Torchwood meta: The Lost Files. (All three radio plays, but mostly The House of the Dead.)
Before we start - icon is in honour of sam_storyteller’s Trying to Communicate, because alien LOLcats stand for everything that was right and good about old!Torchwood, and because I has an Ianto and I loves him very much. ♥ (If you, for any reason, dislike my teaboy, just move right past. There’s probably not much for you here.) ETA: Had kathyh make me a new Ianto icon. *pets it*
Disclaimer: I have nothing against Miracle Day, and find it perfectly nice viewing. But the old show is what had my heart, and that's what I'm focussing on here.
The Devil and Miss Carew and Submission
So, the first two plays. Because there’s actually thematic stuff in there, despite the daftness of the plots. (Oh show, how can it be that I love your stupidity?)
Jack
First of all, when it comes to Jack then there’s a LOT of fatalism. This exchange in particular made me sit up and pay attention:
Dying Alien: “You and I, we’re the last of our kind, Jack. Who is going to forgive us for what we’ve done?”
Jack: “Maybe we never get forgiven. And we have to spend all these long years getting used to that fact. ‘Cause I realised a long time ago, that’s the price of immortality - no final act, no redemption, no absolution. You are the lucky one - you get to die!”
Alien: “Is he waiting for me, Captain? Is there a life waiting for me, beyond? Please - tell me he’s waiting.”
Jack: “Would it help if I said yes?”
Alien: “Oh yes. I would help, so very much!”
Jack: “Then I’m sorry. Because I can tell you what’s waiting for you - nothing!”
Alien: “Who are you?”
Jack: “I am the face you see when you die.”
If I had better time, I’d go and get caps of all the different creatures/people who see Jack as they die. There’s all the aliens (and ‘Bad Humans’), and Tosh and Suzie and Alex (the former leader of Torchwood), and Ianto... But also, of course, Steven...
Oh Jack. You know who you are.
It all reminds me of a brilliant fic from S1, Absolution. The most important line:
He’s not sure what he’d like more, the chance to keep his anger or the chance to be forgiven himself.
By now? Forgiveness. Peace. Oblivion.
Ianto
But the overall theme of the two first plays was death. Not actual death (although there was plenty of that), but rather how you meet it - what makes for a good or a bad death. Let me do some lists:
1. No one wants to die alone.
- Rhys’ uncle died alone, and the alien, spitefully, used this as part of its blackmail.
- Miss Carew on the other hand had Gwen there with her. (If she deserved it is another matter.)
- The alien stuck at the bottom of the sea was terrified of loneliness.
2. Do not sell out others so that you can live.
- Rhys’ uncle refused to make a deal. He died, but he died honourably.
- Miss Carew made a deal ‘with the devil’ for personal gain and because of that nearly destroyed the modern world.
- The alien, fearful of its own life, left its mate behind, and had to live with that shame forever more.
Now this is all very relevant in regards to our Ianto:
1. He didn’t die alone (indeed he died in the arms of the man he loved).
2. He died because he refused to back down from his principles. (As a matter of fact he was the driving force behind the whole showdown with the 456, but I’ll get to that further down.)
So, if looked at in the light of ‘Here are some radio plays with Ianto in them’, and disregarding the ways in which they tie into Miracle Day [death is a natural part of life and so on, it’s all very obvious, so I won’t even bother], then I thought their significance is pretty obvious when applied to Ianto:
Yes he died, but as deaths go, it was pretty good. Which brings us to the last play:
House of the Dead
Before we start, a quick note:
I’m still of the opinion that this play was a minor miracle, and after two years it gave me closure. Like I said elsewhere in a comment about Ianto:
He saved the world. He changed the world. He was loved.
