Still Got That Stopwatch: Jack Harkness/Ianto Jones (Torchwood)
Title: Still Got That Stopwatch
Author: Roxie, pluvial_poetry
Fandom: Torchwood
Pairing: Captain Jack Harkness/Ianto Jones
E-mail: roxieann71022 at aol dot com
Spoilers: The series through Season 1
Notes: Thanks to rivier for giving it the okay. All idiocy and mistakes are my own. See further notes at the bottom.
Torchwood. Outside the government, beyond the police. Tracking down alien life on earth and arming the human race against the future. The 21st century is when everything changes, and you've gotta be ready.
So say the credits on British television's new hit sci-fi show. Exciting premise, cleverly executed, with interesting characters. The best thing I can say about all of them; Gwen, Owen, Tosh, Suzie, Ianto and Jack- is that they seem real. They try to do the right thing, they make mistakes, they devote themselves to saving the world, and they make more mistakes.
As much as I love the show as a whole, obviously this essay is about two characters in particular. We're attempting to capture a bit of the wonder that is the pairing of Captain Jack Harkness and Ianto Jones. The leader of this covert agency, Torchwood, and his manservant. Yes, seriously. The pairing is currently one of the most popular in the fandom. And, I should mention, just for your information - it's canon.
I've been in this ship from the word go. Or more accurately, it was probably the word, "sir". Maybe that's just me.
So let's be honest. There's one reason why most of the fandom was drawn in to watching this show.
It all starts with Captain Jack Harkness.
Captain Jack Harkness: Am I naked in front of millions of viewers?
Zu-Zana, Trine-e: Absolutely.
Captain Jack Harkness: Ladies, your viewing figures just went up.
Meet Jack Harkness
And what a way to start. Captain Jack first appeared on our television screens as a guest star on the British sci-fi dynamo Doctor Who. He was the Ninth Doctor's third companion. To say that Jack was popular is a bit of an understatement. There's a lot to love about a time traveling conman from the 51st Century who flirts with men, women, aliens and robots with an equal lack of discrimination. The joke is that Jack is "omnisexual" - if it's physically possible, he's there. Spreading the love, and getting loved in return. In fact, Russell T. Davies (executive producer of Who) loved Jack so much that he gave him his own show. Torchwood.
Jack is a bit of a mystery. It's hard to list out the life of a time traveler in any kind of chronological order to begin with. Add in the immortality and writing out a biography becomes challenging, to say the least. I think the best way to do this might be to give you as much pertinent information as I can, in the order that we received it.
We first meet Jack in the Doctor Who episode "The Empty Child". He is posing as an officer of the British Royal Air Force during World War II, the German bombardment of London. He is soon exposed to be a conman who traveled to this time period to sell a piece of alien spaceship. A piece of technology which ends up being the source of a little zombie problem. However, Jack quickly redeems himself to the viewing audience. He willingly risks his life to set right his crimes by self-destructing the alien spaceship. Luckily, seconds to detonation, the Doctor arrives and saves him. And that, in a nutshell, is how Jack ends up traveling with the Doctor.
During that short period, we find out a couple of things about Jack. One key fact being that at one time he worked for an organization called the Time Agency. But something went wrong, and the Agency ended up wiping out two years of Jack's memory. He still doesn't know what they took, or why they took it.
But Jack arrived late in Doctor Who's season and we didn't have much time to spend with him. Mostly because the end of the world was imminent. The Daleks (a long running villain on Who) were set on destroying the human race. In the course of stalling the Dalek attack to buy the Doctor time in trying to stop them, Jack was killed.
This is where things start to get complicated. If they hadn't already been complicated enough.
Rose, the Doctor's first companion, had absorbed a basically omnipotent power source which allowed her to defeat the Daleks and bring Jack back to life. Unfortunately, she didn't realize that she had saved Jack's life, and she and the Doctor departed -- leaving Jack behind on a space station in the future.
The next time we see Jack is on Torchwood, around our present time, in 2007. We have no idea how he got there, but his mission is quickly made clear. The 21st century is when everything changes, and we've all gotta be ready. Torchwood is meant to be a darker, more adult television show. And so the audience sees a darker, more adult Jack. Everything that happened to him between Who and Torchwood - he's now a changed man.
We learn how drastically he's changed by the end of the first episode - he's now immortal. Whatever Rose did to him to save his life, he is now incapable of dying. That point is made crystal clear by the shot to the head that he takes and gets up from.
Now, since Jack is one of the main characters on Torchwood, we obviously learn a little bit more about him during the course of the first season - more tidbits than any real answers about his core mystery. We learn that in the 51st century (his original time) he had a best friend that was killed during a war. We learn that Jack was a torturer at one point during his illustrious career. We learn that he has been a solider on more than one occasion and lost many of his men.
But not everything we learn is depressing and dark. We learn about several of Jack's quirkier past romantic partners (acrobatic twins, for instance), we learn that his kiss can make aliens glow, and that he was once pregnant - but he's never doing that again.
There are two major revelations about Jack that we gain during the first season. One, it seems as though Captain Jack Harkness, the name, is an alias. It was taken from another solider during World War II, who died tragically. More about him later. The second piece of important information is that after what happened in Doctor Who, Jack arrived back on Earth - during some time before 1909. That's the closest that we can pin the date with the material currently available to us.
