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“CAPTAIN JACK HARKNESS – BLITZ, KISSES AND A SINISTER SMILE”

Torchwood’s first season edges toward its explosive finale with Captain Jack Harkness, the first part of a two-part story that brings the emotional weight of time travel to the fore, while peeling back some long-awaited layers of its titular character. With an eerie premise, haunting atmosphere, and a moving exploration of identity, this episode stands out as one of the more thoughtful and resonant entries in the season.

We begin with a brilliantly simple conceit: a derelict dance hall in the present, housing a tear in time that sends Jack and Toshiko back to 1941 Cardiff during the Blitz. It’s a well-executed blend of period detail and time travel intrigue, grounding the series' sci-fi trappings in something human and emotional. The dislocation allows the episode to become a rare two-hander for Jack and Tosh, both of whom shine in a quieter, more introspective story that allows the cast to dig deeper.

THE TWO JACKS

It’s in this 1940s setting that we finally meet the real Captain Jack Harkness – the American officer whose name our Jack took. As it turns out, he's not just a convenient alias, but a real, deeply honourable man doomed to die young. His presence gives the story emotional stakes that ripple outward, allowing John Barrowman to give one of his finest performances as Jack struggles with identity, love, and legacy. The slow burn of romantic tension between the two Jacks is beautifully rendered, quietly daring and tender in an era that would never allow them to be together.

The kiss at the episode’s climax – the two men dancing and sharing a final embrace in front of their stunned fellow soldiers – is easily one of Torchwood’s most moving moments. It’s heartfelt, cathartic, and bravely unapologetic, giving Jack a rare chance to express a vulnerability he so often hides behind bravado.

TOSH SHINES THROUGH

Toshiko also gets a great deal to do, both intellectually and emotionally. Her quiet resilience in the face of wartime racism and sexism is played subtly but effectively, and it’s refreshing to see her scientific skills take centre stage again. Her bond with Jack deepens here too, not just as colleagues but as friends sharing an impossible situation. The moment she uses her ingenuity to leave messages for the team in the present is clever and touching, a lovely payoff that underscores her importance to the group.

BILIS MANGER – EVIL WITH A TWINKLE

And then there’s that villain. The late Murray Melvin makes an unforgettable debut as Bilis Manger, a man whose presence defies time and logic. With his spectral eyes and dry whisper, he exudes quiet menace from the moment he appears. What makes Bilis so effective is how little we know about him – he's not a cackling monster or a ranting madman, but a chilling observer pulling strings in the shadows. His ability to move between past and present makes him feel genuinely uncanny, and his manipulation of the team adds an extra layer of danger and mystery.

TENSIONS IN THE HUB

While Jack and Tosh navigate the 1940s, the rest of the team are left in the present trying to bring them back. These scenes help expand the character dynamics in meaningful ways, particularly for Owen and Ianto. Owen’s desperation to open the Rift is driven by unresolved grief over Diane, and for once his recklessness feels less selfish and more tragic. Ianto, meanwhile, refuses to let another catastrophe unfold – a marked shift for his character, who takes real initiative here. Their confrontation reaches breaking point when Ianto actually shoots Owen in a desperate attempt to prevent him from unleashing unknown dangers. It’s a shockingly raw moment that demonstrates just how frayed the team has become under pressure.

GWEN PIECES IT TOGETHER

Meanwhile, Gwen operates as the glue holding the story together. Her attempts to follow clues from the past and evade Bilis’ eerie presence give the story its investigative spine, and her increasing unease helps keep the tension simmering. There’s real payoff to the way the different time strands intersect – from Tosh’s breadcrumbs to Gwen’s modern-day legwork – and the pacing ensures the mystery never drags.

A DANCE BEFORE THE STORM

Though the episode doesn’t end with a bang, it does reach a powerful emotional crescendo. Jack’s final goodbye to the man whose name he took – and whose death he cannot prevent – is a poignant moment of reckoning. It speaks to themes of identity, remembrance, and the cost of survival, all wrapped in a surprisingly gentle, beautifully shot farewell. And with the Rift finally opened, the danger unleashed by Bilis ensures that this calm won’t last – setting the stage for the chaos to come in End of Days.

📝 VERDICT: 77/100

Captain Jack Harkness is one of Torchwood’s finest episodes: emotionally resonant, quietly tense, and steeped in character. It uses time travel not just as a plot device but as a way to explore trauma, legacy, and love. The WWII setting is atmospheric, the character work strong, and Bilis Manger is an inspired villain – spectral, manipulative, and unforgettable. It’s a slow-burning hour of television that prioritises people over spectacle, and it’s all the stronger for it. A haunting, human story that gives Torchwood a rare moment of grace before the storm.

