It's the button on the top
Jan. 6th, 2007 02:14 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
exsequarOH MY GOD CAPTAINS JACK THEIR LOVE IS SO TRUE AND HEARTBREAKING AND DOOMED AND I LOVE THEM SO MUCH IT HURTS. I was crying, a lot, LIKE JACK (see ICON oh my poor baby!!) and and and it was beautiful and unexpected and every time there was a bump in the road I was like GODAMMIT I thought they were actually going to, yknow, KISS or something! ARGH! And then, oh and then, HE TOOK JACK'S HAND AND I LOOKED LIKE THIS O.O!!! And then they didn't kiss, but then JACK TURNED AROUND AND SNOGGED HIM TO WITHIN AN INCH OF HIS LIFE. At this point I was a puddle on the ground, I swear. So, so, so, so beautiful. The resonances with Brian and Justin's prom scene certainly helped (one of the most beautiful scenes in all TV EVER) and just the serene beauty of it all. I, um, yeah. Mona said it was like a slash fic on her screen - she was SO RIGHT! With all the longing glances, and the subtext, and the almost-but-not-quite and then with a STUNNING consummation at the end. I just... *flappyhands* SO BEAUTIFUL OMG.
Ahem. Okay, so THAT was unadulterated squee.
Now for the rest of my thoughts.
I LOVE Jack. I love Ianto. I adore Tosh. But I could completely do without both Gwen and Owen. Both of their moral compasses just seem so fucked up to me, and neither of them are particularly pleasant to me as... performers, I guess? Gwen particularly has a lot of mannerisms that just annoy me. And Owen is, pretty much, an asshat. Sure he does some admirable things or whatever, but nothing ever swung me over to his side. So, disliking two of the main characters kind of put a damper on my enjoyment a lot of the time.
Jack, on the other hand, is fantastic. So dark and rather fucked up but at the same time he can be like a little boy with his toys, and my favorite part of his character is how much he cares for his team. He's like a father to them all (uhm, except when he's shagging Ianto, of course) and he just... when they're lost, he reaches for them. He empathizes with their pain (his reaction when Gwen was freaking out over Rhys's body was particularly heartwrenching for me) and it is obvious just how deeply he cares for them. He's not perfect, of course, but he's flawed in some very fascinating ways. I think John Barrowman's doing a great job with him, and I look forward to seeing more layers of his character unveiled. And you bet I'll be watching this season of Doctor Who!
ETA: I forgot to mention - does anyone else think JACK = MAL??? Seriously. A bit more sexually loose, clearly, but with the suspenders! and the incredible ability to lead! and the snarky humor! and the deep abiding love for his team/crew/family! and the general feel of old school in a sci fi setting! and the darkness in him! Gah. I adore Mal, so much, and every time Jack did something Mal-ish, I squeed happily.
I am very intrigued by Ianto! On the surface, he's so deadpan and snarky and awesome. But obviously there's more there, as he hinted at when he had the gun on Owen. He ain't just a tea boy! So I'm very curious to see what else he is. But in the meantime, he makes the most adorable faces, and has some of the best one liners in the show (see my subject line!), and is just so entertaining in his a little bit stick-up-the-ass awesomeness.
Tosh is just a sweetheart. I much more enjoy the show when she's the focus as opposed to Owen or Gwen - I was SO glad that she was the one who went with Jack to the dance hall. When she sat there with that dreamy look on her face as the Jacks danced? Oh, the darling. And how she was trying her damnedest to get the code back to Gwen. She's just so determined! And marvelously geeky and brilliant, I love that in a woman :D She's a sweetheart with heartbreaking insecurities that just make me want to cuddle her to my chest. I also look forward to her development.
