The Black Sun has come through the Rift. When it visits, sleep comes with it. Orr is the guardian, appointed to watch over the city while it slumbers. What will they find as they wander the streets?
Who are the lost souls, trapped with their demons? Who are the ones fighting even sleep? Who are the broken meeting their dreams?
Orr walks the streets at night with God - the Mourner from episode 1-3. Everybody in the city has fallen asleep whilst the Night Sun has a "cheeky nibble" on their dreams for the night. Orr is assigned by God to protect those who are asleep - stopping those from in cars from crashing whilst asleep - picking them off the roads and putting them in bed, "the little things" that keep the city safe. Jack and Colin believe they're asleep and that's why they see Colchester. Jack tries to let Colin say goodbye, but he hyperventilates and collapses.Tyler is joined on a balcony by Chip, with whom he has been partaking in a drug-fuelled orgy all night. They are the only two still awake and Tyler is in a poor mood, looking out across the city for perspective (Tyler compares it to one of Jack's brooding sessions) whilst Chip offers him more sex and drugs. When Jack returns to the Hub, Yvonne and Ng are still awake and functioning thanks to Yvonne's special alien caffiene ring. They have to hold hands to stay awake and Jack makes a joke about maintaining bodily contact. While Ng scans the Night Sun, Jack insists he is immune to the Night Sun's effects. He then faceplants. Ng says the Night Sun must be getting stronger. Orr is still walking the streets, saving people from mundane tasks, but God approaches her again and invites her to talk in a café. Jack is woken up by Yvonne and has remembered hearing about the Night Sun before. Jack still doesn't trust Ng, and accuses Ng of deleting the results of the scan after the computer claims not to have begun scanning, but Yvonne instead blames a figure that she thinks she saw in the Hub. Tyler takes a pill that Chip gives him but only feels numb, prompting Chip to offer him a glowing blue pill in the bedroom - and the surreal horror goes to a new level. Meanwhile, Mr Colchester wakes Colin up and comes to the conclusion that he is not a dream as he was able to wander the flat as Colin slept and decides to prove to Colin that he is alive. Orr enters the cafe; and God tells her that something is on the loose in the city that she did not give permission, having slipped through the Rift with the Night Sun. On a busy street, Orr is directed to her task by God - who uses the sleepwalking humans to point their way. Yvonne, Jack and Ng go looking for the possible intruder, holding hands so that the caffeine ring keeps them all awake, and do a second scan which also fails. Tyler and Chip begin having sex before Chip gives him the blue pill which he says will make him feel human connection. It instantly kicks in and Chip disappears whilst a glowing Tyler knocks on the door and comes in. Tyler looks back at his glowing self, confused and bereft, but his plot is only going to get more crazy from here. Tyler and Chip begin having sex before Chip gives him a blue pill which he says will make him feel human connection. It instantly kicks in and Chip disappears whilst a glowing Tyler knocks on the door and comes in. Evidently this glowing blue Tyler is some kind of metaphor for Tyler's confidence issues. Meanwhile, Mr Colchester and Colin try to prove that Colchester is real with a gizmo. Colin switches on the gizmo and points it at Mr Colchester, but it detects no heat or mass and passes straight through Mr Colchester's hand. Mr Colchester expresses his displeasure at walking in on Colin and Jack and remembers that his final thoughts before his death were about Colin. Meanwhile, Jack and Ng argue about whether she can be trusted. She says that if Yvonne has any doubts, she should just put her to sleep, now. Yvonne coldly drops her to the floor. Meanwhile in the insane plot, Tyler follows his glowing self and sees him having sex with all the other men, with Chip saying that the glowing Tyler is so much better than the real one. They tell Tyler to go fuck off, and then they disappear. It was evidently a really bad trip. Tyler finds himself alone with Orr, who put everyone back to sleep. He vomits blue light which Orr collects inside of herself before heading in the direction of where the people outside are now pointing, telling Tyler to rest and that she will return for him. Meanwhile, Mr Colchester realises that the gizmo was not real, having no actual knowledge of it and finding it very convenient in the situation. The same blue light floats out of the gizmo and begins choking Colin. Meanwhile, Yvonne and Jack reach Level 7 of the Hub and argue, with Yvonne letting go of him when he tells her that she has failed. A glowing Andy appears. Orr arrives in the Colchester-Prices' flat and Colin disappears. They tell Mr Colchester that the dream was his and not Colin's and absorb the light from the gizmo, which Mr Colchester remembers was a novelty bottle opener from a bar. The glowing Andy taunts Yvonne about her losing control when Orr arrives and he vanishes. The caffeine ring runs out and Yvonne falls asleep.Orr finds Jack, who is possessed by the light and has been used by them to put those disconnected with him in waking nightmares. Orr absorbs the light when they are suddenly transported into a café by God. God Tells Orr that she let the Night Sun feast to restore balance after doing "something powerful" and about the origins of the light. The Night Sun disappears.In the morning, Tyler wakes up and tells Chip that he has better places to be. Yvonne apologises to Ng and says that she is going to go on a recruitment drive. God offers Orr the chance to see her unshielded, allowing them to feel her love. Orr accepts and is overwhelmed, screaming as she collapses into a puddle. God goes to fetch a bucket. Mr Colchester wakes up Colin and the two decide to kiss to see if Mr Colchester is real. Before they kiss, The episode cuts off. In a Post Credits Scene, Yvonne gets the pharadyne projector and says that she is going to bring back Ianto despite Jack's protests. Instead, Norton appears.
Tropes:
- Madness Mantra: Orr says "I am the Night and The Night Is Me" ad nauseum.
- Eldritch Abomination: The Night Sun.
- Surreal Horror: Much of the episode. If the Night Sun was not
- Blue-and-Orange Morality: The Night Sun is neither good or evil. It merely makes the world stop for it to feed on humanity's dreams. A "Cheeky Nibble." They are left unharmed, it does not desire to hurt anyone. But if they were say, driving a car at the time, or in a bad situation when they were forced asleep - something bad might happen indeed.
- Dissonant Serenity: The world is oddly calm, and quiet, when the Night Sun puts all to sleep for a night. Orr walks the streets alone, and few are awake.
- A Day In The Lime Light: Orr gets their first episode as the main protagonist since set one of Aliens Among Us.
- Put on a Bus: Orr dissolves into a bucket, seemingly dead.
- Dark Is Not Evil: The Night Sun plunges the world into darkness. It is less threatening to the team than some of the other threats they've faced.
- Light Is Not Good: The Main threat of the episode is not the Night Sun - it's dangerous strands of light.
- Makes Just as Much Sense in Context: When Tyler takes a drug called "blue" he sees a holy glowing blue version of himself that unlike his ordinary self, people like. It is by far the most surreal moment in ANY torchwood episode.
- Crack Fic: YMMV, but the Tyler B-Plot is ABSOLUTELY INSANE.
