2006.-Synopsis:Police constable Gwen Cooper comes across the mysterious organisation known as Torchwood...
", Owen Harper
Owen Harper
Owen Harper is a fictional character played by Burn Gorman, and a regular in the BBC television series Torchwood, a spin-off from the long-running series Doctor Who. The character last appeared onscreen in the Series 2 finale, "Exit Wounds"....
seduces a woman and then her boyfriend using alien technology. Gwen Cooper
Gwen Cooper
Gwen Cooper is a fictional character in the BBC television programme Torchwood, a spin-off to the long-running show Doctor Who, portrayed by Welsh actress Eve Myles. The series' lead female character, Gwen has featured in every episode of the sci-fi programme to date as well as two crossover...
has a boyfriend, but she reciprocates the advances of a sex-driven alien in a woman's body in "Day One
Day One (Torchwood)
"Day One" is the second episode of the first series of the British science fiction television series Torchwood. Written by Chris Chibnall and directed by Brian Kelly, the episode was first broadcast on the digital channel BBC Three on 22 October 2006 with the series pilot, "Everything Changes", and...
", albeit under the influences of alien-enhanced pheromone
Pheromone
A pheromone is a secreted or excreted chemical factor that triggers a social response in members of the same species. Pheromones are chemicals capable of acting outside the body of the secreting individual to impact the behavior of the receiving individual...
s. Later in that episode, when the possessed woman attempts to absorb the orgasmic energy of various men at a sperm bank, one of them briefly protests that he's gay. Toshiko also exhibits bisexual behaviour: she has an interest in her teammate, Owen, but in "Greeks Bearing Gifts
Greeks Bearing Gifts (Torchwood)
"Greeks Bearing Gifts" is an episode of the British science fiction television series Torchwood. It is the seventh episode of the first series, which was broadcast on 26 November 2006.-Synopsis:...
" she has a sexual relationship with "Mary".
Existentialism
Torchwood contains numerous existentialistExistentialism
Existentialism is a term applied to a school of 19th- and 20th-century philosophers who, despite profound doctrinal differences, shared the belief that philosophical thinking begins with the human subject—not merely the thinking subject, but the acting, feeling, living human individual...
themes including the meaning of life
Meaning of life
The meaning of life constitutes a philosophical question concerning the purpose and significance of life or existence in general. This concept can be expressed through a variety of related questions, such as "Why are we here?", "What is life all about?", and "What is the meaning of it all?" It has...
and the possibility of an afterlife
Afterlife
The afterlife is the belief that a part of, or essence of, or soul of an individual, which carries with it and confers personal identity, survives the death of the body of this world and this lifetime, by natural or supernatural means, in contrast to the belief in eternal...
. Suzie Costello tells Gwen
Gwen Cooper
Gwen Cooper is a fictional character in the BBC television programme Torchwood, a spin-off to the long-running show Doctor Who, portrayed by Welsh actress Eve Myles. The series' lead female character, Gwen has featured in every episode of the sci-fi programme to date as well as two crossover...
in "They Keep Killing Suzie
They Keep Killing Suzie
"They Keep Killing Suzie" is an episode in the British science fiction television series Torchwood. It is the eighth episode of the first series, which was broadcast on 3 December 2006.-Synopsis:...
" that there is no meaning to life and that "we're just animals howling in the night." The nihilistic
Nihilism
Nihilism is the philosophical doctrine suggesting the negation of one or more putatively meaningful aspects of life. Most commonly, nihilism is presented in the form of existential nihilism which argues that life is without objective meaning, purpose, or intrinsic value...
Mark Lynch describes his fellow regulars at the Weevil
Weevil (Torchwood)
Weevils are a fictional extraterrestrial species from the British science fiction television series Torchwood, first appearing in the episode "Everything Changes". As Jack Harkness explains in that episode, the name "Weevil" is applied to them by Torchwood, but as communication with them is...
"fight club
Fight Club (novel)
Fight Club is a 1996 novel by Chuck Palahniuk. It follows the experiences of an unnamed protagonist struggling with insomnia. Inspired by his doctor's exasperated remark that insomnia is not suffering, he finds relief by impersonating a seriously ill person in several support groups...
