Torchwood #18: Adam

Torchwood Team; 

• Captain Jack

• Gwen

• Owen

• Tosh

• Ianto

Notable Characters; 

• Adam- Member of Torchwood with a unique attribute 

• Rhys- Gwen's fiancée 

Detailed Plot; 

Adam begins with a lot of a fun as Gwen and Rhys are seen in their apartment enjoying each other's company just playing about. It seemed though that Gwen was 'itching' to go to work, but always looked forward to returning home to Rhys. She left for the hub. 

She arrived to the sight of a mysterious young man, Adam. Gwen instantly didn't recognise him and the rest of the team were confused. But Adam rose up, touched Gwen while making a joking comment and it seemed memories were given to her in an instant. She now recognised Adam as a member of Torchwood. Adam must have done this to the other members, he'd thrown himself into the lives of Torchwood. 

Tosh seemed to have a crush on Adam, they kissed and instantly she was given memories of the pair having been a couple for a whole year! Adam had a huge and impressive ability. It was powerful, how could it be stopped? In the vaults, the Weevil still in captivity was agitated, and in another cell Jack saw a young boy, but he soon vanished. Just like in Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang, Jack had a flashback of hands being held loosening. What did this mean? 

Things in the hub were definitely unbalanced and just massively changed in general. As seen in the last episode, Meat, that Tosh had a crush on Owen, it now seemed that Owen had a crush on Tosh! Adam had changed Owen a lot, he was selfless and just seemed a lot less sinister. 

Gwen went home and shockingly didn't recognise Rhys at all! She had him at gunpoint. Rhys was scared and confused, but Gwen wasn't kidding about. She called Torchwood and as Jack arrived urgently to help, he was confused also. He recognised Rhys. So what had Adam done to Gwen? Erased memories to make room for his fake ones it seemed. Adam was in the apartment to, but Rhys didn't recognise him. Owen examined Gwen back at the hub, trying to find out why she couldn't remember her own fiancée. But there were no signs of any intervention within her mind. Very intriguing! Jack was recording Rhys at his home, telling him to talk of how he met Gwen and their first kiss, hoping it would trigger something in Gwen's mind to help her remember. 

Back at the hub it was going to be a late night as Owen and Tosh were trying to open a rather large golden box that had come through the rift. It was clear Owen fancied Tosh, no doubt about that. Things had changed drastically. Gwen returned home to Rhys, trusting Jack, her memory was faded. Jack was on the street heading into the SUV with Ianto, but saw the young boy he'd seen in the vaults again. He turned to Ianto to see if he saw too, but turned back to see that the boy had vanished. 

Tosh and Owen were still trying to find information out and more changes were still being found. Tosh, the usually shy and quiet character, was wearing a quite revealing top, showing off her breasts. You just couldn't picture the normal Tosh doing such a thing! Meanwhile, Owen was a like a young intern worrying about everything, but of course that's not the normal Owen we all know! 

Jack found himself in the sewers for some reason, searching for something. And he saw his Dad, who told him to 'get out son.' A momentous moment! We'd met a member of Jack's family, albeit briefly. Jack exited the sewers and was confronted by Adam who came out of nowhere. Adam wanted to know what Jack had seen from his past, but Jack claimed he couldn't afford to remember. Jack had a bad past, something had affected him massively and he'd blocked it out long before we met Jack himself in The Empty Child. Adam though encouraged Jack to remember, and we saw some memories of Jack's. 

We were taken to the 51st century with Jack as a child, living on a peninsula but a threat of alien invasion was always around but always passed over. But not this time. The aliens planned on conquer and destruction. They were described as horrific creatures and Jack was told by his father to 'take Gray', Jack's brother, and run. His dad left to search for his mother. This was a vital moment in the history of Jack, we'd just learned a great deal! Jack had the hand of his brother in his, but the adrenaline got to him and his speed was too much for Gray, and the grip was loosened. Jack looked back, retraced his steps after the invasion threat was over. Gray wasn't found, no body, nothing. Presumed dead. But this explained a lot, Captain John had found Jack's brother? At least that's what he claimed at the climax of Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang. 

 

Seeing Jack as a child in the 51st continued for a little while longer. We seen Jack running home after the alien threat had left, but his dad was dead. We met Jack's mother but she was obviously distraught, her husband and her son hadn't survived the alien invasion. Jack explained how he searched for years for his brother Gray, but he never found him, nor a dead body. He's blamed himself ever since. 

Back at the hub and Owen and Tosh were still trying to work out how to open and discover what the mysterious golden box was. Owen though proclaimed his love for Tosh! He explained how he would  cherish every moment with Tosh if it were their anniversary date. Owen had his secret out, again this was so unlike him. Adam had altered him a massive amount. But Tosh wasn't impressed at all and put Owen down like he was nothing. Owen was saddened. 

Gwen and Rhys were now in a supermarket and the latter wasn't impressed by the cashier's absence, and had a humorous rant. Gwen enjoyed this a lot and was laughing, a sign of memories returning? Meanwhile, Ianto found himself alone in the hub and decided to search through his diary which he writes in daily. But he discovered something interesting- no Adam. He was confused, maybe the confusion could be clarified as Adam arrived and explained. Adam was an alien that lived on fake memories, and he explained Gwen's situation, that a side effect of filling people's minds with fake memories was that real ones could be lost. He now prayed on Ianto. He had physical contact with him which gave him the link to his mind and filled his mind with memories of murdering women in cold blood. Adam claimed how he himself would help Ianto dispose of the bodies. Adam got a huge rush off of the new memories being created, a feast of sorts? Ianto was traumatised. 