Jack has been making his way through the decades since then, waiting for the 21st century and for the Doctor, who might have the answers Jack has been looking for concerning what happened to him. How he became immortal, and perhaps, how to get rid of his immortality.
So we have Jack, wandering through time. Confused and alone.
Until Torchwood - where no one is alone for long.
Owen Harper: You're just a tea-boy.
Ianto Jones: I'm much more than that.
Meet Ianto Jones
Which brings us to Ianto Jones. Ianto's biography is shorter and easier to tell. Mostly because we haven't been told much about him at this point in the series. Basic statistics about Ianto - he's about 25 and Welsh. Previous to getting his job at Torchwood Three, Cardiff (where the show is set), Ianto worked at Torchwood One, London. For those of us who watched Doctor Who the revelation that Ianto came from Torchwood One was kind of a big one. Torchwood One was an organization bent on finding and capturing the Doctor as well as using all alien technology that they could get their hands on for their selfish purposes. Ultimately that wasn't a very good idea. Cybermen (another long running villain from Who) took control of Torchwood's headquarters, killing or converting 823 members of the Torchwood staff. Conversion being almost the same idea as death. Meaning that the Cybermen remove all of a person's emotions and turn these shells into a part of the cyber army. Which is an important fact to remember for later.
Only 27 people survived the Battle of Canary Wharf, as it's called. One of them, obviously, being Ianto.
Understandably he transferred to Torchwood Three where he became a man of all trades for the organization. Archivist and janitor, in charge of transportation, covering up Torchwood's more incendiary movements, and making coffee. Or as some might say, Alfred to Jack's Batman.
But what we didn't know as the series began was that Ianto came to Torchwood with a secret. His girlfriend, Lisa, had been taken during the Battle of Canary Wharf, and partially converted into a Cyberman. She would have been another member of their robotic army, but somehow Ianto managed to save her. Sort of. He brought her with him to Torchwood Three, hiding her in the basement of their headquarters (The Hub) as he tried to re-establish her humanity. It was a failed attempt, as we'll see later in this essay.
And that's the gist of what we know about Ianto. There are some further things that we can infer from watching him in action during the series. He's controlled and unassuming- except when under extreme pressure. He's shown as being proficient with weapons and fighting, which can be seen in the episodes "Countrycide" and "Captain Jack Harkness". He can do higher math in his head and seems to know quite a bit about the inner workings of mechanics, from cell phones to automatic doors. We see that in the episodes "They Keep Killing Suzie" and in "Out of Time". He also has a wry sense of humor and keen fashion sense. Perfectly understandable why he caught Jack's eye.
Captain Jack Harkness: And this is Ianto Jones. Ianto cleans up after us and get us everywhere on time.
Ianto Jones: I try my best.
Captain Jack Harkness: And he looks good in a suit.
Ianto Jones: Careful! That's harassment, sir.
Everything Changes (the canon of Jack/Ianto)
That quote is the first moment of on-screen interaction between Jack and Ianto. And if you think that's good, wait, because it only gets better.
There's a lot to write about in a canon analysis of the Jack/Ianto relationship. Almost all of the 13 season 1 episodes contain at least some kind of small moment between Jack and Ianto. I'm not going to cover every last small detail in this essay. What I am going to do is break this analysis into 2 parts. First we'll discuss the actual canon of Jack and Ianto's relationship. Moments where they're shown, or implied to be, getting... personal with each other. Secondly, we'll take a look at the more subtextual moments. What they might mean to each other, why they would be together in some kind of a relationship.
I. Jack/Ianto - canon or not? (a look through 3 major episodes)
Cyberwoman
If you've been paying attention, it's probably obvious what the episode "Cyberwoman" was about. It was then that we and the Torchwood team found out about Ianto's girlfriend, hidden in the basement.
Ianto had been trying to keep her alive and somehow detach her from her cybernetics so that she could be fully human again. That didn't quite work out. The cybernetics had taken hold of Lisa to a degree that Ianto wouldn't accept. She escaped from the basement, determined to create a new army of Cybermen and went on a small murderous rampage.
As for the effect this had on the Jack/Ianto relationship - the revelation of Lisa is hard on Jack. He takes it as a personal betrayal. Ianto willingly brought a cancer into Jack's organization. But Ianto refuses to apologize or regret his actions. He loves Lisa and is trying to save her. And he doesn't owe anything to the people he works with, who expect him to clean up after them but never respect him.
It comes down to Lisa or everyone else. Ianto doesn't accept that easily. He calls Jack a monster, promises him that he'll watch him suffer. It's a dark and passionate episode. A lot of screaming and crying. And a first kiss.
Lisa attacks Ianto, knocking him unconscious, face down in a puddle. Jack chose the most obvious means of reviving him. A bit of mouth to mouth.
The episode eventually concludes with Lisa's death when the Torchwood team guns her down. And though Ianto is grief-stricken and angry - he stays with his job. And Jack allows him to stay.
They Keep Killing Suzie
The next quintessential Jack/Ianto episode. It would have been notable if only for the cute, semi-flirty quips that Jack and Ianto share with each other. But it's the last scene, completely unexpected as it was, that makes the episode truly memorable in the development of the Jack/Ianto relationship.
Ianto and Jack stand over Suzie's body in the morgue, discussing what they'll put on her death certificate. And suddenly they segue into a conversation from a shipper's dreams.
