History Recap / TorchwoodS2E2Sleeper

* AbortedArc[=/=]WhatHappenedToTheMouse: The last Sleeper implies that there are other cells active on the planet. To date, they have never appeared or even been mentioned again.
* BladeBelowTheShoulder[=/=]BodyHorror: The sleeper agents' arm blades aren't pleasant to look at.

* DyingAsYourself: Beth.

* SuicideByCop: Deciding that her life will eventually be erased by her programming anyway, she feigns that her sleeper personality is being reactivated and attacks Gwen, prompting Torchwood to shoot her dead.

* BladeBeneathTheShoulder[=/=]BodyHorror: The sleeper agents' arm blades aren't pleasant to look at.

* BodyHorror: The sleeper agents' arm blades aren't pleasant to look at.

There are a lot more aliens like Beth around who fully believe they're human. They'll be activated soon. Unfortunately, Beth's early awakening seems to stir them to action, whereupon several innocent people are sent to their deaths as former loved ones suddenly gore up people in positions of power, let their baby roll into oncoming traffic with the maternal side of their personality rubbed out, and carry out suicide attacks. Three Sleepers activate- two blow themselves up, hitting targets that cut off communications in Cardiff. The last Sleeper prepares to cause an even bigger boom by breaking into an old nuclear store, where he will begin launching and exploding the warheads. Owen pesters Tosh to contact Jack, but she can't get it through his noggin that the entire telephone network is down until Ianto ridicules him with every form of communication being cut off- even the tin cans with strings.

* WhatMeasureIsANonHuman: The core dilemma of the episode. Without her programming, Beth acts, talks and thinks just like any ordinary human being. However, everything she is was merely programmed by her alien creators. And yet, she dies on her own terms, as a human.

* MindProbe: Torchwood Three is in possession of one. [[note]]No, not [[Recap/DoctorWho20thASTheFiveDoctors the]] mind probe.[[/note]]

* SuicideByCop

* WhatMeasureIsANonHuman

->'''Gwen''': Yes, well, then you are. [[ContemplateOurNavels What makes us human? Is it our minds or our bodies?]]

->''(after a Sleeper has cocked up all of Cardiff's access to phones)''
->'''Tosh''': No, I can't just "hook something up". The entire telephone network is down.
->'''Owen''': [[CaptainOblivious What about a mobile connection?]]
->'''Tosh''': ''(annoyed)'' '''[[PunctuatedForEmphasis The entire. Telephone network. Is down!]]'''
->'''Ianto''': ''([[ItAmusedMe gleefully]] [[{{Troll}} trolling]] Owen)'' [[PokeThePoodle Mobiles, landlines]], [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking tin cans with bits of string]]. [[EmphasizeEverything Everything. Absolutely everything]]. [[DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment No phones. Phones all broken]]. ''(gestures as though he's answering a phone)'' [[OverlyLongGag Hello? Anyone there?]] ''[[LongList No]],'' '''''[[ChewingTheScenery cos the phones aren't working!]]'''''
-->-- '''Torchwood Three''' doesn't know how to handle a crisis very well, do they?

* PreClimaxClimax: Owen is GenreSavvy enough to suggest an orgy when faced with impending death.

The end of the world is nigh, and it seems humanity has only a few moments left to live. Owen suggests they all have sex. "And I thought the end of the world couldn't get any worse", Ianto retorts. The aliens are thwarted in the end. The rouge Sleeper has his immunity to bullets removed like Beth's, and gets shot down. A lot more talkative and sadistic, the Sleeper eagerly blows himself up to keep Cell 114's activities from being compromised.

->'''Tosh''': ''(to Owen after a Sleeper has cocked up all of Cardiff's access to phones)'' No, I can't just "hook something up". The entire telephone network is down.

--> '''Toshiko:'''They'll stop it.

--> '''Owen:''' Let's all have sex.

There are a lot more aliens like Beth around who fully believe they're human. They'll be activated soon. Unfortunately, Beth's early awakening seems to stir them to action, whereupon several innocent people are sent to their deaths as former loved ones suddenly gore up people in positions of power, let their baby roll into oncoming traffic with the maternal side of their personality rubbed out, and carry out suicide attacks. Three Sleepers activate- two blow themselves up, hitting targets that cut off communications in Cardiff. The last Sleeper prepares to cause an even bigger boom by breaking into an old nuclear store, where he will begin launching and exploding the warheads. Owen pesters Tosh to contact Jack, but she can't get it through his noggin that the entire telephone network is down until Ianto ridicules him with every form of communication being cut off- even the tin cans with strings. Owen decides that if everyone's gonna die, it might as well be [[LovableSexManiac during a threesome]] with his teammates. Ianto finds that notion beyond disgusting.

* ComingAndGoing: PlayedForLaughs. Owen's suggestion to have sex before the team is invariably blown up doesn't get off the ground floor.

A woman called Beth wakes up to a burglary, blacks out and wakes up to find one of the thieves dead and the other seriously injured. She's taken in by Torchwood, who cautiously probe her until the alien inside her shows itself, removing a form of biological invincibility built into her body to do so.

There are a lot more aliens like Beth around who fully believe they're human. They'll be activated soon.

The end of the world is nigh, and it seems humanity has only a few moments left to live. Owen suggests they all have sex. "And I thought the end of the world couldn't get any worse", Ianto retorts. The aliens are thwarted in the end.

Unfortunately, Beth does not like the idea her sleeper agent programming will soon kick in and erase her humanity. She knows that putting her in cold storage will also fail, since her body was engineered to thwart such things. Instead, Beth forces Torchwood to pull a SuicideByCop and lunges at Gwen with her Sleeper body's arm blade extended. Vulnerable to bullets with her defenses disabled from their experiments, Torchwood shoots Beth, breaking off her blade, and she perishes with her humanity intact. Gwen laments Beth's death, but Jack realizes she knew Torchwood would have ended up killing her soon enough and wanted to make it easier on them.

A woman called Beth wakes up to a burglary, blacks out and wakes up to find one of the thieves dead and the other seriously injured. She's taken in by Torchwood, who torture her until the alien inside her shows itself.

* TomatoInTheMirror: [[spoiler:Beth]]

* DyingAsYourself.

--> '''Toshiko:'''
--> '''Owen:''' They'll stop it.

* DyingAsYourself.

* PreClimaxClimax: Owen is [GenreSavvy] enough to suggest an orgy when faced with impending death.

A woman named Beth wakes up to a burglary, blacks out, and realizes she's killed one of the thieves. She's taken in by Torchwood, who torture her until the alien inside her shows itself.

The end of the world is nigh, and it seems humanity has only a few moments left to live. Owen suggests they all have sex. "And I thought the end of the world couldn't get any worse," Ianto retorts. The aliens are thwarted in the end.

A woman wakes up to a burglary only for the thieves to be knocked out. She then discovers the truth about herself...

* TomatoInTheMirror: [[spoiler:Beth]]