Esther Drummond

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Esther Drummond, portrayed by

Alexa Havins Alexa Carole Havins (born November 16, 1980) is an American actress. She first came to prominence in 2003, when she became the originating actress in the role of Babe Carey Chandler on the soap opera ''All My Children''. Her role as the flawed b ...

, is a

fictional character In fiction, a character (or speaker, in poetry) is a person or other being in a narrative (such as a novel, play, radio or television series, music, film, or video game). The character may be entirely fictional or based on a real-life person, ...

in the

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...

television program Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, e ...

me ''

Torchwood ''Torchwood'' is a British science fiction television programme created by Russell T Davies. A spin-off of the 2005 revival of ''Doctor Who'', it aired from 2006 to 2011. The show shifted its broadcast channel each series to reflect its growing ...

'', a spin-off from the long-running series ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...

''. Havins is one of several American actors to join ''Torchwood'' in its fourth series, '' Torchwood: Miracle Day'', which was co-produced by ''Torchwood''s original British network

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, p ...

and the American television network

Starz Starz (stylized as STARZ since 2016; pronounced "stars") is an American premium cable and satellite television network owned by Lions Gate Entertainment, and is the flagship property of parent subsidiary Starz Inc. Programming on Starz consist ...

. The character appears in every episode of the fourth series in addition to a prequel novel, ''The Men Who Sold the World''. Within the series narrative, Esther is a

Central Intelligence Agency The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...

(CIA) watch analyst who becomes aware of the defunct British

Torchwood Institute The Torchwood Institute, or simply Torchwood, is a fictional secret organisation from the British science fiction television series '' Doctor Who'' and its spin-off series ''Torchwood''. It was established in 1879 by Queen Victoria after the ...

on "Miracle Day", when it is discovered that no one can die. Alongside her CIA colleague

Rex Matheson Agent Rex Matheson, portrayed by Mekhi Phifer, is a fictional character in the BBC television programme ''Torchwood'', a spin-off from the long-running series '' Doctor Who''. Phifer was one of three American actors to join ''Torchwood'' in its ...

she joins forces with the last two remaining Torchwood agents to investigate the phenomenon. Esther's standing as a desk-bound computer and technology expert puts her in contrast with the tougher and more action-orientated characters in the series. By the ''Miracle Day'' finale, Esther has become a more competent field agent, but is murdered by the group's enemies in an attempt to stop them progressing with their mission. Havins was influenced in her decision to accept the part by her husband's appreciation of the series. Like Rex, Esther is used by executive producer

Russell T Davies Stephen Russell Davies (born 27 April 1963), better known as Russell T Davies, is a Welsh screenwriter and television producer whose works include '' Queer as Folk'', '' The Second Coming'', ''Casanova'', the 2005 revival of the BBC One scie ...

as a means of introducing new American audiences to the established mythos of ''Torchwood''. Havins stated the character to have an

unrequited love Unrequited love or one-sided love is love that is not openly reciprocated or understood as such by the beloved. The beloved may not be aware of the admirer's deep and pure affection, or may consciously reject it. The Merriam Webster Online Dic ...

for Rex, but explained that he does not appear to notice. Response to the character varied; some critics praised her characterisation and portrayal whilst others felt her to display incompetency and to not have been taken to by the audience. The nature of her exit from the show was generally praised, though some reviewers felt it lacked the desired emotional impact.

Appearances

Television

Esther Drummond, a

(CIA) watch analyst, makes her first appearance in '' Torchwood: Miracle Day''s premiere episode "

The New World The term ''New World'' is often used to mean the majority of Earth's Western Hemisphere, specifically the Americas."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: Oxford University Press, p. 3 ...

" in which she informs colleague

(

Mekhi Phifer Mekhi Phifer (; born December 29, 1974) is an American actor. He portrayed Dr. Greg Pratt on NBC's long-running medical drama '' ER'' until 2008 and had a co-starring role opposite actor/rapper Eminem in the 2002 feature film '' 8 Mile''. He was ...

) about a mysterious message containing the single word "Torchwood". A distracted Rex is then fatally injured, leading Esther to blame herself for his accident. After finding out the process of death has been ceased in a global event termed "Miracle Day", Esther begins tracking down information on

, supposing a link between the organisation and the start of "Miracle Day". Amid her research, she encounters former head of Torchwood, Captain Jack Harkness (

John Barrowman John Scot Barrowman (born 11 March 1967) is a Scottish-American actor, author, presenter, singer and comic book writer. He is known for his role as Captain Jack Harkness in '' Doctor Who'' and ''Torchwood'', and as Malcolm Merlyn in the Arrow ...