But it was a subtle piece of dialogue. It takes a bit of interpretation. So it's easier to quote it in its entirety than it is to try to describe it. Firstly, to set it up, you need to know that Ianto likes stopwatches. For the button on top.
Ianto Jones: If... you're interested, I've still got that stopwatch.
Captain Jack Harkness: So?
Ianto Jones: Well. Think about it. Lots of things you can do with a stopwatch.
Captain Jack Harkness: Oh. Yeah! I could think of a few.
Ianto Jones: There's quite a list.
Captain Jack Harkness: I'll send the others home early. See you in my office in... ten.
Ianto Jones: That's ten minutes, and counting.
And while I, along with many others, consider that conversation to be an implicit proposition of sex, implicating a physical relationship - there are always naysayers.
So we move on to a more concrete example of canonical love.
End of Days
To set the stage - Jack has just sacrificed himself to save the world. And while he is supposedly immortal, the being that Jack fought and defeated (Abaddon) could drain the life from everywhere his shadow touched. And he had quite a large shadow. It seemed as though Jack had exhausted his surplus of life in the fight with Abaddon. Jack died and stayed dead. Which left the team without a leader.
They all took it hard. But interestingly enough for the purpose of this essay, it was Ianto who was shown to be particularly devastated. Which is evident in a scene after Jack's death, where Ianto goes into Jack's office and picks up Jack's favorite coat. He buries nose in the material, seeming to breathe in the scent. And then he starts to cry.
And there are suggestions that the scene was meant to recall Brokeback Mountain. In which case, the scene is evidence for the depth of Ianto's feelings for Jack. It is at least obvious that Ianto misses Jack.
Thankfully this episode was not the end of Jack Harkness. His immortality eventually kicks in and his team greets his awakening with surprised joy. There were quite a few hugs and tears.
Now, if you were even peripherally aware of Torchwood as the show aired, you've probably already seen this picture - the cause of much surprised joy in fandom.
Because that's how Jack greets Ianto after coming back to life. Ianto reaches out with a handshake, awkward and unsure. And Jack pulls him into an embrace, then a kiss.
So here's my general thought process on the Jack/Ianto relationship as shown during this season - explicit? No. Canon? Yes.
But this essay is meant to do more than just prove that Jack and Ianto are canonically at it like rabbits. It's about why they're at it like rabbits.
II. Jack/Ianto - the subtext (a look at 3 essential moments)
They Keep Killing Suzie
The action in "They Keep Killing Suzie" revolves around Suzie's plot to resurrect herself should she happen to die in the line of duty. Sadly for the rest of the Torchwood team, this means they're locked in their headquarters as Suzie slowly kills one of their own.
Their headquarters, the Hub, is sealed tight. No power, no cell service, no open doors or windows. No way of stopping Suzie. Until Ianto figures out a way to route a cell phone receiver through the Hub's water tower.
Jack is accordingly grateful for and slightly amazed by Ianto's good work. He smiles, and gives Ianto his due. Even though they're still in the middle of a crisis, it's a sweet moment. Jack respecting Ianto's clever mind and practicality. Ianto making Jack smile.
Combat
"Combat" is an episode about an aggressive alien race, Weevils and a fight club. In the course of the investigation of the fight club's human members, Jack brings Ianto out on an interview. An unusual occurrence, being that Ianto isn't a field agent. But the two of them work well together. Pulling out the old 'good cop, bad cop' routine.
Captain Jack Harkness: Let me tell you what did this to you. 6 feet high, teeth like a shark, rippled skin, and the rage of a wild animal. Am I close?
Suspect: I was mugged. There were three of them, they had knives!
Ianto Jones: So why were your wounds described by paramedics as bite marks?
It's a distinct moment of Ianto becoming more involved in the work that Torchwood does, and it's because Jack wants him to be more involved. It's Jack proving that Ianto is an essential part of the team, to him at least.
Captain Jack Harkness
"Captain Jack Harkness" begins with Jack and Tosh being trapped in the past. The rest of the time is thrown into turmoil. Especially Owen and Ianto, left alone in the Torchwood Hub, looking for a way to bring them back. Owen becomes a bit of a loose canon. He wants to open a rift in space and time. An idea that Ianto knows Jack would be firmly against, because no one knows what the consequences would be.
So Ianto tries to stop Owen. Because even though Jack is gone, he's still their leader and they still owe him their loyalty.
It's a far cry from the Ianto that we saw in "Cyberwoman" who swears he'll watch Jack suffer. Things have changed. As Ianto himself says: Jack needs me.
Ianto has found his place in Torchwood. If he has to shoot Owen to keep him from disobeying Jack's orders, then that's what he'll do. And that's what he does do. He shoots Owen in the shoulder. Because that's what Jack would want. Or, close enough.
Now - do I believe that Jack and Ianto are in love? Not exactly. I think they care for each other. And perhaps Ianto cares a bit more than he should, more than Jack cares for him. It's not a love story. At least, not yet. It's a connection. It's the two of them, being alive together. And it's brimming with possibility. Maybe Ianto is setting him up. Maybe Jack is using him for sex. Maybe they'll stay together, maybe they won't. The thing that I know best about Jack and Ianto is that I don't know enough.