That’s all I ever wanted. (Well the ‘changing the world’ was an extra bonus, which I am ridiculously grateful for.) But still... obviously it wasn’t all that much to ask for, since I got exactly what I wanted! ;)
I don’t care if people think it’s fanservice. The whole damn show used to be fanservice - during S1 -2 it was a purely character-driven. The fact that they changed the format to idea-driven is something else. These radio plays were pure classic Torchwood (daft plot written around the characters and OTT everything included), and I loved them very much indeed.
But onto the play itself. The title alone is enough to clue anyone into what’s instore: ‘House of the Dead’ is not exactly subtle (♥).
Anyway, I went and transcribed pretty much the whole of the last ten minutes (and a few other snippets), and will just go through them, commenting on them all in order - it seemed the easiest way. If I tried to do it all by theme or something I’d just get all lost.
Ianto's father: “I’ll tell you a little secret Ianto - we’re more alike than you think. We’ll both betray the ones we love.”
Oh this. Because Ianto has of course already betrayed Jack - it was the very first thing he did, out of love for Lisa. And now he’ll betray Jack again - out of love for Jack. Lying through his teeth, just as he did before. Good Lord I love liars. And then this:
Jack: “I’ve always trusted you.”
*flails*
Because the thing is, that right from the start Ianto as a betrayer was a mirror - betrayal was his game, just as it was once Jack’s (he conned the con man). Plus Jack merrily lies through his teeth about anything and everything, his past especially. So despite - or rather because of - all the lies, equality lies at the heart of the relationship.
Compare and contrast with Jack and Gwen, where he was always the one in control of the situation. Not in control of his feelings, but Jack always had the power. And (because of that?) he wanted to protect her. He even says so in the first episode of Miracle Day, and I wanted to bang my head against the wall: 'Jack - I love to you pieces, but NO! You do not need to protect her!' Because - as Gwen is quick to point out - the main things she needs protecting from is him.
Now for a long time I’ve thought that Gwen is like Rose if she made Amy’s choices. These two scenes in particular echo each other perfectly - so much so that when I first saw ‘Amy’s Choice’ I had a distinct feeling of deja vu:
End of Days TW. 1.13:
GWEN: You bring him back.
JACK: No.
(Jack walks away from her.)
GWEN: The resurrection gauntlet ...
IANTO: Was destroyed.
GWEN: Something else.
JACK: I said no.
GWEN: No, there's something wrong with time, so we, we can go back to the moment, to the very moment ...
JACK: Gwen ...
GWEN: There's something you can do, otherwise WHAT'S THE FUCKING POINT OF YOU?!
Amy’s Choice DW 5.7:
AMY: Save him. You save everyone. You always do. It's what you do.
DOCTOR: Not always. I'm sorry.
AMY: Then what is the point of you?
But where Gwen struggles on alone, having an unfortunate affair in order to cope to with the demands of Torchwood, and Jack proving nothing more than distant advice, Eleven is able to immediately pinpoint the origin of Amy’s issues, and sets about fixing them, insisting that they bring Rory with them - a state of affairs Gwen doesn’t achieve until ‘Meat’, and then only by forcing the issue almost to breaking point.
Jack wants her, I think, but he also keeps her at a distance, and (much like the Doctor) treats her as a child - and Gwen (like Amy) needs an equal.
Which brings me back to Ianto. Ianto lied his way into Torchwood (and possibly into Jack’s bed too), and this immediately put them on a much more equal footing. Look at Flatholm f.ex. - it’s unclear when Ianto was told, but it was obviously not something Jack felt he ‘had’ to keep from Ianto. Indeed Ianto was the one who helped Gwen discover the truth, understanding far better than Jack that trust, honestly and equality are hugely important. Anyway, I’ll get back to Ianto & Jack & trust.
Jack: “The moment she reaches this world, I’m going to detonate the energy stored in that package - it’ll wipe out Siriath and seal the rift forever! And these stones will rise and sing.”
Ianto: “Seal the rift...”
Jack: “Its time has come.”
Ianto’s father: “What if I told you that you could take Ianto and leave?”
[...]
Jack: “Turn around and walk out of here?”
