2x05: *is speechless*
There is no reactionsquee for Episode 2x05.
And this is why: The episode is so character-driven, and there are so many layered conversations and so much emotional stuff going on that it’s really difficult to just react.
It was, however, a brilliant episode.
So, in lieu of this week’s reactionsquee, I have actual discussion stuff pertaining to various scenes and aspects of it. Yes, there's a lot of reaction. There's just more deep stuff.
OWEN AND TOSHIKO
Oh, God. What to say about these two?
For one, Tosh was gorgeous and pretty damn sexy. Owen was adorable. The role-reversal between these two--Tosh as the one who's shagging someone and dismissing the person who obviously fancies her, and Owen as the one who fancies the other but is constantly shot down--was interesting.
Their interaction was uncomfortable and awkward, to say the least. But in a good way. These are both very talented actors, and they played the scenes (which were written very well) brilliantly. It's just that when people on the TV are awkward and embarrassed, I feel the same. *shrugs*
Especially when Owen confesses his love. Beautifully written and played, but so bloody uncomfortable to watch.
I love Owen and Tosh. I don't completely ship them, but I think they're cute together. At the end, when Tosh sees the flowers and Owen says there's no way they're from him--he doesn't do apologies or flowers--it was kind of like he was trying to deflect. He really does like Tosh, I think, but he doesn't seem like a person willing to let someone else see his vulnerabilities, especially after last season.
I'm not going to talk about what happens next episode. That'll be included in my reactionsquee.
JACK'S PAST
Holy shit. Jack.
Okay. So, because Jack's memories have been disrupted so greatly by Adam, repressed memories are coming to the surface. I don't know if Adam brought them forth intentionally, or if it was an accidental side-effect that Adam decided to exploit. I'm thinking it could go either way, really.
Jack has kept these memories buried for more than a hundred and fifty years.
First, he has two visions of a young boy, first in the vaults, then on a street corner. He goes into a sewer, looking for a Weevil, and instead sees a vision of his dad. Panicked, he runs. Adam shows up and convinces Jack to talk about his past.
We see his home, the Boeshane Peninsula (which, oddly, always made me think of that little tail that comes out of Massachusetts. o_O). "We lived under the threat of invasion," he says. From "the worst creatures you could possibly imagine."
They usually pass over, but on that day, they didn't. Their screams came before them (and sound like the Reapers, though I'm pretty confident they aren't). Jack's dad tells him to "take Gray" and run. Gray is his younger brother, and the boy from his visions.
At some point, Jack lets go of Gray's hand. He never noticed, thought Gray was still behind him. Once the creatures are gone, he comes out of his hiding spot. The ground is covered in bodies. Gray is not among them.
He goes home to find his father dead. Jack says he spent years searching for Gray's body, but never found it. He says it was the worst day of his life.
So. Gray is the Gray that Capt. John Hart mentioned at the end of "Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang". We know that Capt. John returns later this season because he was in one of the trailers. He said that he "found Gray".
There was another scene, given to him by Adam, of Jack playing ball with his father. The "last good memory". Adam tries to imprint himself in the memory and says lots of confusing stuff about how he created that. Ehh.
Jack takes his short-term amnesia pill, Adam disappears, and Jack's memories are once again buried.
All I can say is, wow.
JACK AND IANTO
Well, to start off, IANTO. He keeps a diary. And I love how just after he says that, Tosh says "you write about artifacts in your diary?"
"Among other things..." *winks* Cute. Also, at the very end, when Jack hands Ianto back his diary and says "measuring tapes never lie". Hee.
Anyway, Ianto sees that Adam isn't in his diary, and realises that something's wrong. Adam realises Ianto's getting too close to the truth, and in an incredibly intense scene, implants memories of Ianto as a serial killer into his mind. It's very, very emotional, and intense, and you can feel Ianto's pain and Adam's perverted joy at forcing Ianto to think these things.
Jack stands on the roof for a while, reliving memories, then returns to the Hub. He sees Ianto on the floor in a fetal position, obviously distressed. He begs Jack to lock him up. Jack's confused, and won't believe it.
