Review: Torchwood S2 04 Meat

[crabby_lioness]

Or Torchwood's Debt to Irving Berlin

I'm beginning to see some patterns here.  In the grand old Doctor Who tradition, this is the fourth episode out of four where we've had a classic plot from the Giant Book of Classic TV and Film Plots.  The first was "conning the con man", the second was "undercover sleeper agent", the third was "fix the time

Comments

[urnssadomen]

First of all, your review has always been my favorite

[crabby_lioness]

There is a lot in Torchwood that is erotic, both expected and unexpected(stopwatch?)! I'm sorry, I just found out from a spoiler something (very tame actually) that Ianto tells Martha that Jack wants to do that -- guh! It's tame, it's sweet, it's really cute, it's -- why did I have to have children? I need some privacy and my vibrator RIGHT NOW!

[halfspokenwords]

Wait, wait, wait, Ianto and Martha spoilers? :D?

[crabby_lioness]

Martha has a talk with each Team member about Jack. She and Gwen are "the only who don't want to shag him." Ianto tells Martha that Jack is an inventive lover who likes cosplay and wants to get Ianto a red UNIT cap.

GUH. UNITLust FTW!

[antelope_writes]

This is Duikermeisie, with a fic-only blog (keeping it separate from my generic ramblings). Mind if I friend you, since I'm over here often enough

[ceindreadh]

Jack/Ianto:

Was I the only one who noticed Ianto smiling very slightly and looking up at Jack's office twice during the "sad and single" scene?

No, I noticed that as well. Ianto totally had a 'cat that got the cream' vibe going on in that scene!

[crabby_lioness]

top-secret covert operatives wouldn't notice a little white car that looks suspiciously like one of the operative's fiance's car following them all the way there? Did Gwen never look in the rear view mirror?

Embarassing.

And how about Rhys knowing where the warehouse was located, when the previous delivery driver only met them at a designated pickup location?

Believable for two reasons. The first is that the driver was being bribed to keep the location secret, so of course he's not going to tell. The second is that Rhys has 10 years experience in local trucking and all the area knowledge that entails.

Was I the only one who noticed Ianto smiling very slightly and looking up at Jack's office twice during the "sad and single" scene?

There's even icons of it up now.

[duikermeisie]

Embarassing.

Very.

Believable for two reasons. The first is that the driver was being bribed to keep the location secret, so of course he's not going to tell. The second is that Rhys has 10 years experience in local trucking and all the area knowledge that entails.

Except that during the interview with the "police" (Tosh) Rhys stated flat-out that they had no idea where the point of origin was, only that it was remote and difficult to reach. His driver wouldn't have known the origin either, bribed or not. He would only have known the pickup point. It is reasonable to assume that the origin would be close, but finding the exact warehouse? Not likely.

[antelope_writes]

I ran out of room in the last post to flesh out the Owen/Ianto relationship here. The gradual transition from teaboy to The Guardian has been batted about quite a bit...I'm just as interested in how Owen is changing

[crabby_lioness]

It's significant that Owen feels he can allow someone else to be the heavy. Last year he challenged Jack for that role, this year he doesn't blink about turning it over to Ianto. He's obviously a lot less prickly this year.

[duikermeisie]

He's much healthier mentally, and it shows.

Owen still likes to play the hotshot, as evidenced by the car chase in KKBB and shooting off the door lock (wasn't that funny?).

[duikermeisie]

The Tosh/Owen nonsense is really starting to annoy me

[ola_sw]

And during the combat scene there isn't a moment of doubt or hesitation on the part of either of them. Either they don't have the same level of concern for each other that Gwen and Rhys share (which I doubt) or they are very confident in each other's abilities.

I haven't read through all the comments (and probably will do it only after watching the episode for the second time), so maybe someone else already pointed out what I'm about to say, and if so - sorry for the repetition.

What actually stood out for me in the combat scene is the fact Jack didn't shoot when the bad guy was struggling with Ianto. Sure, it could've been because they were moving to fast, or something was blocking them from view, but I doubt that. There's a reason for that scene in the beginning of 2x01 when he appears behind Ianto - Jack's not afraid to shoot. Giving us those two seconds of Jack trying to aim and then, frustrated, lowering his gone must mean something, especially after that look they shared in the conference room.

[crabby_lioness]

I and some of the fic-writers I've read, including sarcasticbabble, assumed Jack was giving Ianto time to free himself by distracting the goons.

[ola_sw]

As I said, I need to rewatch it, but I'm pretty sure he tried aiming and gave up.

[ceindreadh]

I and some of the fic-writers I've read, including sarcasticbabble, assumed Jack was giving Ianto time to free himself by distracting the goons.

As I said, I need to rewatch it, but I'm pretty sure he tried aiming and gave up.

I think you're both right.
Initially when Jack and Tosh are spotted and they step into view and drop their guns, I think that at that point Jack was talking so as to keep the bad guys distracted (and not shooting anybody) and to give Ianto a chance to get his hands free.

It's only after Rhys gets shot/Ianto gets free, that Jack has a chance to try and take a shot, but he can't get a clear shot, or at least not one that's clear enough for him to risk taking. So he gives up.