Torchwood 2.3: To the Last Man

[selenay]

Three good episodes in a row and I think that Torchwood is really finding its feet now. There was so much to love about the episode that I must first make a list:

- This was a beautiful story, really lovely and the kind of thing that Torchwood does best.
- Another great guest actor. He played Tommy beautifully making him sympathetic and real without descending into mawkishness.
- The guest actors have been great so far this seasona and they're the kind of actors who get the regulars to be better, too.
- Toshiko. It was a lovely story for her and Naoko Mori did a fantastic job.
- *That* Jack/Ianto kiss. I'd heard that it was happening, but it wasn't quite what I expected and I loved it. It was great to see Jack needing comfort and his speach about why he wouldn't change what has happened show that he's grown a lot since last season.
- That was the only glimpse of their relationship that we had this week, but it was interesting because it seems that their relationship is maturing and evolving.
- Ianto only had a few lines this week, but they were all gems :-)
- There seemed to be an acknowledgement this week that Ianto is familiar with loss and I loved his scenes with Tommy.
- For the third week in a row, Owen did not annoy me. It's a record.
- It's good to see an acknowledgement that Owen faced something similar last year and he knew what it would be like when Toshiko had to say goodbye to Tommy.

Speaking of Owen, he seems to have finally grown up and matured. He's still a prat at times, but a less annoying prat who actually knows that there are other people in the world around him. I can't help feeling that it was the impact of losing Diane and the breakdown he had that is partially responsible. I also think that those months without Jack to lead them forced him to settle a little, become a bit more dependable and a bit less selfish. Yes, he still has definite Owen-ish moments but there is less intention to hurt now, less maliciousness with it. I'm actually half way to liking him.

Toshiko has had better writing so far this season and it's paying off. She's a great character and it shows when she's given an episode like this. Naoko Mori (as mentioned) did a fantastic job and it shows how talented she is when she's given decent material.

I'm loving the evolution of the Jack/Ianto relationship and the fact that we're only seeing moments of it rather than having the whole thing played out and discected on the screen. We can see that it's growing and evolving into something real and beautiful, but there is still a lot of room for us to discuss, write fic and speculate. It's staying interesting because there is so much unsaid.

Gwen is less annoying this year than she was last year and I appreciated that the stories aren't all revolving around her this time. She's a little less Mary Sue-ish and a little more human now. Next week's story should be interesting. I'll just have to avoid all spoilers until I get home from Canada (unless I can find a way to fool the BBC iPlayer into thinking that I'm in the UK).

The storyline of this episode was beautiful. You kind of knew how it had to go from fairly early, but that didn't spoil it because of the way that it was played. Tommy was a lovely character and nobody forgot how strange it must have been for him. That moment when he says that in 1919 he was told that the Great War, the war to end all wars, was over and yet it was only three weeks later (for him) that the Second World War was fought.

I appreciated that they didn't make Jack his 'buddy' in this story. It might have been the easy way to go because Jack knew that time, he'd lived through it, but I think that would have cheapened the story somehow. It would have become Captain Jack Harkness all over again and this time the story needed to be different.

Unlike the previous two episodes, this one doesn't seem to be a part of a huge arc and the plot was neatly tied up. That's not a bad thing, actually, because the season needs the mix of stories that are part of the continuing arc and stand-alone stories. It has always been the strength of shows like Buffy, Angel, Stargate and Atlantis that there is that mix and RTD seems to be taking those lessons to heart.

In summary, this was another terrific episode and I hope that we continue to have episodes of this callibre.

Comments

[wimble.livejournal.com]

I was thoroughly confused. Season one annoyed me so much, but this was entirely bearable (it might even have been good, but clearly my expectations are being driving from last season still!)

I was hoping that, when Owen's talking to Tosh on the pier, she'd turn round and tell him to "Stop stalking me, you creep!"

Tommy's aclimitisation and memory were a bit all over the place: he's had 90 days awake since the end of WWI, and can cope with mini-skirts and playing pool (and a fair bit of slang), but can't order a vodka in the pub. Ianto had to tell him that "these were the clothes he was wearing when he was collected by Torchwood". Ianto might not be thinking straight, but Tommy should know that. Instead, he looks as though it's thoroughly new information.

Worst: having gone from shell-shock in a WWI hospital, he's put on ice, woken up once a year, and thoroughly recovered. I suspect that most people would be a gibbering wreck, even without the prior shell-shock.

But, yeah. I did enjoy it, and it was a lot better than I've been expecting. Strange...