aka Britgeekgrrl (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
fangrrl_squees) wrote2006-11-27 09:59 am
fangrrl_squees) wrote2006-11-27 09:59 am
Entry tags:
Torchwood 1x07, Further Thoughts
Spoilers below.
I've slept on it and this episode has grown on me, which is a change from past trends in which the majority of my opinion gels in the first viewing.
Technically, it was another excellent episode - better than some, in my opinion. The visual f/x were just right, and the use of editing and layered VO to illustrate the effect of unrestrained mind-reading was very well done.
I know that comparisons to a certain episode of Buffy The Vampire Slayer are inevitable, but I don't think that's entirely fair. When you've got the premise of compelled telepathy - or as near to it as to make no difference - certain motifs are always going to pop up. What's the cliche? An eavesdropper never hears anything good about themselves.
I think the eps went further into Buffy territory with the mythology reference, and even that's an understandable overlap. If you need to share information to your audience, especially if there's a bit of an indirect slant to it, allude to the classics.
Despite my general kvetchery that Torchwood - the Cardiff unit, at least - seems to be more about crisis containment and cleaning up their own messes, rather than "protecting humanity from aliens", I really enjoyed the fact that the humans were the center of this story, and the alien rather secondary. Shunting Mary's rantings offscreen - visually and audibly - during the climactic scene at The Hub was a lovely illustration of that point. Moreover, Tosh's eavesdropping continues building on events and themes established in earlier episodes, and that ongoing continuity makes me happy.
I'm a little vexed at Gwen and Owen's utter lack of subtlety. I don't know about y'all, but if I had two co-workers who were sniping ferociously at each other one week, and then playfully teasing the next, with the significant mention of a snog in between, I'd put two and two together right quick. Initially, I thought perhaps Gwen and Owen had decided that as a liaison would be very difficult to hide - and contrary to establishing trust within the team - perhaps they had decided to be open about it (or more open, at least) around Jack, Ianto and Tosh, trusting them not to go blowing the whistle because they're decent human beings and/or realize they can't discuss the situation without potentially creating far more curiosity about Torchwood itself. Neat, thought I, an example of how Gwen and Owen both trust their fellow team-mates, and it's something that, in a weird, back-handed way, could help bring the team a little closer together - another shared secret, but not one on which the fate of the world (or at least Cardiff) hangs.
But then Owen got all snarly and resentful at the end of the episode and so much for that theory. At least Gwen seemed to have her head on straight, which was a pleasant surprise.
This wasn't a story about alien tech - or aliens - wreaking havoc, but about people. For once, that came through loud and clear. Maybe I'm just a bit slower than most. Yeah, yeah, all stories are about people at the end of the day, but some stories are more deftly told than others. And I thought this one was pretty dam' deft. Not only were previous threads/situations referred to, but seeds are clearly being planted for futuretrain wrecks plots.
No smoldering Jack-Ianto glances though. Boo. But I'll gladly accept Barrowman's unusually consistent performance - consistent and with some moments of rather well-done subtlety, no less - in lieu of said smoldering.
In fact, with the exception of Mary - who, I must suspect, was merely following directions - I think the entire cast turned in a good performance. Relatively restrained (compare Tosh's angry tears to Ianto's set-chewing hysteria of Cyberwoman), layered and just, y'know, well done. The cast seemed to really click for this one.
My only grumble would be that the whole Mary-screwing-over-Tosh was so clearly projected, from last week's trailer, onwards that there was no surprise and no suspense. I was just waiting for them to get on with it. Then again, as that aspect of the plot was telegraphed in letters ten feet high as soon as Mary appears on the construction site where the body was found, the eps didn't spend much time dwelling on it. Dear Viewer, you can clearly discern that this hawt blonde person has her own motives in mind and they're bound to run contrary to whatever makes for a quiet life for Tosh. Please don't expect any more than that from the character, because screwing with Tosh is all she's here for. Kthxbye. or something to that effect.