" as "ordinary blokes trying to find meaning in a world that doesn't have any" - hence their hobby of cage-fighting tortured captive Weevils. Mark Lynch tells Owen that the latter are not aliens but what "we" (i.e. humans, or perhaps only men) will be in a thousand years, "when we have nothing left but our rage." Toshiko
Toshiko Sato
is a fictional character from the television series Doctor Who and its spin-off Torchwood, played by Naoko Mori. After a one-off appearance in the Doctor Who episode "Aliens of London" , Toshiko is re-introduced as a series regular in the Torchwood 2006 premiere episode "Everything Changes"...
also compares humans to Weevils when the pendant Mary gives her allows her to read minds causing her to fall into deep depression and utter disappointment with existence.
The issue of mortality is also a common existentialist theme in Torchwood, raised through repeated discussion of and reference to the possibility or impossibility of an afterlife. For example, episode one features Jack questioning a recently deceased, though temporarily resurrected, man on the afterlife, who is shocked to discover he can remember nothing. Episode three, "Ghost Machine
Ghost Machine (Torchwood)
"Ghost Machine" is an episode of the British science fiction television series Torchwood. It is the third episode of the first series, which was broadcast on 29 October 2006.-Synopsis:...
" presented the scientific view that ghost
Ghost
In traditional belief and fiction, a ghost is the soul or spirit of a deceased person or animal that can appear, in visible form or other manifestation, to the living. Descriptions of the apparition of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to...
ly phenomena were due to imprints of strong emotions on time. In "They Keep Killing Suzie", Suzie Costello, a recurring villain, states she can remember nothing having been resurrected. She says that "there's something moving in the dark" and it is after Jack. During episode eleven, "Combat
Combat (Torchwood)
"Combat" is an episode in the British science fiction television series Torchwood, which was broadcast on 24 December 2006. It is the eleventh episode of the first series. Weevils are being abducted by humans. As Owen goes undercover to find out who is committing these crimes, he meets Mark Lynch...
", Mark Lynch also tells Owen about something coming "in the darkness." In episode ten, "Out of Time
Out of Time (Torchwood)
"Out of Time" is an episode in the British science fiction television series Torchwood, which was broadcast on 17 December 2006. It is the tenth episode of the first series.- Synopsis :...
", Jack warns a suicidal man that on the other side there is absolutely nothing: "It just goes black." In episode 9 "Random Shoes
Random Shoes
"Random Shoes" is an episode in the British science fiction television series Torchwood, which was broadcast on 10 December 2006. It is the ninth episode of the first series.-Synopsis:...
", Eugene Jones dies but remains on earth as a ghost until he has saved the life of and subsequently kissed Gwen Cooper, with whom he was in love: this done, he is able to "move on", ascending - the final frame is black; it is left unclear what this symbolises. In "Dead Man Walking
Dead Man Walking (Torchwood)
"Dead Man Walking" is the seventh episode of the second series of British science fiction television series Torchwood. It was broadcast by BBC Three and BBC HD on 20 February 2008; it made its terrestrial debut on BBC Two on 27 February.-Synopsis:...
", having been resurrected, Owen remembers nothing but blackness during his time dead, but he also speculates that the living "aren't supposed to remember", explicitly suggesting for the first time that there might be more to the afterlife than the characters remember and they simply never recall it because their minds can't fully process it (Similar to how Spock
Spock
Spock is a fictional character in the Star Trek media franchise. First portrayed by Leonard Nimoy in the original Star Trek series, Spock also appears in the animated Star Trek series, two episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation, seven of the Star Trek feature films, and numerous Star Trek...
told McCoy
Leonard McCoy
Leonard "Bones" McCoy is a character in the Star Trek media franchise. First portrayed by DeForest Kelley in the original Star Trek series, McCoy also appears in the animated Star Trek series, seven Star Trek movies, the pilot episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation, and in numerous books,...
in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home is a 1986 American science fiction film released by Paramount Pictures. It is the fourth feature film based on the Star Trek science fiction television series and completes the story arc begun in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan and continued in Star Trek III: The...
that it would be impossible to discuss what he experienced while he was dead "without a common frame of reference").
In the season finale, "End of Days
End of Days (Torchwood)
"End of Days" is the thirteenth episode and the first series finale of the British science fiction television series Torchwood. It originally aired on BBC Three on 1 January 2007, alongside the previous episode, "Captain Jack Harkness". The episode was written by Chris Chibnall and directed by...
