Torchwood Episode 206 Recap: "Reset"

As Martha is leaving, an alarm goes off and she sees armed security officers running outside while an announcement says, “Breakout in Zone A … the escaped creature is extremely dangerous.” That can’t be good.

Meanwhile, Gwen searches the Pharm computer files, and sees that all the murder victims were Reset test subjects. There’s also a guy listed under “Executive Actions,” which Jack recognizes as black ops terminology for assassinations, indicating he’s a hit man employed by the Pharm. Gwen also finds another name, “Elin Morgan,” a subject they haven’t seen before who hasn’t turned up dead yet. Jack tells her to go with Ianto and bring Ms. Morgan to the Hub.

At the Pharm, Martha sees the restricted area and rushes to the gate, but there’s another alarm panel. She hides and waits for a security squad to open the gate, then sneaks in. Suddenly, she hears a loud BZZZZ, turns around and is blinded by a bright light. Cringing in pain, she rips out the contact lenses. Ouch! Martha, as a fellow contact lens wearer, I feel for you. There’s nothing worse than that stray eyelash or alien gnat wing.

When the MarthaCam goes dark, Tosh explains it must have been some kind of “radiation surge” that blotted out the transmission. Unable to see what’s happening, the Hubbies try to figure out what to do. Owen wants to storm in and save Martha, but Tosh points out that it’s swimming with security and their arrival could put her in more danger. Jack says he knows Martha can handle it, given she’s “handled worse” (R.M.™).

Meanwhile, Martha, free of contact lenses and irritating IMs, opens her eyes to see a giant version of the alien gnat flying toward her. It starts out looking kind of scary, but once it approaches her and you see it’s big googly eyes, it’s actually kind of lame, the kind of cartoonish creepy-crawly you’d find in a Garbage Pail Kids sticker pack. The security squad approaches and the bug flies away. Then they shoot Martha in the neck with some kind of tranquilizer.

Martha wakes up to find herself strapped to an examination table. She screams that she’s a volunteer subject and they can’t treat her this way. What, she thought being a lab rat would be all spa treatments and caviar?

Dr. Copley tells her to quit with the charade; they know she’s with Torchwood. But not to worry; they have big plans for her. They’ve examined her blood and found something unique; her cells are alien-like, demonstrating the kind of mutation only possible from out-of-this-world radiation (R.M.^TM). In short, Copley says, she is “something special.” Her parents will be so pleased.

He elaborates that they want to see how her “uniquely effective immune system” with its “funky” mutated cells will handle some of Reset’s imperfections. And if Jack can’t pull off “Respect,” there’s no way this old white dude can handle “funky.” Then the evil assistant hooks Martha up to a pinkish-looking IV pouch and forces her to drip the Kool-Aid.

Meanwhile, Gwen and Ianto storm into Elin Morgan’s flat to find the hired gun about to stick her eyeball with a syringe the way you would a martini olive with a swizzle stick.

They bring him back to the Hub and strap him to a chair in the vault, figuring they can coerce him to reveal info about the Pharm that can help them get in and rescue Martha. He starts blubbering like a baby and whining about a stomach ache, sounding an awful lot like a junior high version of me trying to get out of gym class.