Further Evidence
There is additional evidence for the ship available for those of us that dig a little deeper and are a bit more willing to accept sources outside of the episodes as a part of the canon world of Torchwood. For instance, the creators of Torchwood are generous, in that they offer further information on the show's official website.
They have bits of faux media like newspaper clippings or journal entries from the characters. They also have reports from the Torchwood team on the events of each episode, like this one from Ianto about cults and coffee.
And most interestingly, instant message conversations between team members. Like the conversation Jack and Ianto have after "They Keep Killing Suzie" about their upcoming date, life and death, and going native.
Even if you don't accept the site's additional materials as canon, it is still useful as a glimpse into the inner lives of the characters. What they might be thinking or feeling, things that there isn't always time to delve into during an episode because it's extraneous to the action. The site's extras are there to clear up ambiguities, tease us with information that the show has yet to (or never will) cover and to amuse the hardcore fans.
The other item of additional evidence that might peak your interest - cast interviews. It's gratifying to note that the actors who play Jack and Ianto (John Barrowman and Gareth David-Lloyd respectively) have both referred to Ianto as Jack's 'piece on the side' or as Jack's 'toy boy' or simply acknowledged their character's attraction for the other. At the very least, fans of the ship can know that they aren't imagining the chemistry and the innuendo. It's supposed to be there. The actors back us up on this.
End of Days (the trouble with Jack/Ianto)
Though of course, there are problems with the Jack/Ianto ship that can't be ignored. One of them being- Jack's a bit of a slut. In the nicest way possible. He kisses a lot of people. Gwen for one, has had her lips on his several times. And she's not the only one. But in the interest of time and space I'm going to focus on the major relationships that have perhaps threatened Jack/Ianto, and only one threat for each of them.
Captain Jack Harkness (original version)
As I mentioned earlier in this essay, the name Jack Harkness is an alias. And in the episode titled "Captain Jack Harkness" our Jack is swept back to the 1940s and gets a chance to meet his namesake.
The two of them have a lot in common. They're both leaders and they feel the weight of that responsibility heavily. Our Jack finds himself drawn to the other Jack's courage and determination. Especially since our Jack already knows the culmination of the other Jack's bravery - he dies in battle, almost 24 hours after our Jack meets him. And that's how our Jack comes to take his name.
They have several meaningful conversations about living life to the fullest. There are many who say that through these conversations that it becomes clear that the two men are falling in love. Even Russell T. Davies remarks on how Jack would fall in love with himself.
Captain Jack Harkness: I thought you'd gone. This could be your last chance.
Captain Jack Harkness (o.v.): That's why I came back.
Captain Jack Harkness: I might have to leave before the night is over.
Captain Jack Harkness (o.v.): Well, then, make the most of now.
Then, with time being what it is, our Jack has to go back to the 21st century. And the other Jack has to die. So they kiss, and part.
Lisa Hallett
We only get to hear a little about Lisa and Ianto's relationship. But from what we hear it was sweet and good.
Lisa Hallett: You always said you didn't love me for what I looked like. Last time you said that, it was a Saturday. We were hung over. You made cheese toasties and moaned I hadn't descaled my kettle. That night we camped on a beach in Brittany. It got so freezing we wore our coats and shared one sleeping bag. When we woke up the next morning a dog was pissing on our tent. Hold me, Ianto. I need you to hold me. I need you to tell me it's alright.
But it was a relationship cut too short. It is certainly evident from "Cyberwoman" that Ianto loved her enough to do anything to save her. He would have killed for her or died for her. When Jack stood in his way, Ianto promised that one day he'd have the chance to save Jack and he would just watch him die. Probably not the most auspicious start for a healthy relationship between Jack and Ianto.
So how do these relationships effect Jack/Ianto? For me, they don't. It's horrible and tragic that they both had to lose people that they loved. But life moves on. And if you can find someone to be with that eases the pain, so much the better.
Out of Time (the future?)
And that's what Jack/Ianto is for me. While it's fantastic, fun and flirty now, and yet still has that angsty, dark thread that brought it together - it's something that can develop. This is only season 1! We could have such a long ways to go. I think, I hope, it will only get better from here.
Season 1 leaves us with Jack taking off on an adventure with the Doctor. Who knows what will happen with Jack's relationship with Ianto when he comes back? I'm excited to find out. Bring on Season 2!
Jack/Ianto Links
If you're looking to join the fun (and you should be, you really should be)- here's a small guide to the ship.
Show Site
Torchwood External Hub Interface
Livejournal Communities
torch_wood - the main comm. Fics, pics and discussion. About everything, but with a lot of Jack/Ianto.
torchwood_three - the daily newsletter. If you're looking for quick Jack/Ianto links.
jackxianto - the ship comm. All Jack/Ianto, all the time.
Fic Recs
To The End - sheldrake [PG]
Wide Open Space - rivier [PG]
Four Stories Jack Harkness Doesn't Tell in Bed (and One He Does) - lightgetsin [R]
Sun in the Sky - giddygeek [R]
Quantum is a just fancy word for 'hell if I know' - lyra-wing [R]
Sir - misslucyjane [R]
Author's Notes
[1] Screencaps from marishna, __kali__, and lixa_turner with gratitude for their hard work.
[2] There were a few references I made in writing this essay that I thought might need further explanation or that some readers might like to see more about. So I provided links, which are orange, and lead mostly to the Wikipedia entries on these subjects.
