(no subject)
Loved it. Loved how that episode really addressed (as opposed to a couple of others this season) the moral dilemmas Torchwood has to deal with (or doesn't really deal with, but sticks in cells and forgets about instead), and that sometimes there are no good solutions at all.
It's horribly depressing of course. Gwen tries so very hard to do the right thing and fails utterly, because there is no way she could have succeeded. And the end, that special cruel twist, is really Torchwood always going that one step further; most other shows would have ended with the tearful reunion of mother and son.
Really liked how many sides of the characters are shown through the episode, everyone starting out as pretty unlikeable, Gwen and Rhys already fighting again, Jack acting like a total jerk towads Gwen which makes him look a lot guiltier than he is until it is revealed that he's been carrying this burden all along, and, because he's lived a lot longer and seen a lot more than Gwen, already knows the situation can't be really mended. Although OTOH better interior decoration, fixing dripping pipes and general renovation might be a good start... (One thing is becoming increasingly clear though, when Jack is on the defensive and uncomfortable about a situation, possibly feeling a bit guilty, too, and can't bullshit his way out of it with charm and flirtation, he withdraws into this hard I'm-the-boss persona at first, and when pushed further, tends to start lashing out quite unpleasantly. To me Jack has become more complex and interesting this season, but also rather less immediately likeable.) Liked that Ianto still has a mind of his own about things, despite his attachment to Jack, and how gracefully and maturely he handled being stuck in the uncomfortable middle between Jack and Gwen throughout the episode. Liked that they are all real people, who have faults and weaknesses are not always logical and clear-cut. Loved the Gwen and Rhys ending. More than Meat, more than Something Borrowed, this, I think is the episode where Jack really lost Gwen.
The Ianto-Jack-Gwen triangle dynamic is becoming rather... interesting. I really didn't like to see Jack... not quite, but almost playing Ianto and Gwen against each other ('Coming back in?' which is effectively asking, are you on her side here, or on mine?), and it's hard not to interpret some things he says as a reaction to her marrying Rhys; more subconscious maybe than Andy's vocal disappointment, but still almost rubbing it in her face that, no, he doesn't need her, he's got someone, too. See? See?! Going weevil hunting with Ianto, must run, no time for your problems now. There are some weird undercurrents in this episode.
Did Ianto find out about the island on his own, or did Jack tell him and take him along?
Is there any way to read it more as a compliment to TW than a statement about the sad state of my life that this was the highlight of my day by a very long margin?
And speaking of sad & depressing, when there wasn't any snow all January and February is it really necessary to start snowing with a vengeance in the middle of March?
Utterly exhausted all week. Asleep by 9 on Monday, by 10 on Tuesday, didn't even finish the review for From Out Of The Rain, too lethargic to watch the World Figure Skating Championships even. Never mind studying Russian.
::yawn::