Oh the sudden breathless hope in those few words. *heartbreaks*
Ianto: “Jack - who’s dead? Who does he mean?”
[...]
Jack: “You don’t understand, I thought it would just look like you...”
Ianto [horrified and dismayed]: “It!”
Jack: “...I could have coped with that. I didn’t dream it would actually *be* you! Siriath used my grief and she reached into time - she recreated you, Ianto, and I- I can’t bear to look at you.”
‘She recreated you’. Oh oh oh, my beautiful Doctor Who parallels...
Pretty much the first thing I did after I finished listening was run off and upload this icon:
These are of course the Doctor’s words in The Pandorica Opens. He expands on them a bit in The Big Bang:
DOCTOR: Memories are more powerful than you think, and Amy Pond is not an ordinary girl. Grew up with a time crack in her wall. The universe pouring through her dreams every night. The Nestenes took a memory print of her and got more than they bargained for. Like you. Not just your face, but your heart and your soul.
Ianto and Rory. Brought back from the dead through the power of love and memories and hand-wave-y explanations. I. Love. It. To. Pieces.
Ianto: ”You can’t- Jack!”
Jack: “I’m sorry Ianto, I’m sorry...”
Ianto: “Don’t... Touch me! Don’t”
Jack: “OK.”
[...]
Ianto: “You couldn’t leave me rest in peace. You’ve done this to me! Dragged me back, just to say goodbye. This isn’t about closing the rift, destroying that creature, or even your bloody stones. [tearfully] It’s not even about me! This - [voice lowers, angrily] this - is all about you, Jack!”
OK, this? This (and what follows) is the best tearing down of man!pain that I’ve ever come across. Because it’s on a Watsonian level, with the object that’s being angsted over refusing to play its part.
Jack: “Ianto - this isn’t how I planned it.”
Ianto: “What were you hoping for? That I’d say a few nice words? That I’d be grateful?”
Jack: “I just wanted to see you one more time! That’s all. It’s why I came here.”
Ianto [cuttingly]: “Well that’s lovely.”
Jack: “Ianto - all the people I’ve lost. Don’t you understand? The only one I wanted to see was you!”
By the way, I am totally taking this as confirmation that Ianto is the love of Jack’s life. Just sayin’. (By which I mean: Don’t try to argue. Hardcore ‘shipper here.)
Ianto [almost spitefully]: “Thanks. At least you didn’t forget me.”
Jack: “How could I? I may be immortal, but I don’t forget! I lose everyone, but I don’t forget any of you! I work so hard to remember.”
Ianto: “You make it sound like charity work.”
Jack: “Don’t say that! Never say that!”
Ianto: “Jack? I didn’t think the last thing I’d ever say to you would be this: Just go away. Please. This is horrible!”
It’s brutal. Brutal, but necessary . And I love it. Ianto has always been the most wonderful mixture of liar and truthteller. He was the one to call Jack a monster [in Cyberwoman], the one to ask Jack if he’d ever loved someone... And the one who ended up being his greatest defender, and the one whose question’s Jack would answer - because he asked them so infrequently, but when he did, he’d earned the right to an answer. (Jack is pretty much a non-Newtonian fluid - impenetrable if you use blunt force, but much more open if you just wait for him...) Going back to my point, however, then this needed to be said. Self-pity, and the wallowing therein, is a dangerous, dangerous thing (just see the Tenth Doctor), and a lot of Jack’s matter-of-fact-ness when talking to Gwen at the very end of CoE might have come from this moment. Lesson the first: Don’t make excuses.
“I had to see you again. You have no idea what it felt like coming back to life and knowing that the world was empty! Because you’d gone! No matter how many times I die, I always wake up alone!”
I am selfishly very pleased with how this echoes a particular snippet of my own fic [set during S2 of TW]. A snippet which necessitated dipping into Jack’s POV very briefly - slightly breaking the flow of the narrative - but I really wanted to use it:
When the world came rushing back (why did it have to hurt so much?) Jack felt strong young arms holding him, and grasped onto them gratefully. He could do this forever, as long as he had arms to come back to...
