They Keep Killing Suzie (TV story)
Synopsis
Torchwood is linked to a series of brutal murders around the city. As Jack and the team investigate further, it becomes clear somebody wants their attention. What is Pilgrim - and how is it connected to a figure from Torchwood's past? The resurrection days are far from over.
Plot
Torchwood investigates a serial killer writing their name in blood over the bodies of their victims, during which they meet Detective Swanson. A DNA analysis leads to the team finding a link between Retcon amnesia pills and the deaths. Gwen finds she has the ability to use the Resurrection gauntlet. Through it, they find that the killers name was Max, a member of a neighbourhood religious organisation called Pilgrim. They also find out that Suzie Costello was a member.
After resurrecting Suzie (which appeared to be permanently), the team finds that she overdosed a man with Retcon so severely, he became psychotic. The team find Max at a bar, after which they lock him up in a cell. While in the cell, he is completely unresponsive except when the word "Torchwood" is mentioned, which caused him to go into a ten-second rage.
Gwen starts to bond with Suzie, and begins to empathise with her. At the same time, Ianto and Owen discover that Suzie is draining the life out of Gwen. While the rest of the team is in the conference room, Gwen leaves with Suzie, to take her to see her father in hospital. The team plans to follow them, but the Hub goes into lockdown, which was caused by Max repeating the first verse of Emily Dickinson's "Because I could not stop for death":
- Because I could not stop for Death -
- He kindly stopped for me,
- The carriage held, but just ourselves -
- And Immortality.
As Gwen and Suzie proceed towards the hospital, the rest of the team works out that Suzie had created a plan for her to be brought back to life, and escape. Ianto connects his cellular phone to the Water Tower to get reception. Having no one else to call, Jack calls Detective Swanson, asking her to get a book of poetry and read the poems to them, trying to reverse the lockdown. After some time, Toshiko realises that using the ISBN of the book might be the code, which proves to be correct.
Meanwhile, Gwen and Suzie arrive at the hospital where Suzie reveals that Gwen is dying in her place, and then disconnects the machines from her father which are keeping him alive. Knowing the team are catching up, Suzie takes Gwen and drives to Hedley Point, intending to catch a ferry to escape. Jack and Owen catch up in the Torchwood SUV, and Jack shoots Suzie. However, she does not die, so Jack shoots her multiple times more, to no avail. Jack realises the connection is being held by the Resurrection gauntlet. Jack tells Toshiko to destroy it, which will break the connection. Suzie tells Jack that "something is moving in the dark and it's coming ... for [Jack]". When Toshiko destroys the glove, Suzie immediately collapses, and Gwen begins to recover.
As Ianto and Jack put Suzie's body back into cold storage, the former asks latter what he should put on the death certificate. Jack answers "Death By Torchwood". Ianto suggests putting a lock on the storage unit, in case she goes walking again; but Jack says the resurrections are over. However, Ianto points out that gloves come in pairs.
Cast
- Captain Jack Harkness - John Barrowman
- Gwen Cooper - Eve Myles
- Owen Harper - Burn Gorman
- Toshiko Sato - Naoko Mori
- Ianto Jones - Gareth David-Lloyd
- Suzie Costello - Indira Varma
- Kathy Swanson - Yasmin Bannerman
- Alex Arwin - Daniel Llewellyn-Williams
- Mark Brisco - Gary Pillai
- Max - Shend
- Suzie's Dad - Badi Uzzerman
Crew
- Writers - Paul Tomalin and Daniel McCulloch
- Director - James Strong
- 1st Assistant Director - Nick Brown
- 2nd Assistant Director - Guy De Glanville
- 3rd Assistant Director - Rhian Salisbury
- Executive Producers - Russell T Davies and Julie Gardner
- Producer - Richard Stokes
- Co-Producer - Chris Chibnall
References
- The Resurrection gauntlet is used on by Gwen to revive Suzie Costello.
- Retcon used constantly over a long period of time can cause violent behaviour.
Story Notes
- This episode was originally known as They Keep Killing to preserve the surprise of Suzie Costello's return.
- The story's title may have been inspired by an episode of "The Avengers" entitled "They Keep Killing Steed"
Ratings
- BBC3 - 1.1 million viewers
- BBC2 - 1.9 million viewers
Myths
to be added
Filming Locations
to be added
Discontinuity, Plot Holes, Errors
- Near the end of the episode, when Suzie and Gwen arrive at the pier, it is bright daytime, yet this scene immediately follows a shot of dawn barely breaking over the horizon, which itself followed an outside shot of Jack and Owen in the car in dark pre-dawn. By Owen's estimate, not more than a few minutes could have elapsed yet the shadows on the pier indicate it must have been at least four hours after sunrise.
- The second victim can be seen breathing whilst the camera pans over the couple laying on the bed the second time
- Ianto says Suzie had a number of deaths but both times she died it was from a gunshot. One was self-inflicted, which would be on a death certificate as suicide. The other was definitely not. Also, it could be argued that it wasn't Jack shooting her multiple times that was the cause of death the second time, but the destruction of the glove.
Continuity
- The Resurrection gauntlet last appeared in TW: Everything Changes and then a similar one in Dead Man Walking, and the latter episode revisits the theme of reviving the dead on a permanent basis.
- This episode contains the first reference to a sexual relationship between Ianto and Jack.
DVD Releases
to be added
See also
to be added
External Links
- They Keep Killing Suzie at the Doctor Who Reference Guide
- They Keep Killing Suzie at Shannon Sullivan's A Brief History of Time (Travel)
(The Keep Killing Suzie at The Locations Guide
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