[3] The rest of the links, which are purple, lead to pictures of whatever I was referring to.
Author: Roxie, pluvial_poetry
Fandom: Torchwood
Pairing: Captain Jack Harkness/Ianto Jones
E-mail: roxieann71022 at aol dot com
Spoilers: The series through Season 1
Notes: Thanks to rivier for giving it the okay. All idiocy and mistakes are my own. See further notes at the bottom.
Torchwood. Outside the government, beyond the police. Tracking down alien life on earth and arming the human race against the future. The 21st century is when everything changes, and you've gotta be ready.
So say the credits on British television's new hit sci-fi show. Exciting premise, cleverly executed, with interesting characters. The best thing I can say about all of them; Gwen, Owen, Tosh, Suzie, Ianto and Jack- is that they seem real. They try to do the right thing, they make mistakes, they devote themselves to saving the world, and they make more mistakes.
As much as I love the show as a whole, obviously this essay is about two characters in particular. We're attempting to capture a bit of the wonder that is the pairing of Captain Jack Harkness and Ianto Jones. The leader of this covert agency, Torchwood, and his manservant. Yes, seriously. The pairing is currently one of the most popular in the fandom. And, I should mention, just for your information - it's canon.
I've been in this ship from the word go. Or more accurately, it was probably the word, "sir". Maybe that's just me.
So let's be honest. There's one reason why most of the fandom was drawn in to watching this show.
It all starts with Captain Jack Harkness.
Captain Jack Harkness: Am I naked in front of millions of viewers?
Zu-Zana, Trine-e: Absolutely.
Captain Jack Harkness: Ladies, your viewing figures just went up.
Meet Jack Harkness
And what a way to start. Captain Jack first appeared on our television screens as a guest star on the British sci-fi dynamo Doctor Who. He was the Ninth Doctor's third companion. To say that Jack was popular is a bit of an understatement. There's a lot to love about a time traveling conman from the 51st Century who flirts with men, women, aliens and robots with an equal lack of discrimination. The joke is that Jack is "omnisexual" - if it's physically possible, he's there. Spreading the love, and getting loved in return. In fact, Russell T. Davies (executive producer of Who) loved Jack so much that he gave him his own show. Torchwood.
Jack is a bit of a mystery. It's hard to list out the life of a time traveler in any kind of chronological order to begin with. Add in the immortality and writing out a biography becomes challenging, to say the least. I think the best way to do this might be to give you as much pertinent information as I can, in the order that we received it.
We first meet Jack in the Doctor Who episode "The Empty Child". He is posing as an officer of the British Royal Air Force during World War II, the German bombardment of London. He is soon exposed to be a conman who traveled to this time period to sell a piece of alien spaceship. A piece of technology which ends up being the source of a little zombie problem. However, Jack quickly redeems himself to the viewing audience. He willingly risks his life to set right his crimes by self-destructing the alien spaceship. Luckily, seconds to detonation, the Doctor arrives and saves him. And that, in a nutshell, is how Jack ends up traveling with the Doctor.
During that short period, we find out a couple of things about Jack. One key fact being that at one time he worked for an organization called the Time Agency. But something went wrong, and the Agency ended up wiping out two years of Jack's memory. He still doesn't know what they took, or why they took it.
But Jack arrived late in Doctor Who's season and we didn't have much time to spend with him. Mostly because the end of the world was imminent. The Daleks (a long running villain on Who) were set on destroying the human race. In the course of stalling the Dalek attack to buy the Doctor time in trying to stop them, Jack was killed.
This is where things start to get complicated. If they hadn't already been complicated enough.
Rose, the Doctor's first companion, had absorbed a basically omnipotent power source which allowed her to defeat the Daleks and bring Jack back to life. Unfortunately, she didn't realize that she had saved Jack's life, and she and the Doctor departed -- leaving Jack behind on a space station in the future.
The next time we see Jack is on Torchwood, around our present time, in 2007. We have no idea how he got there, but his mission is quickly made clear. The 21st century is when everything changes, and we've all gotta be ready. Torchwood is meant to be a darker, more adult television show. And so the audience sees a darker, more adult Jack. Everything that happened to him between Who and Torchwood - he's now a changed man.
We learn how drastically he's changed by the end of the first episode - he's now immortal. Whatever Rose did to him to save his life, he is now incapable of dying. That point is made crystal clear by the shot to the head that he takes and gets up from.
Now, since Jack is one of the main characters on Torchwood, we obviously learn a little bit more about him during the course of the first season - more tidbits than any real answers about his core mystery. We learn that in the 51st century (his original time) he had a best friend that was killed during a war. We learn that Jack was a torturer at one point during his illustrious career. We learn that he has been a solider on more than one occasion and lost many of his men.
But not everything we learn is depressing and dark. We learn about several of Jack's quirkier past romantic partners (acrobatic twins, for instance), we learn that his kiss can make aliens glow, and that he was once pregnant - but he's never doing that again.
There are two major revelations about Jack that we gain during the first season. One, it seems as though Captain Jack Harkness, the name, is an alias. It was taken from another solider during World War II, who died tragically. More about him later. The second piece of important information is that after what happened in Doctor Who, Jack arrived back on Earth - during some time before 1909. That's the closest that we can pin the date with the material currently available to us.
