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{{ImageLink}}
{{Infobox Individual
{{Infobox Individual
|image          = Alexa-havins-torchwood.jpg
|image          = Esther The Blood Line.jpg
|aka            = Mrs. Translation
|alias          = Lorraine
|name            = Esther Drummond
|species        = Human
|species        =Human
|affiliation    = Central Intelligence Agency
|origin          = [[Washington, D.C.]]
|affiliation2    = Torchwood (team){{!}}Torchwood
|first           = The New World (TV story)
|origin          = [[Earth]]
|appearances    = [[Esther Drummond - List of Appearances|Full list of Appearances]]
|sister          = Sarah Drummond
|actor          = Alexa Havins}}
|mother          = Esther Drummond's mother{{!}}Mother
'''Esther Drummond''' was a [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]] analyst in the [[21st century]] and a member of [[Torchwood (team)|Torchwood]] upon its reformation in [[2011]].
|first cs        = The New World (TV story)
|appearances    = {{appears}}
|actor          = Alexa Havins
}}
'''Esther Drummond''' was a [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]] [[analyst]] and member of the [[Torchwood (team)|Torchwood team]].
 
Forced to go on the run because of their investigations into [[Torchwood Three|Torchwood]], Esther and [[Rex Matheson]] worked with [[Jack Harkness]] and [[Gwen Cooper]] to expose the [[Three Families]]' plans and end [[Miracle Day|the Miracle]]. The team succeeded thanks to Esther transfusing Jack's mortal [[blood]] into Rex, allowing [[the Blessing]] to be reset, but [[the Cousin]] shot her and she died.


== Biography ==
== Biography ==
=== Early life ===
=== Early life ===
She had an elder sister named [[Sarah Drummond|Sarah]]. ([[TW]]: ''[[Dead of Night]]'') Their mother died in [[2003]]. ([[TW]]: ''[[The Categories of Life]]'')
Esther Drummond was of [[United States of America|US]] descent, but her place and date of birth were listed as N/A in her [[Central Intelligence Agency]] file. ([[TV]]: {{cs|Rendition (TV story)}}) She always had to look after her older sister [[Sarah Drummond|Sarah]], whom she would later remark had never been able to cope with things. ([[TV]]: {{cs|Dead of Night (TV story)}}) [[Esther Drummond's mother|Their mother]] died in [[2003]] ([[TV]]: {{cs|The Categories of Life (TV story)}}) and Sarah had two daughters, [[Melanie Drummond|Melanie]] and [[Alice Drummond|Alice]], between [[2002]] and [[2004]]. ([[TV]]: {{cs|Escape to LA (TV story)}})


=== Miracle Day ===
=== Early career ===
After discovering the data which the [[Torchwood (team)|Torchwood]] virus had removed from the CIA database, Esther decided to investigate, as she felt responsible for the injuries her colleague, [[Rex Matheson]], had suffered.
Esther got a job at the CIA's [[Directorate of Intelligence]] as an [[analyst]], ([[TV]]: {{cs|Rendition (TV story)}}) which involved sitting at her [[desk]] all day and reading [[blog]]s. Working in [[Langley]], [[Virginia]], she lived in [[Esther Drummond's apartment|an apartment]] on [[11th Street]] in [[Washington DC]] ([[TV]]: {{cs|Dead of Night (TV story)}}) and Sarah lived nearby, but she regretted that her job meant that her family had to come second. ([[TV]]: {{cs|Escape to LA (TV story)}})


Esther found information about the [[Torchwood Institute]], [[Captain Jack Harkness]], and [[Gwen Cooper]], just as Jack Harkness found her. They jumped from a window to escape a [[suicide]] bomber. Jack Harkness told her all about Torchwood before drugging her with [[retcon]]. ([[TW]]: ''[[The New World]]'')
Passionate about the subject, Esther once spent six months compiling a list of [[malware]] for the CIA. ([[TV]]: {{cs|Rendition (TV story)}}) She worked closely with [[Rex Matheson]] ([[TV]]: {{cs|The New World (TV story)}}) and believed that [[Broderick (The Men Who Sold the World)|Broderick]], whom Rex once argued with over a mission in [[Venezuela]], was [[sex]]ually attracted to her. ([[PROSE]]: {{cs|The Men Who Sold the World (novel)}}) She always wanted a job in Clandestine rather than Intelligence. ([[TV]]: {{cs|The Middle Men (TV story)}}, {{cs|The Blood Line (TV story)}})


