Savage
aliens are being kidnapped from the streets of Cardiff and
Torchwood want to know why. Owen is sent undercover to find
out who’s behind it and soon befriends the charismatic
Mark Lynch. Beneath the veneer of city life, Owen discovers
a shocking subculture: can he avoid being sucked in?
After
two character driven episodes, Torchwood returns
to its darker side for a story that is a little too similar
to a cult classic movie.
When
Weevils start disappearing from Torchwood’s radar
and the local police discover a mutilated corpse, the team
are sure the two incidents are connected. As Jack, Toshiko
and Gwen investigate, Owen is nowhere to be seen.
Still
reeling from the events of ‘Out
of Time’, he is drowning his sorrows and staying
away from the hub until Captain Jack calls him back in to
go undercover and infiltrate suspected gang that they believe
is taking the Weevils. What Owen discovers is nothing anyone
could have imagined. Except any average cinemagoer that
is.
The
last two episodes didn’t really take the show into
the darker depths we have been hoping for, but this one
starts off down that track and even mentions the coming
darkness, first talked about in ‘They
Keep Killing Suzie’. The problem is that as the
episode progresses it becomes pretty obvious what the suspects
are up to, meaning the finale is not at all surprising.
While
the main storyline might not be the most original, it is
Gwen’s sub-plot that will grip fans. As her home life
with Rhys becomes more and more strained, we see how she
copes with her new job at Torchwood and trying to keep the
relationship going. This gives Eve Myles another chance
to shine and show that Gwen is a character she really has
got to grips with.
‘Combat’
is an episode filled with action but ruined by a plot that
blatantly borrows from a very famous movie. It is the development
of Gwen’s character that makes the episode more watchable
than it should have been. Lets hope Torchwood gets
back on track at it heads towards the season finale.