And, of course, there's Jack/Ianto. Now! Surface level, I love it. Love love love all their little interactions, and of course any mention of a stopwatch. I love that when Jack walked up to Ianto, Ianto turned a flashlight he was holding at waist height and pointed it up at Jack - happy to see him, are you Ianto? If you don't know what I mean, here's an icon I made of the moment:
Hee. And I LOVED how when Jack was dead, Ianto took Jack's coat and pressed his face into it... *wibbles* God, break my heart why don't you? And then when Jack came back, Ianto held his hand out to shake Jack's! OH THE DARLING BOY! And Jack just yanks him into a hug and Ianto presses his face into Jack's shoulder and ohhhh, so sweet. And then the kiss! So tender and loving. So, yes, everything about them makes me squee and clap. But... I want MORE. It feels very surfacey! Very casual, nothing there but sex. But... clearly that's not the case. See coat+Ianto's face. So... I'm really hoping that we'll start to get some kind of emotional depth to that relationship. Like some actual conversations, or scenes with them together, alone? You know. Start developing it into a real relationship. I would love that, a lot, as I'm sure many of you would.
Wow, I had a lot more to say than I thought! I very much enjoyed the season, and I'm glad ya'll convinced me to watch it.
One thing, Mona - you said you almost thought this finale was better than Devil's Trap. I don't know what's wrong with me, but I don't see that, um, at all. The monster was kind of... silly? And I don't know. The Winchesters still own my soul, hands down. We will discuss.
In conclusion, JACK'S SMILE IS BRIGHTER THAN THE SUN! :D Thank you all and goodnight!
Oh, PS, I should be posting icons tomorrow, both Torchwood and SPN :D I've got lots!
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Date: 2007-01-06 09:18 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-01-06 10:37 am (UTC)I forgot to mention - does anyone else think JACK = MAL???
!!!! Agreed.
I am very intrigued by Ianto!
Exactly what I thought :O He's all nice and well behaved and all in all just a good guy and I bet there's more to it!
Like some actual conversations, or scenes with them together, alone? You know. Start developing it into a real relationship. I would love that, a lot, as I'm sure many of you would.
I'd love that too. But they want to torture us I know it. The writers are evil evil evil.
Hack Jack owns my heart *sigh* ♥
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Date: 2007-01-06 11:21 am (UTC)There was a point when I did like Gwen and Owen, like at the enf of episode six when they got it on, it would have been really cool if they could have been all fucked up together. But Gwen stayed with Rhys, who is a little sweetie, and Owen fell in LOVE! WTF was up with that?
But I am firmly aboard the good ship Jack/Ianto. Love those boys to bits and pieces.
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Date: 2007-01-06 12:21 pm (UTC)I relly enjoyed that our Jack was not the one doing the "wooing" in CJH, but that original!Jack was the one wooing. Rusty gave us this image of Jack back in S1 of Who that he would shag almost anything if given the chance. But in this ep... he cared. Held himself back... and I think THAT's what made that kiss so special.
*loves*
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Date: 2007-01-06 08:12 pm (UTC)Just reading your squee post made me squee again, and now I have nothing coherent to say but YAY JACK/JACK! YAY JACK/IANTO. YAY for the way that Ianto held that coat and YAY for the waist torch and HURRAH for the kiss of life and the hand holding and it really is amazing and I love it. The slash is CANON OMFG.
Ahem. However, my Winchester boys still pwn all.
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Date: 2007-01-06 08:18 pm (UTC)My day brightens when I see his smile. (Dude, how cliché, but it's true!) Oh, I'm so glad I found this show. Great review you have there, I went crazy with squee all over again. :D
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Date: 2007-01-08 04:33 pm (UTC)Uh, yeah. That's kinda all I got. That and "YES" and "WORD".
Oh and...
But... I want MORE. It feels very surfacey! Very casual, nothing there but sex. But... clearly that's not the case. See coat+Ianto's face. So... I'm really hoping that we'll start to get some kind of emotional depth to that relationship. Like some actual conversations, or scenes with them together, alone? You know. Start developing it into a real relationship. I would love that, a lot, as I'm sure many of you would.
No no SEE, it's like THIS. They are in an exclusive Dom/Sub relationship - quite probably a 24/7 power exchange. It's very loving and they don't "play" Like That with anyone else but it's not a "Relationship" in the traditional sense of boyfriends or sexual-contact exclusivity. Jack 'Keeps' Ianto (which is what I. most desires in the world) and being able to please Jack, to be useful to him physically/sexually and (heh) administratively in his position with Torchwood is Ianto's reason for living.