Why eat human hearts? Why the fuck not, I guess. A skosh more reasoning would have been nice but, again, it wasn't vital. Why? Because the alien's motives were not at the heart (ahem) of the story. She could have been peeling chihuahuas for all that it mattered.
I'm not sure how I feel about heartless!Jack. On the one hand, bossy brutal (good-looking) men are kinda hawt1. On the other hand, this is Jack and, once again, one must sigh mournfully and wonder what happened to the fun-loving conman. Not that I'm angry about it, mind you, change is good for characters and give me lots of fun stuff to meta about (and fic about, and rpg about...) but Jack's been making an awful lot of arbitrary, heartless decisions that tend to conclude with people dead or maimed and I'm not sure how this is going to impact the team over time. Well, clearly, it's hardly going to foster trust and good feelings. Ianto's clearly still pissed about what happened to Lisa. Gwen was shocked by Jack's readiness to kill the perps in Countrycide. Tosh certainly didn't seem too happy about Jack's decision to vaporize Mary. Let's see, that just leaves Owen out of the directly impacted by Jack's rather direct method of problem solving club. I wonder if that'll be changing, soon? Hmm. Hmmm....
(And I'm still grumbly that Jack couldn't do a better job of consoling Tosh. I know, I know, yet another sign that he's alienated (ahem) from humanity but, dammit, that doesn't mean I have to like it)
So, it might not have been Torchwood Defends Earth against Alien Menace, but I think it was an excellent episode, nonetheless. I might be inclined to edge my opinion up to an 8 out of 10.
Coming up soon: Why fangrrl fervently believes that Jack/Ianto bondage does not feature Ianto as the one getting tied up. Yeah, those two are eating my brain again - like I'm complaining. Weirdly enough, though, noodling on that dynamic (Happy Place) and explaining to Ianto why edge play is a bad (if hawt) idea (Very Happy Place) helped me figure out an entirely non-naughty follow-up to Honesty as a Blunt Instrument. I've got a half-baked outline scrawled down. I'll try to draft it tonight when I get sick of sewing...
PS. Anyone else out there really disturbed by Ianto's stomach full of rats metaphor? Brr!
1 - Oh, don't tell me you're surprised by that. I've a (classic) James Bond fixation fer Crissakes.
I've slept on it and this episode has grown on me, which is a change from past trends in which the majority of my opinion gels in the first viewing.
Technically, it was another excellent episode - better than some, in my opinion. The visual f/x were just right, and the use of editing and layered VO to illustrate the effect of unrestrained mind-reading was very well done.
I know that comparisons to a certain episode of Buffy The Vampire Slayer are inevitable, but I don't think that's entirely fair. When you've got the premise of compelled telepathy - or as near to it as to make no difference - certain motifs are always going to pop up. What's the cliche? An eavesdropper never hears anything good about themselves.
I think the eps went further into Buffy territory with the mythology reference, and even that's an understandable overlap. If you need to share information to your audience, especially if there's a bit of an indirect slant to it, allude to the classics.
Despite my general kvetchery that Torchwood - the Cardiff unit, at least - seems to be more about crisis containment and cleaning up their own messes, rather than "protecting humanity from aliens", I really enjoyed the fact that the humans were the center of this story, and the alien rather secondary. Shunting Mary's rantings offscreen - visually and audibly - during the climactic scene at The Hub was a lovely illustration of that point. Moreover, Tosh's eavesdropping continues building on events and themes established in earlier episodes, and that ongoing continuity makes me happy.
I'm a little vexed at Gwen and Owen's utter lack of subtlety. I don't know about y'all, but if I had two co-workers who were sniping ferociously at each other one week, and then playfully teasing the next, with the significant mention of a snog in between, I'd put two and two together right quick. Initially, I thought perhaps Gwen and Owen had decided that as a liaison would be very difficult to hide - and contrary to establishing trust within the team - perhaps they had decided to be open about it (or more open, at least) around Jack, Ianto and Tosh, trusting them not to go blowing the whistle because they're decent human beings and/or realize they can't discuss the situation without potentially creating far more curiosity about Torchwood itself. Neat, thought I, an example of how Gwen and Owen both trust their fellow team-mates, and it's something that, in a weird, back-handed way, could help bring the team a little closer together - another shared secret, but not one on which the fate of the world (or at least Cardiff) hangs.
