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The Best Episodes of Torchwood

Every episode of Torchwood ranked from best to worst. Let's dive into the Best Episodes of Torchwood!

Binge this in 1d 11h•Peaking at 8.9/10

The exploits of a team of people whose job is to investigate the unusual, the strange and the extraterrestrial.

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Episode Rankings

  1. #1 Fan Favorite
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    Torchwood Season 3 Episode 5 - Day Five
    8.9/10(1840 votes)

    #1 - Day Five

    S3:E5

    Torchwood is defenceless, and Gwen Cooper stands alone, as the final sanction begins. As violence erupts and the world descends into anarchy, an ordinary council estate becomes a battleground where the future of the human race will be decided.

    Director:Euros Lyn
    Writer:Russell T Davies

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  2. Torchwood Season 3 Episode 4 - Day Four
    8.7/10(1739 votes)

    #2 - Day Four

    S3:E4

    Torchwood finally learns the truth about the events of 1965. But Britain is in danger of becoming a rogue state, and everything now pivots around John Frobisher, as the Ambassador of the 456 destroys its old allegiances and reveals its true intent.

    Director:Euros Lyn
    Writer:John Fay

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  3. Torchwood Season 3 Episode 1 - Day One
    8.5/10(1963 votes)

    #3 - Day One

    S3:E1

    At 8.45am, every child in the world suddenly stops, chanting the words "we are coming" again and again. Whilst investigating, the remaining Torchwood team face greater personal and professional challenges than ever before, having to work with their numbers depleted.

    Director:Euros Lyn
    Writer:Russell T Davies

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  4. Torchwood Season 3 Episode 3 - Day Three
    8.4/10(1596 votes)

    #4 - Day Three

    S3:E3

    The eyes of the world turn to Britain, as the 456 announce, 'We are here'. As a pillar of fire descends upon London, the members of Torchwood must battle to protect their own families, as the fight gets personal. But will Clem's memories destroy everything?

    Director:Euros Lyn
    Writers:Russell T Davies, James Moran

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  5. Torchwood Season 2 Episode 13 - Exit Wounds
    8.3/10(1377 votes)

    #5 - Exit Wounds

    S2:E13

    Captain John Hart returns to wreak havoc upon Jack's world, who ends up getting captured. It is up to the Torchwood team to rescue him and save the city.

    Director:Ashley Way
    Writer:Chris Chibnall

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  6. Torchwood Season 4 Episode 2 - Rendition
    8.1/10(982 votes)

    #6 - Rendition

    S4:E2

    As the Torchwood team is reunited, Jack realizes he's the most vulnerable man on Earth. A flight to the United States turns into a desperate battle for survival.

    Director:Billy Gierhart
    Writer:Doris Egan

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    The 20 WORST Episodes of Torchwood

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  7. Torchwood Season 2 Episode 11 - Adrift
    8.0/10(1254 votes)

    #7 - Adrift

    S2:E11

    Gwen finds the darker side of Torchwood when a teenager disappears, investigating why hundreds of people have vanished without a trace. Jack is obstructing attempts to find them, and the answer appears to lie in the Rift.

    Director:Mark Everest
    Writer:Chris Chibnall

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  8. Torchwood Season 4 Episode 10 - The Blood Line
    8.0/10(894 votes)

    #8 - The Blood Line

    S4:E10

    As the Torchwood team launch a final, desperate mission against the seemingly undefeatable Three Families, they realize it may come down to the ultimate sacrifice.

    Director:Billy Gierhart
    Writers:Russell T Davies, Jane Espenson

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  9. Torchwood Season 1 Episode 8 - They Keep Killing Suzie
    7.8/10(1512 votes)

    #9 - They Keep Killing Suzie

    S1:E8

    A Suzie themed episode Using the Resurrection Gauntlet that former Torchwood member Suzie Costello originally had, the team are able to bring a number of murder victims back to life. However, these all have a link with the now-deceased Suzie, and the group have no choice but to bring her back. After the process goes wrong, and permanently keeps her alive, Suzie manipulates the naïve Gwen into taking her to see her father.

    Director:James Strong
    Writers:Dan McCulloch, Paul Tomalin

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  10. Torchwood Season 2 Episode 3 - To the Last Man
    7.8/10(1284 votes)

    #10 - To the Last Man

    S2:E3

    Toshiko falls for a handsome soldier, trapped out of his time, who unwittingly holds the key to saving the world. With an old hospital haunted by ghosts from 1918, a crisis foreseen by Torchwood 90 years ago is about to reach its climax. Time zones are colliding and with life and death decisions to be made, will Torchwood be able to stop an explosive end for Cardiff?

    Director:Andy Goddard
    Writer:Helen Raynor

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  11. Torchwood Season 4 Episode 5 - The Categories of Life
    7.8/10(760 votes)

    #11 - The Categories of Life

    S4:E5

    Torchwood goes undercover and discovers the terrible truth behind the Miracle. The enemy is closing in, and death is about to make a shocking return.

    Director:Guy Ferland
    Writer:Jane Espenson

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  12. Torchwood Season 4 Episode 9 - The Gathering
    7.8/10(728 votes)

    #12 - The Gathering

    S4:E9

    With the whole world in recession, a defeated Torchwood team take their last chance and make a deal with the devil.