However, Esther continued to research Torchwood, and discovered Rex's office was being thoroughly searched. She informed her superior about her continuing research and found her computer account deactivated and a substantial amount of money deposited to her bank account. Understanding she was about to be removed from the CIA, she barely escaped. Esther tried to tell Rex about their situation, but only contacted him just as he had landed and met his CIA colleagues. She met him, Jack Harkness and [[Gwen Cooper]] at the airport, and helped them escape after a brief run-in with [[Lyn Peterfield]]. ([[TW]]: ''[[Rendition (TV story)|Rendition]]'')
In [[2011]], Esther worked with Rex on a mission which he hoped would restore him to favour in the CIA. She correctly believed that rogue members of the [[S.O.G.]] killed [[Oscar Lupé]]'s and, later, his wife [[Penelope Lupé|Penelope]] and helped Rex in his investigations by arranging travel and sifting through data. ([[PROSE]]: {{cs|The Men Who Sold the World (novel)}})


Forced to go on the run with Rex, Esther joined Torchwood to form a new team. She helped Gwen learn American terms and food to avoid sticking out. Sneaking back into the C.I.A., they found the director's phone, which had been giving the orders to kill Torchwood's last members along with Rex and herself. She accompanied the team to a warehouse owned by PhiCorp. Inside were a large stockpile of painkillers. This led the team to believe that PhiCorp had foreknowledge of Miracle Day and might have had a hand in bringing it about. ([[TW]]: ''[[Dead of Night]]'')
=== The Miracle ===
==== Joining Torchwood ====
Esther investigated [[Torchwood Three|Torchwood]] after its name was [[email]]ed to the [[East Coast]] section chiefs and subsequently wiped from the [[Internet]] and met [[Jack Harkness]] in the [[archive]]s, but he [[retcon]]ned her to protect [[Gwen Cooper]]. The Institute was brought back to her attention by [[Noah Vickers]] and she and Rex, who suffered an accident that she felt responsible for, realised that there was a connection between them and [[Miracle Day|the Miracle]]. Esther successfully tracked Gwen down through [[Andy Davidson]]'s phone calls and Rex was able to rendition Torchwood to the US. ([[TV]]: {{cs|The New World (TV story)}})


The team escaped to [[Los Angeles|LA]] to infiltrate [[PhiCorp]]'s facilities there. Esther decided to say good bye to her [[Sarah Drummond|sister]]. However, when Esther arrived at her sister's house, she found it boarded up, and Sarah refused to let Esther come inside or see her nieces. Esther called child services to report her sister. She went to meet the rest of Torchwood, but was followed by [[the Gentleman|an assassin]]. The Torchwood team went to LA, where they began planning to infiltrate PhiCorp. Gwen and Jack broke into the building, followed by the assassin. Meanwhile, Ether called child services and found her sister's daughters had been removed. After the assassin threatened to kill Jack and hurt Gwen, Rex saved them, and shouted at Esther for endangering the mission.([[TW]]: ''[[Escape to LA]]'')
Despite not being part of Clanedestine, Esther asked [[Brian Friedkin]] for the opportunity to assist Rex in the Torchwood case and confirmed that she was being kept up to date, unaware that he was working against Rex. She saw two men going through Rex's [[computer]] and fled headquarters with [[Charlotte Wills]]'s ID after being notified of a bank transfer from [[China]], calling Rex to alert him that they were being targeted and picking him, Jack and Gwen up from the [[airport]]. ([[TV]]: {{cs|Rendition (TV story)}})


==== Investigating the camps ====
Esther unsuccessfully attempted to locate Friedkin's paymasters through his [[mobile phone]] and used Torchwood [[software]] to analyse his pattern of behaviour, learning of a [[warehouse]] in Washington where [[PhiCorp]] were stockpiling [[painkiller]]s. She struggled with being on the run and worried about [[Sarah Drummond|Sarah]], but Gwen convinced her to carry on by pointing out that she had to prove Rex's doubts about her wrong. The [[Torchwood (team)|Torchwood team]] were ultimately forced to flee Washington after Friedkin's mobile phone was traced. ([[TV]]: {{cs|Dead of Night (TV story)}})
After the new [[categories of life]] were introduced, and the [[overflow camp]]s were ropened, Esther realised the [[module]]s were on the camps' plans but had been removed from the photos. The team decided to find out what was in them, so Esther got an office job in the camp, Rex was admitted into the camp for his injury, and new Torchwood member Dr. [[Vera Juarez]] used her position on the medical panels to gain access.Inside the camp, Esther reassigned Rex to category one so that he would be moved to the module. Esther also saw Vera arriving at the camp, and [[Colin Maloney]] leave with her for a tour of the camp. When Esther worried that Vera had not returned, she phoned her, but the call failed.([[TW]]: ''[[The Categories of Life]]'')