), who helps her escape the destructive blast of a

suicide bomber A suicide attack is any violent Strike (attack), attack, usually entailing the attacker detonating an explosive, where the attacker has suicide, accepted their own death as a direct result of the attacking method used. Suicide attacks have oc ...

. Harkness explains the history of the Torchwood Institute, but wipes Esther's memory so she will not remember their encounter. Esther's memory is later triggered when a hard copy of the Torchwood file lands on her desk. Esther's investigation into Torchwood compromises her position within the CIA and she — like Rex — is set up by the agency. Forced into fugitive status, she finds herself working as part of Torchwood alongside Rex and the Torchwood Institute's last surviving members, Captain Jack and

Gwen Cooper Gwen Cooper is a fictional character portrayed by Welsh actress Eve Myles in the BBC science-fiction television programme ''Torchwood'', a spin-off of the long-running series ''Doctor Who''. The lead female character, Gwen featured in every epi ...

(

Eve Myles Eve Myles (born 26 July 1978) is a Welsh actress. She is best known for her television roles portraying Ceri Lewis in the long-running BBC Wales drama series '' Belonging'' (2000–2009), Gwen Cooper in the BBC science-fiction series ''Torchwoo ...

). Esther fulfills Torchwood's technical need for a competent hacker, researcher and computer expert. However, she initially struggles as a field agent, nearly compromising the team's mission when she attempts to get help for her mentally ill sister

Sarah Sarah (born Sarai) is a biblical matriarch and prophetess, a major figure in Abrahamic religions. While different Abrahamic faiths portray her differently, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam all depict her character similarly, as that of a piou ...

(

Candace Brown Candace Dean Brown (born June 15, 1980) is an American actress and comedian best known for her work on shows such as ''Grey's Anatomy'', ''Desperate Housewives'', ''Head Case'', and ''Wizards Of Waverly Place''. In 2011, she joined the guest cas ...

). Later whilst trying to escape during an undercover mission in an effective

concentration camp Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without charges or intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects". Thus, while it can simply ...

, in which the gravely wounded are incinerated, Esther strangles Colin Maloney (

Marc Vann Marc Vann (born August 23, 1954) is an American actor. He is known for his role as Conrad Ecklie in the CBS television series '' CSI: Crime Scene Investigation''. He also had notable roles in ''Angel'' and ''Early Edition''. Vann was born in N ...

) in unarmed combat, leaving her aghast and shaken. In the following episode, Esther works out that Gwen is being blackmailed into delivering Jack to an unknown conspirator; she has Gwen's parents liberated by Sergeant Andy Davidson ( Tom Price), and alongside Rex, successfully

snipes Snipes may refer to: * Snipe, a wading bird * Snipes (surname) * ''Snipes'' (film), a 2001 film * ''Snipes'' (video game), a 1983 text-mode networked computer game * Snipes Mountain AVA Snipes Mountain AVA is an American Viticultural Area l ...

Jack's would-be captors. The Torchwood team subsequently end up in CIA custody. Though Esther is pardoned alongside Rex, Jack is shot as he tries to escape, leaving Esther with the responsibility of keeping him safe on the run. Two months later, in " The Gathering", Esther has nursed Jack to health in Scotland where she drains his blood, believing it connected to the Miracle. The team learn that the Miracle originated at the near-antipodes of Shanghai and Buenos Aires; the team splits up, with Esther and Rex in the latter location. The series finale, " The Blood Line", sees Esther fatally shot by a member of The Three Families — the villains behind Miracle Day — in an attempt to prevent Torchwood ending the Miracle, but Gwen persuades Jack and Rex that Esther has to die so that the Miracle can be ended. In the episode's

epilogue An epilogue or epilog (from Greek ἐπίλογος ''epílogos'', "conclusion" from ἐπί ''epi'', "in addition" and λόγος ''logos'', "word") is a piece of writing at the end of a work of literature, usually used to bring closure to the w ...

, Esther is among the few post miracle deceased to be allowed a full funeral service.

Literature

Esther features as a supporting character in the novel ''The Men Who Sold The World'', which is featured as a prequel to ''Torchwood: Miracle Day''. In the novel, Esther aids Rex in his mission to track down a CIA contingent who have gone rogue with dangerous alien weaponry. Reviewing the novel, '' SFX'' columnist Alasdair Stuart commented that author

Guy Adams Guy Adams (born 6 January 1976) is an English author, comedian, and actor, possibly best known for the novel ''The World House''. Adams is also a regular writer for Big Finish productions, who produce audio plays based on ''Doctor Who'', as wel ...

provided "interesting, and brave, context to Rex’s relationship with Esther." According to Stuart, ''The Men Who Sold The World'' demonstrated that "Rex knows he manipulates her and doesn’t particularly care. She’s an asset, just one he can use better and faster than most".

