• Captain Jack
• Gwen
• Owen
• Tosh
• Ianto
Notable Characters;
• Lisa- Partially converted Cyberwomen and lover of Ianto
• Dr. Tanizaki- Specialist in cybernetics
Detailed Plot;
Well Cyberwomen was certainly a very unique episode. With obvious connections to Doctor Who, I was hoping that this episode would still be Torchwood and not 'a Doctor Who spinoff', and it was. It was bloody brilliant. A very powerful and emotional (which is ironic) episode which I thoroughly enjoyed to watch.
It begins with lots of fun and games as the Torchwood team are playing basketball throughout the hub and even the pterodactyl is seen once more. As the time to leave arrived, Ianto seemed stunned. He almost seemed a distant member of the team, which has been the same since the beginning in Everything Changes. Ianto doesn't quite seem part of the Torchwood team. He didn't leave with the team- and he was happy with being alone. With the hub empty and just Ianto inside, an elderly man enters. It seemed Ianto needed his hell for something.
Ianto escorts the man into the basement-like store room, where a shocking discovery is made. There's machinery, it's silver. And lying there is a partly converted Cyberman! But with metal breasts... so I guess it's as the episode title suggests; a Cyberwomen! Ianto awakes the metal women with a kiss. He seemed to care very much about this Cyberwomen and the female behind the silver armour, as he quickly and somewhat assertively corrected the elderly man, Dr Tanizaki, as he called her an 'it', Ianto said she. He didn't want the Cyberwomen to be thought of as an object- but was she even human anymore? The reference to Army of Ghosts/Doomsday was great. We saw an emotionally challenged flashback, an almighty struggle by Ianto in rescuing the women who wasn't quite converted into a Cyberman. Ianto had recruited Tanizaki to save Lisa, the women behind the metal, as he was a specialist in cybernetics- he wanted her to be human again. It was discovered that she was an estimated 55% Cyberman. We had gained the knowledge that Ianto was incredibly intelligent, as he'd converted the cybernetic technology used for converting humans into Cybermen, into a life support machine! It was very impressive. It seemed he loved this women behind the metal.
It was clear that Lisa, and Ianto in dragging her away, remembered the pain of her partial conversion. Tanizaki was working on Lisa in his attempts to return her to normality, and it seemed it had worked! She was speaking normally, remembering herself as Lisa, it was a success. Or was it? The Torchwood team were returning back to the hub to investigate a UFO sighting and the team were bantering over a car rota. As Ianto was desperately trying to hide away Lisa, she alternated back to her Cyberman state. She overpowered Dr Tanizaki and her cyber state was in full flow as she attempted to convert him into a Cyberman.
The conversion was a failure and Tanizaki was brutally murdered. The Torchwood team had returned and there was no sight of any Cyberwomen, but there was a mass internal power drain that Ianto desperately just about covered up. He returned to his princess in shining Cyber-armour, and he had seen the results of the failed upgrade. Ianto was so desperate to keep Lisa a secret that he dragged the corpse away to hide it. Ianto was distraught and ashamed. As the team continued their investigation of the UFO, there was once again a power loss. The Cyberwomen was in the converting bed and presumably gaining energy of some sort.
Jack suspects that the team are under attack from within the hub. Tosh points out that there are two life signs within the store room below. Gwen and Owen take it upon themselves to investigate. More clues were revealed to the team as Tosh discovered that CCTV records had been deleted. But she quickly retrieved them from the memory bank and there was confusion as to what was going on with Ianto and the whole situation in general. Gwen and Owen have arrived at the store room, expecting the unexpected, and there's a mass flashing of lights. They entered, and the viewer would expect to see the Cyberwomen, but she was not there. But Owen recognised the mechanics and instruments of Cyber technology. He was angered and claimed it shouldn't exist. This was what brought down Torchwood 1 in London. A fully functional Cyber conversion unit. Jack had the news, and was in disbelief. He knew the suspected danger, it was serious. It was apparent Captain Jack had encountered the Cybermen before, but most people had in Doomsday.
The Cyberwomen was back, and approaching Gwen; choking her and wanting to upgrade her. Jack's reaction to the Cyberman in fact being a women was great, but it didn't stop him from firing at her. He only missed due to Ianto's interference. Gwen was in serious danger, seconds away from death or upgrade, and the controls were deadlocked. Tosh had to completely turn off all power within the hub. A thrilling moment as Gwen was saved with seconds to spare. She was safe, just about.
It became clear Jack didn't just have previous encounters with the Cybermen, but that he knew a lot about this version. He described how they were created on a parallel world and that they want to create human.2 by upgrading humans into Cybermen. A great direct reference to Rise of the Cybermen/The Age of Steel. It was now dark due to the power lock down and the only light available was that from Jack's torch. In a shocking moment, he pointed the gun at Ianto. He was angered and recognised the massive threat of even a partially converted Cyberman. But here we had some much needed insight into Ianto. He described how he felt alone and ignored at the Torchwood hub. He described his love for Lisa.
