"Exit Wounds" is the thirteenth and final

episode An episode is a narrative unit within a larger dramatic work or documentary production, such as a serial (radio and television), series intended for radio, television or Streaming media, streaming consumption. Etymology The noun ''episode'' is ...

of the second series of the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

science fiction television Science fiction first appeared in television programming in the late 1930s, during what is called the Golden Age of Science Fiction. Special effects and other production techniques allow creators to present a living visual image of an imaginary ...

series ''

Torchwood ''Torchwood'' is a British-American science fiction television programme created by Russell T Davies. A spin-off of the 2005 revival of ''Doctor Who'', it aired from 2006 to 2011. The show shifted its broadcast channel each series to reflect i ...

'', and was broadcast on

BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's second flagship channel, and it covers a wide range of subject matte ...

on 4 April 2008. It marked the final appearance of

Burn Gorman Burn Hugh Gorman (born 1 September 1974) is an English actor. He is known for his television roles as Owen Harper in the BBC series ''Torchwood'' (2006–2008), Karl Tanner in the HBO series ''Game of Thrones'' (2013–14), Major Edmund Hewle ...

Owen Harper Dr Owen James Harper is a fictional character played by Burn Gorman, and a regular in the BBC television series ''Torchwood'', a spin-off from the long-running series ''Doctor Who''. The character last appeared onscreen in the Series 2 finale, ...

and

Naoko Mori (born 29 November 1971) is a Japanese actress based in the United Kingdom. She is known for her roles as Toshiko Sato in ''Doctor Who'' and '' Torchwood'', Yasuko Namba in '' Everest'', Sarah in '' Absolutely Fabulous'' and Nicola in '' Spice ...

Toshiko Sato is a fictional character from the television series ''Doctor Who'' and its spin-off '' Torchwood'', played by Naoko Mori. After a one-off appearance in the ''Doctor Who'' episode " Aliens of London" (2005), Toshiko is re-introduced as a serie ...

, with both characters being killed off at the end of the episode. It is also the final Torchwood episode in its original format. In the episode,

Gray Grey (more frequent in British English) or gray (more frequent in American English) is an intermediate color between black and white. It is a neutral or achromatic color, meaning that it has no chroma. It is the color of a cloud-covered s ...

( Lachlan Nieboer), the brother of

Jack Harkness Captain Jack Harkness is a fictional character played by John Barrowman in ''Doctor Who'' and its spin-off series, '' Torchwood''. The character first appears in the 2005 ''Doctor Who'' episode " The Empty Child" and subsequently features in t ...

(

John Barrowman John Scot Barrowman MBE (born 11 March 1967) is a Scottish-American actor, author, presenter, singer and comic book writer. He is known for his roles as Captain Jack Harkness in ''Doctor Who'' (2005–2010; 2020–2021) and its spin-off ''Torc ...

), punishes Jack for abandoning him long ago by having Jack buried underground in the past. Meanwhile, Gray has also ordered the detonation of bombs throughout Cardiff, leaving the remaining members of Jack's team of

preoccupied with saving Cardiff.

Plot

Synopsis

split up to investigate three instances of

Rift In geology, a rift is a linear zone where the lithosphere is being pulled apart and is an example of extensional tectonics. Typical rift features are a central linear downfaulted depression, called a graben, or more commonly a half-graben ...

activity. At the Torchwood Hub, Captain John Hart shoots Jack and takes him to

Cardiff Castle Cardiff Castle () is a medieval castle and Victorian Gothic revival mansion located in the city centre of Cardiff, Wales. The original motte and bailey castle was built in the late 11th century by Norman invaders on top of a 3rd-century Roma ...

. There and at the three other locations, the team watch as John systematically detonates several bombs across Cardiff. John then transports himself and Jack to Cardiff in 27 AD, where John explains that he was forced to do what he did by Jack's brother,

, and has been forced to wear a bomb and surveillance equipment on a wristband molecularly bonded to his skin. Gray arrives and forces John to dig a grave for Jack to be buried alive in, in response to leaving Gray behind. John drops a ring into the grave. In the present, Gwen,

Rhys Rhys or Rhŷs is a popular Welsh language, Welsh given name (usually male) that is famous in Welsh history and is also used as a surname. It originates from Deheubarth, an old region of South West Wales, with famous kings such as Rhys ap Tewdwr. ...