", Jack expresses existentialist sentiments regarding the religious referring to the apocalypse
Apocalypse
An Apocalypse is a disclosure of something hidden from the majority of mankind in an era dominated by falsehood and misconception, i.e. the veil to be lifted. The Apocalypse of John is the Book of Revelation, the last book of the New Testament...
. Continuing the ghost theme carried in several episodes of Torchwood, what appear to be the spirits of Lisa and Toshiko's mother appear, as well as Diane who may be dead or trapped in another time. Toshiko's mother warned of something "coming in the darkness", as Suzie Costello had done before. It is left unclear whether these were spirits or the machinations of the villain, Bilis Manger, as they urged Torchwood staff to do as he desired. In the episode's climax, biblical demon Abaddon is released from his prison beneath the Rift only to be defeated by Jack.
This is contrasting with optimistic themes presented in parent series Doctor Who
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
, where frequently the idea of life being "beautiful", and individual existence being significant is touched upon. Also contrasting in Doctor Who are the explicit examples of destiny and theism in the narrative, presented by the characters of the Black Guardian
Black Guardian
The Black Guardian is a character in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. He was played by Valentine Dyall....
and White Guardian
White Guardian
The White Guardian is a character in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. He was played by Cyril Luckham, with the exception of a vocal message in The Stones of Blood which was performed by Gerald Cross....
(both of whom are apparently representatives of an even higher power) and the Beast, who claims to have been imprisoned by a group called the 'Disciples of the Light,' a name that echoes traditional Christian
Christian theology
- Divisions of Christian theology :There are many methods of categorizing different approaches to Christian theology. For a historical analysis, see the main article on the History of Christian theology.- Sub-disciplines :...
and Zoroastrian
Zoroastrianism
Zoroastrianism is a religion and philosophy based on the teachings of prophet Zoroaster and was formerly among the world's largest religions. It was probably founded some time before the 6th century BCE in Greater Iran.In Zoroastrianism, the Creator Ahura Mazda is all good, and no evil...
theology.
Christian imagery
Interestingly, although Torchwood has an existentialist view of life, there are several pointed moments with Christian symbolism. In one episode Captain Jack offers himself as a sacrifice to a satan figure to save the world, and his loyal followers wait faithfully for his resurrection. In the episode that explores how memory defines us, Jack's team sits around a large table in a tableau that recalls the Last Supper. One by one, Jack gives each the sacrament of a short term amnesia pill which will save them from the "death" of being filled with false memories that are threatening to forever alter their real selves. Of course, while Jesus said of his sacrament, "take this in memory of me", Jack's instructions are more along the lines of "take this and remember who you are." But it is clear that Jack's sacrifices, his deeply professed love of his entire team, and his ability to forgive them for their trespasses against him—even Owen who has actually shot and killed him—are Christ-like attributes. Discussing similar themes in Doctor Who, Russel T Davies stated:"The series lends itself to religious iconography because the Doctor is a proper saviour. He saves the world through the power of his mind and his passion."
Value of human life
Jack Harkness
Captain Jack Harkness is a fictional character played by John Barrowman in Doctor Who and its spin-off series, Torchwood. He first appeared in the 2005 Doctor Who episode "The Empty Child" and reappeared in the remaining episodes of the 2005 series as a companion of the ninth incarnation of the...
, the value of human life is touched upon with Jack depicted as willing to sacrifice, murder and assist in suicide in several episodes. Episode four, "Cyberwoman
Cyberwoman
"Cyberwoman" is the fourth episode of the first series of the British science fiction television series Torchwood. Written by Chris Chibnall and directed by James Strong, the episode was first broadcast on the digital channel BBC Three on 5 November 2006, and later repeated on terrestrial channel...
", has him kill Ianto's girlfriend Lisa, with full certainty she was no longer human
Cyberman
The Cybermen are a fictional race of cyborgs who are amongst the most persistent enemies of the Doctor in the British science fiction television series, Doctor Who. Cybermen were originally a wholly organic species of humanoids originating on Earth's twin planet Mondas that began to implant more...
. In "Countrycide
Countrycide
"Countrycide" is an episode of the British science fiction television series Torchwood. It is the sixth episode of the first series, which was broadcast on 19 November 2006-Synopsis:...
