Come away, o human child...
Nov. 13th, 2006 10:05 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
llywelaTorchwood episode five
I'm in two minds about this one. On the one hand it was a cool concept and all. But on the other hand, the execution of it felt clunky, and the acting failed utterly to wow me, and was horribly unconvincing in places.
I did enjoy Jack's interactions with Estelle – so affectionate, and you just knew that he loved her and still saw her as the young beauty he fell in love with so long ago, no matter how much she'd aged. But other than that, this wasn't John Barrowman's best episode. And the mystery that is Jack is starting to frustrate – I want answers, not more questions!
Like…when exactly is Jack supposed to have fallen for Estelle? During the Second World War, obviously, but before or after he met the Doctor and Rose? Same goes for his 1909 experience on the troop train with the elementals killing all his men – when in his personal timeline did that happen? I can't see it being before he met the Doctor and Rose, because that Jack was such a feckless conman, totally out for himself what with his resentment against the Time Agency and all. So how long has he been drifting around time since his resurrection on the Gamestation? Does he not age, as well as not die? Is his inability to die the reason he survived on that train when no one else did? I'd kind of like something concrete now, thank you very much!
Jack as a leader remains interesting, though, because…he isn't actually all that good at it, really. He's got all the basics, and puts on a good show of it, but I'm not sure he actually believes in his own leadership skills all that much. He also isn't all that good at social interaction, outside of flirt mode – witness his clumsiness with the obviously still-grieving Ianto in this episode. I guess flirt mode is so habitual it's good camouflage for the self-doubt lying beneath, but when the smooth flirting doesn't work or isn't appropriate, he struggles. Because there clearly is a lot of self-doubt – he no longer even knows what he is, and he knows full well some of his decisions as a leader are questionable. But although he gets a lot of anxious looks from his team from time to time – such as in this episode, when he allows the elementals to take the little girl – they never actually challenge him. Maybe because although they know the decisions are questionable, they also realise that he's made the right call overall, or maybe because they don't quite dare challenge. As a leader, Jack's pretty autocratic, and has proved capable of being fairly ruthless, as well.
I'm not sure whether to be annoyed that Gwen is unravelling the mystery of Jack faster than the people who've known him longer or not. On the one hand, it feels a little forced at times, setting the two of them up as a will they-won't they kind of relationship. But on the other hand, it fits both her personality and the rest of the team. She's a people person, and was brought in as such – she's reasonably empathetic, cares about people, and as a former police officer is used to ferreting through clues in search of the truth. The rest of the team don't have that – they are pretty much pragmatic scientist types who tend to look inward rather than seeing the big picture. It figures that they wouldn't have seen much past Jack's defences and Gwen would. Plus, of course, Gwen seeing Jack shot in the head and come back to life gives her a huge advantage over the rest of the team – although Owen saw him electrocuted last week and get back up, but didn't seem to question it too deeply.
The child herself was pretty creepy, and the end of the story very downbeat since, ultimately, it racks up as a failure. The child was lost, and her mother left with nothing – partner killed and child vanished. And the only upside was that by giving the elementals what they wanted, Armageddon was averted. Not that the episode entirely convinced me that they were capable of unleashing worldwide Armageddon, but they were very effectively destructive and deadly, and I did appreciate that. The would-be paedophile choking to death on flower petals was nicely unpleasant, and the kids in the school believably vindictive toward one another. Kids can be so vicious.
I wasn't impressed with Team Torchwood just strolling into the school like that – schools these days are kept very securely locked up to prevent just that – but the fact that the school was in the process of sending everyone home explained that lapse in security.
I completely fail to understand why the elementals went after Gwen, other than to give her a reason to moan at Jack about work following her home, and for him to quietly note the pictures of her and Rhys everywhere.
Overall, the show remains very promising, and has some great moments, but I still have reservations. And we're almost halfway through now.
I'm in two minds about this one. On the one hand it was a cool concept and all. But on the other hand, the execution of it felt clunky, and the acting failed utterly to wow me, and was horribly unconvincing in places.
I did enjoy Jack's interactions with Estelle – so affectionate, and you just knew that he loved her and still saw her as the young beauty he fell in love with so long ago, no matter how much she'd aged. But other than that, this wasn't John Barrowman's best episode. And the mystery that is Jack is starting to frustrate – I want answers, not more questions!
Like…when exactly is Jack supposed to have fallen for Estelle? During the Second World War, obviously, but before or after he met the Doctor and Rose? Same goes for his 1909 experience on the troop train with the elementals killing all his men – when in his personal timeline did that happen? I can't see it being before he met the Doctor and Rose, because that Jack was such a feckless conman, totally out for himself what with his resentment against the Time Agency and all. So how long has he been drifting around time since his resurrection on the Gamestation? Does he not age, as well as not die? Is his inability to die the reason he survived on that train when no one else did? I'd kind of like something concrete now, thank you very much!
