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''"I'm bringing [[Owen Harper|Owen]] back"''  
{{title dab away}}
 
{{real world}}
{{Template:Infobox Torchwood|
{{ImageLinkTV}}
story name = Dead Man Walking|
{{Infobox Story SMW
image = [[Image:A_very_dead_Owen.jpg|300px]] |
|image                = Dead man walking main.jpg
series= [[Torchwood]] -<br/>[[List of Torchwood television stories|TV Stories]] |
|series                = ''[[Torchwood (TV series)|Torchwood]]''
number= 20 |
|season number        = Series 2 (Torchwood)
enemy= [[Grim Reaper]]|
|series episode number = 7
writer= [[Matt Jones]] |
|scripturl      = https://www.bbc.co.uk/writersroom/documents/torchwood-2-episode-7-dead-man-walking-tan-revisions-03102007.pdf
director= [[Andy Goddard]] |
|main character        = [[Owen Harper|Owen]], [[Jack Harkness|Jack]], [[Toshiko Sato|Tosh]], [[Gwen Cooper|Gwen]], [[Ianto Jones|Ianto]]
producer= [[Richard Stokes]] & [[Chris Chibnall]]|
|featuring            = Martha Jones
broadcast date= 20th [[February]] [[2008]]|
|featuring2            = Rhys Williams
previous story = [[Reset (Torchwood Story)|Reset]] |
|featuring3            = Janet (Everything Changes){{!}}Janet
next story = [[A Day in the Death]]}}
|enemy                 = [[Death (mythology)|Death]]
|setting              = [[Cardiff]], [[2000s]]<!--While the setting of this story is given the year after ''Everything Changes'', the year of ''Everything Changes'' itself is heavily contentious with both The New World explicitly placing it in 2006 and Random Shoes heavily implying a 2006 setting for series 1 as well.-->
|writer                = Matt Jones (writer)
|director             = [[Andy Goddard]]
|producer             = [[Richard Stokes]]
|network              = BBC Three
|broadcast date       = 20 February 2008
|prev                  = Reset (TV story)
|next                  = A Day in the Death (TV story)
|trailer              = TORCHWOOD Season 2 Dead Man Walking
|clip2                = Owen versus Death battle - Torchwood - BBC Sci-Fi
|clip                  = Owen back from the dead! - Torchwood - BBC Sci-Fi
|format                = 1x50-minute episode
}}{{you may|Dead Man Walking (TD episode)|n1=the ''Torchwood Declassified'' episode}}
'''''Dead Man Walking''''' was the seventh episode of [[Series 2 (Torchwood)|Series 2]] of ''[[Torchwood (TV series)|Torchwood]]''. It was written by [[Matt Jones (writer)|Matt Jones]] and directed by [[Andy Goddard]]. It was the middle of a loose trilogy that featured [[Martha Jones]] as a guest character and was linked by the resurrection of Owen after his death in [[Reset (TV story)|the previous episode]].


This episode examined the nature of the afterlife. It revealed that one place where people can end up after death is an empty netherworld of darkness, inhabited by a [[Death (mythology)|demonic creature]] that expunges all life with which it comes into contact.


== Synopsis ==
== Synopsis ==
The Torchwood team begin the autopsy of the ''dead'' [[Owen Harper]], however Jack stops Martha just as she is about to open up his chest while he goes and sees a psychic tarot card reading little girl. Jack also brings Owen back with the [[Resurrection gauntlet]].
''"I'm bringing Owen back."''


[[Image:Fortune card.jpg|thumb|right|250px|The ''Death'' Card]]
[[Owen Harper]] has died. [[Jack Harkness]] decides to return him to life for a few minutes. No one could have guessed the consequences.