Characterisation

Casting

In the series' planning stages, Esther's surname was originally Katusi, and the casting call specified that this role would be for a non-Caucasian actress. ''

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

'' star

Amber Stevens Amber Dawn Stevens West is an American actress. She is best known for her roles as Ashleigh Howard in the ABC Family series ''Greek'' (2007–2011)'','' Maxine in the NBC sitcom ''The Carmichael Show'' (2015–2017), and Claire Davis in the CBS ...

was one of the actresses who auditioned for the part of Katusi. However, white actress

was announced by the BBC on 6 January 2011, the character's surname having been changed to Drummond. Havins was not initially sure about accepting the role when she was offered it due to having recently become a mother. She revealed that her husband, actor

Justin Bruening Justin Bruening (born September 24, 1979) is an American actor and former fashion model. He was originally discovered at McDonald's in Escondido, California, by Sue Nessel, a scout for Scott Copeland. Within a week, he was shooting photos with Br ...

, being a ''Torchwood'' " fan-boy" influenced her decision to accept the role, stating that he told her "you've got to take this part" and offered to assume child-minding responsibilities. In preparation for the role Havins watched some of the earlier series of ''Torchwood'' to acquire a sense of the show's tone, but did not fully immerse herself in the show's history because, given her character's ignorance, "not being so well-versed in it played in my favour".

Concept and development

Esther is introduced in press materials as being "an innocent in a world of assassins, liars and zealots". Havins describes Drummond as "an optimist and the glass is half full person". A promotional video released by Starz provided background information on Esther including her college education—the character introduces herself by stating that she has a BA in

Linguistics Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure. Linguis ...

and a Masters in Cognitive science. Series four writer

Jane Espenson Jane Espenson (born July 14, 1964) is an American television writer and producer. Espenson has worked on both situation comedies and serial dramas. She had a five-year stint as a writer and producer on '' Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' and shared ...

enjoyed writing for Esther as she felt the character to be most similar to herself. She notes that when devising Esther's backstory the writer's "ended up just putting my college experience down." Esther's introduction invites parallels that of lead female character

(

) in the series' 2006 premiere episode " Everything Changes"; she represents an

audience surrogate A narrative technique (known for literary fictional narratives as a literary technique, literary device, or fictional device) is any of several specific methods the creator of a narrative uses to convey what they want —in other words, a stra ...

for new American viewers. Havins refers to Esther as the "tour guide" for new viewers coming to ''Torchwood'' for the first time, one who is "digging deeper and deeper into the rabbit hole". Despite similarities to their introduction, Havins comments that Esther as a character has a less action-orientated role than Gwen, being more the "techie" of the team who uses her intellect and technology as her weapons. The actress feels that Esther's desk-bound analyst position is "her safe little world". Head writer and

executive producer Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the making of a commercial entertainment product. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights o ...

described Esther as "a very healing force" in helping the other more outspoken characters gel together as a team because she is "much more able to empathise with people." The character's sister,

Sarah Drummond Sarah Drummond was a prominent member of Bacon's Rebellion, one of the first landowning ladies in America, and the wife of William Drummond (colonial governor), William Drummond, the first colonial governor of Albemartle Sound settlement, Provence ...

(

), recurs throughout ''Miracle Day'', Havins feels that her presence helps "humanise the situation" as including family members helps the audience "understand why people react a certain way." Espenson notes that the first scene between Esther and Sarah was discussed at length at the writer's room—the writers chose to make Esther's choice whether or not to refer her ill sister to social services "as difficult as possible" to heighten the pain felt by the character. Esther has a romantic interest in

(

), who she idealises and looks up to. Despite her feelings, Rex does not appear to notice or reciprocate, actress Alexa Havins conjectures that "he's so blind to her feelings" due to him having "this wall built up around him that it's hard to break through." Phifer commented that Rex sees Esther as a sister and conjectures that Esther's interests in him are partly a result of her sensationalising his work. Despite her highly romanticised idea of field work, Esther is not as skilled in the field as more experienced agents Rex,

Jack Jack may refer to: Places * Jack, Alabama, US, an unincorporated community * Jack, Missouri, US, an unincorporated community * Jack County, Texas, a county in Texas, USA People and fictional characters * Jack (given name), a male given name, ...