", he tells one of the cannibal villagers that he used to be a professional torturer, though of course this may simply be a lie calculated to intimidate the man. In "They Keep Killing Suzie
They Keep Killing Suzie
"They Keep Killing Suzie" is an episode in the British science fiction television series Torchwood. It is the eighth episode of the first series, which was broadcast on 3 December 2006.-Synopsis:...
", Jack riddles Suzie Costello with bullets, claiming responsibility for her death - "Death by Torchwood". It is implied that Jack would like to die, and he seems sympathetic when others wish to end their own lives: in "Out of Time
Out of Time (Torchwood)
"Out of Time" is an episode in the British science fiction television series Torchwood, which was broadcast on 17 December 2006. It is the tenth episode of the first series.- Synopsis :...
" he holds the hand of a man who wants (but is afraid) to die, and in "Combat
Combat (Torchwood)
"Combat" is an episode in the British science fiction television series Torchwood, which was broadcast on 24 December 2006. It is the eleventh episode of the first series. Weevils are being abducted by humans. As Owen goes undercover to find out who is committing these crimes, he meets Mark Lynch...
" he turns his back to allow Mark Lynch to surrender himself into the claws of a Weevil
Weevil (Torchwood)
Weevils are a fictional extraterrestrial species from the British science fiction television series Torchwood, first appearing in the episode "Everything Changes". As Jack Harkness explains in that episode, the name "Weevil" is applied to them by Torchwood, but as communication with them is...
. Jack confirms his desire to die in "Utopia
Utopia (Doctor Who)
"Utopia" is an episode of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was broadcast on BBC One on 16 June 2007 and is the eleventh episode of series three of the revived Doctor Who series...
" when talking to the Tenth Doctor
Tenth Doctor
The Tenth Doctor is the tenth incarnation of the protagonist of the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. He is played by David Tennant, who appears in three series, as well as eight specials...
, but also states that seeing the Utopians as they fight to survive against all the odds has reminded him of what it means to be truly human.
In the second season, continuing the idea of redemption in the series following Jack's reunion with the Doctor, his newfound appreciation for life is shown when he attempts to rescue the space whale from the group who have imprisoned it and are cutting up its flesh for meat, as well as his anger at Owen when Owen is forced to kill the creature out of mercy when it is further injured. In "Dead Man Walking
Dead Man Walking (Torchwood)
"Dead Man Walking" is the seventh episode of the second series of British science fiction television series Torchwood. It was broadcast by BBC Three and BBC HD on 20 February 2008; it made its terrestrial debut on BBC Two on 27 February.-Synopsis:...
", following his resurrection, Owen encourages a young boy dying of leukaemia not to give up on life no matter how scary the treatment might seem by telling him that sometimes death can be defeated. In the subsequent episode, "A Day in the Death
A Day in the Death
"A Day in the Death" is the eighth episode of the second series of British science fiction television series Torchwood, which was broadcast by BBC Three on 27 February 2008...
", Owen convinces a woman not to commit suicide due to her grief over her dead husband by telling her that, if she can see even one faint glimmer of hope, life can't be as bad as she thinks. Although the team fails to prevent the Night Travellers from disposing of the last breaths of their victims in "From Out of the Rain
From Out of the Rain
"From Out of the Rain" is the tenth episode of the second series of British science fiction television series Torchwood. It was broadcast by BBC Three on 12 March 2008, and repeated on BBC Two one week later.- Synopsis :...
", Jack nevertheless regards the mission as a success as they manage to save the life of a young boy, enthusiastically hugging the child after he awakens. Jack's compassion is further highlighted when he is shown to take care of those who have been sucked through the Rift in "Adrift
Adrift (Torchwood)
"Adrift" is the eleventh episode of the second series of British science fiction television series Torchwood, which was broadcast by BBC Three on 19 March 2008, and by BBC Two on 21 March 2008.-Plot:...
", despite the fact that many of them have been horrifically physically and mentally damaged by what they have seen, preferring to help them enjoy the times when they are well rather than euthanise
Euthanasia
Euthanasia refers to the practice of intentionally ending a life in order to relieve pain and suffering....
them. Despite his brother having become possibly hopelessly insane in "Exit Wounds
Exit Wounds (Torchwood)
"Exit Wounds" is the thirteenth and final episode of the second series of British science fiction television series Torchwood, and was broadcast on BBC Two on 4 April 2008.-Synopsis:...
