Torchwood: Children of Earth finale
So. That was it. I have to admit I'm hardly the most talented recapper/reviewer/whatever pleasant name you'd like to call this-er, but I really needed a way to place my thoughts and this was as good as any. Damn.
Like what I assume is the vast majority of the online fandom, I adored Ianto. I think I was hoping for some way to take it back and make everything right again, but at the same time I knew it wasn't going to happen. In Children of Earth RTD has created what we can guess he always wanted Torchwood to be - a gritty, adult Doctor Who where the stakes are higher and the losses are oh so real. And maybe if Torchwood had always taken this path, this wouldn't - I hesitate to say hurt, so - sting so much. It's such a far cry from the somewhat cheesy, seldom stellar Torchwood we know that it hardly seems real, and I will not be surprised if many of Torchwood's old fans choose to ignore it and instead focus their attention on the Torchwood we had.
I feel like somewhat of a hypocrite for saying this; I thought the first few episodes were perfect, pretty much. It was classic Torchwood with more action and better pacing, and for once I felt like I was enjoying the show for itself (and my god, the plot) rather than mostly the characters (that's all of the characters, I feel I must add). And then... I think the moment that suddenly the ride isn't fun any more starts when we first see the child attached to the 456. It was repulsive, and then the child opens his (her?) eyes and your heart breaks. It's at this moment that the 456 are truly evil, in a way that Who monsters and Torchwood aliens have seldom, if ever, achieved in the past.
Then, you get crushed a little bit more as we see how the government deals with this threat. We see human life given a value based on something as insignificant as school league tables, and it forces you to question your own morals as we watch them decide. I'm incredibly ashamed of this, but one of my first thoughts when they brought up 'good' and 'bad' schools was something along the lines of "my school was good, I'd have been okay." And it's disgusting. When so much life is at stake, there's no justice. There's just cold, clinical effeciency while everyone works for their own self interest. I'll admit that occasionally I think RTD handles controversial issues hamfistedly, but I think in this case it was just about perfect. It was realistic. And believable. And heart-breaking.
And then, we're in for a real treat when it comes to re-inforcing what this Torchwood is. They do what is the right thing, and stand up proudly for what's good and righteous in the world. And people are killed for it. Other people have touched upon Ianto's death far better than I ever could, and I've heard many complaints that it was senseless. And I think that's right. Ianto didn't need to die, even the smallest of changes could have saved his life, and I think it's that senselessness that really breaks us. Things no longer happen for a reason, they just happen. Ianto's death was handled beautifully, and I think if I hadn't been so shocked at the time I could have appreciated it even more. The contrast of Ianto accepting his fate against the crowds of people trying hopelessly to escape is just another world of hurt. He's come to accept an early death, and all he wants is a place in Jack's memory because hey, it's Torchwood, and that's what happens. We've come to accept that all things happen for a reason in Torchwood, and this sudden death is an anomaly. No wonder so many people (aha, myself included) were crying for the reset button.
And in the fifth part, we're thrown into helplessness, and a broken Jack who honestly believes there is nothing left to do. We see children being sent off to their dooms, and to add just yet another insult to the injury Children of Earth has caused we find out exactly why the 456 are demanding the children. Here, I'll admit, I made a rather snide comment about Rusty's social commentary, because we know; in the way that we know lots of things that help us sleep at night, that drug trade is hardly comparable to losing 10% of the world's children. But that's what makes it ache so much - that all this loss is for such a stupid, stupid reason. I laughed it off at the time, but what I thought was slightly tasteless proved to be quite brilliant. Terrible things can happen for stupid reasons.
I'm apparently quite naive. When we saw Jack begin to fix everything, I started to calm down, and the leadened sense of something indescribable lifted slightly. Things could be repaired, and losses, however great, could be justified as part of the greater good. But then we had to have just one more sacrifice, and of course it would be the one child whose loss would ruin Jack the most. At the time I think I commented that it didn't have to be him; and then I realized that it didn't actually matter which child it was. As Jack said on Day Four - even the loss of just one was the loss of everyone. By sacrificing just one child he's admitting defeat, and I have to hand it to John Barrowman, he delivered this beautiful conflict perfectly.
And the day is saved. But what's been saved is a world where the government will hand over your children and lie to cover their backs, a world where good people die even when there's no need. John Frobisher demonstrates this - his efforts to save his children from an eternity of suffering were in the end an unnecessary loss, and it's heart-breaking to think about, because in this Torchwood the day isn't always saved in time. When the Doctor comes, everybody lives. In Torchwood: Children of Earth, things aren't nearly so glossed over. Losses are genuine and powerful, and ultimately the person who has lost the most is Jack. At the end, we seem him essentially revert to the man he was when he was introduced in The Empty Child; a coward who will keep on running. And it's here that Jack becomes more like the Doctor than ever before. With nothing left to keep him grounded, he needs to travel and feels trapped by a world too small for him.