(

) and Gwen. However, being part of a new Torchwood team means that Esther is "ripped away from her desk and thrust into the world of Torchwood on the run." During the later parts of the series the character has to fight physically against the team's enemies. Havins did not receive any training for these sequences, she felt that having been trained in fight sequences would have made Esther "too slick, too trained, too perfect, too in sync with the rest of the Torchwood crew." Instead of being able to take out her attackers easily, when Esther has to fight for her life it is "raw and brutal" and "almost like a bar-brawl meets a chick-fight". Espenson notes that by the final episode Esther has earned a degree of admiration from Rex through her work for the Torchwood team, which she feels to be because "he just can't fail to see how smart and brave she is." In regards to being

killed off The killing off of a character is a device in fiction, whereby a character dies, but the story continues. The term, frequently applied to television, film, video game, anime, manga and chronological series, often denotes an untimely or unexpect ...

Havins states that she knew it was a possibility from the moment she accepted the role due to the danger present in the series and its precedence for killing characters.

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Charlie Jane Anders Charlie Jane Anders is an American writer and commentator. She has written several novels, published magazines and websites, and hosted podcasts. In 2005, she received the Lambda Literary Award for work in the transgender category, and in 2009, t ...

observed that the character's death helps serve to illustrate "how hard it is to consign others to death, for the greater good."

Reception

After the fourth series premiere

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's Tim Surette wrote that Esther "is fantastic as the Torchwood newbie, holding hands with viewers who've never watched the series before." The HD Room's James Zappie praised the friendship between Esther and Gwen stating that "It isn't a trite ''

Cagney & Lacey ''Cagney & Lacey'' is an American police procedural drama television series that aired on the CBS television network for seven seasons from March 25, 1982, to May 16, 1988. The show is about two New York City police detectives who lead very dif ...

'' wannabe pairing of two female characters" and instead offers a chance for the two actresses "to branch out and add complexity to their characters' personalities". Den of Geek's Simon Brew felt the character's storyline with her sister in " Escape to L.A." to be "welcome exposition, and Alexa Havins is proving to be an excellent bit of casting".

Digital Spy Digital Spy (DS) is a British-based entertainment, television and film website and brand and is the largest digital property at Hearst UK. Since its launch in 1999, Digital Spy has focused on entertainment news related to television programmes, ...

's Morgan Jeffrey stated that throughout the fourth series, "Alexa Havins was consistently excellent, bringing a real warmth and likability to her role." The character attracted comparisons to previous ''Torchwood'' characters. Dan Martin wrote after the broadcast of "Rendition" that the character of Esther "is shaping up as a

Toshiko Toshiko is a feminine Japanese given name. Possible writings *敏子 "agile/clever, child" *俊子 "genius, child" *淑子 "graceful/polite, child" *寿子 "longevity, child" *年子 "year/age, child" *歳子 "age/time, child" *稔子 "humble, ch ...

-style tragedy queen". Dave Golder, writing for '' SFX'' noted the character's incompetency in the episode " Escape to L.A." showed her to be "every bit as incapable of acting professionally for more than 60 seconds as

Owen Owen may refer to: Origin: The name Owen is of Irish and Welsh origin. Its meanings range from noble, youthful, and well-born. Gender: Owen is historically the masculine form of the name. Popular feminine variations include Eowyn and Owena. ...

and Tosh were back in the old days." Golder identified "Esther’s scarily casual death" as one of the gripping points of what he felt to be an underwhelming finale. ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was fo ...

''s Gavin Fuller referred to her exit as "being a genuine, and saddening shock." Jeffrey praised the character's death as a "well-handled shocker", noting that all signs had indicated Rex would die instead. He felt it was "cruel trick on the writers' part to off lovely Agent Drummond" and "all the crueler to keep viewings hanging until that first glimpse of her funeral." He concluded by saying that "this kind of emotional sucker-punch" is something ''Torchwood'' has always excelled at. Neela Debnath of ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'' commented that her death was sad because the "character went through so much" and that "there would have been room for more growth in subsequent series." Conversely, ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

'' correspondent Emily VanDerWerff opined that it was hard to invest in Esther, in addition to Rex and Oswald, and though her death was intended as the "one big, emotional moment of the finale" it came across to him as "kind of a dud". She felt that throughout the fourth series Esther was used as "simply a plot device, someone the writers used when they needed something to go wrong or when they needed the story to move in a certain direction." Blair Marnell of

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also notes in his review of the series finale that "Rex and Esther never really caught on as leading characters" and felt that it would have been better had the characters departed in symmetry.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Drummond, Esther Torchwood characters American female characters in television Television characters introduced in 2011 Fictional Central Intelligence Agency personnel Fictional hackers Fictional secret agents and spies