But then Owen got all snarly and resentful at the end of the episode and so much for that theory. At least Gwen seemed to have her head on straight, which was a pleasant surprise.
This wasn't a story about alien tech - or aliens - wreaking havoc, but about people. For once, that came through loud and clear. Maybe I'm just a bit slower than most. Yeah, yeah, all stories are about people at the end of the day, but some stories are more deftly told than others. And I thought this one was pretty dam' deft. Not only were previous threads/situations referred to, but seeds are clearly being planted for future
No smoldering Jack-Ianto glances though. Boo. But I'll gladly accept Barrowman's unusually consistent performance - consistent and with some moments of rather well-done subtlety, no less - in lieu of said smoldering.
In fact, with the exception of Mary - who, I must suspect, was merely following directions - I think the entire cast turned in a good performance. Relatively restrained (compare Tosh's angry tears to Ianto's set-chewing hysteria of Cyberwoman), layered and just, y'know, well done. The cast seemed to really click for this one.
My only grumble would be that the whole Mary-screwing-over-Tosh was so clearly projected, from last week's trailer, onwards that there was no surprise and no suspense. I was just waiting for them to get on with it. Then again, as that aspect of the plot was telegraphed in letters ten feet high as soon as Mary appears on the construction site where the body was found, the eps didn't spend much time dwelling on it. Dear Viewer, you can clearly discern that this hawt blonde person has her own motives in mind and they're bound to run contrary to whatever makes for a quiet life for Tosh. Please don't expect any more than that from the character, because screwing with Tosh is all she's here for. Kthxbye. or something to that effect.
Why eat human hearts? Why the fuck not, I guess. A skosh more reasoning would have been nice but, again, it wasn't vital. Why? Because the alien's motives were not at the heart (ahem) of the story. She could have been peeling chihuahuas for all that it mattered.
I'm not sure how I feel about heartless!Jack. On the one hand, bossy brutal (good-looking) men are kinda hawt1. On the other hand, this is Jack and, once again, one must sigh mournfully and wonder what happened to the fun-loving conman. Not that I'm angry about it, mind you, change is good for characters and give me lots of fun stuff to meta about (and fic about, and rpg about...) but Jack's been making an awful lot of arbitrary, heartless decisions that tend to conclude with people dead or maimed and I'm not sure how this is going to impact the team over time. Well, clearly, it's hardly going to foster trust and good feelings. Ianto's clearly still pissed about what happened to Lisa. Gwen was shocked by Jack's readiness to kill the perps in Countrycide. Tosh certainly didn't seem too happy about Jack's decision to vaporize Mary. Let's see, that just leaves Owen out of the directly impacted by Jack's rather direct method of problem solving club. I wonder if that'll be changing, soon? Hmm. Hmmm....
(And I'm still grumbly that Jack couldn't do a better job of consoling Tosh. I know, I know, yet another sign that he's alienated (ahem) from humanity but, dammit, that doesn't mean I have to like it)
So, it might not have been Torchwood Defends Earth against Alien Menace, but I think it was an excellent episode, nonetheless. I might be inclined to edge my opinion up to an 8 out of 10.
Coming up soon: Why fangrrl fervently believes that Jack/Ianto bondage does not feature Ianto as the one getting tied up. Yeah, those two are eating my brain again - like I'm complaining. Weirdly enough, though, noodling on that dynamic (Happy Place) and explaining to Ianto why edge play is a bad (if hawt) idea (Very Happy Place) helped me figure out an entirely non-naughty follow-up to Honesty as a Blunt Instrument. I've got a half-baked outline scrawled down. I'll try to draft it tonight when I get sick of sewing...