", killing Tosh
Toshiko Sato
is a fictional character from the television series Doctor Who and its spin-off Torchwood, played by Naoko Mori. After a one-off appearance in the Doctor Who episode "Aliens of London" , Toshiko is re-introduced as a series regular in the Torchwood 2006 premiere episode "Everything Changes"...
and (indirectly) Owen, Jack refuses to kill him after he has been defeated, instead putting him in cryopreservation in the hope of someday being able to help him, stating that there had been enough death that day. Although the government in Children of Earth concede to the 456's demands for ten percent of Earth's children as the alternative is to be completely destroyed, arguing that such a sacrifice is preferable to the alternative, Jack refuses to give in to the 456's demands, constantly seeking an alternative solution as he claims "An injury to one is an injury to all", demonstrating his high value of human life.
Corruption
Starting in episode one, with the character of Suzie Costello and continuing primarily with neophyte employee Gwen Cooper, the theme of corruption is present in the narrative, frequently drawing parallels between Suzie and Gwen. In the aforementioned pilot, Suzie comments on how you cannot go back from working for Torchwood, suggesting it has changed her, after she commits a series of murders and an eventual suicide. Later in the series, Gwen finds herself unable to tell her boyfriend RhysRhys Williams (Torchwood)
Rhys Alun Williams, portrayed by Kai Owen, is a fictional character in the BBC television programme Torchwood, a spin-off from the long-running series Doctor Who. The character is introduced in the premiere episode as the co-habiting boyfriend of principal character Gwen Cooper...
about her double life, and finds herself drawn into a sexual relationship with teammate Owen in "Countrycide" - as had Suzie before her, revealed in "They Keep Killing Suzie". Gwen laments that as Suzie had said, Torchwood had changed her, and in "Greeks Bearing Gifts", she explained to Toshiko that she knew what she and Owen were doing was wrong, but that she had no intention of stopping.
In "They Keep Killing Suzie", the team is shocked to learn that Gwen is the only person other than Suzie who possesses a sufficient degree of empathy to operate the resurrection gauntlet. A resurrected Suzie explains she would drug people with amnesia pills to tell them about her life - in Combat, Gwen drugs Rhys as she confesses her affair with Owen so she can receive his forgiveness but not have to live with what she's done, echoing Suzie's actions. In the finale, "End of Days", after Rhys is murdered, Gwen fights Jack for the rift manipulator so that she may resurrect him, going as far as to hit Jack and even allow Owen to shoot him. In the episode's conclusion, with the rest of the team, she receives Jack's forgiveness as he understands she had been manipulated by villain, Bilis Manger.
Characters other than Gwen have had their morality tested. "Ghost Machine" depicts Owen filled with rage after experiencing a young woman's rape, capable of murdering her rapist. In Combat, having lost his lover Diane, Owen succumbs to a nihilistic underground belly in which he attempts suicide-by-Weevil
Weevil (Torchwood)
Weevils are a fictional extraterrestrial species from the British science fiction television series Torchwood, first appearing in the episode "Everything Changes". As Jack Harkness explains in that episode, the name "Weevil" is applied to them by Torchwood, but as communication with them is...
. In "Greeks Bearing Gifts" Toshiko, consumed with the loneliness of her job and feeling isolated amongst her peers, accepts a gift from an alien which allows her to read her co-workers' thoughts. Ianto, unable to let his dying girlfriend go, risks the life of his entire team in "Cyberwoman", even threatening to one day betray his future lover, Jack. In "End of Days", Jack berates his entire team for their destructive personal lives, at which point Owen shoots him, answering questions as to whether or not Owen is actually capable of murder.
