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Torchwood: The Lost Files - TV Tropes

️Sat Jan 14 2012

Torchwood: The Lost Files (Radio)

A collection of three Torchwood radio plays following up on Torchwood (BBC Radio) that premiered in July 2011, consisting of "The Devil and Miss Carew", "Submission", and "The House of the Dead". Promoted as taking place before Torchwood: Children of Earth (although in reality, this only applies to the first two plays, with the final one serving as an Interquel between Children of Earth and Torchwood: Miracle Day).

This series contains examples of:

General

Interquel: "Submission" and "The Devil and Miss Carew" takes place between the events of Series 2 and Torchwood: Children of Earth, allowing for adventures involving a living Ianto. "The House of the Dead" starts out seemingly the same way, but is later revealed to actually take place during the six-month Time Skip in the final episode of Children of Earth.

"The Devil and Miss Carew"

An Offer You Can't Refuse: Bryn Williams is contacted by Fitzroy over the radio, who offers him revitalized strength in return for going into a pact with him. When Byrn declines, viewing it (rightfully so, as Fitzroy intended to use Byrn to help set back technology on Earth to the Dark Ages) as A Deal With The Devil, Fitzroy reveals that for declining the offer, he intends to kill Byrn, which he goes through on.
Big Damn Heroes: Rhys of all people, who uses the computer browser history to track down and rescue Gwen.
Comfort the Dying: Gwen comforts Miss Carew in her dying moments, reassuring her that she did a lot of good in her life.
A Deal With The Devil: Fitzroy in "The Devil and Miss Carew" is an ominous voice who makes deals with people over the radio, giving them their health and vitality back in exchange for them helping him bomb back the technology on Earth back to the Dark Ages. Not that they have a choice in the matter, as Bryn Williams learns.
Call-Forward: Rhys suggests possibly becoming a full-fledged member of Torchwood to Gwen. The story was released after but set before Torchwood: Children of Earth, which featured Rhys becoming The Sixth Ranger whilst they flee the British Government.
Eldritch Abomination: Fitzroy is a mysterious entity from outer space which is implied to be an eldritch abomination, apparently having no origin or form beyond a voice.
Evil Luddite: Miss Carew seeks to destroy technology on Earth, believing that people can't do anything without technology and that without it, people will rediscover themselves. Considering how she had previously run a computing firm, it's heavily implied to be the result of manipulations by Fitzroy, who wants to settle down on Earth, but is finding it hard to do so because of electronic interference.
Mysterious Disembodied Voice: Several people hear a mysterious voice over the radio, who offers them a Deal with the Devil so that they can help him settle on Earth through the setting back of technology. When confronted by the Torchwood team, he claims to have no origin or form beyond a mysterious voice in space.
Never Mess with Granny: Miss Carew is a woman in her 80s who nonetheless manages to overpower and tie up Gwen when she becomes suspicious of her intentions. Getting into A Deal With The Devil that can revitalise people would do that to you.
Gwen: Ow! You can't be this strong. It's ridiculous! Ow! You're like Supergran!
Plot-Triggering Death: Bryn William's death at the start of the episode is what leads Gwen to go to the nursing home he was in and find out about Miss Carew in the first place.
Weaksauce Weakness: Fitzroy is repelled by electricity caused by technology. It's why he is manipulating people into destroying technology on Earth.

"Submission"

