Devastating deaths of television characters
Well, Ianto is dead. All the rumors were true, and, as blackbird_song pointed out, people we trusted have lied to us. RTD isn't that big a surprise, but Barrowman and Gareth? They encouraged fans of the relationship by saying that we would enjoy it, and then blindsided us. I haven't seen the episodes yet, but I'll keep the DVDs when they come, because it sounds like the acting and overall production values were outstanding. And maybe his death was artistically necessary. It certainly was foreshadowed enough, going all the way back to "To the Last Man," and rammed down our throats in "The Dead Line." No, it's not the end we sentimental fans wanted; although there could never be a happy ending. I suspect most of us are thinking, "But they could have had a little more time, at least." Realistically, I can't see Jack hanging around until Ianto's hair turned grey either. But it was still too soon!
After I began to get over the shock tonight, I realized that this death was not the first to affect me in such a visceral, almost nauseating, way. (Obviously I get way too involved with my fictional characters). In chronological order, these are the deaths that diminished me:
Henry Blake in MASH. His discharge papers came through and he was going home. After the emotional but joyful goodbyes and happiness for him, the shocker came, even worse than tonight because it was so totally unexpected. I can still see Radar, fighting tears, announcing in the OR that Henry's plane had been shot down over the China Sea, and there were no survivors. It would have been bad but not so surprising to have a character killed during a battle, but to have the happy ending in sight and then snatched away was heartbreaking.
Sonny Steelgrave in Wiseguy, one of the slashiest shows ever, and the one that hooked me as intensely as Torchwood has. In the first place, he was portrayed brilliantly by the late Ray Sharkey, three weeks out of rehab and giving it everything he had. Sonny was the gangster whose mob was infiltrated by FBI agent Vince Terranova, who succeeded all too well in making a place for himself. Not only did he con Sonny into trusting and loving him like the brother he'd just lost, but Vince himself was obviously falling for Sonny. Major conflict and angst here; Ken Wahl was brilliant too. At the end Sonny knew that Vince was a cop; with the Feds closing in, he looked Vince in the eye, said, "I loved you, man," and electrocuted himself. I remember walking around at work stunned the next day thinking about it. Ironically, later on Vince and his previously-disliked handler (Jonathan Banks) fell even harder for each other; great slash pairing.
Tosh and Owen, of course. "You're breaking my heart" still chokes me up.
And now, Ianto. I don't even want to think about what that will be like, if I have tears in my eyes just reading the bare facts. And it's not like we were totally unprepared, but I kept finding reasons to discount the rumors. And so I am angry as well as sad. But mostly sad.
After I began to get over the shock tonight, I realized that this death was not the first to affect me in such a visceral, almost nauseating, way. (Obviously I get way too involved with my fictional characters). In chronological order, these are the deaths that diminished me:
Henry Blake in MASH. His discharge papers came through and he was going home. After the emotional but joyful goodbyes and happiness for him, the shocker came, even worse than tonight because it was so totally unexpected. I can still see Radar, fighting tears, announcing in the OR that Henry's plane had been shot down over the China Sea, and there were no survivors. It would have been bad but not so surprising to have a character killed during a battle, but to have the happy ending in sight and then snatched away was heartbreaking.
Sonny Steelgrave in Wiseguy, one of the slashiest shows ever, and the one that hooked me as intensely as Torchwood has. In the first place, he was portrayed brilliantly by the late Ray Sharkey, three weeks out of rehab and giving it everything he had. Sonny was the gangster whose mob was infiltrated by FBI agent Vince Terranova, who succeeded all too well in making a place for himself. Not only did he con Sonny into trusting and loving him like the brother he'd just lost, but Vince himself was obviously falling for Sonny. Major conflict and angst here; Ken Wahl was brilliant too. At the end Sonny knew that Vince was a cop; with the Feds closing in, he looked Vince in the eye, said, "I loved you, man," and electrocuted himself. I remember walking around at work stunned the next day thinking about it. Ironically, later on Vince and his previously-disliked handler (Jonathan Banks) fell even harder for each other; great slash pairing.
Tosh and Owen, of course. "You're breaking my heart" still chokes me up.
And now, Ianto. I don't even want to think about what that will be like, if I have tears in my eyes just reading the bare facts. And it's not like we were totally unprepared, but I kept finding reasons to discount the rumors. And so I am angry as well as sad. But mostly sad.