Investigating
reports of ghostly music, Jack and Toshiko find themselves
stranded in a packed dance hall in 1941. As Gwen, Owen and
Ianto work to rescue their colleagues, Jack and Toshiko
meet a handsome young American squadron leader by the name
of… Captain Jack Harkness.
Time
travel is a BIG part of the Whovian universe, of course,
but this is the first time that the Torchwood team has travelled
back through the rift. It has some serious repercussions.
After
dealing the problems that occurred when the Diana and the
rest of the passengers from 1953 emerged from the rift in
‘Out of Time’,
Captain Jack Harkness and Toshiko are pulled through the
rift themselves back to 1941. Investigating the presence
of ghostly music coming from a soon to be demolished dance
hall, the two literally walk into the past and into a celebration
before the US pilots stationed in Cardiff are shipped off
to war.
While
Toshiko struggles to fit in because of her Japanese heritage,
Jack is in his element. All this changes when they meet
the squadron leader, Captain Jack Harkness.
This
episode reveals more about Jack’s mysterious past
and obviously how he got his name. It also shows a more
tender side to John Barrowman’s character, as his
emotions finally get the better of him after years of making
tough life or death decisions. This is Jack as we have never
seen him before.
We might
not see him this way again as he gets close to the real
Captain Jack Harkness, always tempted to reveal the squadron
leader’s fate. Throughout the first season, John Barrowman
has really grown into the character, revealing a darker
side the to happy-go-lucky chap that we met in Christopher
Eccleston’s Doctor Who, but still a strong
leader of this fledgling Torchwood team. How this episode
will affect the character in future shows, we will have
to see.
The
episode is not just a stand alone time travel episode however
as it starts to build the plot for the season finale. This
is where Gwen, Owen and Ianto come into the story. As they
investigate Jack and Toshiko’s disappearance, they
stumble onto information that will start a cavalcade of
cataclysmic events that could change the world forever.
With
momentum increasing, Torchwood is really starting
to deliver. Roll on the finale.