I knew that soon enough he’d wake up alone, and to have that very point emphasised here just pleased me immensely.
Ianto: ”I didn’t ask to come back.”
Jack: “Neither did I!
And it was at this point that I nearly fell of my chair in delight. Oh the parallels! *flails*
Jack: [laughs wobbly] “You and me, Ianto Jones, together again at the end. How it should be. In a few seconds Siriath will rise. I’ll trigger this device, destroying her and sealing the rift forever!”
Ianto: “You’re not planning on coming back, are you?”
[Jack laughs - it’s almost a giggle. Really quite unhinged]
Jack: “No. Gonna be a pretty big bang.”
Ianto: “You can’t die!”
Jack: “Next best thing. Eternal oblivion! Lost in the space between worlds, forever! Come on! It’s quite a way to go. [laughs - although it’s more of a hysterical breath] I think I’ve lived long enough. I’ve seen you once more. What else is there?”
I don’t know if I can put into words how much I love this. Jack, saying his goodbye to Gwen, [quite understandably] wore an impenetrable mask. Seeing what lay behind it - the naked, literally suicidal, despair - the way he is the tiniest fraction away from just losing it completely... It gives a dark glimpse into the six months he tried, and failed, to come to terms with what he’d done. No wonder he runs away to the stars.
Anyway, we see that it’s at this point that Ianto becomes pro-active, rather than re-active. And I think it’s important here that Ianto doesn’t remember the circumstances that surrounded his death. Doesn’t know the stakes. Can’t begin to guess at the reasons behind Jack’s death wish. If he’d known what Jack did? (If Jack had told the truth...) He might have gone along with the double suicide I think. But as it stands, he focusses on saving Jack.
Ianto: “Well... We could just go.”
Jack: “What?”
The surprised squeak in his voice rather makes me laugh - it’s amazing. And the sheer shock it conveys is incredible.
Ianto: “Dad said we could both leave together!”
[another unhinged laugh]
Jack: “Never. You’re kidding, right?... You mean leave here?”
Ianto: “Why not try it? The rift- ancient evil- magic pebbles- just for once, let someone else deal with it!”
One, I like Ianto’s world weariness here. He’s deceiving Jack, but that doesn’t mean that he’s not speaking the truth. I love it when people lie with the truth...
Two, I might need an icon that says ‘My fandom has magic pebbles!’
Because it’s awesome.
Jack: “Can we do that?”
And this. Oh this. Jack’s genuine shock, his incredulity... How did they get JB to do that? Because it is so revealing, beautifully showcasing the way Jack looks to Ianto to guide him. This was of course one of the features of CoE, where most of Jack’s actions [after they discovered the truth and Jack revealed his part in what happened in 1965] were driven by Ianto. It was very clear that the only action Ianto would accept was an attempt to fix it, to this time do the right thing. Stand up for what’s right. So they faced down the 456... and paid the price. Of course ghost!Ianto doesn’t remember this, but he’s still the same man. Still holds the same principles. And so if he says that it’s OK to walk away? Then it’s OK. Jack can let go, can step away from being the hero.
Also see Adam, for proof of Jack’s belief in Ianto’s basic decency:
JACK: Best lie detector on the planet. If something's untrue, the light turns red. Go.
IANTO: My… hands on her throat. And it felt so good. Squeezing the life out of her. It reads as truth.
JACK: I don't believe it. OK, tell me about the second girl.
IANTO: She tried to get away... but I was too quick. Pleading... And I... I didn't care. Something in me wants to kill.
JACK: No. This is not you. (Turns machine off.) Something's changed you. You're not a murderer. (Hand to Ianto’s shoulder as he walks past.) I'm certain of it.
Ianto is the boy who loved monsters. Cyberwoman!Lisa. Jack. Because Jack knows he is a monster. And he also knows that Ianto isn’t.
