John Barrowman looks back and casts judgement on Torchwood

The 53 year-old Captain Jack actor has shared his thoughts over the deaths of Owen Harper (played by Burn Gorman) and Toshiko Sato (Naoko Mori) in recent Q&A.

Owen Harper (played by Burn Gorman) and Toshiko Sato (Naoko Mori), who were both fan favourites that were killed off in series two finale Exit Wounds at the hand of Jack’s unhinged brother Gray.

The star said “Personally, I thought it happened too soon,” Barrowman said about the deaths on a Q&A with Gorman and Mori. “It would have been great to do another one.”

Gorman added: “[I was] gutted. Totally gutted. It felt like we were just getting started, to be honest.
However, he continued: “I suppose we always knew. It was pretty common knowledge that people had to die in Torchwood.

“We did this whole thing together and I felt like it was never going to end. But of course, it does. It’s television. It comes to an end and you move on.”

And although Mori said she also felt “gutted” to leave the BBC she understands why Tosh had to be killed off.

“It’s good because it catches people by surprise,” she explained. “And it certainly caught us by surprise.”

Gorman agreed: “It’s good writing.”

The cast then recalled how, after learning about their characters’ fates, Mori and Gorman decided to break the news to their fellow actors themselves.

“We were not told by the execs,” remembered Barrowman. “I remember [Mori and Gorman] saying ‘there’s something we have to tell you’. And that was it. We all cried.”

But what would have happened if Tosh and Owen had survived? Would they have finally got together, as fans were hoping throughout their two series on screen? In short: probably not.

“We might have gone on two or three dates, but it would have stayed on the surface,” Gorman said. “They’re not very good communicators, both of them.”

“I don’t know whether it would have ended well,” added Mori. “They’re both a little bit damaged.”

So, there you have it: Tosh and Owen died horribly and unexpectedly, but they would have never been happy together if they lived and would probably face a worse fate in the future.

If nothing else, that’s very Torchwood.