Torchwood Episodes 3 & 4 reaction post
Yup, I'm behind the times!
Overall, this series of Torchwood is reminding me of "The Cage," the original pilot for Star Trek. I love it on principle because it is an incarnation one of my favorite shows and it contains some of my favorite characters, but the pacing's off, and for all the action scenes, it feels kind of...cerebral? or just occasionally boring? I think they spend too much time on the "omg hospitals are fucked up!" scenes, and although I understand they are necessary for the plot, I find myself tuning out a lot. Also, bad guys who communicate with spinning triangles are somewhat less than intimidating.
That said, I really do like these characters, and that makes the show worth watching for me.
Things I liked:
Jack! The lead-up to Jack's sex scene was nicely understated with the mention of the coat, which immediately made us think of Ianto. (I really miss Ianto, by the way. Every single episode.) While on the subject of Jack, I also loved "you turn everyone around you gay?"/"that's the plan." I find Jack much more appealing in this series than I have in the past, although I can't put my finger on the difference. Maybe more understated sadness and less obvious manpain?
Gwen! Every time I think I can't love her more, I am proven wrong. I had a "you go girl!" moment when she hung up on Jack to see Anwen on video. The thing I've always liked about the Jack/Gwen/Rhys triangle is that Gwen is the one heroine who's smart enough to realize that the attractively tortured hero is actually not boyfriend material. I did hurt a little for Rhys too though -- I can see how hard it would be to be in love with someone who is so thoroughly absorbed in a job like Torchwood. The problem isn't that she works for them; it's that when she's gone, he's thinking about her all the time, wanting her to call, and she isn't thinking about him at all.
Esther broke my heart a little too (after I stopped wanting to smack her for all the American/British translations). Gwen wanted to be involved with Torchwood from the second she discovered them, but Esther seems so lost here. She doesn't have the undercover skills or the emotional fortitude for a job like this, but she's really trying.
I liked Rex's scene with his father too. It was nicely set up with Rex hearing the Tea Party lady say the dead will die when this is over, and then he goes to talk to his father. Seeing that Rex came from a background like that makes me much more curious about his character.
Things I did not like:
Rex/Vera wtf? I could imagine her picking up someone in a bar if she was lonely or horny, or even having sex with Rex if he had seduced her somehow. But she really doesn't seem like the kind of woman who'd randomly fuck a critically wounded former patient who broke into her apartment. She does have a really incredible ass though, so I'm not complaining too loudly.
I guess the other issue is the pacing, which I talked about already. Children of Earth riveted me immediately, but I am very uninterested in this mystery.
Overall, this series of Torchwood is reminding me of "The Cage," the original pilot for Star Trek. I love it on principle because it is an incarnation one of my favorite shows and it contains some of my favorite characters, but the pacing's off, and for all the action scenes, it feels kind of...cerebral? or just occasionally boring? I think they spend too much time on the "omg hospitals are fucked up!" scenes, and although I understand they are necessary for the plot, I find myself tuning out a lot. Also, bad guys who communicate with spinning triangles are somewhat less than intimidating.
That said, I really do like these characters, and that makes the show worth watching for me.
Things I liked:
Jack! The lead-up to Jack's sex scene was nicely understated with the mention of the coat, which immediately made us think of Ianto. (I really miss Ianto, by the way. Every single episode.) While on the subject of Jack, I also loved "you turn everyone around you gay?"/"that's the plan." I find Jack much more appealing in this series than I have in the past, although I can't put my finger on the difference. Maybe more understated sadness and less obvious manpain?
Gwen! Every time I think I can't love her more, I am proven wrong. I had a "you go girl!" moment when she hung up on Jack to see Anwen on video. The thing I've always liked about the Jack/Gwen/Rhys triangle is that Gwen is the one heroine who's smart enough to realize that the attractively tortured hero is actually not boyfriend material. I did hurt a little for Rhys too though -- I can see how hard it would be to be in love with someone who is so thoroughly absorbed in a job like Torchwood. The problem isn't that she works for them; it's that when she's gone, he's thinking about her all the time, wanting her to call, and she isn't thinking about him at all.
Esther broke my heart a little too (after I stopped wanting to smack her for all the American/British translations). Gwen wanted to be involved with Torchwood from the second she discovered them, but Esther seems so lost here. She doesn't have the undercover skills or the emotional fortitude for a job like this, but she's really trying.
I liked Rex's scene with his father too. It was nicely set up with Rex hearing the Tea Party lady say the dead will die when this is over, and then he goes to talk to his father. Seeing that Rex came from a background like that makes me much more curious about his character.
Things I did not like:
Rex/Vera wtf? I could imagine her picking up someone in a bar if she was lonely or horny, or even having sex with Rex if he had seduced her somehow. But she really doesn't seem like the kind of woman who'd randomly fuck a critically wounded former patient who broke into her apartment. She does have a really incredible ass though, so I'm not complaining too loudly.
I guess the other issue is the pacing, which I talked about already. Children of Earth riveted me immediately, but I am very uninterested in this mystery.