Owen Harper

Owen Harper is a male television character who features in Doctor Who.

Biography

Origin

Owen Harper

He had a difficult relationship with his mother, so much so that, on his tenth birthday, his mother told him that she did not have to like him, only love him. When he was sixteen, his mother packed a bag of his belongings. Despite being unclear if he was leaving voluntarily, Owen claimed that it was the nicest thing she had done for him in years. (Episode: Adam)

He came to believe that saving just one life would make his own worthwhile, but he found that one was never enough - there was always another demanding to be saved; he could never succeed. (Episode: Fragments)

Owen and Katie got engaged. Unbeknownst to the two of them, she had an alien parasite in her brain which had the effect of causing what they believed to be a degenerative neurological condition. (Episode: Fragments)

Torchwood

Despite his superior insisting that what she had possessed no cause, Owen insisted on Katie being given more tests, resulting in the parasite, believed to be a tumour, being found. Relieved, Owen took her for surgery not long after she forgot his name. During the surgery, Jack Harkness arrived and informed him of the parasite, which had killed her and the surgical team. Jack claimed he needed to take her body and sterilise her, something Owen refused to allow, resulting in the doctor being sedated. Owen awoke in a ward where he told others the unbelievable story about aliens. No one believed him and he was advised to take some leave. Owen tried to use security footage but Jack had altered it, leading to him feeling hopeless and disillusioned. After Katie's funeral, Owen was at her grave when he saw Jack in the distance. Enraged, he ran at and assaulted Jack, eventually crying in his arms. Jack offered Owen a job with Torchwood Three so that he could save people and find purpose without Katie which Owen reluctantly accepted. (Episode: Fragments)

Owen was indirectly responsible for Gwen Cooper gaining access to the Hub by his ordering from Jubilee Pizza under the name of 'Torchwood'. (Episode: Everything Changes) He captured Carys Fletcher inside a portable prison cell after she was taken over by the Sex Gas and later cornered her at the Conway Clinic where it was destroyed. (Episode: Day One) Using a quantum transducer obtained from Bernie Harris, Owen saw Ed Morgan rape and murder Lizzie Lewis in 1963. Not only could Owen see the rape and murder, he also felt all of the emotions that the victim felt. He tracked down and threatened Ed in the present and held him at knifepoint. Although Gwen stopped him, Ed threw himself onto the knife and died. (Episode: Ghost Machine) Whilst hiding from the partially cyber-converted Lisa Hallett, he and Gwen kissed, beginning their affair. (Episode: Cyberwoman) He offered his information on Roundstone Wood when Torchwood became aware of the Fairies (Episode: Small Worlds) Owen joined the team on a mission to the Brecon Beacons to solve a series of murders. He and Gwen kissed again and, after stopping the Brynblaidd cannibals, slept together. (Episode: Countrycide) Although they attempted to keep it secret, Tosh learnt of the relationship due to the telepathy pendant, for which Owen was angry. (Episode: Greeks Bearing Gifts) He comforted Gwen after she survived Suzie's leeching of her life force (Episode: They Keep Killing Suzie) and helped remove Eugene Jones's possessions after he died. (Episode: Random Shoes) After the Sky Gypsy landed from 1953, Owen began a casual sexual relationship with Diane Holmes and fell in love with her, being devastated after she decided to fly into the Rift. (Episode: Out of Time) He was left disillusioned with his relationship with Gwen and they called it off. He joined Mark Lynch's Weevil Fight Club and was prepared to allow a Weevil to kill him but Jack came to his rescue, for which Owen chastised him as he felt 'totally at peace'. (Episode: Combat) His feelings for Diane led him to open the Rift after Jack and Tosh were transported to 1941, (Episode: Captain Jack Harkness) for which Jack fired him. He returned and with the support of the rest of the team relieved Jack of his command, shooting him and opening the Rift further, unwittingly unleashing Abaddon. After Abaddon was defeated by Jack, Owen broke down and hugged him. Jack forgave him and he was allowed to continue working at Torchwood. (Episode: End of Days)

Whilst dealing with a hostage situation, Jack returned and shot the Blowfish that threatened them. Owen managed to treat Gwen's poisoning by Captain John Hart, who wounded him and who Owen saved using the team's DNA to confuse a bomb that would kill John and Gwen. After John threatened to harm and kill Tosh, Owen declared that he would kill John if he touched her again. (Episode: Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang) He correctly believed that Beth Halloran had been the one to kill one burglar and injure another. He, Jack, Tosh, and Ianto shot her down when she threatened Gwen. (Episode: Sleeper) Owen woke Tommy Brockless up for his annual awakening and warned Tosh not to get too close to him as he did not want her heart to get broken when he returned to 1918. He helped the others send Tommy back and injected Tosh with a sleeping agent that allowed her to connect to him across time. He consoled her over her loss. (Episode: To the Last Man) He tried to make a sedative for the Cash Cow but found that it was impossibly, instead euthanising it to put it out of its misery. He also helped Rhys recover from a gunshot wound in the shoulder (Episode: Meat) and later became meek and pining for Tosh due to Adam Smith's manipulation, being restored after taking retcon. (Episode: Adam) Joined by Martha Jones, Owen helped look into and infiltrate the Pharm, having a flirtatious relationship with her. The two identified and examined Reset, which was being made and administered by Owen's old hero Aaron Copley. After beginning the shutdown of the Pharm, Owen was shot by Copley when attempting to diffuse a stand-off and died gasping in pain with Martha unable to save him. (Episode: Reset) He died aged 27 years old. (Episode: Dead Man Walking)

Overview

Personality and attributes

In appearance, Owen Harper was portrayed as a lean, dark-haired man with sharp features and a perpetually tired or sardonic expression. His attire was typically casual and functional—jackets, shirts, and jeans suited for Torchwood’s urban investigations.

While he pretended to be largely self-interested, Owen had empathy as shown by his obsession with avenging Lizzie Lewis' death. (Episode: Ghost Machine)

He was deeply loyal to the Torchwood team and had a protective relationship with Gwen Cooper. Owen liked to project an aura of callous indifference; he himself was often unaware of his own feelings, most likely including his love for Toshiko Sato. (Episode: Adam)

Powers and abilities

However, he was not perfect proven when he misdiagnosed a dead cadaver for having died naturally and not shot by a woman. (Episode: Greeks Bearing Gifts) He could not give accurate instructions to Toshiko on how to heal his bullet wound, forcing him to do it himself. (Episode: Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang) Furthermore, he was initially inferior in skill to Martha Jones, not checking a dead man's medical records or their bloodstream for any anomalies, but he later managed to test a victims blood effectively (Episode: Reset)

Notes

• Owen Harper was portrayed by actor Burn Gorman where he featured in the setting of the Doctor Who universe.

Appearances

• Torchwood:

External Links

• Doctor Who Wiki Entry
• Wikipedia Entry

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