Ianto panics and jumps up. Jack grabs him and pulls him into a hug, and it's so heartbreaking. "I'm a monster," Ianto says. Jack still won't believe it.
He hooks Ianto to a lie detector, and even though everything Ianto says comes up as the truth, Jack still refuses to believe it. "You're not a murderer," he says. "I'm certain of it."
Jack's loyalty to Ianto is so brilliant. He absolutely refuses to believe that Ianto is capable of killing three girls in cold blood, and the fact that this is the reason Jack is able to figure out what's going on is just beautiful.
And I was actually in tears during this scene.
Now, to address an issue relating to Jack/Ianto and Barrowman's autobiography.
Popular opinion, based on what was in JB's autobiography, was that Jack was supposed to share a passionate kiss with Ianto in this episode after his breakdown in the Hub. They didn't. Apparently, it was cut.
Some of the Jack/Ianto shippers were upset about that. I was not. I think it would have been out-of-place. Jack simply holding Ianto after he had his meltdown, and then in the conference room kissing him on the forehead, was very moving in its subtlety. I think at those points, in those scenes, with everything else that was going on, Ianto needed more of a comforting, loving presence than simply sex. Ianto needed Jack to show he cared. Those tiny, gentle gestures felt more genuine than snogging would have.
THAT SCENE IN THE CONFERENCE ROOM
Jack tells the team that they have to remember something about themselves, something definitive, before Torchwood. This bit is kind of confusing for me, because sometimes I can see their lips moving and sometimes it looks like they aren't, and they're just thinking. I really can't tell because the resolution on this thing isn't that good. Italicised stuff is what I percieved to be thoughts.
Gwen remembers Rhys, the first time they met. Owen remembers his tenth birthday, and his mum, screaming "I love you because you're my son, but that doesn't mean I have to like you". Aww. Owen.
Toshiko remembers her mum and first flat. Ianto remembers meeting and then losing Lisa.
Gwen remembers Rhys some more. "I love him," she says, then looks at Jack. "But not in the way I love you."
This is such a moving scene that I decide getting pissed at that line and at Gwen would ruin it, so I let that slide.
Jack hands Gwen a white pill.
Next is Tosh. There has to be more to life than this. Knowing I'm special. "Waiting for someone to see."
"I saw it," Jack says. He places a hand on her shoulder and hands her a pill.
Then Owen. He says/thinks something about saving lives (I can't quite make it out) then says, "Who will save me?" "I will," Jack says. He touches Owen's shoulder and hands him a pill as well.
Finally, Ianto. Coming here... "Gave me meaning again." He looks up at Jack. "You." Jack strokes back Ianto's hair and kisses him on the forehead, then gives him a pill.
The pills will wipe out the last two days. They'll forget all about Adam, and go back to who they were before. Ianto immediately takes his, then Gwen. Owen looks at Tosh, then takes his. Tosh doesn't want to, because she thinks she's in love with Adam. Jack convinces her to let go. She does.
They all fall asleep at the table, and Jack walks out.
This scene...
It's beautiful and emotional, but there's something else... I think that it was kind of reminiscent of those Jesus/Jack parallels. It also sort of reminded me of a couple songs we sang in youth group.
But I've decided I don't care. I like how Jack is the nurturer, how he's like the father figure to all of them, and how he saves them. The scene is very well done, very emotional without being over-the-top, and for once the orchestra section isn't drowning out everyone's lines.
In conclusion...
This episode was so fucking brilliant. After the fast pace of the first few episodes, it was very refreshing to get an episode that focused on the characters. Beautifully acted, directed, lighted, and just overall amazing. It was an episode that dragged you along for the ride, and, for me at least, let you actually feel what the characters were feeling. There was that connection. It was a very emotionally exhausting episode.
I will have a reactionsquee for Episode 2x06: "Reset". It will be up either later tonight (doubtful) or sometime tomorrow (more likely). I've already seen it (I do my reactionsquees on the second viewing so I'm not distracted), but I'm not sure if I'll get around to it tonight. Probably not.
