Torchwood: They Keep Killing Susie, Captain Jack Harkness, and End of Days...

[fajrdrako]

Tasia came over this evening to see some Torchwood and we watched "They Keep Killing Susie", "Captain Jack Harkness" and "End of Days". She had previously seen most but not all of the other episodes.

When we got to the end of "They Keep Killing Susie", she said to me, "Could you explain that last scene? Why did Jack say he'd see Ianto in his office in ten minutes?"

"Ianto just propositioned Jack," I said.

"I knew it!" she crowed happily. Then when we got to the Brokeback scene in "End of Days", she said, "There, that confirms that he's been sleeping with Jack."

She liked the romance of "Captain Jack Harkness" - which pleased me, as she isn't specifically a slash fan, though she's clearly slash-sympathetic. She thought the storyline of "End of Days" didn't make sense, but she absolutely loved the end, when Captain Jack heard the TARDIS and disappeared. I think she thought, as I did, as most of us did at the time, that the TARDIS had actually come for Captain Jack. She was thrilled. She was even happier when I told he she didn't have to wait for series 2 Torchwood, but that that particular storyline would continue on Doctor Who series 3, currently airing on our very own CBC. She wants me to hold a videoparty so we can see "Utopia", "The Sound of Drums" and "The Last of the Time Lords" together as a group. Fine by me. I think it's a great idea.

She's a fan of Life On Mars. I told her that John Simm is in Doctor Who in an upcoming episode, but I didn't tell her who he plays.

Oddly enough, "End of Days" made more sense to me than it ever has before. I've always been upset by the team's betrayal of Jack; this time, it made sense to me, in emotional terms, how and why they could do what they could, having loved him, and still loving him afterwards. One of my stumbling blocks has been that after the shock of Owen shooting Jack, they still go through with opening the Rift. This time round it seemed less insane and callous. At this point, they have nothing to lose. They're no longer hysterical but probably feeling numb with reaction and high on adrenaline. All they have is forward momentum.

Comments

[chrome327.livejournal.com]

(Here from torchwood_three)

Never had a show before that got *more* fun on the second go-round. Hearts to TW for that.

And I did the DW Utopia arc right after the last Torchwood also - Perfect!

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Yes, it's fun to see the details that weren't obvious the first time, or to see the build-up to events when we know what's coming.

The connection between "Utopia" and "The Sound of Drums" is obvious, but it's fun to look at the continuity from "End of Days" to "Utopia". How long has Jack been alive again when he comes face to face with the Doctor? Not very long.

[louiex.livejournal.com]

I really want to rewatch all these episodes, now I have the time to do so huzzah~!

One thing that always bugged me about the 'End of Days' was how they left out that deleted scene where Ianto explains what the protocol is to open the rift as they do there. It explains the difference between what Owen did and what they did (thusly explaining why they'd have to go through the whole eye-scan and hacking the systems rather than just hot wiring it like Owen did).

No I'm not trying to beat the Ianto drum here, but that scene would a-help the technical issue which I had trouble with and b-explain a bit more indeed WHY Ianto would side with the rest of them rather than Jack. He spoke of being willing to make sacrifices if it meant saving the world above his own life in that scene. Earlier, he saw Lisa who didn't goad him into ressurecting or saving her (like with Diane or maybe even Tosh's mom, or Gwen's motivation to reset the clock to save Rhys) as she told Ianto to save everyone he could no matter what.

Just my little nitpickings~

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

I wonder if using the Torchwood security protocols with the Rift made much of a difference in the end. When Owen clumsily blasted a hole in the Rift - metaphorically speaking - it had a bad effect, and was widening, but using the regular security just gave Bilis the chance to do what he liked and set Abaddon free. Not really an improvement.

Yes, I agree that Ianto's actions needed more explanation: as it stood, it looked like an abrupt and unwarranted reversal of his stance. I can work it out from external clues, but it takes some work! It was a hodgepodge of an episode with some scenes that were delightful. It really needed some serious rewriting.

Whole Team Betrayed Jack

[(Anonymous)]

I have JUST started watching Torchwood (Thx to Netflix) and I can handle/swallow all of it except for End of Days. So let me get this straight...the WHOLE team betrays him, ESPECIALLY Gwen who pretends to love him so much, and Ianto his lover, ...hell, they let Owen shoot him...and then in Season 2 they have THE NERVE to get mad at him for leaving at the end of Season 1? What a load of crap!! He should memory pill the whole lot of them or send them through the freaking rift!!

Re: Whole Team Betrayed Jack

[fajrdrako]

I agree with all of that! I was particularly shocked by Ianto's betrayal. There are already too many people being unkind to Jack: he doesn't deserve this.