Abstract Eater: The alien parasite feeds off of memories. It refuses to feed off of Jack's memories though because it has a dislike for too much regret.
Dramatic Chase Opening: The story opens with Torchwood chasing after aliens intent on destroying the world, having apparently been wrapped up in a scheme infiltrating an alien casino. Jack decides to shoot their pursuers with a plasma cannon, leading to Severn Bridge being destroyed, Torchwood falling into the water, and hearing the noise which kickstarts the plot proper.
Eldritch Ocean Abyss: The Torchwood team investigate a mysterious noise from so deep underwater, it is considered to be the deepest area in Earth. It turns out to be coming from an alien parasite that can survive in extreme conditions, taking over people and their memories.
Extremophile Lifeforms: The alien parasite can only survive in areas filled with hydrogen sulphide, such as in the area of a black smoker volcano.
Grand Theft Me: The parasite survives by traveling from host to host, taking over their bodies and feeding on their memories.
Homeworld Evacuation: The alien parasite's homeworld was destroyed around 150 million BC. It had planned to escape to another planet with a mate, but it grew impatient and escaped on its own, eventually crash-landing on Earth.
Pre-Mortem One-Liner: Jack's final words to the alien parasite before killing her are the ominous "I am the face you see when you die."
Romantic Runner-Up: Carlie admits that she had fallen for Ianto when they were working in Torchwood One, but didn't pursue her feelings due to him falling in love with Lisa.
Sub Story: The majority of the story takes place on the submarine "Octopus Rock" as the team explores a mysterious signal in the Mariana Trench.
Super-Strength: People who become possessed by the parasite become capable of acts such as denting through seven inches of steel.
Titled After the Song: The title and the name of the submarine shout out to the Sex Pistols.
Jack: Octopus rock? Strange name for a sub.
Gwen: Octopus Rock? I know that, Octopus...? Sex Pistols. It fits the occasion.
Carlie: Jack, if you make a joke about your sex pistol, the mission ends here.
Too Spicy For Yog Soth Oth: The parasite outright refuses to feed off of Jack's memories, finding them to contain too much regret.

"The House of the Dead"