Jack was seen again now, after his mother questioned Gray's whereabouts, questioning why he was remembering everything now. Gwen returned home now, still with a blurred memory, but she wanted to remember. Rhys was worried he would lose his beautiful fiancée, and kissed her. Still nothing from Gwen, to her it felt like the first time they'd kissed. But she enjoyed it. Back at Tosh's place, she was getting it on with Adam and she even claimed she would die for him! Adam had a gigantic influence! She didn't even know him that long. 

Jack and Ianto were both at the hub now and they were clearly not themselves. Adam had caused chaos amongst them. Ianto told Jack to lock himself up, that he wasn't safe. He described the false memories Adam had given him, that he murdered three women. Jack refused to believe it and knew Ianto wasn't a killer. Jack got out the most accurate lie detector on the planet, Ianto described how he enjoyed killing the women and the detector read true. Jack still refused to believe Ianto was a murderer. He knew something had changed him, and checked the CCTV of the hub. He saw the confrontation between Ianto and Adam, the contact and the memory giving. He showed Ianto, now the pair knew. Adam was the cause of their distress and Gwen's forgetting. Adam had only been on Earth 24 hours! He'd given an enormous influence upon the Torchwood team! Owen arrived in the hub with flowers for Tosh. Jack and Ianto saw this and it was a little awkward, Tosh arrived too and she saw them and thanked Owen. She wanted to remain friends. 

All of the team were now in the hub and Jack and Ianto had a plan now, they were looking on waiting for the chance to pounce. Jack put Adam at gunpoint from behind, the other three members were shocked and Adam tried to act calm and clueless. Jack explained how when he thought of the team Adam was there, but he felt no pride in him. He did for the other four members. Jack was angry as to why Owen had unburied the dead, referring to his father. Jack now knew Adam was false beyond doubt. Tosh though, proclaiming her love for Adam, put Jack at gunpoint! Two guns, who'd hold their nerve? Ianto though took Tosh's gun from behind and Jack put Adam into the vault. Adam tried redeeming himself, reaching out to Jack and hoping he was happy at having childhood memories resurfaced. He also explained how Owen was less sinister and selfless now. It was Jack's mind that drew Adam to the hub. He tried getting to Jack, saying you always 'remember what you killed.' Jack though took pride in himself and his team, saying how memories were what defined you. 

He got the team together at a table and wanted to help them find a definitive memory that would take them back to who they were before Adam arrived. He wanted the team to take themselves back to before Torchwood and reach for what made each member their own. 

Ianto reached for Lisa, referencing Cyberwomen, and how he loved her and recalled meeting her. Others were remembering too, Gwen was thinking of Rhys, Tosh maths and Owen his tenth birthday. Tosh wanted someone to see that she was special, and that was Jack. He knew her qualities. Jack was comforting each member, while they looked to him for why they were special, and of course he saw it. 

Jack wanted them to take a short term amnesia pill, cancelling out what had occurred in the last 48 hours and returning each member to who they were two days previous, with the memories of then returning. The perfect resolution. Adam was affected as each member cancelled out the fake memories he'd implanted into them, his food supply was gone. The four members slept while Jack lead, yet to take the pill. He returned to the cell to talk to Adam, and he had one last plea. He explained how even if the pill was taken, all the bad would remain in Jack's memory, it was all his to begin with. Adam had an offer though. He claimed he could take Jack back to his childhood, a memory with his dad. Jack agreed, surely a trap? He was seen batting a ball with his dad and brother Gray. Jack was happy. 

Adam was in the memory now, he'd picked up the ball but the child Jack wasn't happy and pushed Adam down. It was an attempt by Adam to survive, as long as the memory remained so would Adam. Jack was sad, the memory was wrong and Jack's dad decided to go in. That wasn't how Jack remembered it. The game ended too early, they were supposed to play until it got dark. Jack was devastated and wanted the real memory back. It was the ultimate last gasp from Adam, would Jack keep him alive? 

Jack took the pill, it took some courage but he swallowed it and the memories of Adam were gone. The whole team woke up with no recollection of what had occurred in the past two days. Owen was definitely back to himself, mocking the flowers his less sinister self Adam had adapted sent a few hours earlier. The mysterious box seemed to have a key in the bag of Adam's, whom none of the team didn't recognise. The box opened, and it was just full of sand. A message from the 51st century? It was unclear. 

My analysis; 

Adam was a marvellous episode full of a wonderful plot, villain and a huge amount of information about Jack and the season as a whole! I loved the power Adam possessed, it was scarily powerful and influential and within a few hours he'd made himself a fully fledged member of Torchwood! Rhys was again great in this episode and his love for Gwen really showed despite her not knowing who Rhys was which was sad. The alternative personalities of Tosh and Owen was excellent and sparked a huge change. Tosh was showing off herself (literally) and was much more confident whilst Owen was shy and selfless. But I think this episode was massively important for Jack, or rather our perspective on Jack. We learned so much about the conman we met when the Ninth Doctor visited the London blitz. We learned he had a brother but was long lost, and Jack blamed himself for that. We met his parents and even saw where he lived as a child, as well as seeing him as a child. Jack's childhood had definitely affected him which is both sad but mightily intriguing. I think Adam is vitally important to the season as we haven't seen the last of Jack's childhood, and will Captain John reunite Jack with his brother? Answers remained to be seen. I think though it's a stroke of genius for us as the viewers to have learned all about Jack's past, but he himself, and the rest of the team, forgot everything that happened in this episode. Excellent. 

Rating; 10/10- pure brilliance.