They Keep Killing Suzie (TV story)

They Keep Killing Suzie was the eighth episode in the first series of Torchwood and marked the reappearance of Suzie Costello.

It was intended to be the first in a line of seasonal reappearances for the character, but Indira Varma was not available for filming during the production of series two as she was pregnant.

Synopsis
Torchwood is linked to a series of brutal murders around the city. As Jack and the team investigate, it becomes clear somebody wants their attention. What is Pilgrim - and how is it connected to a figure from Torchwood's past? The resurrection days are far from over.

Plot
Torchwood investigates a serial killer writing their name in blood on the bodies of the victims. During the investigation they meet Detective Swanson. A DNA analysis leads to a link between Retcon amnesia pills and the deaths. Gwen finds she can use the Resurrection gauntlet. Through it, they find the killer's name is Max, a member of a neighbourhood religious organisation called Pilgrim. They also find Suzie Costello was a member.

After resurrecting Suzie (apparently permanently), the team finds that she overdosed a man with Retcon so severely, he became psychotic. They find Max at a bar and lock him up in a cell. While in the cell, he is completely unresponsive except when the word "Torchwood" is mentioned, which causes him to go into a ten-second rage.

Gwen starts to bond with Suzie, empathising with her. Ianto and Owen discover that Suzie is draining Gwen's life. While the rest of the team is in the conference room, Gwen leaves with Suzie to take her to see her father in Greenleaves hospital. The team plan to follow them, but the Hub goes into lockdown, caused by Max repeating the first quartrain of Emily Dickinson's "The Chariot":
 * Because I could not stop for Death -
 * He kindly stopped for me,
 * The carriage held, but just ourselves -
 * And Immortality.

As Gwen and Suzie proceed towards the hospital, the rest of the team works out that Suzie had created a plan for her to be brought back to life, and escape. Ianto connects his cellular phone to the Water Tower to get reception. Having no one else to call, Jack calls Detective Swanson, asking her to get a book of poetry and read the poems to them, trying to reverse the lockdown. After some time, Toshiko guesses that using the ISBN of the book might be the code, which proves to be correct.

Gwen and Suzie arrive at the hospital where Suzie reveals that Gwen is dying in her place. She disconnects her father from the machines keeping him alive. Knowing the team are catching up, Suzie takes Gwen and drives to Hedley Quay, intending to escape on a ferry. Jack and Owen catch up in the Torchwood SUV, and Jack shoots Suzie. However, she does not die, so Jack shoots her again and again, to no avail. Jack realises the connection is being held by the Resurrection gauntlet. Jack tells Toshiko to destroy it, which will break the connection. Suzie tells Jack that "something is moving in the dark and it's coming ... for [Jack]". When Toshiko destroys the glove, Suzie collapses, and Gwen begins to recover.

As Ianto and Jack put Suzie's body back into cold storage, Ianto asks what he should put on the death certificate. Jack answers "Death By Torchwood". Ianto suggests putting a lock on the storage unit in case she goes walking again, but Jack says the resurrections are over. Ianto points out that gloves come in pairs.

Cast

 * Captain Jack Harkness - John Barrowman
 * Gwen Cooper - Eve Myles
 * Owen Harper - Burn Gorman
 * Toshiko Sato - Naoko Mori
 * Ianto Jones - Gareth David-Lloyd
 * Suzie Costello - Indira Varma
 * Kathy Swanson - Yasmin Bannerman
 * Alex Arwyn - Daniel Llewellyn-Williams
 * Mark Briscoe - Gary Pillai
 * Max - Shend
 * Suzie's Dad - Badi Uzzerman
 * Sarah Briscoe - Joanne Marriott

Music

 * Red is the New Black - Funeral for a Friend
 * Soley Soley - Middle of the Road
 * Gorecki - Lamb

Story notes

 * This episode was originally known as They Keep Killing to preserve the surprise of Suzie Costello's return.
 * The story's title may have been inspired by an episode of | "The Avengers" entitled "They Keep Killing Steed"
 * This episode contains the first reference to a sexual relationship between Ianto and Jack.
 * This episode also makes the first explicit reference to Jack's bisexuality in Torchwood (it had already been established in Doctor Who).

Ratings

 * BBC3 - 1.1 million viewers
 * BBC2 - 1.9 million viewers

Myths
to be added

Filming locations
to be added

Production errors

 * The second victim can be seen breathing whilst the camera pans over the couple laying on the bed the second time
 * When Suzie and Gwen arrive at the dockside the time of day changes from night to day.
 * When Gwen begins to receive Suzie's wounds, she does not get one under her chin, where Suzie shot herself, but rather gets one in the back of her head.

Continuity

 * A resurrection gauntlet last appeared in Everything Changes and would again do so in Dead Man Walking. The later episode would revisit the theme of reviving the dead on a permanent basis.
 * Suzie mentions something moving in the darkness, and says it is coming for Jack. This foreshadows Jack's confrontation with Abaddon in End of Days.
 * Retcon was first seen being used to cause Gwen to forget Torchwood. (TW: Everything Changes)

DVD Release
This episode was first released on DVD, with three other episodes entitled Torchwood: Series 1, part 2 on 26 February 2007. It was later released in Torchwood: The Complete First Series on 19th November 2007.