Torchwood - Children of Earth SPOILERS - no fic
A few comments of mine on Children of Earth and the aftermath
WARNING, THERE WILL BE SPOILERS FOR TORCHWOOD SEASON 3 AKA CHILDREN OF EARTH behind the cut.
( Spoilery stuff here )
WARNING, THERE WILL BE SPOILERS FOR TORCHWOOD SEASON 3 AKA CHILDREN OF EARTH behind the cut.
( Spoilery stuff here )
*nods in agreement* To me, Gwen was meant to be a likeable, human character that the audience could see themselves reflected on, but it was never right. She is always trying too hard to be the heart of everything. Ianto, on the other hand, was never meant to provide the audience with a point of reference, but he does. Because he is human, broken inside after everything he's been through but still fighting to put a brave face to the world, to pick up the pieces, still bravely daring to live again. And that, I think, is the main reason why a lot of people identify with him: because we all, at some point or another, have been there.
He more than anybody I feel represented the audience, and his loss is a loss to us as well as the show.
Yep. And that is something I don't think the writers ever fully considered.
And I'm not the only person to feel this way.
(now if you want to point and laugh at the people who feel this strongly about a TV character, fine, go ahead)
Well, you have seen my rantings over at my journal, so you know you are not the only one. So, rather than point and laugh at you, we should start a club. And send the therapy bills to the BBC...
Also, would you mind if I like to this from my journal? I am collecting reaction posts from other people, and I'd like to include this one...
Reply
Oh yes, of course you can.
Reply
Reply
And I think that's precisely why the audience identifies with him.
Gwen was shoved in our faces. Everywhere there's nothing but Gwen. See, here's Gwen. Gwen is cool. She has long meaningful chats with Jack. Gwen means well. Gwen gives TW back it's heart. Sure she has a boyfriend, cheats on him with Owen and lusts after Jack. It just shows she's flawed and so therefore, you MUST identify and like her.
The more you push and shove something at people, the more likely they will reject it.
Reply
Gwen is a flawed character, but so are all the others, and that is what makes them so human. Furthermore, we were eventually given reasons for (some of) the flaws of the other characters. Owen is scared of commitment and a cynic becasue he lost the woman he loved, and hides behind a string of meaningless one-night stands because he craves contact but can't get himself to invest in a relationship again. Tosh seems to live with the idea that she's only borrowing her own life from someone else after Jack took her out of that UNIT detention centre. Ianto... well, what's to say, with everythin he's been through.
Now could someone explain where Gwen's flaws stem from, what in her past explains her? That'd be interesting to see.
Reply
We haven't seen that yet. Maybe that's what TW s4 is about.
Reply
In "Something Borrowed", we met Gwen's parents, who says behind her back that they think she's gone crazy. We meet her friends who are never mentioned again, who shrugs off her being pregnant because they are just that close to her.
We see that Gwen came from a very privileged background, with her parents, and where she was holding her wedding, she's a ValleyGirl who chose to be a cop instead of a model, but basically, she's the Paris Hilton of Torchwood.
...it would have been awesome if they have acknowledged that, and have people react to her as such, because I like the idea of a ValleyGirl who chose to be a cop, even if at first she wasn't good at it...she can learn...
...but oh no, RTD does not understand the difference between Character Development and Stuff Happens To Character when it comes to his female leads who are his Sues.
Reply
Leave a comment