probably the easiest thing they could have done to make gwen remotely believable would be for her to suffer from her mistakes like everyone else.
they could have easily set the tone in day one by having it end with her sitting in some dark corner of the hub crying her eyes out about stuffing it up so badly; then jack could come sit next to her and put an arm around her and say something like 'there have been worse first days' and she could say something like 'i don't know if i'm cut out for this.'
introduce some doubt. but we didn't get that- we got wonder woman gwen who looks down at everyone else for not being as caring and compassionate as she is, but who can conveniently forget that the poor people are in such a mess because she screwed up.
wonder woman gwen who looks down at everyone else for not being as caring and compassionate as she is
That bugged me so much. If Gwen had had any proper experience of police work, she would have known that people take their refreshment and rest when they can, because they never know when they'll be called back on duty again. Her "how can we eat when [Cerys} is fighting for her life in the cells" speech just came across as sooo self righteous.
I agree. I wrote over on my own journal a while back about why so many of us didn';t connect to Gwen and her treatment of Rhys (the lying, the cheating, the retconning) was one of them. I quite agree that she treats him so appallingly badly that I am left with almost no ability to empathise or sympathise with her. Even when she's sitting in the hub choking on tears in Combat I feel only a fragment of pity - I mainly feel disgust
( ... )
I actually *wanted* to like Gwen when I saw all the promo's for TW, but during the early episodes when she starts to lie to Rhys and begins the affair with Owen I began to actively dislike the character
( ... )
'but I'm going to assume that it's because the writers have constantly insisted that *she* is the character we should identify with the most, and I'm just a little stubborn about doing as I'm told :D' You hit the nail on the head! Gwen suffers from 'tell, don't show' syndrome- the writers tell us ALL THE TIME that Gwen is the heart of the team, but they SHOW us someone who is very self-centered. I don't like being told which characters I should like either.
All they show us is a self absorbed child who is utterly convinced that she is the only one who truly understands! When challenged she throws a *hissy fit* about how ignorant and selfish everyone is and that her view is the only right one.
You know the one tiny, simple thing they could have done to make me feel a little more warmly toward her would have been to have her just be nice to Tosh and Ianto once in a while. They bang on so much about her alleged compassion and empathy and caring and yet, especially in series one, there are two people right there under her nose, in her workplace, that she interacts with every single bloody day, both of whom are lonely, bottled up and hurting and she is never once shown as even noticing. She's outright bitchy to Tosh a couple of times and Ianto may as well be invisible as far as she's concerned. The only people Gwen "sees" are men she wants to shag or want to shag her. Period. Not so much the Heart of Torchwood as a body part some two feet or so lower, I think...
rtd could have taken an example from torchwood with the development of owen's character from season 1 to season 2. the big difference is the owen who screwed up during season 1 was allowed to grow and learn from his mistakes in season 2. owen could still be a snarky prat at times, the treatment of tosh at the end of adam, yet you came away feeling that underneath the mask was a person who still cared deeply. gwen unlike owen was painted into a box from day one. gwen was meant to be our bridge to the strange world of torchwood, the every person thrown into monsters and 'spooky dos', the person we would identify with yet at times she leaves me(at least) shaking my head. we have been told over and over again by the writers(mostly from gwen herself) that gwen is the "heart" and "human" connection the rest of the team lack(kkbb-blowfish speech) yet her actions always fall short of her words. gwen for 'all so caring heart' lacks both empathy and ability of self-reflection and doubt that most adults have. we have seen better examples of
( ... )
Comments 12
they could have easily set the tone in day one by having it end with her sitting in some dark corner of the hub crying her eyes out about stuffing it up so badly; then jack could come sit next to her and put an arm around her and say something like 'there have been worse first days' and she could say something like 'i don't know if i'm cut out for this.'
introduce some doubt. but we didn't get that- we got wonder woman gwen who looks down at everyone else for not being as caring and compassionate as she is, but who can conveniently forget that the poor people are in such a mess because she screwed up.
doubt and remorse. even a little.
Reply
That bugged me so much. If Gwen had had any proper experience of police work, she would have known that people take their refreshment and rest when they can, because they never know when they'll be called back on duty again. Her "how can we eat when [Cerys} is fighting for her life in the cells" speech just came across as sooo self righteous.
Reply
Reply
Reply
You hit the nail on the head! Gwen suffers from 'tell, don't show' syndrome- the writers tell us ALL THE TIME that Gwen is the heart of the team, but they SHOW us someone who is very self-centered. I don't like being told which characters I should like either.
Reply
Does that sound like anyone familiar?
Reply
Reply
Reply
Reply
Leave a comment