Always Save the Girl: Jack initially intended on blowing himself up into the oblivion between worlds to seal Syriath. However, when Ianto's ghost suggests just running out and leaving it for someone else to deal with, thus risking the world but carrying the chance of bringing Ianto Back from the Dead, Jack chooses the latter option, as part of the reason he wanted to seal himself was because of Ianto's death.
Anguished Declaration of Love: Jack finally tells Ianto that he loves him just as the latter was preparing to perform a Heroic Sacrifice to save the world as a ghost.
Bittersweet Ending: "The House of the Dead" ends with Ianto dying once again, this time for good, but Jack is finally able to tell Ianto that he loves him, helping to provide closure to their relationship, and Ianto's actions both save the world from Syriath and close the Cardiff Rift which had let loose so many dangerous aliens.
Bystander Syndrome: Ianto actually suggests just walking away from the major issue of Syriath making it into their world to Jack and leaving it as someone else's problem, since the apparent alternative would be to allow Jack to perform as close to a Heroic Suicide as he can get by trapping himself in the void between worlds. Jack does actually listen to Ianto and begins walking away, at which point, Ianto reveals that it had been a ruse for Jack to get out of the way whilst he performs the Heroic Sacrifice in his place.
Copied the Morals, Too: Syriath uses visions of dead people to encourage others to allow her into the world. For Jack Harkness, she evokes the image of his dead boyfriend Ianto to encourage him to give up on his scheme to destroy the rift. The problem is that the echo of Ianto is too complete, Syriath having recreated him from reaching into time and using Jack's feelings for him, and this includes Ianto's desire to do good, leading to Ianto's echo making a Heroic Sacrifice by blowing up the rift.
Covers Always Lie: The cover features Jack wearing a Resurrection Gauntlet, which makes no appearance whatsoever in the audio. Additionally, Gwen is depicted on the cover, even though her only appearance comes in the form of Syriath impersonating her voice.
Death of a Child: Mrs. Wintergreen came to see the ghost of her infant son, who died very young.
Dead All Along: The original setup made it seem as if the events were taking place after the deaths of Tosh and Owen but before Ianto's death. The ending reveals that it actually took place 6 months after Ianto's death, and that the Ianto that we've been following is nothing more than a ghost.
Ianto: Jack? Who's dead? Who does he mean?
Jack: The person I knew I'd find if I came here to the last night of the House of the Dead. Ianto Jones.
Ianto: Jack? What?
Jack: Ianto, six months ago, you died in my arms. You're a ghost.
Despair Event Horizon: Even after six months, Jack is still taking Ianto's death very poorly. If it hadn't been for the intervention of Ianto's ghost, Jack would have killed himself the best way he could by hurling himself into the void, having lost the will to keep on living.
Dying Moment of Awesome: Ianto's final moments are spent in a Heroic Sacrifice sealing away the Rift and saving the world from an Eldritch Abomination.
Eldritch Abomination: The entity pretending to be Gwen is an Old God from before time existed called Syriath. She has the ability to bend time to bring back the dead as ghosts and has world-ending intentions for when she makes it through the rift.
Foreshadowing: When Jack first sees Ianto at the pub, his voice is audibly cracking and his embracing of Ianto is with stronger feeling than usual. It's an early clue that Ianto is Dead All Along, and that six months have passed since both his death and the last time that Jack had seen him.
Ghost Amnesia: Ianto's ghost doesn't remember his death, and initially believes himself to be alive until Jack tells him otherwise. Ianto even tries telling Jack that he isn't a ghost by saying that he had porridge only that morning, only to realize that he doesn't actually remember doing that.
Ghostly Chill: The ghosts are rather cold due to being in a state of death, as Helen's ghost points out to Barry.
Heroic Sacrifice: When the Big Bad tried to bribe Jack with a living, breathing Ianto, he almost took it. Ianto instead blew the Big Bad to kingdom come, sealing the rift and killing himself for a second time.
Heroic Suicide: Jack attempts to kill himself in the best way he can to stop Syriath from making her way to Cardiff, releasing the detonator and trapping her in the eternal oblivion that is the void between worlds alongside him. As Jack puts it, he managed to see Ianto one final time, so there's nothing else for him to see in the world of the living. Thankfully, Ianto goes in his place.
Hope Spot: Near the end of the play, Ianto suggests running out of the pub with Jack, raising hopes that Ianto would be successfully able to come Back from the Dead (even if Syriath remains a threat). It turns out to be a ruse to get Jack out of the way, and Ianto loses his second life sealing the Rift and stopping Syriath.
Hospital Visit Hesitation: A variant - Ianto never contacted his father when he was in hospital (likely out of his complicated feelings towards the man, seeing as he did break his leg), which he holds against Ianto as a ghost.
Impostor All Along: Throughout the adventure, Ianto interacts with Gwen on his headset, talking to her about how oddly Jack has been behaving. When Jack finally notices Ianto in the act, he reveals that the headset was never turned on in the first place - what Ianto thought was Gwen was in fact Syriath, an Eldritch Abomination using Gwen's voice to encourage efforts to set her free from the Rift.
"It" Is Dehumanizing: During The Reveal, Jack uses the "it" pronoun to describe how he thought the ghostly illusion of Ianto he would meet at the House of the Dead would simply resemble him. The actual ghost, who acts exactly like Ianto, bitterly repeats the pronoun, annoyed at how it's being used to refer to him.
