Torchwood: Exit Wounds (2x13)

[fajrdrako]

I can't write much but I at least want to say something about Torchwood now rather than later.

I watched Torchwood at 7 a.m. yesterday, staying awake through the whole thing despite the painkillers I'm taking for my broken foot. They make it hard to stay awake for a whole hour at a time. The interesting story helped.

About which I can think of many things to say, the first being: aieeeaii. "Aieeeaii" in a good way.

Two significant aspects are things I thought I'd never see on TV. They totally floored me they were so unexpected and brilliant. But First, the part I thought was odd, and this was maybe because of the pain pills and my less-than-normal powers of concentration or following a story, but it felt as if it started out as one story and then became another completely different story.

The story it looked as if it would be: confrontation between Captain Jack Harkness and his old lover/enemy, Captain John Hart, holding Cardiff hostage in their battle. (A straight parallel with the Doctor/Master situation in "The Last of the Time Lords".)

The story it became: Grey's vendetta against Captain Jack, with the Torchwood Team heroically saving Cardiff and paying the necessary prices.

Captain John really didn't have anything much to do with it at all. Which in a way was a pity, because he's such a good character, but in a way... it's good because it leaves him free for later stories. Oh, I hope!

What I most loved? Penance. I was floored. Because in any other story we'd be thinking and saying, "what happened to Grey wasn't Jack's fault", and I was thinking that, weren't you? But Jack saw right through all that as a smokescreen: it didn't matter whether it was his fault or not, that wasn't the point, the point was taking responsibility, and he took it without hesitation. Two thousand years of penance. An act of expiation all the more remarkable in its spiritual extremity.

And yes, we've seen Jack paying for his various sins over and over. The sin of almost killing mankind in "The Empty Child". The sin of being a con man. The sin of his friend's torture and death, the sin of letting go of Grey's hand, and so on. The redemption theme. And Jack has paid the price over and over: dying for the Doctor in "The Parting of the Ways", dying for mankind in "End of Days", and so on. Just as the Doctor in Doctor Who series one had his own redemption story: he killed his own race (and symbolically his past) in order to destroy the Daleks, and then offered his race, himself, Jack, mankind and the future as sacrifice in "The Parting of the Ways".

I love redemption themes.

This totally took me by surprise: that Jack's triumph came not by fighting Grey, but capitulating to him, forgiving him, loving him, and essentially putting another 'mercy killing' to Torchwood's credit.

As heroic figures go, Jack's is not so much the obvious contemporary superhero or action hero - he's a medieval martyr. It has nothing to do with justice or even atonement, because the wrongdoing was not his own - but in a mystical sense, there was a spiritual price to pay.

So: who'd've thought Jack could outdo his messiah resurrection act from last season? But he did. Wow.

I am so impressed. It's just a whole different level of emotional perception and thought than I've ever seen on any TV show - even Doctor Who. And all part of a plot that was a bit of a mess, or at least confusing, or maybe that was just because of my pain pills....

The other thing I loved: that it ends with Jack holding, loving, both Gwen and Ianto. Appeals so much to the romantic in me.

...So maybe PC Andy and Rhys will actually join Torchwood now there are places vacant? Though what they seem to need are a technical genius and a superlative doctor. I could choose Martha for the second role.

Dare I hope that Captain John will return to Torchwood, since he seems to be in no hurry to leave the present time? and he still loves Jack? I am now completely confused by his story: was what we saw in "Kiss, Kiss, Bang, Bang" all an act set up by Grey? Is John really crazy and homicidal? The events in "Kiss, Kiss, Bang, Bang" make perfect sense if you assume Grey was forcing John to do everything he did and John was trying to sabotage Grey - even to the point of John trying to kill Jack as another mercy killing to keep him out of Grey's vengeful hands, and in saving the Torchwood Team when he could have killed them.

I am not convinced. It could be that John was crazy and on drugs, and was cured somewhere along the way. It could be that I missed some story point. I'd like to know. As it was, his departure was somewhat ... anticlimatic. And enigmatic. I couldn't read Jack's attitude to him at the end: anger? forgiveness? mistrust? indifference? Whatever it is or was, it's clear John is not, like Gwen and Ianto, in the charmed circle of those Jack loves.

I thought there was no structure to this story, and not much coherence, but it was powerful - and so much better put together than "End of Days". How many times has Jack lived through 1941 now?

Whose exit wounds does the title refer to?

Oh, dear, I should say something about Toshiko and Owen. I'm not sure what to say. I liked their deaths. Toshiko brave (physically, emotionally and spiritually), Owen redeeming himself with both kindness and courage. I'm glad Owen is gone, frankly, because I don't know where I'd want them to go with the character. In series 1, I didn't like him, but he had fascinating character development and was always interesting. In series 2, though I sometimes liked him and sometimes hated him, his character was all over the place - from mild-mannered dweeb to smart-ass to dead guy to heartbroken fiancé and respectable doctor - never settling on one thing.

Gwen: superb. At her best, or at least, the way I like her best. Glimpses of what she could be. Loved it when she asked Rhys to marry her again. And loved Rhys... He used to be the perfect boyfriend. Now he's the perfect husband.