PS. Anyone else out there really disturbed by Ianto's stomach full of rats metaphor? Brr!
1 - Oh, don't tell me you're surprised by that. I've a (classic) James Bond fixation fer Crissakes.
no subject
That's just my opinion, of course.
re: Jack/Ianto bondage, we'll see if I can write it down without imploding in a puff of bashfulness. ;)
and I just scrawled down a page of dialog for the follow-up to "Honesty as a Blunt Instrument" and out of (relatively) nowhere, Ianto just let Jack know that one of his (Jack's) nicknames is "Heartless Harkness". God, I love these guys. :)
no subject
Heartless Harkness! I love it!
As for the bashfulness, its okay. However, I still think you should write it. And share with the class. :)
no subject
And there's the followup to "User Friendly" still waiting for a better conclusion - y'know, one that doesn't devolve into angry Jack/Owen sex. (It's that time of the month. My hormones are carbonated. I'll settle down in a few days...)
no subject
Angry Jack/Owen sex? Sounds like an excellent idea.
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Jack thinks so, too.
I think he's rebelling against a) all the angstiness I dump on him in the Torchwood Diaries and b) the fact that I won't let him be the filling in a Rose/Doctor sandwich on
no subject
Actually, the Jack/Ianto bondage would have to be Jack bondage. I mean, Jack isn't going to just randomly hurt Ianto- it might happen in the course of an incident, but Jack doesn't seem like a raving sadist. Plus, having Jack dominant and Ianto sub is just a repeat of everyday life- that's boring. Having Jack bound and Ianto the one binding has the ability to move character development along and to graphically demonstrate that, in spite of the whole Lisa thing, Jack DOES trust Ianto while giving Ianto the opportunity to really hurt Jack in revenge (but hopefully won't get too carried away) and also to work thru his anger.
Just my opinion, of course.....and I'm not writig this bad boy.....
no subject
Jack: I'm a control freak. I want to prove to Ianto that I trust him - which is about the only way I can earn his trust in turn, right? Ergo, where'd I put those restraints. *rummages*
Johanna: Jack. You can't die. You can't really even be hurt in a serious way, thanks to you Wolverine-esque powers. Ianto's going to figure that out within about two minutes of tying you down. So as a trust exercise, it kinda fails, doncha think?
Jack: *pouts* But it would be hawt!
Johanna: No argument from me there, matey. But there's NOTHING at risk, for you, not even edge-play is going to do it. For any typical 21st century guy, it could be conceived that the willingness to be physically exposed and (superficially) vulnerable would suffice but you're *not* a typical 21st century guy and I wouldn't be surprised if bondage is as vanilla for you as the missionary position is for the rest of us.
Jack: *pouts more* Maaaaaybe. But you don't know that for sure, do you?
Johanna: No, but I've a damn good idea, Mr.MPREG.
Jack: I knew you'd bring that up.
And so the argument continues.
However, I have hope that the do-it-because-it's-hawt argument will rally itself, later on. ;)
no subject
I don't think that the story has to be about damage. How about seeing how long Ianto can keep Jack aroused and on the edge of cumming without actually letting him? Now that's the kind of torture that would give Ianto the sense of control he probably really needs in his life while not exposing Jack's recuperative powers.
no subject
And who - a few strange exceptions aside - really *wants* to feel pain? Pain you can't stop with a safeword, I mean? ;)
I'd say more, but I've got Ianto and Jack circling each other in my head right now and they're being a bit demanding of my attention. Suffice it to say that Ianto's rather patiently explaining how submission is not a substitute for validation...
no subject
Also you should post your arguments with Jack more often. Highly amusing. Though now I must ask, what does Ianto think of all this?
no subject
He can't hear you. Or me, for that matter. He's a bit, uh, busy at the moment.
How I didn't write pron into the middle of those meeting notes (Just staggered out of one of 2 hours' duration) I don't know...
no subject
So, Ianto's busy huh... ;)
no subject
no subject