And this is why: The episode is so character-driven, and there are so many layered conversations and so much emotional stuff going on that it’s really difficult to just react.
It was, however, a brilliant episode.
So, in lieu of this week’s reactionsquee, I have actual discussion stuff pertaining to various scenes and aspects of it. Yes, there's a lot of reaction. There's just more deep stuff.
OWEN AND TOSHIKO
Oh, God. What to say about these two?
For one, Tosh was gorgeous and pretty damn sexy. Owen was adorable. The role-reversal between these two--Tosh as the one who's shagging someone and dismissing the person who obviously fancies her, and Owen as the one who fancies the other but is constantly shot down--was interesting.
Their interaction was uncomfortable and awkward, to say the least. But in a good way. These are both very talented actors, and they played the scenes (which were written very well) brilliantly. It's just that when people on the TV are awkward and embarrassed, I feel the same. *shrugs*
Especially when Owen confesses his love. Beautifully written and played, but so bloody uncomfortable to watch.
I love Owen and Tosh. I don't completely ship them, but I think they're cute together. At the end, when Tosh sees the flowers and Owen says there's no way they're from him--he doesn't do apologies or flowers--it was kind of like he was trying to deflect. He really does like Tosh, I think, but he doesn't seem like a person willing to let someone else see his vulnerabilities, especially after last season.
I'm not going to talk about what happens next episode. That'll be included in my reactionsquee.
JACK'S PAST
Holy shit. Jack.
Okay. So, because Jack's memories have been disrupted so greatly by Adam, repressed memories are coming to the surface. I don't know if Adam brought them forth intentionally, or if it was an accidental side-effect that Adam decided to exploit. I'm thinking it could go either way, really.
Jack has kept these memories buried for more than a hundred and fifty years.
First, he has two visions of a young boy, first in the vaults, then on a street corner. He goes into a sewer, looking for a Weevil, and instead sees a vision of his dad. Panicked, he runs. Adam shows up and convinces Jack to talk about his past.
We see his home, the Boeshane Peninsula (which, oddly, always made me think of that little tail that comes out of Massachusetts. o_O). "We lived under the threat of invasion," he says. From "the worst creatures you could possibly imagine."
They usually pass over, but on that day, they didn't. Their screams came before them (and sound like the Reapers, though I'm pretty confident they aren't). Jack's dad tells him to "take Gray" and run. Gray is his younger brother, and the boy from his visions.
At some point, Jack lets go of Gray's hand. He never noticed, thought Gray was still behind him. Once the creatures are gone, he comes out of his hiding spot. The ground is covered in bodies. Gray is not among them.
He goes home to find his father dead. Jack says he spent years searching for Gray's body, but never found it. He says it was the worst day of his life.
So. Gray is the Gray that Capt. John Hart mentioned at the end of "Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang". We know that Capt. John returns later this season because he was in one of the trailers. He said that he "found Gray".
There was another scene, given to him by Adam, of Jack playing ball with his father. The "last good memory". Adam tries to imprint himself in the memory and says lots of confusing stuff about how he created that. Ehh.
Jack takes his short-term amnesia pill, Adam disappears, and Jack's memories are once again buried.
All I can say is, wow.
JACK AND IANTO
Well, to start off, IANTO. He keeps a diary. And I love how just after he says that, Tosh says "you write about artifacts in your diary?"
"Among other things..." *winks* Cute. Also, at the very end, when Jack hands Ianto back his diary and says "measuring tapes never lie". Hee.
Anyway, Ianto sees that Adam isn't in his diary, and realises that something's wrong. Adam realises Ianto's getting too close to the truth, and in an incredibly intense scene, implants memories of Ianto as a serial killer into his mind. It's very, very emotional, and intense, and you can feel Ianto's pain and Adam's perverted joy at forcing Ianto to think these things.
Jack stands on the roof for a while, reliving memories, then returns to the Hub. He sees Ianto on the floor in a fetal position, obviously distressed. He begs Jack to lock him up. Jack's confused, and won't believe it.