There’s also another side to this (and thanks to solitary_summer for pointing it out) - Ianto believes in Torchwood, something Jack never really did. Oh he worked for them, and tried his best to make a difference with the tools at his disposal, but his jadedness and bitterness were always in evidence. But Ianto...
Ianto: “Coming her gave me meaning again. You.”
Ianto didn’t just believe in Torchwood, he believed in Jack. And that is an incredibly powerful thing.
Now Gwen... Well Gwen is different. Jack was the person who plucked her from her ordinary life. She became to believe in the cause, but for Gwen there was always a conflict between her normal life and Torchwood, and if forced to choose she'd choose normal life.
Ianto however chose Torchwood and Jack, and he accepted the darkness that came with that. That’s why he died (and Gwen lived), and that is why Jack will walk out on his mission for his sake (and wouldn’t for Gwen, if she’d been there). Because Ianto is his.
Ianto: “I’m real, aren’t I?”
Jack: “Wuh... It’ll never work! We cross that door we’ll be back in the real world! What if you vanish? What’ll happen?”
Ianto: “That’s no reason for not trying! Seems a shame you know. To get me back, only to lose me again. Touch careless.”
Is this a ‘The Importance of Being Earnest’ reference, or am I overanalysing? Either way, it made me smile.
Jack: “True. Siriath. The last remnant of a dead universe. Ah she’s not so special! But there’s only one Ianto Jones!”
Ianto: ”And there’s only ever been one Captain Jack Harkness.”
Jack: “Heh. Huh. Ah screw it! Worth a try. Let’s leave the device here for Siriath. We better go now.”
Ianto: “Cross that doorway and there’s no coming back.”
Jack: “Why would I want to? I’ve got you back, Ianto. Come on, lets do this Ianto. Let’s do this. Be brave.”
Ianto: “Always.”
Oh god. Betrayal. And the bravery to pull it off. I just... *hands*
Jack: “Welcome back to the land of the living Ianto Jones. Has it worked? Are you real again? Ianto? Ianto?”
Ianto: “I’m not coming.”
Jack: ”Ianto no, come on! There’s still time!”
Ianto: “No Jack, you know I can’t. My place is here. In the House of the Dead. With your device. Saving the world!”
And this is where the writers were very clever in that they make Ianto the Big Damn Hero, saving the world all on his own, and at the same time say: ‘He’s dead, OK? And he’s staying dead!’
Jack: “Don’t do this!”
Ianto: “Sorry Jack, someone’s got to destroy the rift! Quite a way to go!”
Jack: “No! Not like this! Don’t leave me like this!”
Just let me take a moment to savour the fact that Ianto takes Jack’s place - the mirroring is complete. See River’s sacrifice for another example. Plus, of course, it makes Ianto’s [second] death his own choice. He could have run, but he didn’t.
Also I feel obliged to point out how Ianto’s action mirrors another one of my favourite fictional characters: Spike. Not only do they save the world more-or-less single-handedly, they change the world. Spike closes the Sunnydale hellmouth. Ianto seals the Cardiff rift. Those are pretty damn awesome accomplishments!
Ianto: "Gotta go!”
Jack: “Ianto, no!... I never said it properly before-”
Ianto: “Doesn’t need saying.”
Others have remarked upon how this mirrors the Doctor/Rose scene on Bad Wolf Bay - except here it’s reversed. Ianto doesn’t demand proof of Jack’s love, indeed he states that it goes without saying. It’s Jack who insists on ‘making it official’.
Jack: “Yes it does! Ianto Jones - I love you.”
Ianto: “And I love you too, Jack. [...] Right then, best get a move on. ... Goodbye Jack!”
[...]
Jack: “Goodbye Ianto.”
Goodbye Ianto. You saved the world. You changed the world. And you were loved. (I couldn’t ask for more.)