Redemption
By contrast to the first season, the second season focused significantly on the theme of redemption, as characters grew beyond past mistakes to become better than they were. The most obvious example of this is Gwen's relationship with Rhys, as she now willingly admits to him what she does for a living and subsequently refuses to slip him an amnesia pill, thus increasing his involvement in her life. Owen also shows himself to be capable of rising above his cynicism in the first season, realising after his death and resurrection that life can be a wonderful thing after he discovers a message from another civilisation who detected Earth's old attempts to contact extraterrestrial life and sent a response. Ianto is redeemed within season one's story arc, his deception with Lisa slowly fading away as he proves himself dedicated and loyal to the rest of the team. Jack in particular finally learns how to forgive himself for a past sin- when he accidentally lost his younger brother Gray during an alien attack- when he is reunited with his brother. Driven mad by his long imprisonment, Gray buries Jack alive for over eighteen hundred years before Jack is rescued by Torchwood and put into cryopreservation in order to ensure that the timeline proceeds unchanged. Despite having spent hundreds of years buried alive, Jack's first actions upon awakening in the present and seeing Gray are to forgive Gray for what he has done to him. Even when Gray states that he will never forgive Jack for losing him, Jack, refusing to give up hope on his brother, simply chloroforms him rather than killing him, leaving him in cryopreservation in the hope of someday being able to help him.Even characters outside the main cast demonstrate the ability to redeem themselves; the earliest example is Tommy Brockless, a WW1 soldier suffering from shell shock and destined to be executed for cowardice, who sacrifices his life in his present to willingly spend nearly a century in cryosleep to await the day when he will save the world in the future, overcoming his fear at the last minute, thanks to his love for Toshiko. Beth Halloran, a young woman whose fiance is apparently killed in an alien attack, is revealed to be a member of Cell 114, a group of alien sleeper agents who program themselves with the identities of the races they invade to learn their secrets, but Beth nevertheless overcomes her programming in order to help the team defeat her 'comrades' in the invasion, subsequently forcing the team to shoot her to prevent her possibly endangering them in the future.
However, the most prominent character to redeem himself is Jack's former colleague in the Time Agency, Captain John Hart, who originally appears as a merciless killer in "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang (Torchwood)
"Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang" is the first episode of the second series of British science fiction television series Torchwood, which was broadcast by BBC Two on 16 January 2008....
", throwing Jack off a building and forcing the team to help him by threatening to blow up Gwen. However, in his return in "Fragments
Fragments (Torchwood)
"Fragments" is the twelfth and penultimate episode of the second series of British science fiction television series Torchwood, which was broadcast by BBC Three on 21 March 2008.-Synopsis:...
" and "Exit Wounds
Exit Wounds (Torchwood)
"Exit Wounds" is the thirteenth and final episode of the second series of British science fiction television series Torchwood, and was broadcast on BBC Two on 4 April 2008.-Synopsis:...
", his new attack on the team is revealed to be because he is being blackmailed by Gray to set off bombs throughout Cardiff and capture Jack due to Gray having molecularly bonded a bomb to his skin. With the bomb having been removed, John risks his life to help the team rescue Jack and defeat Gray, subsequently deciding to remain on Earth in the present and learn what Jack finds so fascinating about this time period.
Children of Earth forces Jack to confront an old sin from his past, when he was involved in a trade effort that gave twelve orphaned children to a race known only as the '456', with the 456 having returned to Earth and now seeking larger numbers of children. Although Jack is able to save the world, he is forced to sacrifice his lover Ianto and his grandson Steven to do so, prompting him to leave Earth as he is unable to cope with his grief.
The Doctor Who episode "The Sound of Drums" revealed that the Torchwood institute itself has been 'redeemed' by Jack, with Jack having rebuilt the organisation in the Doctor's honour after the Battle of Canary Wharf and the Dalek
Dalek
The Daleks are a fictional extraterrestrial race of mutants from the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. Within the series, Daleks are cyborgs from the planet Skaro, created by the scientist Davros during the final years of a thousand-year war against the Thals...
/Cybermen war to be a more benevolent organisation that actively seeks to help humans and aliens in peril rather than regarding all aliens as enemies regardless of their motives for being on Earth.
In the spin-off novel "The Twilight Streets
The Twilight Streets
The Twilight Streets is a BBC Books original novel written by Gary Russell and based on the British science fiction television, Doctor Who spin-off series Torchwood. It features all the regular cast of the show. It was published on 6 March 2008....
", the character of Bilis Manger also goes on to redeem himself, revealing that his intention in awakening the demon Abaddon was to provide Abaddon with the strength to defeat the beings known as 'The Dark', subsequently enlisting the aid of the Torchwood team to stop the Dark in Abaddon's absence. As with all spin-off media, the canonicity of these events is unclear.