Jack has been making his way through the decades since then, waiting for the 21st century and for the Doctor, who might have the answers Jack has been looking for concerning what happened to him. How he became immortal, and perhaps, how to get rid of his immortality.
So we have Jack, wandering through time. Confused and alone.
Until Torchwood - where no one is alone for long.
Owen Harper: You're just a tea-boy.
Ianto Jones: I'm much more than that.
Meet Ianto Jones
Which brings us to Ianto Jones. Ianto's biography is shorter and easier to tell. Mostly because we haven't been told much about him at this point in the series. Basic statistics about Ianto - he's about 25 and Welsh. Previous to getting his job at Torchwood Three, Cardiff (where the show is set), Ianto worked at Torchwood One, London. For those of us who watched Doctor Who the revelation that Ianto came from Torchwood One was kind of a big one. Torchwood One was an organization bent on finding and capturing the Doctor as well as using all alien technology that they could get their hands on for their selfish purposes. Ultimately that wasn't a very good idea. Cybermen (another long running villain from Who) took control of Torchwood's headquarters, killing or converting 823 members of the Torchwood staff. Conversion being almost the same idea as death. Meaning that the Cybermen remove all of a person's emotions and turn these shells into a part of the cyber army. Which is an important fact to remember for later.
Only 27 people survived the Battle of Canary Wharf, as it's called. One of them, obviously, being Ianto.
Understandably he transferred to Torchwood Three where he became a man of all trades for the organization. Archivist and janitor, in charge of transportation, covering up Torchwood's more incendiary movements, and making coffee. Or as some might say, Alfred to Jack's Batman.
But what we didn't know as the series began was that Ianto came to Torchwood with a secret. His girlfriend, Lisa, had been taken during the Battle of Canary Wharf, and partially converted into a Cyberman. She would have been another member of their robotic army, but somehow Ianto managed to save her. Sort of. He brought her with him to Torchwood Three, hiding her in the basement of their headquarters (The Hub) as he tried to re-establish her humanity. It was a failed attempt, as we'll see later in this essay.
And that's the gist of what we know about Ianto. There are some further things that we can infer from watching him in action during the series. He's controlled and unassuming- except when under extreme pressure. He's shown as being proficient with weapons and fighting, which can be seen in the episodes "Countrycide" and "Captain Jack Harkness". He can do higher math in his head and seems to know quite a bit about the inner workings of mechanics, from cell phones to automatic doors. We see that in the episodes "They Keep Killing Suzie" and in "Out of Time". He also has a wry sense of humor and keen fashion sense. Perfectly understandable why he caught Jack's eye.
Captain Jack Harkness: And this is Ianto Jones. Ianto cleans up after us and get us everywhere on time.
Ianto Jones: I try my best.
Captain Jack Harkness: And he looks good in a suit.
Ianto Jones: Careful! That's harassment, sir.
Everything Changes (the canon of Jack/Ianto)
That quote is the first moment of on-screen interaction between Jack and Ianto. And if you think that's good, wait, because it only gets better.
There's a lot to write about in a canon analysis of the Jack/Ianto relationship. Almost all of the 13 season 1 episodes contain at least some kind of small moment between Jack and Ianto. I'm not going to cover every last small detail in this essay. What I am going to do is break this analysis into 2 parts. First we'll discuss the actual canon of Jack and Ianto's relationship. Moments where they're shown, or implied to be, getting... personal with each other. Secondly, we'll take a look at the more subtextual moments. What they might mean to each other, why they would be together in some kind of a relationship.
I. Jack/Ianto - canon or not? (a look through 3 major episodes)
Cyberwoman
If you've been paying attention, it's probably obvious what the episode "Cyberwoman" was about. It was then that we and the Torchwood team found out about Ianto's girlfriend, hidden in the basement.
Ianto had been trying to keep her alive and somehow detach her from her cybernetics so that she could be fully human again. That didn't quite work out. The cybernetics had taken hold of Lisa to a degree that Ianto wouldn't accept. She escaped from the basement, determined to create a new army of Cybermen and went on a small murderous rampage.
As for the effect this had on the Jack/Ianto relationship - the revelation of Lisa is hard on Jack. He takes it as a personal betrayal. Ianto willingly brought a cancer into Jack's organization. But Ianto refuses to apologize or regret his actions. He loves Lisa and is trying to save her. And he doesn't owe anything to the people he works with, who expect him to clean up after them but never respect him.
It comes down to Lisa or everyone else. Ianto doesn't accept that easily. He calls Jack a monster, promises him that he'll watch him suffer. It's a dark and passionate episode. A lot of screaming and crying. And a first kiss.
Lisa attacks Ianto, knocking him unconscious, face down in a puddle. Jack chose the most obvious means of reviving him. A bit of mouth to mouth.
The episode eventually concludes with Lisa's death when the Torchwood team guns her down. And though Ianto is grief-stricken and angry - he stays with his job. And Jack allows him to stay.
They Keep Killing Suzie
The next quintessential Jack/Ianto episode. It would have been notable if only for the cute, semi-flirty quips that Jack and Ianto share with each other. But it's the last scene, completely unexpected as it was, that makes the episode truly memorable in the development of the Jack/Ianto relationship.
Ianto and Jack stand over Suzie's body in the morgue, discussing what they'll put on her death certificate. And suddenly they segue into a conversation from a shipper's dreams.
