Review: Torchwood 1.8: They Keep Killing Suzie

The undead Suzie Costello

The pilot's villain, Suzie Costello (Idira Varma), was very visible in publicity of the series before the show aired, mainly to preserve the pilot's surprise ending. What it did was create an intriguing character whose appearance felt a little wasted, and in this episode, heralding the start of the series' second half, the writers have given us an entirely new look at the character. Unlike the first half of this series, where great ideas and concepts were let down by poor execution, They Keep Killing Suzie is an excellent sci-fi crime drama with a terrible background. Seeing as there was really nothing new to this episode's roster of ideas, it had to rely on Suzie's gameplan - which, as is turned out, was messy and unbelievable.
      Torchwood investigate a spate of killings committed in their name, mainly with the company name written in the victims' blood. DNA tests reveal that the killer had Retcon, the team's go-to amnesia drug, in his system. Determined to discover who the killer is, Gwen suggests using the Ressurection Gauntlet from the pilot to interrogate the victims. She is the only one capable of using it, and thus finds out about a philosophy group called Pilgrim - a society absent from any records. One of the victims mentions that the killer is called Max, and that he was close to another woman - named Suzie.
     The team are skeptical but after searching through her belongings (kept in a Torchwood warehouse) they decide to ressurrect Suzie. As the Gauntlet alone won't work, they stab her corpse with the Life Knife, the weapon used by Suzie to test out the glove that has a connection to its function. It works but Suzie doesn't die as subjects of the Gauntlet usually do, and is thus interrogated by Jack. She reveals that Max is psychotic because she kept him as her companion and thus drugged him with Retcon every day for two years. Using Suzie's help the team bring Max in, and Owen finds that Max reacts to nothing except the word Torchwood, which sends him into a blinding rage for exactly ten seconds.

"Someone wants your attention."

      Gwen bonds with Suzie when she realises that she is a near-perfect replacement for her role in the group. Just as the rest of the team discover the reason for Suzie's longevity - she is draining life off of Gwen - she takes Suzie to see her father in hospital. They chat on the way to the hospital, with Suzie calling immortal Jack a hypocrite and revealing that there is no afterlife. Back at the base, and the base has shut down completely - because, as the team works out, of a command Suzie installed when she was alive to shut down when a certain poem was read - a poem being recited by Max.
      Here is my point of contention with this story. Suzie was, before her death, both lonely and obsessed with the Ressurection Gauntlet. Her lust for life would be understandable after her death, but this contingency plan for immortality seems a little silly for someone without any intention of dying at all. How could she know that Gwen Cooper would join Torchwood? Or that the person who did join Torchwood in her absence would have the required empathy to operate the glove? Also, I'm not a psychologist, but it seems to me that a weapons/computer specialist like Suzie wouldn't be able to brainwash someone so much that they execute instructions in specific periods of time.
       They call their Police Liason Detective Swanson, who told them about the murders, and after some ritual humiliation she relents and helps the team to escape. To this end they work out that the code to escape the base is the ISBN of the book of Emily Dickinson poems Suzie was using. At the hospital, Gwen starts to feel the full effects of Suzie's gunshot wound as Suzie becomes able to walk once more. They finally meet the two at a pier, where Suzie is now immortal - until, that is, Tosh destroys the Gauntlet, which severs the link and kills Suzie once and for all.

"You're getting shot in the head."

       They Keep Killing Suzie is the first episode of the series to actually fit the premise of a sci-fi crime drama. The murder investigation, while being a lot closer-to-earth, was actually a very interesting turn of events and Suzie's return was well handled. I've never really seen the character as a good villain because of the fact that she doesn't do anything obviously villanous in this episode other than smile evilly at things that she's done beforehand. Her ideology is supposed to be the most frightening thing about her, but I really don't see why, as a fear of death doesn't really shout "madwoman" from where I'm standing.
       As the beginning of the first series' second half, They Keep Killing Suzie sets us up for the much more mature stories that abound as we get closer to the series finale. Its direction and its more crime-oriented tone allowed a more potent emphasis on character that brought to life (both literally and metaphorically) an underused character. I want to hate it because of its reality-stretching premise, but I have to admire the skill in its construction and Indira Varma's excellent performance. Interesting stuff.

Thanks.