Torchwood: A Fandom In Progress
Sep. 25th, 2009 06:08 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lunasarielI've just finished Season 2 of Torchwood, and tomorrow I'm diving right back into Doctor Who Season 4. I swear, I'm going to shrivel up and die if I don't get my daily dose of British TV.
Now that I know a bit more about the Torchwood team, their pasts, presents, and futures, I'm looking at them slightly differently. I've always suspected that the cynical jackass was just a persona Owen had adopted as a shield between him and the world, and one that he had adopted fairly recently at that, and I was right. He was a good man, in the end. At the very end of "Exit Wounds," when the remnants of Torchwood Three were cleaning up after their dear, departed colleagues, it really hit me. Owen would never wear his lab coat with the funny buttons again, and someone had to wash Tosh's blood off of the floor and the stairs. Just little things like that, driving the point home. And that second-to-last scene! A dead woman, talking to a dead man who would never find out that she loved him... Dammit, if I continue like this, I'm going to make myself cry.
On the other hand, not everything I'm finding out about these people makes them out to be so great. I keep waiting for Ianto to toughen up, to transform into the badass we all know him capable of being. There certainly are flashes, of course, but it looks like we'll have to wait for Children of Earth for his badass-itude to truly unfold. As it is now, he's still a bit wet. It's definitely a step up from last season in that he actually has a personality, but I'm still getting a feeling that there are hidden depths left unplumbed. I'm working on a few alternate timelines in which circumstances force him to take action a bit more, but those are still in the works.
I'm also finding that the moniker "Captain Jack" isn't Torchwood-specific. I've found three characters, of various fandoms, so far that answer to that name, and many more who are named Jack and occupy a captain-like (i.e. leaderly) position, but are not actually of captain rank. There's Captain Jack Sparrow, of course, and Captain John "Jack" Aubrey of my dear old Aubrey/Maturin series, in addition to Captain Jack Harkness, who I occasionally like to call Jack of Diamonds, Jack of Clubs (or Spades) and Jack of Hearts, respectively. Peter says that the guy in charge of the Stargate: SG1 team is called Jack, but he's a colonel or something. I know there are more, but they escape me at the moment.
The more I look at our Fearless Leader, the more parallels and connections I see arise. Aside from the aforementioned "Captain Jack" thing, I also see him as very close, in word, deed, and appearance, to Malcom "Mal" Reynolds of Firefly fame. Both were originally introduced as cheeky, cheery rogues with hearts of gold beneath a bit of exterior grime, but are gradually revealed to have well-concealed, and very dark, depths. Both regard their teams as family, and will go to extraordinary lengths to ensure their safety. Both have long since lost touch with their idealistic origins, and sometimes must be forcefully pulled back from the edge. Both do terrible things, and (almost) become terrible people, to protect those they love. Speaking of which, both have trouble expressing their feelings for a tart-spoken, well-dressed crew member. They even dress alike, with suspenders/bracers, an old-style pistol (revolver? Sorry, I don't know guns), and a signature coat being key.
Oh, this is also my first time back among the living after battling a nasty flu for a week. I'm still not operating at full capacity, but I'm getting there.
Now that I know a bit more about the Torchwood team, their pasts, presents, and futures, I'm looking at them slightly differently. I've always suspected that the cynical jackass was just a persona Owen had adopted as a shield between him and the world, and one that he had adopted fairly recently at that, and I was right. He was a good man, in the end. At the very end of "Exit Wounds," when the remnants of Torchwood Three were cleaning up after their dear, departed colleagues, it really hit me. Owen would never wear his lab coat with the funny buttons again, and someone had to wash Tosh's blood off of the floor and the stairs. Just little things like that, driving the point home. And that second-to-last scene! A dead woman, talking to a dead man who would never find out that she loved him... Dammit, if I continue like this, I'm going to make myself cry.
On the other hand, not everything I'm finding out about these people makes them out to be so great. I keep waiting for Ianto to toughen up, to transform into the badass we all know him capable of being. There certainly are flashes, of course, but it looks like we'll have to wait for Children of Earth for his badass-itude to truly unfold. As it is now, he's still a bit wet. It's definitely a step up from last season in that he actually has a personality, but I'm still getting a feeling that there are hidden depths left unplumbed. I'm working on a few alternate timelines in which circumstances force him to take action a bit more, but those are still in the works.
I'm also finding that the moniker "Captain Jack" isn't Torchwood-specific. I've found three characters, of various fandoms, so far that answer to that name, and many more who are named Jack and occupy a captain-like (i.e. leaderly) position, but are not actually of captain rank. There's Captain Jack Sparrow, of course, and Captain John "Jack" Aubrey of my dear old Aubrey/Maturin series, in addition to Captain Jack Harkness, who I occasionally like to call Jack of Diamonds, Jack of Clubs (or Spades) and Jack of Hearts, respectively. Peter says that the guy in charge of the Stargate: SG1 team is called Jack, but he's a colonel or something. I know there are more, but they escape me at the moment.
The more I look at our Fearless Leader, the more parallels and connections I see arise. Aside from the aforementioned "Captain Jack" thing, I also see him as very close, in word, deed, and appearance, to Malcom "Mal" Reynolds of Firefly fame. Both were originally introduced as cheeky, cheery rogues with hearts of gold beneath a bit of exterior grime, but are gradually revealed to have well-concealed, and very dark, depths. Both regard their teams as family, and will go to extraordinary lengths to ensure their safety. Both have long since lost touch with their idealistic origins, and sometimes must be forcefully pulled back from the edge. Both do terrible things, and (almost) become terrible people, to protect those they love. Speaking of which, both have trouble expressing their feelings for a tart-spoken, well-dressed crew member. They even dress alike, with suspenders/bracers, an old-style pistol (revolver? Sorry, I don't know guns), and a signature coat being key.
Oh, this is also my first time back among the living after battling a nasty flu for a week. I'm still not operating at full capacity, but I'm getting there.