So... Thank you for three wonderful years. They were daft and stupid and silly and much too OTT angsty for their own good. And they hurt me more than any other story ever has. But I wouldn’t swap for anything.
~♥~
So, where do we go from here? Oh, anywhere we want. Ianto, killed by the 456’s virus, was pretty much impossible to resurrect. I’ve read a fic or two where he’s saved/resurrected/something happened and he didn’t really die (and I had a bunny of my own, even), but they never really rang true. Partly because the show went out of its way to confirm that he was dead, and partly because of the timeline and Jack’s six months on Earth and so on. But a resurrected/recreated-by-ancient-evil-real!boy-ghost-Ianto, who sacrifices himself by blowing up the rift and possibly gets stuck in the space between dimensions? Dude, the fic writes itself. No really, it does. It took me about... oh 30 seconds to think of a plausible scenario? It’s a LOVELY bunny btw, and I’ve stuck it in a hutch and am regularly checking on it, so it’ll be ready when I find the time to pay proper attention to things like plot. *pets it* Heck, it’s even quite plausible to argue that Ianto is now immortal - gotta love those ancient evils with unlimited powers... I mean, isn’t that what Torchwood is - or rather was - all about? To be a fanfic writers dream!
Disclaimer: I have nothing against Miracle Day, and find it perfectly nice viewing. But the old show is what had my heart, and that's what I'm focussing on here.
The Devil and Miss Carew and Submission
So, the first two plays. Because there’s actually thematic stuff in there, despite the daftness of the plots. (Oh show, how can it be that I love your stupidity?)
Jack
First of all, when it comes to Jack then there’s a LOT of fatalism. This exchange in particular made me sit up and pay attention:
Dying Alien: “You and I, we’re the last of our kind, Jack. Who is going to forgive us for what we’ve done?”
Jack: “Maybe we never get forgiven. And we have to spend all these long years getting used to that fact. ‘Cause I realised a long time ago, that’s the price of immortality - no final act, no redemption, no absolution. You are the lucky one - you get to die!”
Alien: “Is he waiting for me, Captain? Is there a life waiting for me, beyond? Please - tell me he’s waiting.”
Jack: “Would it help if I said yes?”
Alien: “Oh yes. I would help, so very much!”
Jack: “Then I’m sorry. Because I can tell you what’s waiting for you - nothing!”
Alien: “Who are you?”
Jack: “I am the face you see when you die.”
If I had better time, I’d go and get caps of all the different creatures/people who see Jack as they die. There’s all the aliens (and ‘Bad Humans’), and Tosh and Suzie and Alex (the former leader of Torchwood), and Ianto... But also, of course, Steven...
Oh Jack. You know who you are.
It all reminds me of a brilliant fic from S1, Absolution. The most important line:
He’s not sure what he’d like more, the chance to keep his anger or the chance to be forgiven himself.
By now? Forgiveness. Peace. Oblivion.
Ianto
But the overall theme of the two first plays was death. Not actual death (although there was plenty of that), but rather how you meet it - what makes for a good or a bad death. Let me do some lists:
1. No one wants to die alone.
- Rhys’ uncle died alone, and the alien, spitefully, used this as part of its blackmail.
- Miss Carew on the other hand had Gwen there with her. (If she deserved it is another matter.)
- The alien stuck at the bottom of the sea was terrified of loneliness.
2. Do not sell out others so that you can live.
- Rhys’ uncle refused to make a deal. He died, but he died honourably.
- Miss Carew made a deal ‘with the devil’ for personal gain and because of that nearly destroyed the modern world.
- The alien, fearful of its own life, left its mate behind, and had to live with that shame forever more.
Now this is all very relevant in regards to our Ianto:
1. He didn’t die alone (indeed he died in the arms of the man he loved).
2. He died because he refused to back down from his principles. (As a matter of fact he was the driving force behind the whole showdown with the 456, but I’ll get to that further down.)
