Torchwood series 2, episode 8 review
OMG, I loved this episode. I've said this before about other episodes, but this one is my absolute favourite. The whole Owen arc has been fantastic, it's such a shame it had to end some time *sob* but it ended on an amazing episode. The character of Owen has evolved so much since the beginning, probably more so than any other character. I've heard a few people say that they never used to like him and now they do, which is great cos I love him. In the beginning of the series I so wanted to like him (because I just love Burn Gorman) but he was pretty unlikeable, and now that's completely changed; he's still the same but they've written him as a much nicer character. About time too.
I felt sooo sorry for him at various points in the episode. I thought that everyone was being really, really insensitive. Gwen just ignored him, Tosh was being insensitive, Jack was just an a**hole. The only ones who seemed vaguely bothered were Ianto and Martha. With particular emphasis on the word vaguely.
I was surprised by Tosh. She comes round with pizza, which he can't eat, and beer, which he can't drink, moaning about work, which he's not allowed to do. No wonder he flipped out. I didn't think that it was something that she would do. Jack yes, Tosh no. I mean, 'what is wrong with you?'. He's dead, his life is over, what the hell do you think's wrong with him?
Jack really really annoyed me too. He was so cold and clinical towards him. He was the one who did this to Owen, it's his fault and yet all he can muster is 'how long are you going to keep doing this?'. I think that in Owen's situation he's allowed a little time to freak out. The teams reactions towards him added to his behaviour imo, no one made a credible attempt to help. They just added to his problems. And making him the tea boy was a low blow. Especially considering the fact that he can't even drink. I know Jack's not the most sensitive and considerate soul but even for him his behaviour was pretty appalling.
And Gwen. She never said a word to him. She avoided him like the plague. Considering that she's the self appointed 'moral heart' of the team her reaction was a little extreme. She couldn't even muster a little compassion for her own team mate? It's obviously not a challenge for total strangers. That really aggravated me.
Having said that, those reactions made me feel all the more for Owen. First he has to deal with being dead, which is difficult enough to adjust to, and then he's ostracised by the team which has become a big part of his life. No wonder his behaviour was so excessive. Jack might have done well to bear that in mind.
Burn Gorman was fantastic, as usual. He's been great these last few episodes. I'm so glad that we've finally got some episodes that focus on him because, correct me if I'm wrong, there haven't been any. He's such a fantastic actor and he's been so underused in the series so far. Hopefully he'll start to play more of a role now.
It was such a tear jerker of an episode. The writers did such a fantastic job of this episode. And Burn's performance made it even more emotional. I hope there are more episodes like this, more character and less plot driven. The character driven episodes are a million times better and they're the standouts of the series.
One thing though; was it only me that thought it was odd that Martha didn't seem to feel at all guilty about what happened? He died protecting her and she never even mentioned it. I'm not saying that she should feel guilty but that would kind of be the normal reaction. Anyway, that's one small complaint.
I felt sooo sorry for him at various points in the episode. I thought that everyone was being really, really insensitive. Gwen just ignored him, Tosh was being insensitive, Jack was just an a**hole. The only ones who seemed vaguely bothered were Ianto and Martha. With particular emphasis on the word vaguely.
I was surprised by Tosh. She comes round with pizza, which he can't eat, and beer, which he can't drink, moaning about work, which he's not allowed to do. No wonder he flipped out. I didn't think that it was something that she would do. Jack yes, Tosh no. I mean, 'what is wrong with you?'. He's dead, his life is over, what the hell do you think's wrong with him?
Jack really really annoyed me too. He was so cold and clinical towards him. He was the one who did this to Owen, it's his fault and yet all he can muster is 'how long are you going to keep doing this?'. I think that in Owen's situation he's allowed a little time to freak out. The teams reactions towards him added to his behaviour imo, no one made a credible attempt to help. They just added to his problems. And making him the tea boy was a low blow. Especially considering the fact that he can't even drink. I know Jack's not the most sensitive and considerate soul but even for him his behaviour was pretty appalling.
And Gwen. She never said a word to him. She avoided him like the plague. Considering that she's the self appointed 'moral heart' of the team her reaction was a little extreme. She couldn't even muster a little compassion for her own team mate? It's obviously not a challenge for total strangers. That really aggravated me.
Having said that, those reactions made me feel all the more for Owen. First he has to deal with being dead, which is difficult enough to adjust to, and then he's ostracised by the team which has become a big part of his life. No wonder his behaviour was so excessive. Jack might have done well to bear that in mind.
Burn Gorman was fantastic, as usual. He's been great these last few episodes. I'm so glad that we've finally got some episodes that focus on him because, correct me if I'm wrong, there haven't been any. He's such a fantastic actor and he's been so underused in the series so far. Hopefully he'll start to play more of a role now.
It was such a tear jerker of an episode. The writers did such a fantastic job of this episode. And Burn's performance made it even more emotional. I hope there are more episodes like this, more character and less plot driven. The character driven episodes are a million times better and they're the standouts of the series.
One thing though; was it only me that thought it was odd that Martha didn't seem to feel at all guilty about what happened? He died protecting her and she never even mentioned it. I'm not saying that she should feel guilty but that would kind of be the normal reaction. Anyway, that's one small complaint.