When Colin Maloney returned, Esther asked him where Dr. Juarez was. Colin claimed she had gone home, and had praised his leadership of the camp. Esther tried to eavesdrop on Colin speaking with [[Ralph Coltrane]] but heard nothing. Esther later overheard Colin being told Rex had been captured. She tried to follow Colin as he went to interrogate him. However, the camp had been put in lock down mode, and Esther could not.
==== The overflow camps ====
The team relocated to [[Venice, California|Venice]] to plan their infiltration of [[PhiCorp]] in [[Los Angeles]] and Esther used the opportunity to visit Sarah, after which she anonymously reported her to [[Child Protective Services]] because of her mental state and was distressed to learn that her call resulted in her nieces being taken to [[Brayden Long Heights]]. Her plan for Rex, Jack and Gwen to steal a secure server from PhiCorp's headquarters using [[Nicolas Frumkin]]'s [[biometrics]] was jeopardised by [[The Gentleman (Escape to LA)|the Gentleman]], who followed her after her visit to Sarah's house, but they succeeded and she learnt that PhiCorp were constructing [[ICU]] [[overflow camp]]s. ([[TV]]: {{cs|Escape to LA (TV story)}})


Later, Esther found Colin and Rex, ignoring the lock down rules. Esther told Colin he had received a phone call and that she could watch the prisoner for him. When Colin asked who was on the phone, Esther said it was Dr. Juarez. Unfortunately, Colin had murdered Dr. Juarez. He knew Esther was lying. Rex shouted at Esther to run, but Colin attacked her. Esther strangled him to unconsciousness; Rex had to comfort her afterwards as she considered this to be her first kill, even though Rex reminded her there was no longer any such thing as killing. Esther took the keys out of Colin's pocket, but Colin was apparently still in either category two or three and attacked. Colin started to strangle Esther, but was shot by Ralph. Esther freed Rex, and the two of them escaped. ([[TW]]: ''[[The Middle Men]]'')
Esther discovered that buildings labelled as "[[module]]s" on PhiCorp's plans were hidden from [[NORAD]] [[satellite]]s and joined the [[San Pedro Overflow Camp]]'s clerical staff to investigate after [[Vera Juarez]] decided to go there as an inspector. She recategorised Rex as [[Category 1]] so that he would get access to the module whilst Vera was on a tour of the camp with [[Colin Maloney]] and later noticed that Vera had not returned, so she attempted to get in contact with her by phone without success. ([[TV]]: {{cs|The Categories of Life (TV story)}})


==== Colasanto ====
Hoping to find Vera, Esther told Maloney that she had been sent to act as his [[liaison]] and was kept for a time from continuing her investigation when a [[lockdown]] was called. Maloney claimed that Vera had left the camp and she tried to look around for Rex by claiming that Maloney had a phone call from Vera, leading him to attempt to kill her as he had actually burnt Vera to [[death]]. She made Maloney a Category 1 and escaped with Rex, after which Torchwood exposed Vera's [[murder]] and the existence of ovens at the overflow camps. ([[TV]]: {{cs|The Middle Men (TV story)}})
When they returned to their base, Esther tried to comfort Rex about Vera's death, and asked if he had tried to contact her family. Rex pointed out that he hardly knew Vera and asked Esther to drop the subject. Soon afterwards, Esther noticed that the [[eye-5]] contact lenses had been activated. Esther looked through the text messages that had been sent to the lenses, and realised that Gwen's family had been kidnapped and that she had been forced to take Jack to the kidnappers. Esther and Rex followed Gwen and Jack until they arrived at their meeting place with [[Olivia Colasanto]] in addition to contacting [[Andy Davidson]] and asking him to help Gwen's family. Esther and Rex both pointed guns at Colasanto and her men, and forced them to surrender. However, they were persuaded to go with her anyway as she was taking them to [[Angelo Colasanto|the one man]] who knew the true nature of the miracle. ([[TW]]: ''[[Immortal Sins]]'')


