Humans – always seeing patterns that aren’t there… Except that sometimes they are…

The focus is firmly on Jonny Green’s Tyler Steele and Alexandria Riley’s “Gwen” in this third story, with both characters wanting to steer clear of Jack Harkness in the wake of the events of Love Rat. It gives the production team a chance to show us a bit more about Tyler, and see him in something of a better light – his reaction to the deaths around him and the way that he tries to stand up to Ro-Jedda add some depths to the character. Green is aided by a strong foil in Sacha Dhawan’s Hassan, and you can believe that Tyler might be pushed too far by what happens. There are some strong moments for Orr in this as well, alongside a reminder of the situation regarding the real Gwen.

The core idea behind Janine H. Jones’ episode is a clever one, and ties together various elements of both old and new Torchwood mythology. We’ve got to know this new team well enough that the absence of Jack is nowhere near as obvious as it might be – and perhaps does show that focusing everything on “Jack and Gwen” or “Jack and Ianto” isn’t necessarily the best storytelling decision that can be made for the franchise, no matter what the ‘shippers of both might think.

Verdict: Some very strong moments in a solid piece of Torchwood. 8/10

Paul Simpson