    Director:Guy Ferland
    Writer:John Fay

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  13. Torchwood Season 1 Episode 1 - Everything Changes
    7.7/10(2037 votes)

    #13 - Everything Changes

    S1:E1

    WPC Gwen Cooper is at the scene of a brutal murder, when the "special ops," known only as Torchwood, arrive. After witnessing the group bring the dead man back to life, Gwen goes in pursuit of this mysterious organisation, only to see weirder things than she could ever imagine existed. Soon after, she begins to regret giving in to her curiosity, when she meets Captain Jack Harkness.

    Director:Brian Kelly
    Writer:Russell T Davies

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  14. Torchwood Season 2 Episode 12 - Fragments
    7.7/10(1256 votes)

    #14 - Fragments

    S2:E12

    As the team are knocked unconscious we find out how Jack, Toshiko, Ianto and Owen were initiated into Torchwood.

    Director:Jonathan Fox Bassett
    Writer:Chris Chibnall

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  15. Torchwood Season 3 Episode 2 - Day Two
    7.7/10(1631 votes)

    #15 - Day Two

    S3:E2

    Torchwood are forced underground, as the government takes swift and brutal action. With members of the team being hunted down, only Lois holds the key to Torchwood's salvation - but she is helpless as her superiors make plans for the mysterious Floor 13.

    Director:Euros Lyn
    Writer:John Fay

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  16. Torchwood Season 4 Episode 3 - Dead of Night
    7.7/10(906 votes)

    #16 - Dead of Night

    S4:E3

    Torchwood goes on the run and finds a new enemy, but as they launch a raid on PhiCorp headquarters, Jack must confront the mysterious Oswald Danes.

    Director:Billy Gierhart
    Writer:Jane Espenson

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  17. Torchwood Season 4 Episode 4 - Escape to L.A.
    7.6/10(848 votes)

    #17 - Escape to L.A.

    S4:E4

    Torchwood relocates to LA to sneak into PhiCorp's headquarters to find some useful information, unaware that their mission has been compromised. Elsewhere, Oswald and Jilly face a new adversary in Ellis Hartley Monroe, who is using the Miracle Day for her own agenda.

    Director:Billy Gierhart
    Writer:John Shiban

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  18. Torchwood Season 4 Episode 7 - Immortal Sins
    7.6/10(789 votes)

    #18 - Immortal Sins

    S4:E7

    Gwen must fight to protect her family and takes a terrifying journey, covering both miles and decades, as the long history of the Miracle is revealed.

    Director:Gwyneth Horder-Payton
    Writer:Jane Espenson

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  19. Torchwood Season 4 Episode 8 - End of the Road
    7.6/10(745 votes)

    #19 - End of the Road

    S4:E8

    Jack faces a showdown with a man he thought was long since dead, while Rex takes extreme action to prevent the collapse of society.

    Director:Gwyneth Horder-Payton
    Writers:Jane Espenson, Ryan Scott

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  20. Torchwood Season 1 Episode 9 - Random Shoes
    7.5/10(1643 votes)

    #20 - Random Shoes

    S1:E9

    Eugene Jones wakes up, finding himself lying on the middle of a road. He then discovers that he has been the victim of a hit-and-run incident, and is, now, not only dead, but invisible. Eugene recalls events leading up to his death, involving a mysterious alien eye. Simultaneously, Gwen investigates the suspicious circumstances around his fatality.

    Director:James Erskine
    Writer:Jacquetta May

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  21. Torchwood Season 2 Episode 4 - Meat
    7.5/10(1247 votes)

    #21 - Meat

    S2:E4

    When Rhys discovers the truth about Torchwood, he helps the gang to find the source of an unusual alien meat supply.

    Director:Colin Teague
    Writer:Catherine Tregenna

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  22. Torchwood Season 2 Episode 5 - Adam
    7.5/10(1310 votes)

    #22 - Adam

    S2:E5

    A memory thief gets in to the minds of the Torchwood team, and uncovers long forgotten secrets.

    Director:Andy Goddard
    Writer:Catherine Tregenna

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  23. Torchwood Season 1 Episode 3 - Ghost Machine
    7.4/10(1677 votes)

    #23 - Ghost Machine

    S1:E3

    Whilst chasing a man, Gwen retrieves an unusual machine that allows the user to see back into the past. It is considered dangerous, and no members of Torchwood are permitted to use it. But Owen has other plans, and witnesses a violent murder that took place over forty years ago. Using the information he gathered, Owen starts to track down the still-living murderer.

    Director:Colin Teague
    Writer:Helen Raynor

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  24. Torchwood Season 2 Episode 7 - Dead Man Walking
    7.4/10(1237 votes)

    #24 - Dead Man Walking

    S2:E7

    Captain Jack resurrects Owen with a resurrection glove, only to find out that the new glove isn't quite what they'd bargained for. Owen, in an undead state, helps the team figure out why he's still around.

    Director:Andy Goddard
    Writer:Matt Jones

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  25. Torchwood Season 4 Episode 1 - The New World
    7.4/10(2852 votes)

    #25 - The New World

    S4:E1

    Convicted child killer Oswald Danes is executed for his crimes and when he miraculously survives his fate a series of events is set in place that forces CIA Agent Rex Matheson to investigate a global event. His investigation leads him from America to Wales and an old defunct British Institute - Torchwood.

    Director:Bharat Nalluri
    Writer:Russell T Davies

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Best Episodes Summary

"Day Five" is the best rated episode of "Torchwood". It scored 8.9/10 based on 1840 votes. Directed by Euros Lyn and written by Russell T Davies, it aired on 7/10/2009. This episode scored 0.2 points higher than the second highest rated, "Day Four".