== Plot ==
== Plot ==
The team is still recovering after the events of "Reset". Owen Harper, shot dead, is about to be opened up for autopsy by Martha Jones. Jack however tells everyone to leave him alone until he returns. Jack runs to a place where he talks to a girl, a fortune teller. She says he owes her a favour, and appears to have a tarot card with Jack's face on it. The young girl tells him where to find what it is he is looking for, though as he leaves she is seen holding a tarot card depicting the Grim Reaper.
[[Owen Harper]] lies dead of a gunshot wound, about to be opened up for autopsy by [[Martha Jones]] at [[the Hub]]. [[Jack Harkness|Jack]] orders [[Torchwood Three|the team]] to do nothing until he arrives. Jack enters a strange café where a [[Little girl (Dead Man Walking)|girl]], that appears twelve years old, reads [[tarot]]. She tells Jack he owes her a favour and where to find what he is looking for. As he leaves, she holds the [[Tarot|Death card]].
Jack goes to the location where the girl had sent him, which is an abandoned church called St.Mary's. It is also the home of many Weevils. He manages to locate the box which holds the item he desires, and returns to the hub and shows the astonished team exactly what he had found. He holds up a resurrection glove, similar to the one that was used by Suzie and Gwen. Gwen immediately objects to what Jack is about to do, reminding him of what had happened before with Suzie, though Jack ignores her and hopes to bring Owen back for two minutes or so for everybody to say their goodbyes to him. He resurrects Owen, who is confused and scared.Toshiko tells Owen that she loves him, and Jack tries to prepare Owen for death. The connection is lost, Owen stops breathing, and Jack holds Owen's hand, believing he is dead. We then hear Owen's voice saying that he will need his hand back, and it is obvious that the plan has backfired.
 
As before with Suzie, the glove has brought Owen back from beyond death permanently, although this time there is no obvious source. No energy is being drained from Jack, as Suzie was draining energy from Gwen, but Owen is getting energy from somewhere. Toshiko tells Owen she didn't mean what she told him before (that she loves him) and Owen says that this is a textbook reaction to grief, but does not want to discuss it further, changing the subject and leaving the room.
Jack goes to [[St Mary's Church (Cardiff)|St Mary's]], an abandoned church where [[Weevil]]s sleep and store collected bric-a-brac. He breaks into a safe and retrieves from it a box. When Jack returns to the Hub with the box, to the astonishment of the team, it holds a left-handed [[resurrection gauntlet]]. [[Gwen Cooper|Gwen]] objects to what Jack is about to do, reminding him of what happened with [[Suzie Costello|Suzie]]. Jack ignores her. He hopes to bring Owen back for two minutes for everybody to say their goodbyes. He resurrects Owen, who is confused and scared. [[Toshiko Sato|Tosh]] tells Owen that she loves him, and Jack — after initially upsetting Owen by asking for the morgue access code — tries to prepare Owen for death. The connection is lost, Owen stops breathing and Jack holds his hand, believing him dead. Then, Owen says that he will need his hand back.
Owen then finds himself occasionally having visions of himself in a place shrouded in darkness and hearing eerie whispers. He also temporarily loses control of his body during which his pupils dilate and he speaks in an unknown language. Although he has been put in quarantine, Owen escapes and goes out to a bar in Cardiff, where he discovers that he is no longer able to digest drinks, or pump blood (in order to have sex), as he is now the walking dead, and his life processes have stopped. Jack catches him and they have a bar brawl which results in them both being put in a police cell. During their time in the cell, Owen intentionally vomits the drinks that would have otherwise been stuck in his stomach and starts to panic about death. He and Jack bond, and Jack reveals that he once dated Proust and that his immortality, which Owen is coveting in his position, is not as good as Owen suspects. They then leave after Jack reveals his thoughts on immortality. Once outside they encounter numerous Weevils that chase Owen and Jack until they are cornered on a rooftop. They are surprised that instead of killing them, the Weevils bow to Owen who again temporarily loses control of his body and addresses the Weevils in the same unknown language.
 
