In lieu of an Edinburgh update...

[wildcard_47]

...which I promisepromisepromise is coming tomorrow.....I just watched last week's Torchwood. Here's my rant. 

Spoilers for "Reset", ahoy!

...So, when I said at the beginning of this season that I wanted some character depth and variety on the team, you listened a little. I was pleased. We got Ianto to move away from the emo and into the light. Or snark, as it were. You gave us a competent, confident Tosh, and even a bit of Sarcastic yet Sensitive!Owen to go along with that. Fair enough - I liked what I was seeing.

Then you had to go and make me angry again, slowly but surely. First with the trickle of Jack/Gwen hints (which are still coming on in shades, btw), the contrived alien in "Meat", Melodramatic!Jack, Tosh/Owen angst, and last, but not least:

When I said that I wanted Owen to stop being a jackass, and acquire a bit more soul, I didn't mean SHOOT HIM IN THE AORTA AND SEND HIS SOUL TO THE BEYOND. In case you weren't sure.

*sniff*

Comments

[tkurogrym.livejournal.com]

*snerks* Preach it.

I agree with every statement. But I did come across a post that helped with both the Melodramatic!Jack and the Jack??!Gwen moments. Wish I could find it to share again... But the gist was that after events on the Valiant, Jack's outlook on his team changed - and you can make a few guesses at why.

1. It's a viable assumption that Jack's been chained up, tortured, and murdered repeatedly over the Year That Never Was. Much of his behavior in "Meat" can be attributed to more than compassion; it rather smacks of deep empathy. Jack's seen so much death in that year that the idea of losing one more innocent raises his ire and even triggers an almost hopeless determination to win in the face of overwhelming odds. And of course, he knows very well what it's like to be the one tied up and hurt repeatedly, regenerating each time.

This, of course, doesn't preclude overacting on Barrowman's part. Ah well. I love him anyhow. ;)

2. It's also a viable assumption that the Master would have had the team killed sometime during that year, so Jack's learned what it means to lose them. The post-writer attributed his focus on Gwen to be less sexual/romantic (which is hard sometimes to see past in Jack!) and more friendship and concern that she not change. He's struggling to keep the team he's learned he loves, together, unchanged, without extra problems that might tear them away from him (Rhys).

It's a compelling argument for me largely because it makes the rest of the season -- especially the end -- ultimately heartbreaking for Jack. Nothing he can do will stop the team changing, dying, being lost. Nothing at all.

Randomly, I do think Gwen still carries a bit of a torch for Jack. (It's understandable, really, given his position in her life. Heck, *I* might have a bit of a crush on the man, if I were in her shoes. Well, minus the husband. Heh.) "Retcon" gives us that unmistakably. But she does say that it's a different kind of love, or something that can be read to that effect. And Jack -- well, even Torchwood!Jack (damaged, lost, less certain) can't help but flirt. It's in his personality. And he does seem genuinely happy to see her finally get married. Here's hoping I'm right. I'm so not ready to see marriage-breaker!Jack. Bleh. Not his style.

(Whew. Still catching up...)