Sex in Torchwood: Day One
The first thing I noticed was that for all its graphic sex the episode was less erotic than the mild flirtation in Boom Town.
There the interaction between the three characters had all been about giving energy to someone the person cared about. Here it was all selfish, all about taking energy and giving nothing back. The result was that I as the audience got less out of it. I was reminded of the line, "They're not making love, they're masturbating while using each other's bodies as sex toys." I always thought that comment too harsh, but in this case it seems to fit.
It also reminded me of the difference in the sex industry between pornography made for men and the relatively newer pornography made for women. They discovered a few years ago that women were much more willing to buy porn films where the emphasis was on each person working to increase their partner(s)' enjoyment instead of just racing to the finish line.
The second thing I noticed was that while the alien fed off sex energy, it was relying on Carys to supply the information on the mechanics of human sex, and all Carys had to go on was the knowledge available to an ignorant teenage girl. Hence the emphasis on male orgasm as the be-all and end-all of sex. This is a misconception common among teenagers. Lesbian sex "doesn't count" because there's no male orgasm involved -- another adolescent misconception. Having only had one lover and him a thoughtless git, it's entirely possible that Carys had never experienced a female orgasm and didn't really believe in them.
But this meant that the alien didn't know how to induce a really strong orgasm. In order to do that the partners have to each give the other energy and set up a feedback loop. Even if all parties are highly aroused in the first place, that still helps. Carys didn't know how to do that, so the encounters were unsatisfactory for the alien. In desperation it turned to the quickest release with the least arousal, but this meant it was actually using up more energy than it gained. The creature was literally bonking itself to death by the time our heroes caught it.
That's why I found the three relatively chaste kisses at the end of the story more sensual than the rest of the show. They were all gifts given freely. Jack gave Carys life and healing. Gwen gave Jack gratitude. Gwen gave Rhys love. It's the giving instead of the taking that made all the difference.
It would have been nice if they show had spelled this out at the end of the episode. I guess they figured that since the series was for grown-ups they didn't need to. Surely grown-ups know this without having to be told.
ETA: Having watched the whole series, I can say that this episode serves as the touchstone for sex in Torchwood. This is the example of how to have bad, meaningless, exploitative sex; against which every other sexual act in the series is measured. In that regard it made sense that it occurred so early in the season.
There the interaction between the three characters had all been about giving energy to someone the person cared about. Here it was all selfish, all about taking energy and giving nothing back. The result was that I as the audience got less out of it. I was reminded of the line, "They're not making love, they're masturbating while using each other's bodies as sex toys." I always thought that comment too harsh, but in this case it seems to fit.
It also reminded me of the difference in the sex industry between pornography made for men and the relatively newer pornography made for women. They discovered a few years ago that women were much more willing to buy porn films where the emphasis was on each person working to increase their partner(s)' enjoyment instead of just racing to the finish line.
The second thing I noticed was that while the alien fed off sex energy, it was relying on Carys to supply the information on the mechanics of human sex, and all Carys had to go on was the knowledge available to an ignorant teenage girl. Hence the emphasis on male orgasm as the be-all and end-all of sex. This is a misconception common among teenagers. Lesbian sex "doesn't count" because there's no male orgasm involved -- another adolescent misconception. Having only had one lover and him a thoughtless git, it's entirely possible that Carys had never experienced a female orgasm and didn't really believe in them.
But this meant that the alien didn't know how to induce a really strong orgasm. In order to do that the partners have to each give the other energy and set up a feedback loop. Even if all parties are highly aroused in the first place, that still helps. Carys didn't know how to do that, so the encounters were unsatisfactory for the alien. In desperation it turned to the quickest release with the least arousal, but this meant it was actually using up more energy than it gained. The creature was literally bonking itself to death by the time our heroes caught it.
That's why I found the three relatively chaste kisses at the end of the story more sensual than the rest of the show. They were all gifts given freely. Jack gave Carys life and healing. Gwen gave Jack gratitude. Gwen gave Rhys love. It's the giving instead of the taking that made all the difference.
It would have been nice if they show had spelled this out at the end of the episode. I guess they figured that since the series was for grown-ups they didn't need to. Surely grown-ups know this without having to be told.
ETA: Having watched the whole series, I can say that this episode serves as the touchstone for sex in Torchwood. This is the example of how to have bad, meaningless, exploitative sex; against which every other sexual act in the series is measured. In that regard it made sense that it occurred so early in the season.