Upon analysis, it is found that Owen's cells are changing slowly, and upon 100% transformation something will happen. Research shows that a similar situation occurred in legend, and that Death itself comes back with the revived and searches for 13 victims whose consumed souls will enable Death to remain in the world; Death would otherwise quickly perish. The story says that 'faith' was what stopped it. Believing this legend is in the process of repeating, Owen suggests that he must have his neural pathways closed by being embalmed in order to stop Death from using him as a gateway. During the embalming process, the resurrection gauntlet comes to life and attacks Martha before being destroyed, draining the life from her and reducing her to an old woman. Owen shoots the gauntlet, and as his cells fully change, he loses control again, and the gauntlet transforms into a dust which appears to possess him. He speaks in the same voice as he did when changed earlier, and says 'I will walk the earth forever, and my hunger shall know no bounds' - a phrase attributed earlier to Death.
The glove has brought Owen back from death permanently. Unlike Suzie, there is no obvious source of life energy. No energy is being drained from Jack as Suzie drained energy from Gwen, but Owen is getting energy from somewhere. Toshiko tells Owen she didn't mean it when she told him that she loved him. Owen says that this is a textbook reaction to grief, but does not want to discuss it further. He changes the subject and leaves the room.
Death escapes from Owen and heads to a hospital, being drawn to those close to death, and begins taking their souls. Martha is also brought to the hospital in her heavily aged state, where a nurse says that as her red blood cell count is low and as she is over eighty, her chances of survival are slim. The team evacuates everyone from the building while Death, after taking twelve souls, chases after a young leukaemia patient who had been accidentally left behind. Owen saves the child and helps him and Tosh to escape. Ianto, who is waiting with Martha, explains to the team that the 'faith' which defeated Death before was in fact the resurrected child, whose name was Faith. Owen then realizes that he himself is the only one who can fight the Grim Reaper as he is already dead and therefore has nothing to lose. After kissing Tosh (and stealing her lockpicking/sealing gadget), Owen locks the other members of the team out of the hospital and begins a brawl with Death, eventually consuming its energy and forcing it back into the darkness.
 
Upon returning to the Hub, Martha explains to Owen that now the energy keeping him 'alive' is dissipating but could take an unknown amount of time to do so, anywhere between 30 seconds and 30 years. Jack explains to Toshiko that you can never defeat death, only escape it. The episode ends with Owen asking Jack to let him work again, as by doing his job as a doctor he can try and repay the lives of those lost when Jack brought Owen back.
Owen has visions of himself in a place shrouded in darkness, full of eerie whispers. He temporarily loses control of his body. During this incident, his pupils turn black and he speaks the phrase "melenkurion abatha, duroc minas mill khabaal". Although he has been put in quarantine, Owen escapes and goes to a bar in [[Cardiff]]. He finds he can no longer get drunk or get an [[erection]] (which depends on [[blood]] flow), so he can no longer have [[sex]] as all his life processes have stopped. He is now the walking dead.
 
Jack catches him and they have a bar brawl. When Owen shouts that he belongs to Torchwood "special ops", Jack assumes a fake [[England|English]] accent and denies it. This results in them both being put in a [[police]] cell. As they bicker, Owen hears the drinks in his stomach sloshing and realises that he can no longer digest them so they'll just sit there if left. Also unable to force himself to be sick by sticking his fingers down his throat, he is forced to stand on his head until the liquid comes back through his throat allowing him to vomit, much to Jack's amused disgust. After a moment of panic, Owen and Jack bond. Jack says that he once dated [[Marcel Proust]] and that his immortality, which Owen covets in his position, is not the gift that Owen envies. They leave after Jack reveals his thoughts on immortality. Outside they encounter Weevils which chase Owen and Jack until they are cornered on a rooftop. Instead of killing them, the Weevils bow to Owen, who again temporarily loses control of his body and addresses the Weevils in the same unknown language.
[[File:Jack_and_owen_bond.jpg|left|thumb|Jack and Owen bond over their immortality.]]
 
At the Hub, the team learn that Owen's cells are changing slowly. When complete, something will take over Owen's body. Research shows a similar incident occurred in legend, at the town that predated Cardiff during the time of the [[Black Death]]: a little girl died, and the town priest (undoubtedly using the same resurrection gauntlet that has brought Owen back) subsequently performed a miracle to resurrect her, but [[Death (mythology)|Death itself]] came back with the revived girl. Death sought to kill thirteen victims, as doing so would allow it to enter the world permanently. But before Death could take more than twelve victims, what the story simply describes as "faith" stopped the entity.


==Cast==
Believing this legend is recurring, Owen suggests he must have his neural pathways closed by embalming to stop Death from using him as a gateway. As the team are getting Owen ready for the process, the resurrection gauntlet springs to life and attacks Martha. Owen destroys the gauntlet with a gunshot, but not before it has drained Martha's life and reduced her to an old woman. Before the team can get Martha help or do anything about Owen, the cellular conversion completes, allowing Death to fully possess and then emerge from Owen.
*[[Captain Jack Harkness]] - [[John Barrowman]]
[[File:Owen_tangles_with_Death.jpg|thumb|right|Owen tangles with Death.]]
*[[Martha Jones]] - [[Freema Agyeman]]
*[[Gwen Cooper]] - [[Eve Myles]]
*[[Owen Harper]] - [[Burn Gorman]]
*[[Toshiko Sato]] - [[Naoko Mori]]
*[[Ianto Jones]]  - [[Gareth David-Lloyd]]