*nods with great authority* Ianto is Jack's Boy. And neither of them would have it any other way.
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Date: 2007-01-08 06:11 pm (UTC)Re Jack/Ianto... that's actually kind of disturbing! Uhm. You know how I feel about D/s. I mean clearly Jack has the power in the relationship, but... *flappyhands* I don't know. Their reunion at the end of the finale makes me sort of... doubt that kind of assessment? Cause it's so gentle and sweet and that's not... what I associate with power imbalances. Even benign ones.
Also, there's the fact that Ianto's far far more than he appears, which I am very excited to find out about. And I think Jack KNOWS that. Maybe Ianto's only truly himself with Jack.
I don't know. The whole D/s thing threw me!
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Date: 2007-01-08 06:27 pm (UTC)IANTO NEEDS IT. I mean it's really not just lip-service when I tell you that the sub is in charge of the relationship. I SWEAR, ANNE. And it's not about HURTING Ianto, it's about CARING FOR HIM b/c I get the sense that Ianto - whatever his history is - only pretty much has himself and is terrible controlled and protected. This is a teeny piece of the meta I am wanting to throw at you about 1x12...
When Jack says to Tosh - "I'll take care of you" - it's not condescending or paternalistic, it's just WHAT HE DOES and it IS gentle and sweet. And he takes care of Ianto, lets Ianto...UNBUTTON for a while and give it all up to Jack to carry and hold (b/c Jack can handle it and Ianto knows that Jack can handle it when noone else can) and in return Ianto takes care of Jack. Pays the electric bill and gets his tea just right (the Rightness of each cup of tea, counterintuitively, becomes MORE important when one lives forever) and keeps the inventory of all the bodies in the freezer and MAKES JACK'S LIFE HAPPEN and keeps Torchwood running along as it should because he is THE GOD EMPEROR ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT OF ALL TIME!
"Jack needs me." The surety in that statement, the love and TRUST that it's TRUE.
And Ianto holding out his hand for Jack to shake IS the action of a Sub who is looking to do The Right Thing to please his Dom and SHOW RESPECT and Jack just FOLDS HIM IN and KISSES HIM IN PUBLIC and CLAIMS HIM AS HIS and and...*flailspazz*
It's a relationship of equals. That's the thing. A D/s relationship is NOT an un-equal one. It's about "role" not "power."
*coughs* I guess I had more to say than I thought. And with that speedy brain-dump, I go to lunch.
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Date: 2007-01-08 06:50 pm (UTC)...when did Ianto say "Jack needs me."? Do I fail?
I do deeply love that about Jack, how paternal he is to the entire team. I think it's my favorite characteristic of his. And I can see what you're saying about how that functions with Ianto. And it makes me feel warm and fuzzy :)
MONA I READ LADIES NIGHT AT THE BOOM BOOM ROOM OMG COME BACK FROM LUNCH SO I CAN FLAIL AT YOU!!!!
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Date: 2007-01-08 08:29 pm (UTC)A "proper" D/s relationship need not even be sexual and shouldn't ever be abusive. The two things that clinched it for me were when Owen was trying to open the Rift and Ianto was so AGONIZED when he said "He's our LEADER", and (again, as Mona said) during the kiss/hug/handshake. When he put his head on Jack's shoulder? He was so RELIEVED. *flails some more* God. GOD. I LOVE that part. I rewind it SO MANY TIMES.
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Date: 2007-01-08 08:42 pm (UTC)YES! WORD!
*FLAPS*
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Date: 2007-01-08 08:45 pm (UTC)Jack gives Ianto Structure. *nods*
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Date: 2007-01-08 09:07 pm (UTC)Jack makes it SAFE for Ianto because Jack Can Handle It. He makes his world MAKE SENSE.
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Date: 2007-01-13 05:00 am (UTC)*hand still clamped over mouth*