Torchwood S 5 E 8 The Empty Hand - TV Tropes
- ️Wed Jan 27 2021
"What use are rules when they only apply to Humans?"
An innocent refugee has been shot point-blank on the streets of Cardiff. It causes an upsurge in terrorist attacks.
An innocent refugee has been shot point-blank on the streets of Cardiff by a policeman. It’s a catalyst for protests in the streets.
An innocent refugee has been shot point-blank on the streets of Cardiff by Sergeant Andy Davidson. It’s the end of Torchwood as we know it.
Tropes:
- A Day In The Lime Light: Not exactly a fun one for Andy Davidson.
- Back from the Dead: Yvonne Hartman. Except not, because it's the Pete's World version of Yvonne Hartman, not the one who died at Canary Wharf.
- Battering Ram: Ng uses Ioan as a battering ram to break down the door to Ro-Jedda's office.
- Bigot with a Badge:
- Policeman Andy Davison is recorded shouting racial obscenities and shooting an unarmed refugee. Granted, he was being controlled against his will and didn't even know that he did it.
- PC Pringle commended Andy for killing a refugee seemingly of his own volition by patting him on the back.
- Pete Bunton was a policeman who shot and killed a university student named Farooq Sadiki, which the press interpreted as a racially motivated crime. Although he argued that he had blacked out - and the police claimed it to be a raid gone wrong - he did the duty of his own record in reality, and was forced to attend diversity seminars due to his racism.
- The Bad Guy Wins: Ro-Jedda and the Sorvix's scheme to take over the police force, discredit it and replace it with 3sol succeeds.
- Broken-Window Warning: One of the protesters outside Andy's home throws a brick through the window, intending on having him killed for killing an immigrant.
- Crowd Surfing: Jack surfs on a group of protestors.
- Darker and Edgier: The episode is filled with real-life political issues involving the police force and racism. It's not an easy listen.
- Grand Theft Me: In addition to the usual Ng plot, Andy is forced to kill in a Sorvix scheme to take over the police force.
- The Informant: It initially appears that Jack has an informant in Red Doors, but it turns out he's actually involved with them.
- The Klan: Not the Klan precisely, but Red Doors are a thinly disguised allegory, being an organization dedicated to eradicating minorities, and Jack joins them for his own ends.
- Mind-Control Device: The quantum splices are devices implanted in policemen's hands, which, when exposed to special radio waves containing quantum boosters, can control them into killing.
- Never Suicide: Pete Bunton is killed by Red Doors, who put the gun in his hands to make it look like he killed himself.
- Police Brutality: Policeman Andy apparently hurled racial abuse and killed a refugee. He wasn't responsible for his actions, but between PC Pringle commending him for his actions, the quantum splice merely amping up his aggression, DI Pete Bunton killing an innocent university student and beating up children, and the existence of anti-police brutality group Lives Not Bullets, it's clear that there is something very wrong with the South Wales police force.
- Privately Owned Society: By the end, much of Cardiff City Hall, as well as the police force, is under the control of outsourcing company 3Sol.
- Sensitivity Training: Helen White holds several diversity seminars for the South Wales police force, with known racist cops forced to attend. In reality, she is using the opportunity to give them quantum splices, which boost their aggression and make them kill innocents - including, ironically enough, minorities.
- Staging an Intervention: Jack returns to Torchwood to find the other members staging an intervention for his terrible leadership, since he had been absent for several weeks and was doing dealings with terrorist groups behind their back. Jack takes it poorly, even more so when Yvonne Hartman reveals herself.
- This Cannot Be!: Jack's reaction to Yvonne's reappearance, considering her reputation as a cold-hearted and long dead leader, is shock, horror and surprise to put it bluntly.