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Torchwood, season 2
I have a lot of these to catch up on since I was gone. Need to finish my little episode things for TW, season 2, and I watched some more Doctor Who last night that I want to talk about, but for now:
From Out of the Rain.
Like an idiot, I accidentally didn't download this when I should have, and watched it after I watched Fragments. This turned out to be accidentally very important.
Jack's pocket watch is not a pocket watch. In Fragments we see Alex looking at the thing before he shoots himself (much much talking about Alex in the upcoming Fragments post). Back in From Out of the Rain we see Jack looking in it and then snapping it closed -- it can't be a watch because JACK WEARS A WRISTWATCH ON HIS RIGHT WRIST. So what the fuck information is in that thing?
Anyway. This is a really critical episode that doesn't really work or make any goddamn sense at all. And you get the sense that the actors know it. Certainly lots of people involved with the show have talked about it in Torchwood Magazine (yes, yes, I know) as being the odd duck out in the season in a lot of ways. much like Random Shoes was in season 1 (although I think Random Shoes was an infinitely stronger episode).
But but but -- I think Jack is lying through almost all of the episode. I think he was working with or undercover with the Night Travelers, as opposed to just working in similar but mundane shows in an attempt to investigate them. He avoids too many questions, has too much information after pretending he doesn't have it, and Oh Yeah, is in that film?
I really like all the Jack/Ianto in this episode. It's matter of fact and normal and Ianto seems the most normal that I've think we've seen him.
I can't help but relate this episode to The Doctor Dances -- the reaction of being grateful for saving just one as opposed to the reaction of saving everyone. It's very sad in that context. Speaking of, the stuff with the kid and Ianto tearing up and Jack giving him his breath back -- there are like layers and layers of what the fuck in there, at least for me:
- first we have Ianto seeing a child traumatized by something (cinema) he loved as a child -- is this why he's tearing up?
- or is it seeing Jack be all tender with a kid (can Jack in his current state have children)? For that matter, is this "guys act caring towards kid" moment just another way to completely secure the stranglehold this show has on its female fans?
- finally, for me it had echos of the way Jack tries to give Ianto his breath back in Cyberwoman. Does it for Ianto too?
- Okay, fine, Ianto cries all the time. But I don't find it fragile. I find it uncomfortable. Which is exactly how I should find it.
So yeah, I love this fucking show, even if it makes no sense in general and this episode didn't really work, even if I don't understand what these creatures were, even if I wanted Jack backstory here I didn't get, even if the thing with capturing them back on film and exposing them made almost no sense.
Also, loved loved loved Jack and Ianto talking to the old woman in the mental institution. In fact the whole episode was so nice because it had the two of them dealing with parts of life (old age and child/parenthood) that they will never deal with together. Smart. Subtle. Graceful.
From Out of the Rain.
Like an idiot, I accidentally didn't download this when I should have, and watched it after I watched Fragments. This turned out to be accidentally very important.
Jack's pocket watch is not a pocket watch. In Fragments we see Alex looking at the thing before he shoots himself (much much talking about Alex in the upcoming Fragments post). Back in From Out of the Rain we see Jack looking in it and then snapping it closed -- it can't be a watch because JACK WEARS A WRISTWATCH ON HIS RIGHT WRIST. So what the fuck information is in that thing?
Anyway. This is a really critical episode that doesn't really work or make any goddamn sense at all. And you get the sense that the actors know it. Certainly lots of people involved with the show have talked about it in Torchwood Magazine (yes, yes, I know) as being the odd duck out in the season in a lot of ways. much like Random Shoes was in season 1 (although I think Random Shoes was an infinitely stronger episode).
But but but -- I think Jack is lying through almost all of the episode. I think he was working with or undercover with the Night Travelers, as opposed to just working in similar but mundane shows in an attempt to investigate them. He avoids too many questions, has too much information after pretending he doesn't have it, and Oh Yeah, is in that film?
I really like all the Jack/Ianto in this episode. It's matter of fact and normal and Ianto seems the most normal that I've think we've seen him.
I can't help but relate this episode to The Doctor Dances -- the reaction of being grateful for saving just one as opposed to the reaction of saving everyone. It's very sad in that context. Speaking of, the stuff with the kid and Ianto tearing up and Jack giving him his breath back -- there are like layers and layers of what the fuck in there, at least for me:
- first we have Ianto seeing a child traumatized by something (cinema) he loved as a child -- is this why he's tearing up?
- or is it seeing Jack be all tender with a kid (can Jack in his current state have children)? For that matter, is this "guys act caring towards kid" moment just another way to completely secure the stranglehold this show has on its female fans?
- finally, for me it had echos of the way Jack tries to give Ianto his breath back in Cyberwoman. Does it for Ianto too?
- Okay, fine, Ianto cries all the time. But I don't find it fragile. I find it uncomfortable. Which is exactly how I should find it.
So yeah, I love this fucking show, even if it makes no sense in general and this episode didn't really work, even if I don't understand what these creatures were, even if I wanted Jack backstory here I didn't get, even if the thing with capturing them back on film and exposing them made almost no sense.
Also, loved loved loved Jack and Ianto talking to the old woman in the mental institution. In fact the whole episode was so nice because it had the two of them dealing with parts of life (old age and child/parenthood) that they will never deal with together. Smart. Subtle. Graceful.
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I think you're right about Jack lying about his involvement with the Night Travelers. Torchwood used to be a very corrupt organization, and Jack has been with them almost since their inception. He's been working to try to make them a more productive organization, but the nature of the work and of his character make it pretty easy to assume that he's had to do some horrific things in his time.
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That's an interesting theory. From whence does it come? Certainly, it works with what we know about the Face of Boe and its offspring (because the Face outlives them all -- I got into this argument with someone who doesn't believe the Face of Boe thing, because they kept saying that the shoe saws the Face is the last of its kind. And I noted that that doesn't mean it's not also the first of its kind).
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But, additionally, if Jack's condition somehow prevents his children from growing say, past puberty because different parts of them don't age as fast as others, then that provides all sorts of wonderful dramatic possibilities both for Jack as the lonely person and for his mate at the time who will not only see her children die, but also will see herself slowly age while her partner remains young. (or worse, will die alone because Jack had to leave her for some reason)
A lot of the idea also comes from The Time Traveler's Wife where this sort of thing was addressed.
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Also, I know we know that Jack married (at least) once. Do we know anything about her?
(I love this show because there are are pieces of useful info hiding everywhere, but it's a real pain in the ass sometimes).
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I'm less convinced that it was someone within Torchwood, if only because Jack was still a freelance agent back then and I have to assume was trying to avoid letting it have its claws in him too deeply (okay, Jack's capacity for self-delusion is boundless, but that's a separate issue).
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I can see how there were some interesting character bits in there, but . . . man. Disappointing.
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I was looking for an entry on "They Keep Killing Suzie" so I could relate the experience of watching it with a straight man and having to explain the stopwatch joke at the end. *headdesk*
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