==Production crew==
Upon manifesting, Death kills Jack, and heads to a [[St. Helen's Hospital|hospital]], drawn to those close to death. It begins going after patients who are helpless or alone, sucking each one dry and adding their death to its count. As Jack resurrects, the Torchwood team rush Martha to the hospital in her greatly aged state, where a nurse says that as her red blood cell count is low and as she is over eighty, her chances of survival are slim. Upon realising from the Weevils gathering outside that Death is here, the team evacuates everyone from the building, while Death, after taking twelve souls, chases after [[Jamie Burton]], a young leukaemia patient who has been left behind.
''to be added''
 
Owen saves Jamie and helps Tosh and him escape. [[Ianto Jones|Ianto]], who is waiting with Martha, explains to the team that according to research he's uncovered, the "faith" which defeated Death before was the resurrected child, whose name was [[Faith (Dead Man Walking)|Faith]]. Owen realises that he is the only one who can fight Death; he is already dead and has nothing to lose. After kissing Tosh (and stealing her alien lockpick device), Owen locks the other team members out of the hospital and begins a brawl with Death, finally consuming its energy and forcing it back into the darkness.
 
On returning to the Hub, Martha explains to Owen that the energy keeping him "alive" is dissipating but it could take anywhere between thirty seconds and thirty years to die out completely and end Owen's "life." Owen asks Jack to let him work again, as by doing his job as a [[doctor]], he can try to repay the twelve lives that have been lost as a consequence of his resurrection. Toshiko and Jack discuss Owen literally fighting off Death in the hospital; Jack gravely declares, "Ah, you can never really beat Death. Never escape it. It's always in the shadows, waiting!"
 
== Cast ==
* [[Jack Harkness|Captain Jack Harkness]] - [[John Barrowman]]
* [[Martha Jones]] - [[Freema Agyeman]]
* [[Gwen Cooper]] - [[Eve Myles]]
* [[Owen Harper]] - [[Burn Gorman]]
* [[Toshiko Sato]] - [[Naoko Mori]]
* [[Ianto Jones]] - [[Gareth David-Lloyd]]
* [[Rhys Williams]] - [[Kai Owen]]
* [[Little girl (Dead Man Walking)|Little Girl]] - [[Skye Bennett]]
* [[Weevil]] - [[Paul Kasey]]
* [[Amy Carysfort|Nurse]] - [[Joanna Griffiths]]
* [[Jamie Burton]] - [[Ben Walker]]
* [[Hen night girl (Dead Man Walking)|Hen Night Girl]] - [[Lauren Phillips]]
* [[Angela Connolly|Doctor]] - [[Golda Rosheuvel]]
* [[Hospital patient (Dead Man Walking)|Hospital Patient]] - [[Janie Booth]]
* [[Police officer (Dead Man Walking)|Police Officer]] - [[Rhys Ap Williams]]
 
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== References ==
== Worldbuilding ==
*Martha asks Jack why he didn't inform [[UNIT]] about the [[Resurrection gauntlet]].
* Martha asks Jack why he didn't inform [[UNIT]] about the [[resurrection gauntlet]] and its ability to bring back the dead.
*The glove Jack removes from the church is different to the one [[Torchwood 3]] previously encountered.
* Jack visits a [[psychic]] [[Little girl (Dead Man Walking)|fortune teller]].
*Jack visits a [[psychic]].
* Gwen mentions the resurrection glove's last use on [[Suzie Costello]].
*Gwen mentions the resurrection glove's last usage on [[Suzie Costello]].
* Owen has previously shown a connection with the [[Weevil]]s.
*Owen has previously shown a connection with the [[Weevil]]s.
* After escaping from the Hub, the [[pub]] Owen visits is in the midst of a costume party where a number of people are dressed as [[angel]]s.
* Acting as a [[drunk]], Jack claims that Owen is [[special needs]].
* Owen calls a police officer a [[meathead]].
* After Owen is resurrected from the dead, he soon loses many bodily functions, including the ability to produce [[flatulence]] or enjoy [[sex]].
* A ''[[Shrek]]'' poster is pinned to the wall of the children's ward.
* Owen mentions [[necrophilia]].


