Suzie Costello is a complex character. On one hand, she
probably did use her meetings at Pilgrim to vent about working at Torchwood, so
in that sense she’s no different from the other characters (Gwen, Tosh) who’ve
sought ways to express everything they’ve been keeping bottled up. On the other
hand, she meticulously planned her return from the dead, so she obviously knew
that what she was doing was wrong but didn’t care. On one hand, coming back
from the dead has given her quite a philosophical outlook, as she discusses the
meaning of life with Gwen in the car. On the other hand, she laughs maniacally
towards the end when she realises she still can’t die. So she isn’t an
out-and-out villain. Although, speaking of “out”, she does appear to kiss Gwen
on the lips soon before she dies, so is that her compulsory queer moment?
And speaking of Gwen, this episode is all about her
compassion – not only towards Suzie, but towards all those other people who she
brought back to life, because the glove works best for empathic, compassionate
people (who conduct affairs with their co-workers and avoid going home to their
sweet live-in boyfriends. And apparently Owen was shagging Suzie as well. What
a classy guy.). And what appeared to be one of Gwen’s strongest moments in this
episode – defending Suzie’s actions to Jack – was made redundant when it turned
out that Suzie didn’t actually become obsessed with the glove because she
wanted to her father to recover from cancer, because she actually hated her
father. So well done Gwen. And extra points for apparently being employed by
Torchwood for three months before finding out that they take all your
possessions – and your body – when you die and lock it all away.
(I also thought there should be some sly mention of the fact
that Gwen was feeling unwell before we were informed by Owen that she had two
hours to live. And that having Gwen wearing eyeliner initially, before removing
it to make her look unwell, probably isn’t the best decision by the make-up
team.)
Mind you, it’s really Jack’s fault for keeping Gwen around,
especially since he claims he’s going to fire her when he sees her heading out
with Suzie. But maybe he was distracted throughout this episode, since he seems
to find himself quite impressed with the antics of Ianto (from naming the
various devices to getting phone reception), culminating in the famous
Stopwatch Scene. I couldn’t help but smile throughout this scene, but surely
that’s only because I know eventuates from it. It could have had so much more
of an impact at the time if there was any sort of a hint that Ianto was ready
to move on (in a big way) from Lisa. Oh well, now it’s happened, so I’ll be
keeping a lookout for any further references to this relationship.
The best thing about the episode though? Detective Swanson:
a highly entertaining character who’s quite happy to put Torchwood in their
place. It’s a pity we never see her again.
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