in which I am heartless to three fannishly beloved guys

[selenak]

I've been rewatching some Crusade episodes for my matrithon story, and aside from filling me with nostalgia for the spin-off that couldn't, this also reminded me of a curious phenomenon Crusade shares with Babylon 5 and Torchwood as far as I'm concerned. Or, to put it differently, what do Galen, Marcus Cole and Ianto Jones have in common? They're incredibly

Comments

[selenak]

Well, JMS wrote a short story about Londo first, and then one about Lyta and G'Kar. The one about Marcus was the third and last, and thus I don't mind, especially since I successfully avoided reading it. :)

[elisi]

I know neither Marcus or Galen, so... As for Ianto, then... *ponders* Well he was Albert to begin with, wasn't he? At least that's how I think I saw him. And who doesn't love a butler? So proper and correct and always there with whatever's needed. ("Do you need me to do any attacking, sir?" Day One from memory.)

I also remember shouting very, very ugly things at the TV during Cyberwoman, since they apparently decided to turn him into a *moron*, and was quite disenchanted with him after that. Although in my Countrycide review, after wondering why on *earth* he was still around, I wrote 'Please let him have a crush on Jack!' And then - voila! - stopwatch! :D And, over time, I managed to reconcile myself to Cyberwoman. You just need to right perspective. (One day I shall write a lot of meta, and you can read it and say '... OK, but I still think he's boring'. *g*)

[selenak]

Aw. Well, millions of fangirls love Ianto and find him absolutely fascinating, so my relative indifference does not detract from anything. I graduated from wishing for the fast forward whenever he was on screen to noting approvingly adorable reaction shots as in Reset when Owen explodes the coffee by accident or the scene in To The Last Man when Gwen says, come on, I'll buy you a drink; it's just that I can't bring myself to feel more than that, and I doubt that will change...

[lilacsigil]

See, normally I hate the characters who make stupid decisions all the time and put everyone at risk. But since this is the entire premise (and most of the plot) of Torchwood, I really didn't mind any of them too much. I even like Tosh, Gwen and Martha. Well, okay, I hated Owen for being a slimy, mean, self-obsessed git who Tosh liked for some unknown reason, but he still fitted in the cast. (Ianto's death scene really reminded me of Jack fondling the giant meat creature from season 2, though. I don't even know why.)

[wee_warrior]

I can certainly understand your feelings, although mine go in a somewhat different direction in respect to these specific characters. My dislike of Marcus was tied to him seeming like an excessively cheesy Knights of the Roundtable facsimile, and I find Ianto's actor to be so bland, I never saw much reason to notice him beyond "huh, he's tall." Galen I've thankfully missed, so I can't say anything about him.

Characters where my irritation was directly proportional connected to their popularity are certainly Sark, Spike, and Noah Bennet, all of whom I've actually liked when watching them out of a fandom context (Spike being the most ambivalent case, as I liked him a lot more in Season 2 of Buffy and Season 5 of Angel than anything in between).

[selenak]

Characters where my irritation was directly proportional connected to their popularity are certainly Sark, Spike, and Noah Bennet

Fannish reactions influenced my irritated feelings for these, too, but as opposed to Ianto, Marcus and Galen, I could see what other people saw in them, even when I didn't (in the case of Sark) or didn't to the same degree (Noah B. and Spike, both of whom, like you, I started out liking, and in Spike's case came to like again after a time).

[redfiona10]

>>I thought he had gotten exactly the kind of death he had always been aiming for. I was sad on Ivanova's behalf, but not because I thought Marcus was the unrecognized love of her life etc., - I really don't see it that way - more because he wasn't, though undoubtedly she had liked him, and now he had managed to guilt trip her inadvertendly for the rest of eternity. Which she so didn't need..<<

I am a huge Marcus fan but this is totally true. Large chunks of Ivanova's life do seem to boil down to 'I like a person, and then they die'.

[amatara]

Wholeheartedly agree with this, also. I rather liked Marcus - though not in any deep, lasting way, butjust because he made me smile, and there was something naïvely attractive about him making a pass for Ivanova - and I've always liked Ivanova, but:
(1) I don't think there could've been something lasting between them. However, they were both at a stage in their lives where they could badly use some comfort, and I *could* see them being together for a while (though not for a lifetime) based on that

[selenak]

If there's mercy in the universe, I think Marcus got it, and Ivanova didn't; even if she lived, and he died. Does that make sense?

Absolutely, and I agree with you; that's what I was aiming at with stating Marcus got the death he wanted. Re: Marcus and Ivanova if he had lived, agreed, they probably would have gotten together and then would have broken up again.

Character moments: and some of Claudia Christian's best acting, too.