So, if looked at in the light of ‘Here are some radio plays with Ianto in them’, and disregarding the ways in which they tie into Miracle Day [death is a natural part of life and so on, it’s all very obvious, so I won’t even bother], then I thought their significance is pretty obvious when applied to Ianto:
Yes he died, but as deaths go, it was pretty good. Which brings us to the last play:
House of the Dead
Before we start, a quick note:
I’m still of the opinion that this play was a minor miracle, and after two years it gave me closure. Like I said elsewhere in a comment about Ianto:
He saved the world. He changed the world. He was loved.
That’s all I ever wanted. (Well the ‘changing the world’ was an extra bonus, which I am ridiculously grateful for.) But still... obviously it wasn’t all that much to ask for, since I got exactly what I wanted! ;)
I don’t care if people think it’s fanservice. The whole damn show used to be fanservice - during S1 -2 it was a purely character-driven. The fact that they changed the format to idea-driven is something else. These radio plays were pure classic Torchwood (daft plot written around the characters and OTT everything included), and I loved them very much indeed.
But onto the play itself. The title alone is enough to clue anyone into what’s instore: ‘House of the Dead’ is not exactly subtle (♥).
Anyway, I went and transcribed pretty much the whole of the last ten minutes (and a few other snippets), and will just go through them, commenting on them all in order - it seemed the easiest way. If I tried to do it all by theme or something I’d just get all lost.
Ianto's father: “I’ll tell you a little secret Ianto - we’re more alike than you think. We’ll both betray the ones we love.”
Oh this. Because Ianto has of course already betrayed Jack - it was the very first thing he did, out of love for Lisa. And now he’ll betray Jack again - out of love for Jack. Lying through his teeth, just as he did before. Good Lord I love liars. And then this:
Jack: “I’ve always trusted you.”
*flails*
Because the thing is, that right from the start Ianto as a betrayer was a mirror - betrayal was his game, just as it was once Jack’s (he conned the con man). Plus Jack merrily lies through his teeth about anything and everything, his past especially. So despite - or rather because of - all the lies, equality lies at the heart of the relationship.
Compare and contrast with Jack and Gwen, where he was always the one in control of the situation. Not in control of his feelings, but Jack always had the power. And (because of that?) he wanted to protect her. He even says so in the first episode of Miracle Day, and I wanted to bang my head against the wall: 'Jack - I love to you pieces, but NO! You do not need to protect her!' Because - as Gwen is quick to point out - the main things she needs protecting from is him.
Now for a long time I’ve thought that Gwen is like Rose if she made Amy’s choices. These two scenes in particular echo each other perfectly - so much so that when I first saw ‘Amy’s Choice’ I had a distinct feeling of deja vu:
End of Days TW. 1.13:
GWEN: You bring him back.
JACK: No.
(Jack walks away from her.)
GWEN: The resurrection gauntlet ...
IANTO: Was destroyed.
GWEN: Something else.
JACK: I said no.
GWEN: No, there's something wrong with time, so we, we can go back to the moment, to the very moment ...
JACK: Gwen ...
GWEN: There's something you can do, otherwise WHAT'S THE FUCKING POINT OF YOU?!
Amy’s Choice DW 5.7:
AMY: Save him. You save everyone. You always do. It's what you do.
DOCTOR: Not always. I'm sorry.
AMY: Then what is the point of you?
But where Gwen struggles on alone, having an unfortunate affair in order to cope to with the demands of Torchwood, and Jack proving nothing more than distant advice, Eleven is able to immediately pinpoint the origin of Amy’s issues, and sets about fixing them, insisting that they bring Rory with them - a state of affairs Gwen doesn’t achieve until ‘Meat’, and then only by forcing the issue almost to breaking point.
Jack wants her, I think, but he also keeps her at a distance, and (much like the Doctor) treats her as a child - and Gwen (like Amy) needs an equal.