Olivia took them to Angelo Colasanto's house. Upon arriving there, Rex asked Esther to stay outside and to keep an open cell phone line. While everyone else went inside, Esther researched [[the families]] and was surprised to find that nobody existed with any of their last names. While she was waiting outside, [[Brian Friedkin]] arrived and pointed a gun at her. Fiedkin, along with several other CIA agents, brought Esther inside and arrested all members of the Torchwood team, and everyone who was working for the Colasanto family. Friedkin then took Rex out of the room, and before long the eye-5 system was activated to show Friedkin admitting that the families owned him. [[Allen Shapiro]] soon arrived and arrested Friedkin and everyone working with him, as well as Olivia Colasanto. Shapiro took over operations at the Colasanto house, and put the CIA in charge. Esther was then able to webchat with her CIA colleagues, and was informed by [[Charlotte Willis]] that her sister had been committed. Esther spoke to her sister on the phone, and found out that she was planning to transfer to category one. Esther tried to talk Sarah out of this, but she wouldn't listen, as she believed that her body no longer contained a soul. Ether decided that the best way to help her sister was to try to end the miracle. Shapiro became more interested in the Colasanto's when Angelo became the first person to die since Miracle Day. The CIA's priority then became to discover how Angelo had died. Esther then realised that there wss something under the floor where Angelo's bed had been. After Gwen was deported, Jack admitted that it wa a [[null field generator]], which had cancelleed out the [[morphic field]] that was preventing death. Jack persuaded Esther and Rex that it would be dangerous to allow the CIA to obtain the null field generator, and convinced them to help him escape. Esther was planning to stay with Rex and the CIA after they helped Jack escape, but Jack was shot so Esther was forced to go with him. Unfortuanetly, Esther had no idea how to help him.([[TW]]: ''[[End of the Road]]'')
==== The Blessing ====
The video footage of Vera's death led to the overflow camps being paused, which Esther, unlike Rex, believed would lead to their ultimate closure. She discovered that Gwen was being [[blackmail]]ed through the [[Eye-5]]s into kidnapping Jack, so she contacted [[Andy Davidson]] to liberate [[Rhys Williams|Rhys]] and [[Anwen Williams]] and [[Mary Cooper]], who were being held hostage, and tracked Gwen and Jack down. She and Rex went to save them from [[Olivia Colasanto]], but Olivia told Jack that he would go with her regardless as [[Angelo Colasanto]] was waiting for him. ([[TV]]: {{cs|Immortal Sins (TV story)}})


==== Finding the Blessing ====
Esther waited outside of the Colasanto residence to maintain an open line as a record and, once [[Brian Friedkin|Friedkin]] arrived, she sent his confession about working for the [[Three Families]] to [[Allen Shapiro]]. She became even more determined to end the Miracle after Sarah told her that she had volunteered herself and her daughters to become Category 1s and brought the [[null field generator]] that allowed Angelo to die to Shapiro's attention despite Jack trying to keep her quiet. She regretted her decision because of its possible misuse and got Jack away from the residence with a panel from the generator, but he was shot as they escaped. ([[TV]]: {{cs|End of the Road (TV story)}})
Esther spent the next two months helping Jack recover, and the two eventually ended up in [[Scotland]]. Esther collected Jack's blood, as she assumed that it must be somehow relevant to the miracle. Eventually Gwen contacted the two and informed them that [[Oswald Danes]] was at her house, and wanted to speak to Jack. Esther and Jack went to [[Wales]], and met with Oswald. Oswald informed them that he had stolen [[Jilly Kitzinger]]'s laptop, and that she was working for a man named [[Harry Bosco]]. Esther laughed, and explained that Harry Bosco was a process rather than a person, and that Jilly's job was to mistranslate things for the families. Torchwood managed to find some of the reports that Jilly had mistranslated, but as none of them spoke Chinese, Esther sent them to Rex to have the CIA translate. Torchwood then determined that [[the Blessing]] was in [[Shanghai]] and [[Buenos Aires]]. Esther then went to Buenos Aires, where she met up with Rex. ([[TW]]: ''[[The Gathering (TV story)|The Gathering]]'')


Esther and Rex secretly switched Rex's blood for Jack's and called for army support. Rex's wound started to bother him due to the transfusion. Esther was climbing into a truck that was to take her and Rex to the Blessing, and handed the case with Jack's blood to a soldier. Esther then went to help Rex with his wound, and one of the soldiers blew up the truck. Esther and Rex pretended to have become category ones in the explosion to trick the Families, and proceeded to infiltrate the blessing. Unfortuanetly they were captured upon entering the Blessing.
Esther looked after Jack for two months, running with him to the [[United Kingdom]] and ending up in hiding in [[Scotland]] before reuniting with Gwen in [[Swansea]] and being joined by [[Oswald Danes]]. Thanks to her knowledge of [[Harry Bosco]], Esther found that [[blood bank]]s in [[Shanghai]] and [[Buenos Aires]] were burnt down shortly before the Miracle and that both cities were connected by [[the Blessing]]. She met Rex in Buenos Aires ([[TV]]: {{cs|The Gathering (TV story)}}) and almost immediately transfused him with Jack's blood as they knew that it would be important. ([[TV]]: {{cs|The Blood Line (TV story)}})


