Torchwood Series Two was a vast improvement over Series One, because I think I fell in love with the team during this series, which made their conflicts more compelling, and made the conclusion of this series even more heartbreaking. Since it was the characters that really made this series worthy, I think I'll focus on them as I talk about this series.
Let's start with Captain Jack. I'm assuming that his adventures between the first two series will be covered when I finally finish Series Three of Doctor Who, but when we return to Captain Jack in Series Two, he returns after a rather long trip with the Doctor, where he finds that his team is angry with him for leaving them. To compound matters, he almost immediately runs off to have a rendezvous with Captain John (James Marsters who most of us know as Spike) and in the first episode "Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang" we explore his history with the Time Agency just a bit. We also learn in the episode "Adam" about Captain Jack's brother Gray, and the tragic backstory that resurfaces in the series conclusion with explosive results to say the least. Overall I continue to enjoy Captain Jack, and I felt for him in his teary moments with Gray at the end of the series, but I do want more of his backstory. How did he get to the past from where we left in Doctor Who Series One? I want to know. Because wasn't he stuck way in the future? I want more backstory.
I think Gwen's character kind of fell flat for me. She had some good moments this series, and I ultimately approve of her relationship with Rhys over Owen, but it wasn't a relationship I would ever bother to ship. It was nice, but it didn't hit me in the gut like other TV relationships I've seen. Maybe it was the fact that I know Gwen cheated on Owen, and has never told Rhys about this. There's just something missing there. I do like that Gwen has really taken over leadership of Torchwood, especially in Captain Jack's absence, and I think "Adrift" hinted at something I would have liked to see more of. Conflict over the leadership between Captain Jack and Gwen. I hope to see more of that in Series Three.
Ianto really grew on me this season. He's still a little weird, and I feel like originally his relationship with Jack kind of came out of nowhere, but I think it developed more in this series. Everyone knows about it now, and it's also clear that Ianto feels more committed to it than Jack does. I would like to see more of his backstory, but I found that in "From Out of the Rain" we got to see a hint of it, with him talking about his father taking him to the theater. He is a sensitive man, and he does not share himself with others easily, but when he does, he shares himself fully. One of the most devastating moments of the series is when he deletes Tosh and Owen's entries in the finales. He doesn't say much, but you can see how much hurt and pain he feels just in his silence.
Owen was the breakout star of this series for me. I absolutely loved everything his character went through starting in "Reset" and the way he is forced to accept his own death. Starting in "Dead Man Walking" he is initially terrified, and then goes into a denial phase when he drinks a beer in order to get drunk, even though he can't process anymore. Then he seems to accept his new fate with his bravery and saves everyone from Death. Even better was a "A Day in the Death" where he goes through the boredom and apathy of being an immortal who can't sleep, shag, or eat. Somehow though, he finds something worth living for in his friends and keeps going, using his new immortal abilities to his advantage to help Torchwood out on their missions. This continues until the last episode of the series where he sacrifices himself for the sake of the city and his friends. It was a beautiful ending to this character, and especially touching with his last moments speaking to Tosh.
Tosh' love for Owen, and the desire to see them end up together was possibly the thing that will haunt me the most about this series. When we first saw Tosh had feelings for Owen, I really didn't think much of it, but by "To the Last Man" it had already grown on me to the point where I felt uncomfortable with her relationship with Tommy. Perhaps the best exploration of their relationship was in "Adam" when Adam's messing with their memories ended up reversing the relationship between Tosh and Owen. I loved their interaction in this episode, because it was a lot more frank than their relationship had ever been before, and it also gave us a chance to see what Owen would be like if he did like Tosh, and from that point forward I was cheering them on. When Owen died and Tosh confessed her feelings to him, I wanted Owen to realize that he liked Tosh too. And he never quite did, which is why the finale of the series was so haunting, and left me crying. She died providing Owen with some comfort one last time. And I think the fact that she was able to at least confess her feelings to Owen showed that her goodbye message sentiments were at least fulfilled, as Owen at least acknowledged her.
Worst Episode: "Something Borrowed" I really don't like the whole demon pregnancy or in this case alien pregnancy trope, and I think it bothered me too much to really love this episode for the important character moments it presented.
Best Episode: "Exit Wounds" was without question the best episode of this series, and a really good episode in general. The tragedy of Owen and Toshiko's deaths will haunt me for a while to come.
Predictions for Season 3: Well, it's called Children of Earth, so I'm assuming that Children will be important in some way?
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