But it was a subtle piece of dialogue. It takes a bit of interpretation. So it's easier to quote it in its entirety than it is to try to describe it. Firstly, to set it up, you need to know that Ianto likes stopwatches. For the button on top.
Ianto Jones: If... you're interested, I've still got that stopwatch.
Captain Jack Harkness: So?
Ianto Jones: Well. Think about it. Lots of things you can do with a stopwatch.
Captain Jack Harkness: Oh. Yeah! I could think of a few.
Ianto Jones: There's quite a list.
Captain Jack Harkness: I'll send the others home early. See you in my office in... ten.
Ianto Jones: That's ten minutes, and counting.
And while I, along with many others, consider that conversation to be an implicit proposition of sex, implicating a physical relationship - there are always naysayers.
So we move on to a more concrete example of canonical love.
End of Days
To set the stage - Jack has just sacrificed himself to save the world. And while he is supposedly immortal, the being that Jack fought and defeated (Abaddon) could drain the life from everywhere his shadow touched. And he had quite a large shadow. It seemed as though Jack had exhausted his surplus of life in the fight with Abaddon. Jack died and stayed dead. Which left the team without a leader.
They all took it hard. But interestingly enough for the purpose of this essay, it was Ianto who was shown to be particularly devastated. Which is evident in a scene after Jack's death, where Ianto goes into Jack's office and picks up Jack's favorite coat. He buries nose in the material, seeming to breathe in the scent. And then he starts to cry.
And there are suggestions that the scene was meant to recall Brokeback Mountain. In which case, the scene is evidence for the depth of Ianto's feelings for Jack. It is at least obvious that Ianto misses Jack.
Thankfully this episode was not the end of Jack Harkness. His immortality eventually kicks in and his team greets his awakening with surprised joy. There were quite a few hugs and tears.
Now, if you were even peripherally aware of Torchwood as the show aired, you've probably already seen this picture - the cause of much surprised joy in fandom.
Because that's how Jack greets Ianto after coming back to life. Ianto reaches out with a handshake, awkward and unsure. And Jack pulls him into an embrace, then a kiss.
So here's my general thought process on the Jack/Ianto relationship as shown during this season - explicit? No. Canon? Yes.
But this essay is meant to do more than just prove that Jack and Ianto are canonically at it like rabbits. It's about why they're at it like rabbits.
II. Jack/Ianto - the subtext (a look at 3 essential moments)
They Keep Killing Suzie
The action in "They Keep Killing Suzie" revolves around Suzie's plot to resurrect herself should she happen to die in the line of duty. Sadly for the rest of the Torchwood team, this means they're locked in their headquarters as Suzie slowly kills one of their own.
Their headquarters, the Hub, is sealed tight. No power, no cell service, no open doors or windows. No way of stopping Suzie. Until Ianto figures out a way to route a cell phone receiver through the Hub's water tower.
Jack is accordingly grateful for and slightly amazed by Ianto's good work. He smiles, and gives Ianto his due. Even though they're still in the middle of a crisis, it's a sweet moment. Jack respecting Ianto's clever mind and practicality. Ianto making Jack smile.
Combat
"Combat" is an episode about an aggressive alien race, Weevils and a fight club. In the course of the investigation of the fight club's human members, Jack brings Ianto out on an interview. An unusual occurrence, being that Ianto isn't a field agent. But the two of them work well together. Pulling out the old 'good cop, bad cop' routine.
Captain Jack Harkness: Let me tell you what did this to you. 6 feet high, teeth like a shark, rippled skin, and the rage of a wild animal. Am I close?
Suspect: I was mugged. There were three of them, they had knives!
Ianto Jones: So why were your wounds described by paramedics as bite marks?
It's a distinct moment of Ianto becoming more involved in the work that Torchwood does, and it's because Jack wants him to be more involved. It's Jack proving that Ianto is an essential part of the team, to him at least.
Captain Jack Harkness
"Captain Jack Harkness" begins with Jack and Tosh being trapped in the past. The rest of the time is thrown into turmoil. Especially Owen and Ianto, left alone in the Torchwood Hub, looking for a way to bring them back. Owen becomes a bit of a loose canon. He wants to open a rift in space and time. An idea that Ianto knows Jack would be firmly against, because no one knows what the consequences would be.
So Ianto tries to stop Owen. Because even though Jack is gone, he's still their leader and they still owe him their loyalty.
It's a far cry from the Ianto that we saw in "Cyberwoman" who swears he'll watch Jack suffer. Things have changed. As Ianto himself says: Jack needs me.
Ianto has found his place in Torchwood. If he has to shoot Owen to keep him from disobeying Jack's orders, then that's what he'll do. And that's what he does do. He shoots Owen in the shoulder. Because that's what Jack would want. Or, close enough.
Now - do I believe that Jack and Ianto are in love? Not exactly. I think they care for each other. And perhaps Ianto cares a bit more than he should, more than Jack cares for him. It's not a love story. At least, not yet. It's a connection. It's the two of them, being alive together. And it's brimming with possibility. Maybe Ianto is setting him up. Maybe Jack is using him for sex. Maybe they'll stay together, maybe they won't. The thing that I know best about Jack and Ianto is that I don't know enough.
Further Evidence
There is additional evidence for the ship available for those of us that dig a little deeper and are a bit more willing to accept sources outside of the episodes as a part of the canon world of Torchwood. For instance, the creators of Torchwood are generous, in that they offer further information on the show's official website.