The Cyberwomen was still completely that, impressed by the hub and that it would be a great base for the new Cyber army to be rebuilt from. Human .2 would still occur. It seemed the Doctor lost Rose and not only did the Cult of Skaro escape to 1930s Manhattan, but soon a Cyberwomen would rule Earth. But it wasn't that simple. Lisa was weak, her flesh still showing and she wasn't fully converted. She was still very much human in some ways. Her mindset didn't change though, as she attacked the man who loves and saved her in Ianto. It was six hours until the hub would have power again, and a chase between a Cyberwomen and the Torchwood team commenced. Owen's sarcasm at the scenario was excellent. However, Jack was all serious. 'This is a fight to the death. We do whatever necessary to destroy it.' Some excellent words and showed how he is a fantastic leader. He gave Tosh a device that the now deceased Suzie had devised. It was a key to unlock any door no matter the weight or size. Tosh was to escape and put the power back on sooner rather than later, while Gwen and Owen were to get weapons. The battle was brewing.
All seemed lost for the Torchwood team. Jack was deleted and Owen suspected his death. Tosh opened the first door en route to her escape. She was going to fulfil Jack's orders. The door was locked and separated her from the Cyberwomen, but the metal women was attempting to break through. As Gwen and Owen were together, but the Cyberwomen was approaching them, there was only one place for the pair to hide, on top of one another inside a large box like drawer. Not a bad hiding place for Owen I guess. Jack was once again resurrected, and was attempted to bring Ianto around with a kiss after Lisa had taken him out. Inside the cramped box, Gwen and Owen shared a passionate kiss, was it to prevent the sound of breathing? But Gwen's phone started ringing, their hiding place was up and now they were trapped. It was a drunken Rhys which was typical. But Owen finds all he can and stabs Lisa in the back causing time to escape. In a humorous moment, Gwen didn't question what it was that saved them from the Cyberwomen, but the kiss that Owen initiated. It was to be a last kiss, but obviously they survived and it seemed awkward now. Owen said he wasn't thrilled about it, which is crazy- has he seen Gwen?! He was obviously lying as Gwen felt his 'hard on.'
All the team were still surviving, but Owen was questioning Jack. How had he survived deletion? The pterodactyl was now sent in to take out the Cyberwomen, and it seemed to be working. Tosh though by now had succeeded in restoring power and the team including a reluctant and distraught Ianto escaped on the perception filtered lift onto Cardiff Bay. Had the pterodactyl succeeded in destroying Lisa? It wasn't clear.
As the team were safe above the hub, Ianto was outraged and in one clean punch sent Jack straight to the floor. Ianto still hadn't given up hope of saving Lisa, and he ran to the front entrance of Torchwood itself. But a pizza girl got there first. Who the hell ordered pizza in that scenario? My money was on Owen. It was clear though that the Cyberwomen was victorious in her battle against the pterodactyl. She stood tall. The team chasing Ianto arrive seconds after him, and Ianto now points at Jack. There was much conflict between the two throughout the episode. But Jack skilfully overthrew the pointing and regained control. Jack demanded the execution of Lisa. He gave Ianto ten minutes to go into the hub and destroy the Cyber form of the women he loves. Jack was in no mood for consoling or opinions, and angrily told Tosh he didn't need her opinion. He recognised the danger and was doing all he could to stop it.
Ianto discovers that the pizza girl is there, and has gone under some sort of conversion. He's distraught, as he sees a bloodied Cyberwomen dead on the floor. But the pizza girl speaks, she explains that she is Lisa. A brain transplant has occurred. She's no longer a Cyberwomen, she's human and has all the memories of her time with Ianto. He hugs her, does he still love her? It seemed not as he pointed at her. Did he want her dead? Whether he would pull the trigger or not, the new Lisa was shot dead by the four other Torchwood members simultaneously. This left questions, would Jack have shot Ianto, and vice versa, and what would the aftermath of Lisa mean to Ianto and the Torchwood team? I really liked how when Gwen asked him about the deleting, that Jack said he thought he could die at that moment... and he felt so alive.
My analysis;
To conclude, this was sublime. An extremely emotional episode which explored the character of Ianto massively which was excellent. It also showed the lengths that Jack was prepared to go through to protect the people of Earth, he showed an aggressive leadership- but it was much needed. I really liked Gwen in this one and her banter and humour shared with Owen was excellent. The prospect of a Cyberwomen was certainly unique and I loved how they made the one thing Cybermen don't have, emotions, a massive part of the story. It'll be interesting to see in the next episode the direction of the Torchwood team after the events here. It brought about conflict. Will Ianto be staying? I hope so. But overall, this was sublime.
My rating; Easily 10/10!
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