This is Torchwood, series three. And God did it hurt.
oh my this is a really terrible review. uh. I blame lack of experience and a post-episode foggy head. But it did make me feel a bit better. :)
Like what I assume is the vast majority of the online fandom, I adored Ianto. I think I was hoping for some way to take it back and make everything right again, but at the same time I knew it wasn't going to happen. In Children of Earth RTD has created what we can guess he always wanted Torchwood to be - a gritty, adult Doctor Who where the stakes are higher and the losses are oh so real. And maybe if Torchwood had always taken this path, this wouldn't - I hesitate to say hurt, so - sting so much. It's such a far cry from the somewhat cheesy, seldom stellar Torchwood we know that it hardly seems real, and I will not be surprised if many of Torchwood's old fans choose to ignore it and instead focus their attention on the Torchwood we had.
I feel like somewhat of a hypocrite for saying this; I thought the first few episodes were perfect, pretty much. It was classic Torchwood with more action and better pacing, and for once I felt like I was enjoying the show for itself (and my god, the plot) rather than mostly the characters (that's all of the characters, I feel I must add). And then... I think the moment that suddenly the ride isn't fun any more starts when we first see the child attached to the 456. It was repulsive, and then the child opens his (her?) eyes and your heart breaks. It's at this moment that the 456 are truly evil, in a way that Who monsters and Torchwood aliens have seldom, if ever, achieved in the past.
Then, you get crushed a little bit more as we see how the government deals with this threat. We see human life given a value based on something as insignificant as school league tables, and it forces you to question your own morals as we watch them decide. I'm incredibly ashamed of this, but one of my first thoughts when they brought up 'good' and 'bad' schools was something along the lines of "my school was good, I'd have been okay." And it's disgusting. When so much life is at stake, there's no justice. There's just cold, clinical effeciency while everyone works for their own self interest. I'll admit that occasionally I think RTD handles controversial issues hamfistedly, but I think in this case it was just about perfect. It was realistic. And believable. And heart-breaking.
And then, we're in for a real treat when it comes to re-inforcing what this Torchwood is. They do what is the right thing, and stand up proudly for what's good and righteous in the world. And people are killed for it. Other people have touched upon Ianto's death far better than I ever could, and I've heard many complaints that it was senseless. And I think that's right. Ianto didn't need to die, even the smallest of changes could have saved his life, and I think it's that senselessness that really breaks us. Things no longer happen for a reason, they just happen. Ianto's death was handled beautifully, and I think if I hadn't been so shocked at the time I could have appreciated it even more. The contrast of Ianto accepting his fate against the crowds of people trying hopelessly to escape is just another world of hurt. He's come to accept an early death, and all he wants is a place in Jack's memory because hey, it's Torchwood, and that's what happens. We've come to accept that all things happen for a reason in Torchwood, and this sudden death is an anomaly. No wonder so many people (aha, myself included) were crying for the reset button.
And in the fifth part, we're thrown into helplessness, and a broken Jack who honestly believes there is nothing left to do. We see children being sent off to their dooms, and to add just yet another insult to the injury Children of Earth has caused we find out exactly why the 456 are demanding the children. Here, I'll admit, I made a rather snide comment about Rusty's social commentary, because we know; in the way that we know lots of things that help us sleep at night, that drug trade is hardly comparable to losing 10% of the world's children. But that's what makes it ache so much - that all this loss is for such a stupid, stupid reason. I laughed it off at the time, but what I thought was slightly tasteless proved to be quite brilliant. Terrible things can happen for stupid reasons.
I'm apparently quite naive. When we saw Jack begin to fix everything, I started to calm down, and the leadened sense of something indescribable lifted slightly. Things could be repaired, and losses, however great, could be justified as part of the greater good. But then we had to have just one more sacrifice, and of course it would be the one child whose loss would ruin Jack the most. At the time I think I commented that it didn't have to be him; and then I realized that it didn't actually matter which child it was. As Jack said on Day Four - even the loss of just one was the loss of everyone. By sacrificing just one child he's admitting defeat, and I have to hand it to John Barrowman, he delivered this beautiful conflict perfectly.
And the day is saved. But what's been saved is a world where the government will hand over your children and lie to cover their backs, a world where good people die even when there's no need. John Frobisher demonstrates this - his efforts to save his children from an eternity of suffering were in the end an unnecessary loss, and it's heart-breaking to think about, because in this Torchwood the day isn't always saved in time. When the Doctor comes, everybody lives. In Torchwood: Children of Earth, things aren't nearly so glossed over. Losses are genuine and powerful, and ultimately the person who has lost the most is Jack. At the end, we seem him essentially revert to the man he was when he was introduced in The Empty Child; a coward who will keep on running. And it's here that Jack becomes more like the Doctor than ever before. With nothing left to keep him grounded, he needs to travel and feels trapped by a world too small for him.
This is Torchwood, series three. And God did it hurt.
oh my this is a really terrible review. uh. I blame lack of experience and a post-episode foggy head. But it did make me feel a bit better. :)