They have bits of faux media like newspaper clippings or journal entries from the characters. They also have reports from the Torchwood team on the events of each episode, like this one from Ianto about cults and coffee.
And most interestingly, instant message conversations between team members. Like the conversation Jack and Ianto have after "They Keep Killing Suzie" about their upcoming date, life and death, and going native.
Even if you don't accept the site's additional materials as canon, it is still useful as a glimpse into the inner lives of the characters. What they might be thinking or feeling, things that there isn't always time to delve into during an episode because it's extraneous to the action. The site's extras are there to clear up ambiguities, tease us with information that the show has yet to (or never will) cover and to amuse the hardcore fans.
The other item of additional evidence that might peak your interest - cast interviews. It's gratifying to note that the actors who play Jack and Ianto (John Barrowman and Gareth David-Lloyd respectively) have both referred to Ianto as Jack's 'piece on the side' or as Jack's 'toy boy' or simply acknowledged their character's attraction for the other. At the very least, fans of the ship can know that they aren't imagining the chemistry and the innuendo. It's supposed to be there. The actors back us up on this.
End of Days (the trouble with Jack/Ianto)
Though of course, there are problems with the Jack/Ianto ship that can't be ignored. One of them being- Jack's a bit of a slut. In the nicest way possible. He kisses a lot of people. Gwen for one, has had her lips on his several times. And she's not the only one. But in the interest of time and space I'm going to focus on the major relationships that have perhaps threatened Jack/Ianto, and only one threat for each of them.
Captain Jack Harkness (original version)
As I mentioned earlier in this essay, the name Jack Harkness is an alias. And in the episode titled "Captain Jack Harkness" our Jack is swept back to the 1940s and gets a chance to meet his namesake.
The two of them have a lot in common. They're both leaders and they feel the weight of that responsibility heavily. Our Jack finds himself drawn to the other Jack's courage and determination. Especially since our Jack already knows the culmination of the other Jack's bravery - he dies in battle, almost 24 hours after our Jack meets him. And that's how our Jack comes to take his name.
They have several meaningful conversations about living life to the fullest. There are many who say that through these conversations that it becomes clear that the two men are falling in love. Even Russell T. Davies remarks on how Jack would fall in love with himself.
Captain Jack Harkness: I thought you'd gone. This could be your last chance.
Captain Jack Harkness (o.v.): That's why I came back.
Captain Jack Harkness: I might have to leave before the night is over.
Captain Jack Harkness (o.v.): Well, then, make the most of now.
Then, with time being what it is, our Jack has to go back to the 21st century. And the other Jack has to die. So they kiss, and part.
Lisa Hallett
We only get to hear a little about Lisa and Ianto's relationship. But from what we hear it was sweet and good.
Lisa Hallett: You always said you didn't love me for what I looked like. Last time you said that, it was a Saturday. We were hung over. You made cheese toasties and moaned I hadn't descaled my kettle. That night we camped on a beach in Brittany. It got so freezing we wore our coats and shared one sleeping bag. When we woke up the next morning a dog was pissing on our tent. Hold me, Ianto. I need you to hold me. I need you to tell me it's alright.
But it was a relationship cut too short. It is certainly evident from "Cyberwoman" that Ianto loved her enough to do anything to save her. He would have killed for her or died for her. When Jack stood in his way, Ianto promised that one day he'd have the chance to save Jack and he would just watch him die. Probably not the most auspicious start for a healthy relationship between Jack and Ianto.
So how do these relationships effect Jack/Ianto? For me, they don't. It's horrible and tragic that they both had to lose people that they loved. But life moves on. And if you can find someone to be with that eases the pain, so much the better.
Out of Time (the future?)
And that's what Jack/Ianto is for me. While it's fantastic, fun and flirty now, and yet still has that angsty, dark thread that brought it together - it's something that can develop. This is only season 1! We could have such a long ways to go. I think, I hope, it will only get better from here.
Season 1 leaves us with Jack taking off on an adventure with the Doctor. Who knows what will happen with Jack's relationship with Ianto when he comes back? I'm excited to find out. Bring on Season 2!
Jack/Ianto Links
If you're looking to join the fun (and you should be, you really should be)- here's a small guide to the ship.
Show Site
Torchwood External Hub Interface
Livejournal Communities
torch_wood - the main comm. Fics, pics and discussion. About everything, but with a lot of Jack/Ianto.
torchwood_three - the daily newsletter. If you're looking for quick Jack/Ianto links.
jackxianto - the ship comm. All Jack/Ianto, all the time.
Fic Recs
To The End - sheldrake [PG]
Wide Open Space - rivier [PG]
Four Stories Jack Harkness Doesn't Tell in Bed (and One He Does) - lightgetsin [R]
Sun in the Sky - giddygeek [R]
Quantum is a just fancy word for 'hell if I know' - lyra-wing [R]
Sir - misslucyjane [R]
Author's Notes
[1] Screencaps from marishna, __kali__, and lixa_turner with gratitude for their hard work.
[2] There were a few references I made in writing this essay that I thought might need further explanation or that some readers might like to see more about. So I provided links, which are orange, and lead mostly to the Wikipedia entries on these subjects.
[3] The rest of the links, which are purple, lead to pictures of whatever I was referring to.