, and Andy help to organise the police to maintain order in the city while the rest of Torchwood attempt to repair the damage. John returns to present and helps Torchwood, now that the wristband has unbonded after John's deal with Gray is complete. Torchwood learn that the Turnmill Nuclear Power Plant will soon go into meltdown. Gray, having returned to the present, releases

Weevils Weevils are beetles belonging to the Taxonomic rank, superfamily Curculionoidea, known for their elongated snouts. They are usually small – less than in length – and Herbivore, herbivorous. Approximately 97,000 species of weevils are known. ...

which block access to the plant.

Owen Owen may refer to: People and fictional characters * Owen (name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name or surname Places United States * Owen, Missouri, a ghost town * Owen, Wisconsin * Owen County, Indiana ...

, whom the creatures have worshipped since his return from death, enters the plant untouched while Toshiko helps him with the plant's control system via radio. Gwen, Ianto, and John sedate three Weevils that attacked the police station, and drag them to the holding cells. Once in the cells, though, Gray locks the three inside, then shoots Toshiko. Gray discovers Jack alive in the Hub's morgue; the signal from John's ring was discovered by Torchwood in 1901 and Jack urged the team from that era to keep him in cryogenic storage until the present. Jack apologises to Gray and asks for his forgiveness but Gray refuses, forcing Jack to sedate him. Jack frees his teammates from their cells. Meanwhile, a still-wounded Toshiko tells Owen over the radio how to vent the irradiated coolant into the control room. Owen successfully completes the procedure, but before he can make his escape, a power surge triggers the lockdown mechanism and Owen is trapped. The two say their goodbyes to each other as the control room is flooded with radiation and Toshiko dies of her wounds. Jack places Gray's body in cryogenic storage, refusing to kill him, stating there has already been too much death.

Continuity

* A Hoix creature from the parent series ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson (writer and producer), Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterre ...

'' in its 2006 episode " Love & Monsters" appears in this episode. This is the first time it is named by a character onscreen. * Owen refers to his status as "King of the Weevils", first mentioned in " Dead Man Walking" and foreshadowed in "

Combat Combat (French language, French for ''fight'') is a purposeful violent Conflict (process), conflict between multiple combatants with the intent to harm the opposition. Combat may be armed (using weapons) or unarmed (Hand-to-hand combat, not usin ...

". * When

and

are discussing their early days together, Tosh describes pretending to be a medic in Owen's second week, to cover for him having a hangover. Owen asks if this was "the space pig" incident, referring to

's appearance as Doctor Sato, a presumed pathologist in the ''Doctor Who'' story "

Aliens of London "Aliens of London" is the fourth episode of the first series of the British science fiction television show ''Doctor Who'' after its revival in 2005. First broadcast on 16 April 2005 on BBC One, it was written by Russell T Davies and directed by ...

". * Paul Marc Davis, who plays the Cowled Leader, previously played the Futurekind Chieftain in the ''Doctor Who'' episode "

Utopia A utopia ( ) typically describes an imagined community or society that possesses highly desirable or near-perfect qualities for its members. It was coined by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book ''Utopia (book), Utopia'', which describes a fictiona ...

" and the Trickster in ''

The Sarah Jane Adventures ''The Sarah Jane Adventures'' is a British science fiction television programme that was produced by BBC Cymru Wales for CBBC, created by Russell T Davies, and starring Elisabeth Sladen. The programme is a spin-off of the long-running BBC s ...

'' story '' Whatever Happened to Sarah Jane?''. He is the second actor to appear in all three series, the first being

Paul Kasey Paul Kasey (born 5 August 1973) is an English actor who frequently plays monsters on ''Doctor Who'', '' The Sarah Jane Adventures'' and ''Torchwood''. Kasey was born in Chatham, Kent. He has played the Cybercontroller, the Cyber Leader, Cy ...

Notes

References

External links

{{Torchwood, selected=Programme 2008 British television episodes Torchwood episodes Television episodes written by Chris Chibnall Television episodes set in the 2000s Fiction set in 1901 Television episodes set in the 1900s Works set in the 1st century