== Story notes ==
== Story notes ==
''to be added''
* This episode aired 10 minutes after the [[BBC Two]] repeat of ''[[Reset (TV story)|Reset]]'' at 10:00pm on [[BBC Three]]; and was repeated on BBC Two in its usual 9:00pm timeslot the next week, on Wednesday [[27 February (releases)|27 February]] [[2008 (releases)|2008]].
* A family friendly pre-watershed edit of this episode aired at 7:00pm, the following day, Thursday [[28 February (releases)|28 February]] [[2008 (releases)|2008]] on [[BBC Two]].
* [[Suzie Costello]]'s resurrection in ''[[They Keep Killing Suzie (TV story)|They Keep Killing Suzie]]'', as well as her statement about what the afterlife was like, are mentioned and referenced to several times in this episode. Her final warning to Jack before her second death also comes to fruition when [[Duroc|the creature]] lurking in the darkness escapes.
* The phrase "Melenkurion abatha, duroc minas mill khabaal" is a reference to Stephen R. Donaldson's dark fantasy series ''The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant''. In the series's setting, the Land, they are part of a powerful incantation known as the Seven Words. "Melenkurion" means bastion or source; "abatha" means endurance, or the need for it; "duroc" means Earthpower, a type of energy, in a theurgic sense; "minas" means Earthpower as a foundation; and "khabaal" has numerous meanings. The sixth word, "harad", which signifies a commitment not to use Earthpower for dark purposes, is omitted here; it had not been revealed until the then-recent eighth volume, so it is unclear whether its omission from the episode is significant or intentional. When a fan told Donaldson, who had never heard of ''Torchwood'', about the reference, he replied that "if it isn't a) an "homage" or b) an in-joke, then it's just stupid. I suggest that we all simply enjoy it for whatever we think it is. Unless the makers of "Torchwood" know something I don't? <muffled gasp>"<ref>https://www.stephenrdonaldson.com/fromtheauthor/gi_view.php?Year=2008&Month=03</ref> However, Donaldson was impressed when an anonymous fan subsequently told him that Davies was a huge fan of the ''Covenant'' books and re-read them once a year.<ref>https://www.stephenrdonaldson.com/fromtheauthor/gi_view.php?Year=2008&Month=04</ref>
* When asked by Jack to give him the passcode for the alien morgue, Owen gives the code “[[231165 (Dead Man Walking)|231165]]” - this may be a reference to the date 23/11/1963 when the [[An Unearthly Child (TV story)|first episode of Doctor Who]] was aired, although the last digit is incorrect.


=== Ratings ===
=== Ratings ===
''to be added''
* 3.3 million [[BBC Two]] viewers, with an [[AI]] of 87%
* 1.0 million [[BBC Three]] viewers
* 4.32 million viewers - final BARB rating<ref>[https://www.barb.co.uk/viewing-data/weekly-top-10/ BARB Ratings - April, 2008]</ref>


=== Myths ===
=== Filming locations ===
''to be added''
''to be added''


=== Filming Locations ===
=== Production errors ===
''to be added''
{{Torchwood discontinuity}}
 
* At 41:30, while Gwen and Jack are walking during the conversation "I'm getting reports of twelve people dead", the camera can be clearly seen reflected in the glass as they approach the door.
=== Discontinuity, Plot Holes, Errors ===
* When the black smoke is coming out of Owens mouth, the projection behind him can be seen flashing 95%, despite having previously shown 100%. Flashing back a couple moments later and it once again reads 100%.
''to be added''


== Continuity ==
== Continuity ==
*The Resurrection glove last appeared in ''[[They Keep Killing Suzie]]''.
* The resurrection gauntlet [[Suzie Costello]] used in [[TV]]: {{cs|Everything Changes (TV story)}} is mentioned, as are the events that occurred when Gwen used it revive her in [[TV]]: {{cs|They Keep Killing Suzie (TV story)}}.
*Owen last displayed a connection with the Weevils in ''[[Combat]]''.
* Owen remembers that he got shot during the events of [[TV]]: {{cs|Reset (TV story)}}.
* The concept of the afterlife as an empty black nothingness inhabited by a lurking entity in the dark has been addressed before, by [[John Tucker]], [[Suzie Costello]] and Jack himself in [[TV]]: {{cs|Everything Changes (TV story)}}, {{cs|They Keep Killing Suzie (TV story)}}, and {{cs|Out of Time (TV story)}} respectively.
* Owen has displayed a connection with the Weevils before in [[TV]]: {{cs|Combat (TV story)}}.
* Tosh uses the translator she once stole from the Hub in [[TV]]: {{cs|Everything Changes (TV story)}} to translate what Owen says while possessed by Duroc.