Ianto panics and jumps up. Jack grabs him and pulls him into a hug, and it's so heartbreaking. "I'm a monster," Ianto says. Jack still won't believe it.
He hooks Ianto to a lie detector, and even though everything Ianto says comes up as the truth, Jack still refuses to believe it. "You're not a murderer," he says. "I'm certain of it."
Jack's loyalty to Ianto is so brilliant. He absolutely refuses to believe that Ianto is capable of killing three girls in cold blood, and the fact that this is the reason Jack is able to figure out what's going on is just beautiful.
And I was actually in tears during this scene.
Now, to address an issue relating to Jack/Ianto and Barrowman's autobiography.
Popular opinion, based on what was in JB's autobiography, was that Jack was supposed to share a passionate kiss with Ianto in this episode after his breakdown in the Hub. They didn't. Apparently, it was cut.
Some of the Jack/Ianto shippers were upset about that. I was not. I think it would have been out-of-place. Jack simply holding Ianto after he had his meltdown, and then in the conference room kissing him on the forehead, was very moving in its subtlety. I think at those points, in those scenes, with everything else that was going on, Ianto needed more of a comforting, loving presence than simply sex. Ianto needed Jack to show he cared. Those tiny, gentle gestures felt more genuine than snogging would have.
THAT SCENE IN THE CONFERENCE ROOM
Jack tells the team that they have to remember something about themselves, something definitive, before Torchwood. This bit is kind of confusing for me, because sometimes I can see their lips moving and sometimes it looks like they aren't, and they're just thinking. I really can't tell because the resolution on this thing isn't that good. Italicised stuff is what I percieved to be thoughts.
Gwen remembers Rhys, the first time they met. Owen remembers his tenth birthday, and his mum, screaming "I love you because you're my son, but that doesn't mean I have to like you". Aww. Owen.
Toshiko remembers her mum and first flat. Ianto remembers meeting and then losing Lisa.
Gwen remembers Rhys some more. "I love him," she says, then looks at Jack. "But not in the way I love you."
This is such a moving scene that I decide getting pissed at that line and at Gwen would ruin it, so I let that slide.
Jack hands Gwen a white pill.
Next is Tosh. There has to be more to life than this. Knowing I'm special. "Waiting for someone to see."
"I saw it," Jack says. He places a hand on her shoulder and hands her a pill.
Then Owen. He says/thinks something about saving lives (I can't quite make it out) then says, "Who will save me?" "I will," Jack says. He touches Owen's shoulder and hands him a pill as well.
Finally, Ianto. Coming here... "Gave me meaning again." He looks up at Jack. "You." Jack strokes back Ianto's hair and kisses him on the forehead, then gives him a pill.
The pills will wipe out the last two days. They'll forget all about Adam, and go back to who they were before. Ianto immediately takes his, then Gwen. Owen looks at Tosh, then takes his. Tosh doesn't want to, because she thinks she's in love with Adam. Jack convinces her to let go. She does.
They all fall asleep at the table, and Jack walks out.
This scene...
It's beautiful and emotional, but there's something else... I think that it was kind of reminiscent of those Jesus/Jack parallels. It also sort of reminded me of a couple songs we sang in youth group.
But I've decided I don't care. I like how Jack is the nurturer, how he's like the father figure to all of them, and how he saves them. The scene is very well done, very emotional without being over-the-top, and for once the orchestra section isn't drowning out everyone's lines.
In conclusion...
This episode was so fucking brilliant. After the fast pace of the first few episodes, it was very refreshing to get an episode that focused on the characters. Beautifully acted, directed, lighted, and just overall amazing. It was an episode that dragged you along for the ride, and, for me at least, let you actually feel what the characters were feeling. There was that connection. It was a very emotionally exhausting episode.
I will have a reactionsquee for Episode 2x06: "Reset". It will be up either later tonight (doubtful) or sometime tomorrow (more likely). I've already seen it (I do my reactionsquees on the second viewing so I'm not distracted), but I'm not sure if I'll get around to it tonight. Probably not.