Doctor Who Club of Australia

[dave]

I have extremely mixed feelings on this episode. And for anyone who's not seen it yet, big spoilers follow, so stop reading now.

I thought this episode was, in general, absolute crap. I do my best not to think about Torchwood and just enjoy it, but still... it's a POWER STATION. It produces MORE POWER THAN IT USES, that's THE ENTIRE POINT. Strangely enough, a blackout is not going to cause a meltdown, and once the reaction is going, power from said reaction could easily be used to keep the plant running properly. And venting coolant to stop a meltdown?? WTF?? Without removing the rods from the core and shutting the reaction down, surely venting the coolant is just going to make things worse?

But the lack of understanding there is nothing compared to the lack of understanding of torture on the human psyche. If Grey was held for any significant period of time by aliens who 'lived to torture' and therefore was tortured for no purpose (ie. no hope of providing information which might result in an end to torture), and without any chance of reprieve, for a long time, he shouldn't have been remotely that sane. He should've been a gibbering mess unable to even feed himself, let alone walk and talk. Unless the nice aliens conveniently put his psyche back together at the end of it all.

And Jack, if he's in any way psychologically human, should really have been in a similar state after being buried for about 1900 years, alone, coming back to life over and over again with little hope of reprieve. There's a reason solitary confinement is one of the worst punishments for prisoners: we're social animals. We go stark raving mad in the absence of interaction with other people. Just like Grey, Jack should've been an absolute basket case by the time those Torchwood people found him.

So that's most of the bad. I'm not worried about Owen, he was dead anyway, and is now simply floating in a pool of radioactive liquid. It would be remarkably easy for them to bring him back. Not to mention, I didn't really like the character.

But Tosh!? You CAN'T do that to Tosh! She's now officially my hero, for dragging herself to the comunicator so she could help Owen stop the meltdown, but still... I'm so pissed off. She was probably my favourite character there. And that final scene just broke me. I'm pretty certain she won't be back, and that makes me angry.

I have no idea how to rate it. I want to give it an 'excellent' as it affected me so strongly at the end, which, despite making me angry and sad, speaks to the strength of that part of the episode. But I found the rest of it so bad that I want to give it an 'awful'. Seems I'll probably end up rating it as 'good'.

Favourite scene: pan over city of Cardiff, showing lots of completely intact buildings with the odd explosion here and there, cut to Jack who shouts, "You've destroyed the city!" or something similar. Cracked me up.

[SharazJek]

What a tear-jerker!

Have to give it a good rating. Would be excellent if they didn't kill of Tosh. Get out the ressurection glove for another try I reckon!!

[meglos]

Good. Very sad, but overall it lacked something. I'm not sure what. I'm excited about the rumours for next season though

[Hiruma]

Im going to be a bit more critical than Dave.Well a lot more critical

I found this episode Terrible. Gray was not very convincing as a 'bad guy' ( I hate everything about you , but Ill give you a hug anyway?)

Situations were far too cliche. I like the character of Owen. He loves Life (although hes had some moments), but locking him in a nuclear reactor room and flooding it with Coolant?. As soon as he raced into the room and I noticed the Bulkhead I knew he was a 'dead, dead man'. Something would happen , the meltdown would happen and through a lack of speed or skill Owen would be trapped inside the room. Final Death would soon follow. Still this scene was so easily scene from a mile away and thus it lost all dramatic interest for me.

Toshiko's death was perhaps a little more believable. Her getting shot was a little more of a surprise and I loved the death crawl. I found at times her dialogue to be horribly stilted as a character so I didnt have a lot invested in her Death

Jack reviving at just the right second? sigh... THis episode feels like a long link of cliches linked together by happenstance.

In All , fairly disappointing for a season Finale. If you are going to kill characters, at least do it in a way that I can believe.

All 3 characters charging into empty cell areas though?

[Greg]

I accidentally started a second thread on this, which I've binned. But here's what I said in it...:

Been a big year for Torchwood - this series finale pulls together a number of the plot strands (although some from series 1 are still dangling...), tosses in lots of bangs and crashes, turns a few twists and ends on a sad but hopeful note.

And its hard to talk about with giving away the plot.

The elements are the Torchwood team, Captain John, Grey, Cardiff under attack, Weevils, and Torchwood's past.

The outcome neither guarantees the shows continuation or cancellation. It reaches a conclusion that could be a turning point - and there's no actual indication that the show won't continue, but the outcome means it won't be the same next time.

Overall, it was a good episode, but not one that I found overly satisfying. Too many elements requiring they get dealt with in a quick fashion, but at the same time good continuity with earlier episodes and bringing plotlines to fruition. While I wouldn't want to remove Fragments (the previous episode), it may have been better if the plotlines in Exit Wounds had been given two episodes to breathe in, rather than being crammed in so tightly. When I watch the whole series through, I'll re-evaluate whether it works better in that closer viewing context rather than separated over a 3-month period.

And I'm pleased one of the niggling points - Tosh's appearance in Aliens of London - is dealt with in a way that fits and within the general story and relies on what we know about the characters. (I complained about this in relation to the previous episode.)

I'll leave it up to those who post in this discussion how much to reveal.

[Panecea]

Well, we have a few questions answered but more raised. This episode was emotional but not as moving as it could have been. The plot worked well, though. If I could sum this episode up in one word it would be "surprising".

At least we know the full story behind Toshiko's part in Aliens of London.

[FredDag]

Panecea says it all for me. Amazing, I've just seen the last 3 eps, they are brilliant! Though I was so sad when Tosh died. Not fair I was saying at the TV screen. But realistically, if I was in a job like that I'd be at really high risk of dying. We still don't know what's coming in the 21st century either. I haven't heard anything of a 3rd series, so I don't know if it's gonna be answers. Overall, the second season was so much better and stronger then the first. For a non Dr Who series, it's great. Hope there is a season 3.

[Theta Sigma]

Unlike the first and previous appearance of the Hoix in Love & Monsters, the creature finally is mentioned by name in this episode.
Gray being the long lost sibling who got kidnapped during childhood and becoming bad was something I seen before in the final season of Charmed.
What a surprise seeing Jack in the drawer.
Ah-ha finally an explanation of why Tosh was in Aliens of London.
Absolutely sad to see the end of Tosh and Owen. Felt tears coming out.
Given that this is the end of the second season this would seem to mirror the ending of season 2 of the current version of the parent show only it is more tragic.
Moving seeing Tosh's farewell message.

To use a deliberate pun on the series' first episode, this is where everything changes.

This is the swansong for showrunner and head writer (and writer of this episode) Chris Chibnall and producer Richard Stokes as both have moved to Law and Order: London. Best wishes to them and thanks for their services to Torchwood.