[[File:Esther's funeral.jpg|left|thumb|Esther's funeral at [[The Chapel of the Gardens]]. ([[TW]]: ''[[The Blood Line]]'')]]
=== Death ===
The Family members at the Buenos Aires side of the Blessing took Rex and Esther to see the Blessing, where they were allowed to talk to Jack, Gwen and Oswald who were at the Shanghai end. Jack decided to reverse the Blessing by feeding it his mortal blood, but was informed that his blood would have to be put into both ends of the Blessing.
[[File:Esther in Rex's arms.jpg|thumb|left|Esther in Rex's arms. ([[TV]]: {{cs|The Blood Line (TV story)}})]]
Esther and Rex faked their deaths in an explosion that the Families hoped would destroy the bags of Jack's blood that Esther had taken there, unaware that they had replaced all but one of them with Rex's. Esther was held at [[gun]]point by [[the Cousin]] after reaching the Blessing and was shot in the head in an attempt to keep Jack and Rex from ending the Miracle with their blood, but Gwen convinced Rex to continue and he fed his blood to the Blessing after kissing Esther goodbye. Humanity became mortal again and Esther and Rex were seen to by [[paramedic]]s, but Esther died of her wound. ([[TV]]: {{cs|The Blood Line (TV story)}})


Rex then revealed that he had Jack's blood in him and he and Jack decided to sacrifice themselves to end the Miracle. The leader of the Families in Buenos Aries, [[The Cousin]], shot Esther to try to force them not to, as ending the Miracle would mean allowing her to die. However both men, encouraged by Gwen and Esther, decided to go ahead and successfully end the Miracle. Rex killed the leader and they were rescued by the army. However, while Rex survived, Esther did not. Unlike many people, Esther received a full funeral. ([[TW]]: ''[[The Blood Line]]'')
== Legacy ==
[[File:Esther's funeral.jpg|thumb|right|Esther's funeral at the [[Chapel of the Gardens]]. ([[TV]]: {{cs|The Blood Line (TV story)}})]]
Unlike many, Esther was able to receive a full [[funeral]] [[Esther Drummond's funeral|service]] which Sarah, [[Alice Drummond|Alice]], [[Melanie Drummond|Melanie]], Rex, Jack, Gwen, [[Rhys Williams|Rhys]] and [[Charlotte Wills]] attended. ([[TV]]: {{cs|The Blood Line (TV story)}})
 
Gwen, upset by Esther's death, decided that she would give some [[money]] from a [[Torchwood Institute|Torchwood]] [[safety deposit box]] to Sarah for her and her daughters. ([[AUDIO]]: {{cs|Army of One (audio story)}})
 
On [[Cotter Paluni's World]], Jack remembered Esther's death in the process of saving the world and felt responsible for it. ([[AUDIO]]: {{cs|Red Skies (audio story)}})
 
Pumped full of [[drug]]s, Gwen reminded Jack that he was unable to save "poor, poor Esther". ([[PROSE]]: {{cs|Exodus Code (novel)}})
 
When leaving Torchwood, Gwen mentioned how she loved [[Owen Harper|Owen]], [[Toshiko Sato|Tosh]], [[Ianto Jones|Ianto]] and Esther. ([[AUDIO]]: {{cs|Herald of the Dawn (audio story)}})
 
== Personality ==
Esther was a hard worker ([[TV]]: {{cs|Dead of Night (TV story)}}) and passionate about [[computer]]s, particularly various types of [[malware]], ([[TV]]: {{cs|Rendition (TV story)}}) but she always wanted to work in Clandestine rather than Intelligence as she believed that it would be more fun. ([[TV]]: {{cs|The Middle Men (TV story)}}, {{cs|The Blood Line (TV story)}}) She was close to her sister [[Sarah Drummond|Sarah]], whom she always had to look after.
 