== DVD releases ==
== Home video releases ==
''to be added''
* ''Dead Man Walking,'' along with the rest of ''Torchwood'' [[Series 2 (Torchwood)|Series 2]], was released in a complete series box set in [[2008 (releases)|2008]].
* It was also released in the Series 1-4 boxset (Region 2 release: 14 November 2011.)


==See also==
== Footnotes ==
''to be added''
{{reflist}}


==External links==
== External links ==
''to be added''
{{dwrefguide|torchwood_20.htm|Dead Man Walking}}
* {{briefhistory|torchwood/2008g.html|Dead Man Walking}}
* {{locguide|deadmanwalking|Dead Man Walking}}
* {{whoniverse|tw2_07|Dead Man Walking}}
{{TWTV}}
{{Weevil stories}}
{{TitleSort}}
[[fr:Dead Man Walking]]
[[he:איש מת מהלך (סיפור טלוויזיה)]]


[[Category:Torchwood episodes]]
[[Category:Torchwood television stories]]
[[Category:Stories set in Cardiff]]
[[Category:Series 2 (Torchwood) stories]]
[[Category:Stories set in 2009]]
[[Category:Weevil television stories]]
[[Category:Stories set in the 2000s]]

Latest revision as of 19:23, 3 November 2024

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You may be looking for the Torchwood Declassified episode.

Dead Man Walking was the seventh episode of Series 2 of Torchwood. It was written by Matt Jones and directed by Andy Goddard. It was the middle of a loose trilogy that featured Martha Jones as a guest character and was linked by the resurrection of Owen after his death in the previous episode.

This episode examined the nature of the afterlife. It revealed that one place where people can end up after death is an empty netherworld of darkness, inhabited by a demonic creature that expunges all life with which it comes into contact.

Synopsis[[edit] | [edit source]]

"I'm bringing Owen back."

Owen Harper has died. Jack Harkness decides to return him to life for a few minutes. No one could have guessed the consequences.

Plot[[edit] | [edit source]]

Owen Harper lies dead of a gunshot wound, about to be opened up for autopsy by Martha Jones at the Hub. Jack orders the team to do nothing until he arrives. Jack enters a strange café where a girl, that appears twelve years old, reads tarot. She tells Jack he owes her a favour and where to find what he is looking for. As he leaves, she holds the Death card.

Jack goes to St Mary's, an abandoned church where Weevils sleep and store collected bric-a-brac. He breaks into a safe and retrieves from it a box. When Jack returns to the Hub with the box, to the astonishment of the team, it holds a left-handed resurrection gauntlet. Gwen objects to what Jack is about to do, reminding him of what happened with Suzie. Jack ignores her. He hopes to bring Owen back for two minutes for everybody to say their goodbyes. He resurrects Owen, who is confused and scared. Tosh tells Owen that she loves him, and Jack — after initially upsetting Owen by asking for the morgue access code — tries to prepare Owen for death. The connection is lost, Owen stops breathing and Jack holds his hand, believing him dead. Then, Owen says that he will need his hand back.

The glove has brought Owen back from death permanently. Unlike Suzie, there is no obvious source of life energy. No energy is being drained from Jack as Suzie drained energy from Gwen, but Owen is getting energy from somewhere. Toshiko tells Owen she didn't mean it when she told him that she loved him. Owen says that this is a textbook reaction to grief, but does not want to discuss it further. He changes the subject and leaves the room.

Owen has visions of himself in a place shrouded in darkness, full of eerie whispers. He temporarily loses control of his body. During this incident, his pupils turn black and he speaks the phrase "melenkurion abatha, duroc minas mill khabaal". Although he has been put in quarantine, Owen escapes and goes to a bar in Cardiff. He finds he can no longer get drunk or get an erection (which depends on blood flow), so he can no longer have sex as all his life processes have stopped. He is now the walking dead.

