A Day in the Death ( TV story ) A Day in the Death was the eighth episode in the second series of " Torchwood " . The story mainly centred on Owen ' s adjustment to " life after death " , following his murder in " Reset " . It also brought to a close the trilogy of stories featuring Martha Jones . Synopsis . Owen chats with a suicidal woman on a rooftop , reflecting on his adjustment ( or lack thereof ) to his new life ( or lack thereof ) . Will a mission with Torchwood assist in his salvation or bring about the end of the world ? Plot . Owen Harper sits on a rooftop ledge , talking to a woman who is on the verge of committing suicide , whose name is later revealed as Maggie Hopley . He tells her about his recent ordeal with being dead and resurrected . As his memories begin , we see Jack let him off , but he has to stay at the Hub so that Martha can run some tests on him . Martha has been assigned the position of Torchwood Three medical doctor . As he talks to her , he cuts his hand on a scalpel . Martha has to stitch it back together , saying that it will have to be stitched every week because of his inability to heal . The team has a meeting about a man they ' ve been keeping an eye on named Henry Parker , who hasn ' t left his house since the 1980s . Later that day Owen is in his flat , where he decides to get rid of some things ( food , shaving foam , etc . ) since he no longer needs them . After he has finished clearing up , Toshiko comes round and begins talking to him . He does not really listen . After a few minutes Owen demands to know why Tosh has come and why she is still in love with him when he has nothing to give her . He yells at Toshiko that he is broken and breaks one of his fingers to prove it . Leaving Toshiko distraught and alone in his flat he runs outside and then to the Cardiff canal , where he jumps in and spends thirty - six minutes under water before giving up trying to drown himself . After realising he has no breath and returning to the surface , he finds Jack watching . The Torchwood team has another briefing and decide they want to obtain the alien device that Henry Parker has . Owen agrees to go get it , using his death to pass heat sensors and multiple guards . Owen comes to a room where there is a bed hidden by veils , in which Henry is lying . He tells Owen that he needs the device to live ; Owen tells him that the device has no life - sustaining properties . Henry and Owen have a conversation about the nature of life and death , which convinces Henry to give up the machine . Almost immediately , he goes into cardiac arrest ; Owen attempts to perform CPR on him , but has no breath since he ' s dead , and Henry Parker dies . Later , the Torchwood team bid farewell to Martha as she leaves to return to UNIT . Later that night , Owen sees Maggie on the top of a building , and goes up to the roof to talk to her , completing the flashback that started the episode . Owen finishes his story to Maggie . He talks her out of suicide by revealing that the Pulse is more than just a random artefact — it is a reply to human ity ' s search for extraterrestrial life , proof that they are not alone . Story notes . Filming locations . " to be added " Production errors . " to be added "