Because of her lack of experience in the field, Esther initially struggled with being on the run, ([[TV]]: {{cs|Dead of Night (TV story)}}) leading [[the Gentleman (Escape to LA)|the Gentleman]] to Torchwood by visiting her sister ([[TV]]: {{cs|Escape to LA (TV story)}}) and using her real name at the [[San Pedro Overflow Camp]], but Rex came to consider her an asset ([[TV]]: {{cs|The Middle Men (TV story)}}) and she became a braver and stronger person. ([[TV]]: {{cs|The Gathering (TV story)}})
 
== Aliases and nicknames ==
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! width="15%" |Name
! width="40%" |When used/given
! width="15%" |Story
! Etymology
|-
|Miss Translation
|Given by [[Gwen Cooper]], following Esther's habit of highlighting language differences between UK English and American English.
|{{cs|Dead of Night (TV story)}}
|A possible play on "mistranslation".
|-
|Lorraine
|Used by Esther, pretending to be from [[PhiCorp]]'s Human Resources department, in order to get Gwen into the building.
|{{cs|Escape to LA (TV story)}}
|
|-
|Useless Esther
|Given in jest by Jack, following in conversation in which Esther questioned Jack as to whether he thought that she was useless.
|{{cs|The Categories of Life (TV story)}}
|
|}


== Behind the scenes ==
== Behind the scenes ==
* During pre-production of ''[[Torchwood: Miracle Day]]'', this character's name was reported as "Esther Katusi". This was due to the original profile of the character as a non-Caucasian; the casting of Alexa Havins resulted in the character being renamed. ([[DWM 427]])
During pre-production of ''[[Torchwood: Miracle Day]]'', this character's name was reported as "Esther Katusi". This was due to the original profile of the character as a non-Caucasian; the casting of Alexa Havins resulted in the character being renamed. When Havins was announced on [[6 January (production)|6 January]] [[2011 (production)|2011]], BBC publicity still referred to the character as Katusi. ([[DWM 427]])


{{Torchwood Team Members}}
{{Torchwood Team Members}}
{{NameSort}}
{{NameSort}}
[[Category:CIA agents]]
[[Category:CIA agents]]
[[Category:21st century individuals]]
[[Category:21st century individuals]]
[[Category:Torchwood personnel]]
[[Category:Torchwood team personnel]]
[[Category:Individuals whose minds have been wiped by retcon]]
[[Category:Americans]]

Latest revision as of 19:13, 5 July 2024

Esther Drummond was a CIA analyst and member of the Torchwood team.

Forced to go on the run because of their investigations into Torchwood, Esther and Rex Matheson worked with Jack Harkness and Gwen Cooper to expose the Three Families' plans and end the Miracle. The team succeeded thanks to Esther transfusing Jack's mortal blood into Rex, allowing the Blessing to be reset, but the Cousin shot her and she died.

Biography[[edit] | [edit source]]

Early life[[edit] | [edit source]]

Esther Drummond was of US descent, but her place and date of birth were listed as N/A in her Central Intelligence Agency file. (TV: Rendition [+]Loading...["Rendition (TV story)"]) She always had to look after her older sister Sarah, whom she would later remark had never been able to cope with things. (TV: Dead of Night [+]Loading...["Dead of Night (TV story)"]) Their mother died in 2003 (TV: The Categories of Life [+]Loading...["The Categories of Life (TV story)"]) and Sarah had two daughters, Melanie and Alice, between 2002 and 2004. (TV: Escape to LA [+]Loading...["Escape to LA (TV story)"])

Early career[[edit] | [edit source]]

Esther got a job at the CIA's Directorate of Intelligence as an analyst, (TV: Rendition [+]Loading...["Rendition (TV story)"]) which involved sitting at her desk all day and reading blogs. Working in Langley, Virginia, she lived in an apartment on 11th Street in Washington DC (TV: Dead of Night [+]Loading...["Dead of Night (TV story)"]) and Sarah lived nearby, but she regretted that her job meant that her family had to come second. (TV: Escape to LA [+]Loading...["Escape to LA (TV story)"])

Passionate about the subject, Esther once spent six months compiling a list of malware for the CIA. (TV: Rendition [+]Loading...["Rendition (TV story)"]) She worked closely with Rex Matheson (TV: The New World [+]Loading...["The New World (TV story)"]) and believed that Broderick, whom Rex once argued with over a mission in Venezuela, was sexually attracted to her. (PROSE: The Men Who Sold the World [+]Loading...["The Men Who Sold the World (novel)"]) She always wanted a job in Clandestine rather than Intelligence. (TV: The Middle Men [+]Loading...["The Middle Men (TV story)"], The Blood Line [+]Loading...["The Blood Line (TV story)"])

In 2011, Esther worked with Rex on a mission which he hoped would restore him to favour in the CIA. She correctly believed that rogue members of the S.O.G. killed Oscar Lupé's and, later, his wife Penelope and helped Rex in his investigations by arranging travel and sifting through data. (PROSE: The Men Who Sold the World [+]Loading...["The Men Who Sold the World (novel)"])