Jack catches him and they have a bar brawl. When Owen shouts that he belongs to Torchwood "special ops", Jack assumes a fake English accent and denies it. This results in them both being put in a police cell. As they bicker, Owen hears the drinks in his stomach sloshing and realises that he can no longer digest them so they'll just sit there if left. Also unable to force himself to be sick by sticking his fingers down his throat, he is forced to stand on his head until the liquid comes back through his throat allowing him to vomit, much to Jack's amused disgust. After a moment of panic, Owen and Jack bond. Jack says that he once dated Marcel Proust and that his immortality, which Owen covets in his position, is not the gift that Owen envies. They leave after Jack reveals his thoughts on immortality. Outside they encounter Weevils which chase Owen and Jack until they are cornered on a rooftop. Instead of killing them, the Weevils bow to Owen, who again temporarily loses control of his body and addresses the Weevils in the same unknown language.

Jack and Owen bond over their immortality.

At the Hub, the team learn that Owen's cells are changing slowly. When complete, something will take over Owen's body. Research shows a similar incident occurred in legend, at the town that predated Cardiff during the time of the Black Death: a little girl died, and the town priest (undoubtedly using the same resurrection gauntlet that has brought Owen back) subsequently performed a miracle to resurrect her, but Death itself came back with the revived girl. Death sought to kill thirteen victims, as doing so would allow it to enter the world permanently. But before Death could take more than twelve victims, what the story simply describes as "faith" stopped the entity.

Believing this legend is recurring, Owen suggests he must have his neural pathways closed by embalming to stop Death from using him as a gateway. As the team are getting Owen ready for the process, the resurrection gauntlet springs to life and attacks Martha. Owen destroys the gauntlet with a gunshot, but not before it has drained Martha's life and reduced her to an old woman. Before the team can get Martha help or do anything about Owen, the cellular conversion completes, allowing Death to fully possess and then emerge from Owen.

Owen tangles with Death.

Upon manifesting, Death kills Jack, and heads to a hospital, drawn to those close to death. It begins going after patients who are helpless or alone, sucking each one dry and adding their death to its count. As Jack resurrects, the Torchwood team rush Martha to the hospital in her greatly aged state, where a nurse says that as her red blood cell count is low and as she is over eighty, her chances of survival are slim. Upon realising from the Weevils gathering outside that Death is here, the team evacuates everyone from the building, while Death, after taking twelve souls, chases after Jamie Burton, a young leukaemia patient who has been left behind.

Owen saves Jamie and helps Tosh and him escape. Ianto, who is waiting with Martha, explains to the team that according to research he's uncovered, the "faith" which defeated Death before was the resurrected child, whose name was Faith. Owen realises that he is the only one who can fight Death; he is already dead and has nothing to lose. After kissing Tosh (and stealing her alien lockpick device), Owen locks the other team members out of the hospital and begins a brawl with Death, finally consuming its energy and forcing it back into the darkness.

On returning to the Hub, Martha explains to Owen that the energy keeping him "alive" is dissipating but it could take anywhere between thirty seconds and thirty years to die out completely and end Owen's "life." Owen asks Jack to let him work again, as by doing his job as a doctor, he can try to repay the twelve lives that have been lost as a consequence of his resurrection. Toshiko and Jack discuss Owen literally fighting off Death in the hospital; Jack gravely declares, "Ah, you can never really beat Death. Never escape it. It's always in the shadows, waiting!"

Cast[[edit] | [edit source]]

Crew[[edit] | [edit source]]

General production staff

Script department

Camera and lighting department

Art department

Costume department

Make-up and prosthetics

Casting

General post-production staff

Special and visual effects

Sound



Not every person who worked on this adventure was credited. The absence of a credit for a position doesn't necessarily mean the job wasn't required. The information above is based solely on observations of the actual end credits of the episodes as broadcast, and does not relay information from IMDB or other sources.
          

This episode did not have a "created by Russell T Davies" credit.


Worldbuilding[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • Martha asks Jack why he didn't inform UNIT about the resurrection gauntlet and its ability to bring back the dead.
  • Jack visits a psychic fortune teller.
  • Gwen mentions the resurrection glove's last use on Suzie Costello.
  • Owen has previously shown a connection with the Weevils.
  • After escaping from the Hub, the pub Owen visits is in the midst of a costume party where a number of people are dressed as angels.
  • Acting as a drunk, Jack claims that Owen is special needs.
  • Owen calls a police officer a meathead.
  • After Owen is resurrected from the dead, he soon loses many bodily functions, including the ability to produce flatulence or enjoy sex.
  • A Shrek poster is pinned to the wall of the children's ward.
  • Owen mentions necrophilia.