Late to the Tragedy: At the end of the episode, a woman shows up to the pub hoping to see the ghosts... just after the pub had been sent into the Rift, taking an Eldritch Abomination and Ianto with it. On the bright side, she managed to save herself from being lured by her loved ones into death, as what had happened to some of the people in the pub.
Metaphorical Suicide: Jack, wracked in despair over the death of his lover Ianto and believing that there is nothing else to see in the world of the living, tries to both seal the Rift forever and trap Syriath into the void between worlds alongside him. As Jack puts it to Ianto's ghost, he may not be able to truly die, but to confine himself into the void between worlds would mean eternal oblivion and that's good enough for him. He doesn't go through with it thankfully, as Ianto offers himself up to destroy the rift at the cost of his life.
Mission Control Is Off Its Meds: The radio voice that Ianto believes to be Gwen is actually the episode's Big Bad impersonating her.
Mistaken for Undead: Jack is initially mistaken to be one of the ghosts by Mrs. Wintergreen.
Mrs. Wintergreen: Do not be afraid, friendly spirit. You have come to us from the other side.
Jack: From Cardiff, actually.
"Not So Different" Remark: When Ianto's father tries to force his son to leave the House of the Dead and let Syriath come through the rift, he tells Ianto that they're more alike than Ianto wants to believe - after all, they will both betray the ones they love.
Ianto: We can't just leave.
Ianto's Father: I'll tell you a little secret, Ianto. We're more alike than you think.
Ianto: What do you mean?
Ianto's Father: We'll both betray the ones we love.
Ianto: No. No we won't. I'm not like you.
Ianto's Father: Oh yes you are, son. You're just like me.
Ouija Board: Mrs Wintergreen uses an ouija board to try to contact the dead, which actually starts spelling Jack's name before he arrives at the scene.
Our Ghosts Are Different: For the most part, the ghosts are apparently nothing more than illusions utilized by an Eldritch Abomination in her attempts to make it into the real world. Ianto's ghost is more complete though, being essentially recreated by Jack's feelings for him, and the resolution of the plot revolves around him having Copied the Morals, Too.
Please, Don't Leave Me: Jack begs Ianto not to leave him as the latter prepares to commit a Heroic Sacrifice to save the world.
Pre-Sacrifice Final Goodbye: Ianto stays behind in the titular pub to blow up the Rift between the worlds and stop Syriath, knowing full well that it would end his second life. However, there's just enough time between Jack discovering Ianto's intentions and the sacrifice for Ianto to say farewell to Jack (and for Jack to finally tell Ianto that he loves him, to which Ianto replies that he loves Jack too).
Rewatch Bonus: Several scenes hit harder upon rewatching with the knowledge that Jack is at the House of the Dead not just to defeat Syriath, but to see Ianto's ghost one last time, such as his sad admittance to Mrs Wintergreen that he has lost people when asked.
Sealed Evil in a Can: Syriath was sealed in the Rift before time began. Naturally, if she were released, she would destroy the world using the forces of the dead.
Spooky Séance: "The House of the Dead" focuses on a spooky seance being held at the most haunted pub in Wales, which if successful would bring an Eldritch Abomination onto the world.
Shout-Out: The episode is titled after the video game House of the Dead.
Tomato in the Mirror: Ianto turns out to be one of Syriath's ghostly visions (albeit a more complete one than the others). He doesn't know this and thinks that he's still alive until Jack reveals the truth.
Tomato Surprise: The story's taking place after Torchwood: Children of Earth, Ianto's a ghost, and "Gwen" is an Eldritch Abomination, but this doesn't become clear until late in the episode - prior to this, the episode was portrayed as a pre-Children of Earth adventure with an alive Ianto talking to Gwen as he and Jack investigate a haunted pub.
Treacherous Spirit Chase: Syriath uses her powers to bend time and bring forth the dead as ghostly illusions, luring in their relatives to their deaths and encouraging them to free her from the Rift. It later turns out that Ianto is one of these illusions, recreated to discourage Jack from defeating her; unfortunately for her, she recreated him too well, and he ends up saving Jack and closing the Rift to stop her.
Unwanted Revival: Ianto doesn't view his resurrection as a ghost positively, accusing Jack of doing it out of his own self-interest more than anything else and outright saying that he didn't want to be brought back.
Voice Changeling: Syriath mimics Gwen's voice to convince Ianto that he is communicating to the real deal, only going back to her regular voice when the ruse is revealed.
Wham Episode: "The House of the Dead" ends with the Cardiff Rift, the major reason for Torchwood's continued operations, being closed seemingly for good.
Wham Line: "The House of the Dead" is initially portrayed as an adventure set between Series 2 and 3, showing a seemingly still alive Ianto and Jack investigating a haunted pub. Then, the ghost of Ianto's father cryptically mentions that Jack is going to let "him" die again. Ianto questions what his father meant by that and Jack replies with a line which changes the setting of the episode, as well as Ianto's state, quite drastically.
Jack: Ianto, six months ago, you died in my arms. You're a ghost.
What the Hell, Hero?: Ianto tears into Jack for bringing him back once he becomes aware that he's dead.
Ianto: You couldn't leave me rest in peace. You've done this to me. Dragged me back just to say goodbye. This... this isn't about closing the rift, destroying that creature or even your bloody stones! It's not even about me. This... this is all about you, Jack.