The Miracle[[edit] | [edit source]]

Joining Torchwood[[edit] | [edit source]]

Esther investigated Torchwood after its name was emailed to the East Coast section chiefs and subsequently wiped from the Internet and met Jack Harkness in the archives, but he retconned her to protect Gwen Cooper. The Institute was brought back to her attention by Noah Vickers and she and Rex, who suffered an accident that she felt responsible for, realised that there was a connection between them and the Miracle. Esther successfully tracked Gwen down through Andy Davidson's phone calls and Rex was able to rendition Torchwood to the US. (TV: The New World [+]Loading...["The New World (TV story)"])

Despite not being part of Clanedestine, Esther asked Brian Friedkin for the opportunity to assist Rex in the Torchwood case and confirmed that she was being kept up to date, unaware that he was working against Rex. She saw two men going through Rex's computer and fled headquarters with Charlotte Wills's ID after being notified of a bank transfer from China, calling Rex to alert him that they were being targeted and picking him, Jack and Gwen up from the airport. (TV: Rendition [+]Loading...["Rendition (TV story)"])

Esther unsuccessfully attempted to locate Friedkin's paymasters through his mobile phone and used Torchwood software to analyse his pattern of behaviour, learning of a warehouse in Washington where PhiCorp were stockpiling painkillers. She struggled with being on the run and worried about Sarah, but Gwen convinced her to carry on by pointing out that she had to prove Rex's doubts about her wrong. The Torchwood team were ultimately forced to flee Washington after Friedkin's mobile phone was traced. (TV: Dead of Night [+]Loading...["Dead of Night (TV story)"])

The overflow camps[[edit] | [edit source]]

The team relocated to Venice to plan their infiltration of PhiCorp in Los Angeles and Esther used the opportunity to visit Sarah, after which she anonymously reported her to Child Protective Services because of her mental state and was distressed to learn that her call resulted in her nieces being taken to Brayden Long Heights. Her plan for Rex, Jack and Gwen to steal a secure server from PhiCorp's headquarters using Nicolas Frumkin's biometrics was jeopardised by the Gentleman, who followed her after her visit to Sarah's house, but they succeeded and she learnt that PhiCorp were constructing ICU overflow camps. (TV: Escape to LA [+]Loading...["Escape to LA (TV story)"])

Esther discovered that buildings labelled as "modules" on PhiCorp's plans were hidden from NORAD satellites and joined the San Pedro Overflow Camp's clerical staff to investigate after Vera Juarez decided to go there as an inspector. She recategorised Rex as Category 1 so that he would get access to the module whilst Vera was on a tour of the camp with Colin Maloney and later noticed that Vera had not returned, so she attempted to get in contact with her by phone without success. (TV: The Categories of Life [+]Loading...["The Categories of Life (TV story)"])

Hoping to find Vera, Esther told Maloney that she had been sent to act as his liaison and was kept for a time from continuing her investigation when a lockdown was called. Maloney claimed that Vera had left the camp and she tried to look around for Rex by claiming that Maloney had a phone call from Vera, leading him to attempt to kill her as he had actually burnt Vera to death. She made Maloney a Category 1 and escaped with Rex, after which Torchwood exposed Vera's murder and the existence of ovens at the overflow camps. (TV: The Middle Men [+]Loading...["The Middle Men (TV story)"])

The Blessing[[edit] | [edit source]]

The video footage of Vera's death led to the overflow camps being paused, which Esther, unlike Rex, believed would lead to their ultimate closure. She discovered that Gwen was being blackmailed through the Eye-5s into kidnapping Jack, so she contacted Andy Davidson to liberate Rhys and Anwen Williams and Mary Cooper, who were being held hostage, and tracked Gwen and Jack down. She and Rex went to save them from Olivia Colasanto, but Olivia told Jack that he would go with her regardless as Angelo Colasanto was waiting for him. (TV: Immortal Sins [+]Loading...["Immortal Sins (TV story)"])

Esther waited outside of the Colasanto residence to maintain an open line as a record and, once Friedkin arrived, she sent his confession about working for the Three Families to Allen Shapiro. She became even more determined to end the Miracle after Sarah told her that she had volunteered herself and her daughters to become Category 1s and brought the null field generator that allowed Angelo to die to Shapiro's attention despite Jack trying to keep her quiet. She regretted her decision because of its possible misuse and got Jack away from the residence with a panel from the generator, but he was shot as they escaped. (TV: End of the Road [+]Loading...["End of the Road (TV story)"])