Story notes[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • This episode aired 10 minutes after the BBC Two repeat of Reset at 10:00pm on BBC Three; and was repeated on BBC Two in its usual 9:00pm timeslot the next week, on Wednesday 27 February 2008.
  • A family friendly pre-watershed edit of this episode aired at 7:00pm, the following day, Thursday 28 February 2008 on BBC Two.
  • Suzie Costello's resurrection in They Keep Killing Suzie, as well as her statement about what the afterlife was like, are mentioned and referenced to several times in this episode. Her final warning to Jack before her second death also comes to fruition when the creature lurking in the darkness escapes.
  • The phrase "Melenkurion abatha, duroc minas mill khabaal" is a reference to Stephen R. Donaldson's dark fantasy series The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant. In the series's setting, the Land, they are part of a powerful incantation known as the Seven Words. "Melenkurion" means bastion or source; "abatha" means endurance, or the need for it; "duroc" means Earthpower, a type of energy, in a theurgic sense; "minas" means Earthpower as a foundation; and "khabaal" has numerous meanings. The sixth word, "harad", which signifies a commitment not to use Earthpower for dark purposes, is omitted here; it had not been revealed until the then-recent eighth volume, so it is unclear whether its omission from the episode is significant or intentional. When a fan told Donaldson, who had never heard of Torchwood, about the reference, he replied that "if it isn't a) an "homage" or b) an in-joke, then it's just stupid. I suggest that we all simply enjoy it for whatever we think it is. Unless the makers of "Torchwood" know something I don't? <muffled gasp>"[1] However, Donaldson was impressed when an anonymous fan subsequently told him that Davies was a huge fan of the Covenant books and re-read them once a year.[2]
  • When asked by Jack to give him the passcode for the alien morgue, Owen gives the code “231165” - this may be a reference to the date 23/11/1963 when the first episode of Doctor Who was aired, although the last digit is incorrect.

Ratings[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • 3.3 million BBC Two viewers, with an AI of 87%
  • 1.0 million BBC Three viewers
  • 4.32 million viewers - final BARB rating[3]

Filming locations[[edit] | [edit source]]

to be added

Production errors[[edit] | [edit source]]

If you'd like to talk about narrative problems with this story — like plot holes and things that seem to contradict other stories — please go to this episode's discontinuity discussion.
  • At 41:30, while Gwen and Jack are walking during the conversation "I'm getting reports of twelve people dead", the camera can be clearly seen reflected in the glass as they approach the door.
  • When the black smoke is coming out of Owens mouth, the projection behind him can be seen flashing 95%, despite having previously shown 100%. Flashing back a couple moments later and it once again reads 100%.

Continuity[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • The resurrection gauntlet Suzie Costello used in TV: Everything Changes [+]Loading...["Everything Changes (TV story)"] is mentioned, as are the events that occurred when Gwen used it revive her in TV: They Keep Killing Suzie [+]Loading...["They Keep Killing Suzie (TV story)"].
  • Owen remembers that he got shot during the events of TV: Reset [+]Loading...["Reset (TV story)"].
  • The concept of the afterlife as an empty black nothingness inhabited by a lurking entity in the dark has been addressed before, by John Tucker, Suzie Costello and Jack himself in TV: Everything Changes [+]Loading...["Everything Changes (TV story)"], They Keep Killing Suzie [+]Loading...["They Keep Killing Suzie (TV story)"], and Out of Time [+]Loading...["Out of Time (TV story)"] respectively.
  • Owen has displayed a connection with the Weevils before in TV: Combat [+]Loading...["Combat (TV story)"].
  • Tosh uses the translator she once stole from the Hub in TV: Everything Changes [+]Loading...["Everything Changes (TV story)"] to translate what Owen says while possessed by Duroc.

Home video releases[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • Dead Man Walking, along with the rest of Torchwood Series 2, was released in a complete series box set in 2008.
  • It was also released in the Series 1-4 boxset (Region 2 release: 14 November 2011.)

Footnotes[[edit] | [edit source]]

  1. ↑ https://www.stephenrdonaldson.com/fromtheauthor/gi_view.php?Year=2008&Month=03
  2. ↑ https://www.stephenrdonaldson.com/fromtheauthor/gi_view.php?Year=2008&Month=04
  3. ↑ BARB Ratings - April, 2008

External links[[edit] | [edit source]]

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