I love it that they're not doing the obvious.

Comments

[jadesfire2808.livejournal.com]

The religious and mystical themes in Torchwood aren't exactly subtle, any more than they are in Doctor Who. I hadn't thought of the medieval themes either, but yes, definitely. My tarot research got side-tracked, but I do keep meaning to go back and look into that properly. And I love idea of Jack's mystic powers preserving the coat :)

It's irrational, but that's why it's so powerful.
It reminds me of taking tutorials on ancient religion with someone who could absolutely not get her head around the idea that maybe they did what they did because they believed it. So much of this season, and sci fi in general, has been about the incredible things that people are capable of, the indomitability of the human spirit, if you like, (Tommy, all of them in Adam, Owen, the mother in 'Adrift', the team in 'Fragments'), that this really felt like the climax of it.

I love janne_d's explanation above of John's actions - makes sense of what we've seen. It was good to see them not giving clear cut answers for once - we're still left with some vagueness over how Jack feels about John, and I loved the ambiguity and pain of the goodbye.

There was some part of me that wanted Jack to have killed Gray, although I absolutely understood why he didn't. Jack's carrying enough guilt as it is, but he's carrying it - it doesn't stop him moving forwards, he just keeps going, as he says to Gwen that they will. I love the way he's allowed to acknowledge what he feels and then get on with his life. Good grief, if we weren't all in love with the character before...

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

The religious and mystical themes in Torchwood aren't exactly subtle, any more than they are in Doctor Who.

No, not subtle. And there are so many ways they could be doing it that I would hate, but they seem to have managed to hit the right note for my sensibilities every time. Incredible.

I love idea of Jack's mystic powers preserving the coat :)

It works both ways: if Jack has mystical powers that help preserve his coat, then perhaps it too has mystical powers that help to preserve him. We already know the coat has more mundane mystical powers (if that phrase isn't an oxymoron) - it defines his style and his personality, it preserves memories he cherishes, it projects a heroic image. It isn't hard for me to think of it as a sort of symbolic outward projection of his soul.

taking tutorials on ancient religion with someone who could absolutely not get her head around the idea that maybe they did what they did because they believed it.

Blink. What is difficult about the concept? - don't most people follow religions because they believe in them?

So much of this season, and sci fi in general, has been about the incredible things that people are capable of, the indomitability of the human spirit,

Yes, just about every episode. Beth, too.

we're still left with some vagueness over how Jack feels about John, and I loved the ambiguity and pain of the goodbye.

I loved that too. And I loved it's uncharacteristic seriousness - no banter, no passion, but all the more feeling because of that. Jack with no place in his heart for John, and John with no place to go at all. And yet I felt it was a huge step forward for him. Don't know if they will play it that way in future - they've left themselves open for anything.

I also liked it that for the moment they've given Jack a sort of point of focus in physical and emotional time and space - Jack has Gwen and Ianto and Torchwood so that even if the Time Vortex is gathering storms all around him, he is a stable point in a stable place.

There was some part of me that wanted Jack to have killed Gray

I actually wanted and expected that, but have no problem that he didn't kill him - I think his reasoning was right, that killing him might have tied up a loose end but would be another weight on the side of 'wrongness' and so it was better to keep him alive.

Good grief, if we weren't all in love with the character before...

It seems impossible that he should keep getting better and better, but there you have it.

[jadesfire2808.livejournal.com]

Blink. What is difficult about the concept? - don't most people follow religions because they believe in them?
Apparently we're allowed to nowadays (although we're a bit odd and probably doing so under social pressure) but the Romans and Greeks and early Christians didn't. It was an...interesting...term of tutorials.

Jack with no place in his heart for John, and John with no place to go at all.
I love this - that's just how it felt. John was sort of lost, but I loved that he didn't try to get Jack to let him stay. That felt like his penance, in a way, to walk away from Jack at that point.

For me, that last shot of the three of them felt wrong for the pacing of the episode over all, but staniding on its own, it was perfect. I was really nervous about S2, but I'm actually starting to look forward to S3!

Edited to correct my ancient history...

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

It was an...interesting...term of tutorials.

It sounds that way!

John was sort of lost, but I loved that he didn't try to get Jack to let him stay. That felt like his penance, in a way, to walk away from Jack at that point.

It was the thing that was most painful for him to do, and also the right thing. I'm sure he wanted to beg Jack to keep him and Jack might have let him stay out of compassion, but it would have been the wrong thing for them both, and selfish on John's part, and John knew it.

That felt like his penance, in a way, to walk away from Jack at that point.

I think he understands that he has to earn Jack's trust and respect, and this was the way to do it.

I'm actually starting to look forward to S3!

I'm scared to even speculate what directions they might be taking. I'm scared to look at what other fans are saying, too - there's lots of opportunities here for the shipping factions to take up arms against each other just because Jack is happy with both Gwen and Ianto (in their respective ways).

Interesting thing that without the challenge and anger upholding her, Gwen wasn't sure she could carry on because of the sorrow - while last year, when Jack abandoned them, she took over admirably, upheld by desperation and anger. And hope, too, I suppose.