Esther looked after Jack for two months, running with him to the United Kingdom and ending up in hiding in Scotland before reuniting with Gwen in Swansea and being joined by Oswald Danes. Thanks to her knowledge of Harry Bosco, Esther found that blood banks in Shanghai and Buenos Aires were burnt down shortly before the Miracle and that both cities were connected by the Blessing. She met Rex in Buenos Aires (TV: The Gathering [+]Loading...["The Gathering (TV story)"]) and almost immediately transfused him with Jack's blood as they knew that it would be important. (TV: The Blood Line [+]Loading...["The Blood Line (TV story)"])

Death[[edit] | [edit source]]

Esther in Rex's arms. (TV: The Blood Line [+]Loading...["The Blood Line (TV story)"])

Esther and Rex faked their deaths in an explosion that the Families hoped would destroy the bags of Jack's blood that Esther had taken there, unaware that they had replaced all but one of them with Rex's. Esther was held at gunpoint by the Cousin after reaching the Blessing and was shot in the head in an attempt to keep Jack and Rex from ending the Miracle with their blood, but Gwen convinced Rex to continue and he fed his blood to the Blessing after kissing Esther goodbye. Humanity became mortal again and Esther and Rex were seen to by paramedics, but Esther died of her wound. (TV: The Blood Line [+]Loading...["The Blood Line (TV story)"])

Legacy[[edit] | [edit source]]

Esther's funeral at the Chapel of the Gardens. (TV: The Blood Line [+]Loading...["The Blood Line (TV story)"])

Unlike many, Esther was able to receive a full funeral service which Sarah, Alice, Melanie, Rex, Jack, Gwen, Rhys and Charlotte Wills attended. (TV: The Blood Line [+]Loading...["The Blood Line (TV story)"])

Gwen, upset by Esther's death, decided that she would give some money from a Torchwood safety deposit box to Sarah for her and her daughters. (AUDIO: Army of One [+]Loading...["Army of One (audio story)"])

On Cotter Paluni's World, Jack remembered Esther's death in the process of saving the world and felt responsible for it. (AUDIO: Red Skies [+]Loading...["Red Skies (audio story)"])

Pumped full of drugs, Gwen reminded Jack that he was unable to save "poor, poor Esther". (PROSE: Exodus Code [+]Loading...["Exodus Code (novel)"])

When leaving Torchwood, Gwen mentioned how she loved Owen, Tosh, Ianto and Esther. (AUDIO: Herald of the Dawn [+]Loading...["Herald of the Dawn (audio story)"])

Personality[[edit] | [edit source]]

Esther was a hard worker (TV: Dead of Night [+]Loading...["Dead of Night (TV story)"]) and passionate about computers, particularly various types of malware, (TV: Rendition [+]Loading...["Rendition (TV story)"]) but she always wanted to work in Clandestine rather than Intelligence as she believed that it would be more fun. (TV: The Middle Men [+]Loading...["The Middle Men (TV story)"], The Blood Line [+]Loading...["The Blood Line (TV story)"]) She was close to her sister Sarah, whom she always had to look after.

Because of her lack of experience in the field, Esther initially struggled with being on the run, (TV: Dead of Night [+]Loading...["Dead of Night (TV story)"]) leading the Gentleman to Torchwood by visiting her sister (TV: Escape to LA [+]Loading...["Escape to LA (TV story)"]) and using her real name at the San Pedro Overflow Camp, but Rex came to consider her an asset (TV: The Middle Men [+]Loading...["The Middle Men (TV story)"]) and she became a braver and stronger person. (TV: The Gathering [+]Loading...["The Gathering (TV story)"])

Aliases and nicknames[[edit] | [edit source]]

Name When used/given Story Etymology
Miss Translation Given by Gwen Cooper, following Esther's habit of highlighting language differences between UK English and American English. Dead of Night [+]Loading...["Dead of Night (TV story)"] A possible play on "mistranslation".
Lorraine Used by Esther, pretending to be from PhiCorp's Human Resources department, in order to get Gwen into the building. Escape to LA [+]Loading...["Escape to LA (TV story)"]
Useless Esther Given in jest by Jack, following in conversation in which Esther questioned Jack as to whether he thought that she was useless. The Categories of Life [+]Loading...["The Categories of Life (TV story)"]

Behind the scenes[[edit] | [edit source]]

During pre-production of Torchwood: Miracle Day, this character's name was reported as "Esther Katusi". This was due to the original profile of the character as a non-Caucasian; the casting of Alexa Havins resulted in the character being renamed. When Havins was announced on 6 January 2011, BBC publicity still referred to the character as Katusi. (DWM 427)

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