Torchwood is shocked at the death of Owen (Burn Gorman). Martha Jones (Freema Agyeman) is about to perform an autopsy, but Jack (John Barrowman) tells her to wait. He goes to a fortune-telling child, who shows him the death card. He goes to an abandoned church full of Weevils to find a box he’s looking for and returns to the Hub. He reveals a left-handed Resurrection Glove, the mate to the one they destroyed. Though Gwen (Eve Myles) protests, he tries to resurrect Owen for a few minutes to say goodbye. Guess what? It all goes wrong.
First of all, Owen stays alive as Suzie did. Owen sees himself shrouded in darkness and hears whispers. His eyes go black, and he speaks in tongues. He escapes and goes to a bar, where he finds he cannot eat or drink. He has no pulse and therefore no more erections. Jack finds him and a brawl ensues. In a police cell, Owen vomits the food he tried to eat and panics. Jack tells him immortality is not that great. When they are released, Weevils chase them to a rooftop. The Weevils bow to Owen, who speaks to them in their language.
Owen is transforming. According to legend, this happened before, when Death came to search for thirteen victims. By consuming their souls, Death could remain in the world, but Faith prevented it. Owen suggests he be embalmed, but the Resurrection Gauntlet activates and attacks Martha, aging her rapidly. Owen shoots the Gauntlet and Death says, “I will walk the Earth forever and my hunger shall know no bounds.” Then it kills Jack.
After reviving, Jack finds himself in the hospital, where the team is trying to treat Martha. Death takes twelve souls and pursues a young leukemia patient (Jamie Burton). Owen saves the child. The child is named Faith. Owen realizes he can defeat Death. He forces it back into the darkness, restoring Martha. But Jack says you can never defeat Death, only evade it. Owen wants his job back.
The words that Owen speaks are from Stephen R. Donaldson’s dark fantasy series The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant. The author was not pleased at first, until he was told that Russell T. Davies was a big fan. Death as created by the BBC special-effects team was amazing—a cloud of darkness with a walking skeleton inside. This story was dark, even for Torchwood.