Kind of insane to be stuck back in the 1940s, meet the guy who's name you stole after he died, and then proceed to make out with him on his last day alive

With a narrative split between the modern day and 1941 which also ties into Jack’s personal history, it seems fitting to look at this story from the perspective of its World War Two setting.

Tosh and Jack are investigating an abandoned dance hall where music and voices have been heard. Almost instantly, they are transported back to 1941 where Jack meets a certain Captain Jack Harkness – an officer in the RAF destined to die during a training exercise who Jack assumed the identity of. Tosh, meanwhile, desperately tries to send a message into the future to allow them to open the time rift that she and Jack seem to have fallen through.

The episode does tie into the two either side (Out of Time also featured characters from the past slipping through a time rift and the aftermath of the for Owen is a driving force for his actions during the story; End of Days,which follows this, sees the return of Bilis Manger, the enigmatic ‘caretaker/manager’ of the dance hall (who is, inexplicably present in both time periods). However, it works well enough as a standalone with the three main plots – Jack meeting Jack; Tosh attempting to send a message to the future and – back at the Hub – Owen and Ianto fighting over how to retrieve them. Gwen features less and this was, apparently, due to this episode double-banking with another.

The period detail is excellent and much is made in the accompanying documentary and commentary about how much work had to go into costuming and styling the extras at the dance hall. There are lots of story details surrounding WW2 RAF pilots and there is also time to touch upon the issue of Tosh’s race and the problems it causes in this time period.

One principal aspect of the story which defies the historical setting is the romance between Captain Jack and Jack Harkness. It starts coyly with Jack warily testing the water. The presence of a girlfriend for Harkness throws a spanner in the works, but it is clear his heart isn’t really in the relationship. The connection between the two Jacks builds until the climactic dance scene and, to be honest, this is where it lost me a little. I know the story states that the real Jack Harkness will die within the next couple of days but for him to brazenly step on to the dance floor with our Jack, embrace him, dance with him and, ultimately kiss him, is very on the nose and raises the question as to why the crowded dance hall doesn’t react more ‘realistically’. Bearing in mind the askew glances and more pointed racist comments Tosh endures, it seems a little like the story wants to have its cake and eat it. The idea that WW2 Jack would openly announce his sexuality to a room full of people, including his subordinates, stretches credulity somewhat and rather, for me, ruined the ending.

The 'same-sex dance scene in a period setting' has also now been repeated in Rogue with a very similar vibe.  I don't think that scene fully works there either (it's far too long).  I know why these scenes are important in both stories but I just don't think they are as successful as the people involved might want them to be.

More successful, in Captain Jack Harkness, are Tosh’s attempts to send a message to the future which is fun and the presence of the enigmatic Bilis Manger. Murray Melvin is an odd-looking man (in the best possible way) and creates a very unsettling performance. Of course, his plans are only just beginning in this story but the fact that after End of Days he doesn’t feature again in the series does make me intrigued to seek out his Big Finish audio appearances.

The scenes back at the Hub are a little frantic and don’t really match the atmosphere or spirit of the WW2 scenes but this is Jack and Tosh’s story so it doesn’t matter too much.

Although the romance between the two Jacks is a bit on the nose for me, the period setting is well-realised and the simple plot of trying to get rescued from the past by sending messages to the future is fun. A strong early Torchwood episode (which definitely belies the received wisdom that Series 1 was a stumbling, often-failing experiment).

It's slow, but it's great to see two members of Torchwood in Jack and Tosh travel together back in time. Period stuff is great, and I'm intrigued as to who Bilis is. Time Lord? Not sure I'm a fan of the retcon that Jack stole his name though.

Likely (and easily) my favourite episode of Series One. Captain Jack Harkness is an effective use of Jack's character and age, a good story with a compelling sense of urgency and action to it, and a fun time travel story. It definitely thinks like this and a couple of the other stronger first series episodes make a better case for Torchwood than anything in the first two thirds of the season. Even Tosh gets to shine here, in my opinion for the first in the show, a feat that would sadly be replicated very few times in Torchwood TV.

I love the production design and effort put in taking us to 1941. Given the limited budget, I think they did an exceptional job at this. A really good episode that might be my favourite of Torchwood pre-Children of Earth. I also think it works as a good companion to Out of Time, taking us from Torchwood receiving time travellers to them journeying through time. The stuff between Owen and Ianto was a little overplayed but it still worked in heightening the sense of urgency to Captain Jack Harkness as an episode. All told, it remains an impressive episode that definitely stands out a bit in memory.