fajrdrako | Torchwood: Day Two... (Reply)

Well! That was a roller coaster ride.

Let me nominate Lois as Hero Du Jour. Thoughts:

Ianto rules. As rescue operations go, that was terrific. Terrific. Now we know why we saw promo photos of him in a hard hat. I love the way both Ianto and Gwen had faith that they could find and rescue Jack. And did.
There wasn't as much substance here as yesterday. This didn't have the family/domestic moments of Day One, so didn't leave me quite as much to chew over emotionally. But it was some of the best action I've seen in ages, with a genuine creepiness to many scenes. The ones that most got to me:
- At the end, showing the scientist with the 456 room with the checkerboard floor.
- Clem shouting, "Can't you smell them?"
- Ianto being followed by the van - which turned out to be a paper delivery.
- "I am not a man." Hee. Shades of Eowyn, and Macbeth. Scary, too. I'm not even sure why.
- Frobisher repeatedly thanking Green for making him a patsy and a scapegoat. And Frobisher making no bones over what he was doing.
- Urban paranoia: Ianto, Rhys, Gwen, so vulnerable to being traced by surveillance cameras, their phones, their cars. Anything.
Not much of Jack this time around, as he was largely inert. I enjoyed the monitor screen where we could see him regrowing inside the body bag. I usually object to episodes where he is mostly absent and/or silent, but I really can't find much to object to here: he was heroic, the others exerted themselves to find him, it doesn't get better than that. I loved it when Rhys gave him his coat so he didn't have to be naked, and Jack just threw it over his shoulder. Loved it also that Gwen smirked.
Gwen the Action Hero. Loved seeing her in action. Brave, competent, thinking all the time. Why wasn't she like this all along?
And Ianto: didn't lose his grip, also kept his brains moving along with his feet. Yet you could tell he was worrying about Jack.
The scene of Gwen and Rhys on top of the potatoes made me smile. I loved it. Okay, a niggling objection: I don't like scenes where people tell people something important by not saying it. Suppose Rhys made the wrong guess? Still, this particular scene was quite adorable.
Loved Johnny's line about the authorities looking for Ianto: "You won't find him in my bed!" Snicker.
Loved it that Rhiannon helped and supported Ianto, even though they hadn't been close. I liked the way the family dynamics worked there. And the line about being "the unappreciated kind" of civil servant - Ianto's most beautiful understatement yet. Being blown up and shot at and hunted. Yup, that's unappreciated, all right.
For unknown reasons, I found some of the dialogue more difficult to catch than usual. Quicker delivery? Stronger Welsh accents?
Andy, why, why, why did you give the nasty lady Gwen's address? You stupid innocent. You could have led them on a wild goose chase to Aberystwyth or something. I liked the way he dominated the car, and argued about Gwen's terrorist activities. "What kind of terrorist shoots the tires?" A smart one.

I keep wanting to call Agent Johnson "the anti-Gwen" ever since I heard the phrase yesterday.
Loved the scene where Johnny Davies and his pals were terrorizing the cops watching the Davies' household, so Rhiannon could get away to meet Ianto. Beautiful.
So we get a dollop of information about Ianto's relationship with his father - not a good one. Ianto thought his father pushed him too far, blamed him for it. Do we get a little closer here to my fanfic scenario of Ianto as a runaway?
Loved it that Jack's daughter Alice was worried about him, and tried to reach him. I was afraid that Lady Assassin would pick up the phone, and then send her death squads to go pick up Alice and Stephen.
When they wondered how the 456 were going to get into their little room, maaseru and I had the same thought: "Don't they have transporters? Don't these people ever watch Star Trek?"

Mind you, I have other thoughts about that room. I don't think they're going to breathe it or eat it or fart it. (A little tribute to Doctor Who's Slitheen, there.) I think they're going to use it to poison the humans who come to greet them.
Have I mentioned that I love Lois? I love it that she acted heroically (if treasonously), when Gwen was fatally ready to trust Frobisher. I love it that she was clever enough to mastermind the plan to rescue Jack. She ought to be running Torchwood already.
I hope Jack can recover the wristband from the rubble.