Jack as a leader remains interesting, though, because…he isn't actually all that good at it, really. He's got all the basics, and puts on a good show of it, but I'm not sure he actually believes in his own leadership skills all that much. He also isn't all that good at social interaction, outside of flirt mode – witness his clumsiness with the obviously still-grieving Ianto in this episode. I guess flirt mode is so habitual it's good camouflage for the self-doubt lying beneath, but when the smooth flirting doesn't work or isn't appropriate, he struggles. Because there clearly is a lot of self-doubt – he no longer even knows what he is, and he knows full well some of his decisions as a leader are questionable. But although he gets a lot of anxious looks from his team from time to time – such as in this episode, when he allows the elementals to take the little girl – they never actually challenge him. Maybe because although they know the decisions are questionable, they also realise that he's made the right call overall, or maybe because they don't quite dare challenge. As a leader, Jack's pretty autocratic, and has proved capable of being fairly ruthless, as well.
I'm not sure whether to be annoyed that Gwen is unravelling the mystery of Jack faster than the people who've known him longer or not. On the one hand, it feels a little forced at times, setting the two of them up as a will they-won't they kind of relationship. But on the other hand, it fits both her personality and the rest of the team. She's a people person, and was brought in as such – she's reasonably empathetic, cares about people, and as a former police officer is used to ferreting through clues in search of the truth. The rest of the team don't have that – they are pretty much pragmatic scientist types who tend to look inward rather than seeing the big picture. It figures that they wouldn't have seen much past Jack's defences and Gwen would. Plus, of course, Gwen seeing Jack shot in the head and come back to life gives her a huge advantage over the rest of the team – although Owen saw him electrocuted last week and get back up, but didn't seem to question it too deeply.
The child herself was pretty creepy, and the end of the story very downbeat since, ultimately, it racks up as a failure. The child was lost, and her mother left with nothing – partner killed and child vanished. And the only upside was that by giving the elementals what they wanted, Armageddon was averted. Not that the episode entirely convinced me that they were capable of unleashing worldwide Armageddon, but they were very effectively destructive and deadly, and I did appreciate that. The would-be paedophile choking to death on flower petals was nicely unpleasant, and the kids in the school believably vindictive toward one another. Kids can be so vicious.
I wasn't impressed with Team Torchwood just strolling into the school like that – schools these days are kept very securely locked up to prevent just that – but the fact that the school was in the process of sending everyone home explained that lapse in security.
I completely fail to understand why the elementals went after Gwen, other than to give her a reason to moan at Jack about work following her home, and for him to quietly note the pictures of her and Rhys everywhere.
Overall, the show remains very promising, and has some great moments, but I still have reservations. And we're almost halfway through now.
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no subject
Date: 2006-11-13 08:28 pm (UTC)Like…when exactly is Jack supposed to have fallen for Estelle? During the Second World War, obviously, but before or after he met the Doctor and Rose? Same goes for his 1909 experience on the troop train with the elementals killing all his men – when in his personal timeline did that happen?
By all means, I should of loved all the back story on Jack - and the relationship with Estelle (I'm usually a sucker for angsty Highlander-style immortal storylines.) But I kind of feel uneasy about what they gave us. I had trouble reconciling it with my own vision of what Jack was doing (and what his personality was like) pre-Who. So what I came up with in my own head was that these flashbacks were back to a time when he was on the job for the Time Agents - not connected to the time he spent in WWII when we met him with the Doctor or during the time he went rogue. *Or* (here's an interesting thought) maybe Jack *didn't* hitch a lift back to Cardiff 2006 - Maybe he hitched a lift back to Earth 1900 or something and it's been a 100 years for him since his time with the Doctor. Which would add an awful lot to his emotional state if that's what happened. I don't know - I'm strangely unhappy with it for some reason.
Jack as a leader remains interesting, though, because…he isn't actually all that good at it, really.
I really ran with this *last* episode. I really, really identify with him on this level. I think Jack can lead as a soldier, but not as a general. And God forbid you lock him into an office situation with problem employees - I've been there and have no idea how to get out of that. That whole thing last episode with Ianto was soooooo familiar to me. And Jack never really did "solve" it, did he? They just chose to move on as best they could.
The child herself was pretty creepy, and the end of the story very downbeat since, ultimately, it racks up as a failure.
I really liked that Jack chose to let the child go - Whether or not there were plot holes with that (as other friends have complained about,) I don't care. I just liked the decision and what it did/does to him and his relationship with his team. Very flawed - very dark.
no subject
Date: 2006-11-13 08:42 pm (UTC)*Or* (here's an interesting thought) maybe Jack *didn't* hitch a lift back to Cardiff 2006 - Maybe he hitched a lift back to Earth 1900 or something and it's been a 100 years for him since his time with the Doctor. Which would add an awful lot to his emotional state if that's what happened. I don't know - I'm strangely unhappy with it for some reason.
I think that's the trouble - I always work hard to rationalise plot holes in any show I feel really invested in, but I struggle with this one because the holes are too holey - any attempt to rationalise usually ends up making the holes bigger. Jack having been hanging around for a hundred years without aging would on the one hand explain a lot, but on the other hand creates all kinds of problems, like...if that was the case, he should show up in more records, surely.
I just really want them to start filling in a few holes now. We've got all the questions - time for a few answers!
I do really like where they're going with the leadership angle, and I think that's the area where I empathise most. Jack just isn't a natural leader in this kind of setting, and it shows and rubs off on the rest of the team, and yet they are pretty much stuck with each other, for better or worse, and so just have to make the best of things.