Above All Else
Ok this is basically a CoE analysis thought thing that came to my mind today. Posted under a LJ cut for spoilers.
There's been alot of talk on LJ and other places about Jack's actions. Both those of you completely horrified by it and those of you who see it as a horrible but FORGIVABLE action.
I may be about to make myself vastly unpopular: But after having a while to absorb everything that went on I find myself seeing it not as something that he needs to be forgiven for (except perhaps within his own mind), but as something he should be PRAISED for doing.
Let me explain my thought process.
The title of this post comes from something both very dear to my heart and also crucial to my point (especially since its Wales after all): Arthurian Legend. When Guinevere found herself charged with treason due to adultery, Arthur refused to stand for her. When she asked him why he told her he must be King First. Above Husband. Above All Else.
Its a sentiment that all of those in power address somehow. A good leader, a great leader, will put the demands and needs of those under their control before their personal feelings and lives. Otherwise its far too easy to switch from leader to dictator.
Jack is and in many ways always will be, Captain Jack Harkness: Torchwood. That bit about 'fighting for the future on behalf of the human race' is more than just a pretty voiceover. When it comes down to it, he has to be and was 'Captain' First.
For doing what he did, despite how much it hurt him and how horrific those he 'saved' might have found it, he showed himself to be a great leader.
For that, I am unable to condemn him.
There's been alot of talk on LJ and other places about Jack's actions. Both those of you completely horrified by it and those of you who see it as a horrible but FORGIVABLE action.
I may be about to make myself vastly unpopular: But after having a while to absorb everything that went on I find myself seeing it not as something that he needs to be forgiven for (except perhaps within his own mind), but as something he should be PRAISED for doing.
Let me explain my thought process.
The title of this post comes from something both very dear to my heart and also crucial to my point (especially since its Wales after all): Arthurian Legend. When Guinevere found herself charged with treason due to adultery, Arthur refused to stand for her. When she asked him why he told her he must be King First. Above Husband. Above All Else.
Its a sentiment that all of those in power address somehow. A good leader, a great leader, will put the demands and needs of those under their control before their personal feelings and lives. Otherwise its far too easy to switch from leader to dictator.
Jack is and in many ways always will be, Captain Jack Harkness: Torchwood. That bit about 'fighting for the future on behalf of the human race' is more than just a pretty voiceover. When it comes down to it, he has to be and was 'Captain' First.
For doing what he did, despite how much it hurt him and how horrific those he 'saved' might have found it, he showed himself to be a great leader.
For that, I am unable to condemn him.