Torchwood: More thoughts on "Reset" and other themes...

[fajrdrako]

Yesterday I had friends over to watch Torchwood - we watched all of series 2 except "Kiss, Kiss, Bang, Bang", which everyone had already seen.

It was interesting, seeing them all in a row. It clarified a few thoughts for me.

1. When we first watched "Reset" last week, after it ended, auriaephiala said to me something like, "Are you sorry you wanted Owen out of the show now?" At the time, I don't think I answered her, because I had to think about it.
   
   My conclusion: No, I'm not sorry. I don't believe he is dead; I wish he were; I'd be very, very happy if Owen were to die like this, heroically, and then be out of the show. The only part of the show I am not currently enchanted with is the part that revolves around him.
   
   In some ways I can like the kinder, gentler Owen of series 2 better than Owen the snarky brat of series 1. But I greatly preferred the Owen of series 1, who had a strong story arc, a lot of entertainment value, and was leaving Tosh alone. (Or she was leaving him alone. Same difference.) I liked Owen best when he was having sex with Gwen. In series 2, I like him best when he is interacting with Martha, but that's because she makes everybody look good when she's with them.
   
   So: I am braced for disappointment when he comes back from the dead in the next episode, or possibly the one after that. And I am convinced that he will.



2. I noticed more than before that there are frequent hints that Jack is psychic in ways the others aren't. His sensitivity to "a disturbance in the psychic field" in "To the Last Man" is a good example. Then there's the scene in Adam in which - with everyone on the team hypnotically primed, and himself emotionally attuned, Jack seems to be able to hear their thoughts.
   
   This makes perfect sense, since the TARDIS was the vehicle (or the source) for his altered body energy, and the TARDIS has strong psychic energies.



3. I said it before but it warrants saying again: Martha is utterly wonderful.



4. Though I quite loved "Adam" on first viewing, I loved it even more on second viewing. A fascinating episode. I have some mixed feelings about the flashbacks to Jack's childhood - loved the planet, but the kid playing Jack was not Jacklike enough. The problem was less in his looks than his manner. Jack as a boy would have been - must have been - a lively, rambunctious, mischievous handful - not the serious boy we see here. On the other hand, we are not seeing the actual child-Jack, we are seeing his barefly-recovered memories of himself. But that's just an excuse: it would have been a stronger, better story if young Jack had been a lively rapscallion suddenly sobered by tragic events. Did they think that would have changed the mood of the episode too much?



5. I liked the 'howls' of the enemy. Was it the sound of their ships, or their own nature?



6. Ianto's wordplay, his sense of humour, his love of Jack, and his expressive eyebrows make me enjoy and love him more all the time. That being said, the Jack/Ianto pairing still doesn't have the oomph I would like to see. Perhaps if we saw more of it? More kissing? More dabbling? More mushy moments?
   
   So far, I think the best moment of the Jack/Ianto romance is in Adam, when Ianto says he found meaning in life again through Jack, and Jack kisses his forehead.



7. I'd love to play more with the Jack/Tosh pairing, and to see more of it. I would love, absolutely love, to see Jack kiss Tosh. Why are loads of people not writing Jack?Tosh fic? Or are they doing so and I just haven't seen it?
   
   I also adore the emotional moment in "Adam":

   TOSHIKO: Knowing there has to be more to life than this. Knowing I'm special. Waiting for someone to see it.
   JACK: I saw it.

   
   

Comments

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

I'm so glad to hear you say all of that! They seem to understand each other very well... With a sort of mutual appreciation. And yes, they were great together in "Captain Jack Harkness" - she understood what he was going through with his feelings for other Jack. And I absolutely loved the way, at the end, she toasted him, and said he would have been proud. She didn't just understand that Jack loved him, she understood how and why.

[donutsweeper.livejournal.com]

the look on Tosh's face then, and also in the dance hall at the table (before *the* dance) she understood quite a lot about what the real!Jack meant to TW!Jack, and a person, an ideal, etc

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

This makes me think that Tosh is more insightful and understanding of people than you might think at first - her cleverness isn't just about maths and sciences.

She is shy, and slightly misanthronpic, and I think her problem consists of being too vulnerable - of trusting too easily, and she has had many experiences of being hurt - by Owen's indifference, by Mary's malice, by Tommy's death.

I'd like to see better for her.

(Jack, for instance.)

[donutsweeper.livejournal.com]

it would be nice if the powers that be let us see that side a little more often, rather than playing up her needy/easy-to-be-hurt side

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

That's the problem. It makes Tosh seem a little too much the eternal victim. I do love Tosh when she gets action, or triumphs. And when she is happy. I want to see more Tosh happiness.

[donutsweeper.livejournal.com]

I want her to save the day, and not because of some random piece of tech

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

So do I! She's been integral to the action with her discovery/use of important information at the right times - or hacking into the right things - but she doesn't get the moments of glory. I'd like to see her get a few.

[donutsweeper.livejournal.com]

*begs writers* please?

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Double please and s'il vous plait added

[donutsweeper.livejournal.com]

and I'll throw in bribery by donuts...

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Can they resist the lure?

[donutsweeper.livejournal.com]

few can

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

It's bribery and corruption, but all in a good cause.