Which brings me back to Ianto. Ianto lied his way into Torchwood (and possibly into Jack’s bed too), and this immediately put them on a much more equal footing. Look at Flatholm f.ex. - it’s unclear when Ianto was told, but it was obviously not something Jack felt he ‘had’ to keep from Ianto. Indeed Ianto was the one who helped Gwen discover the truth, understanding far better than Jack that trust, honestly and equality are hugely important. Anyway, I’ll get back to Ianto & Jack & trust.
Jack: “The moment she reaches this world, I’m going to detonate the energy stored in that package - it’ll wipe out Siriath and seal the rift forever! And these stones will rise and sing.”
Ianto: “Seal the rift...”
Jack: “Its time has come.”
Ianto’s father: “What if I told you that you could take Ianto and leave?”
[...]
Jack: “Turn around and walk out of here?”
Oh the sudden breathless hope in those few words. *heartbreaks*
Ianto: “Jack - who’s dead? Who does he mean?”
[...]
Jack: “You don’t understand, I thought it would just look like you...”
Ianto [horrified and dismayed]: “It!”
Jack: “...I could have coped with that. I didn’t dream it would actually *be* you! Siriath used my grief and she reached into time - she recreated you, Ianto, and I- I can’t bear to look at you.”
‘She recreated you’. Oh oh oh, my beautiful Doctor Who parallels...
Pretty much the first thing I did after I finished listening was run off and upload this icon:
These are of course the Doctor’s words in The Pandorica Opens. He expands on them a bit in The Big Bang:
DOCTOR: Memories are more powerful than you think, and Amy Pond is not an ordinary girl. Grew up with a time crack in her wall. The universe pouring through her dreams every night. The Nestenes took a memory print of her and got more than they bargained for. Like you. Not just your face, but your heart and your soul.
Ianto and Rory. Brought back from the dead through the power of love and memories and hand-wave-y explanations. I. Love. It. To. Pieces.
Ianto: ”You can’t- Jack!”
Jack: “I’m sorry Ianto, I’m sorry...”
Ianto: “Don’t... Touch me! Don’t”
Jack: “OK.”
[...]
Ianto: “You couldn’t leave me rest in peace. You’ve done this to me! Dragged me back, just to say goodbye. This isn’t about closing the rift, destroying that creature, or even your bloody stones. [tearfully] It’s not even about me! This - [voice lowers, angrily] this - is all about you, Jack!”
OK, this? This (and what follows) is the best tearing down of man!pain that I’ve ever come across. Because it’s on a Watsonian level, with the object that’s being angsted over refusing to play its part.
Jack: “Ianto - this isn’t how I planned it.”
Ianto: “What were you hoping for? That I’d say a few nice words? That I’d be grateful?”
Jack: “I just wanted to see you one more time! That’s all. It’s why I came here.”
Ianto [cuttingly]: “Well that’s lovely.”
Jack: “Ianto - all the people I’ve lost. Don’t you understand? The only one I wanted to see was you!”
By the way, I am totally taking this as confirmation that Ianto is the love of Jack’s life. Just sayin’. (By which I mean: Don’t try to argue. Hardcore ‘shipper here.)
Ianto [almost spitefully]: “Thanks. At least you didn’t forget me.”
Jack: “How could I? I may be immortal, but I don’t forget! I lose everyone, but I don’t forget any of you! I work so hard to remember.”
Ianto: “You make it sound like charity work.”
Jack: “Don’t say that! Never say that!”
Ianto: “Jack? I didn’t think the last thing I’d ever say to you would be this: Just go away. Please. This is horrible!”
It’s brutal. Brutal, but necessary . And I love it. Ianto has always been the most wonderful mixture of liar and truthteller. He was the one to call Jack a monster [in Cyberwoman], the one to ask Jack if he’d ever loved someone... And the one who ended up being his greatest defender, and the one whose question’s Jack would answer - because he asked them so infrequently, but when he did, he’d earned the right to an answer. (Jack is pretty much a non-Newtonian fluid - impenetrable if you use blunt force, but much more open if you just wait for him...) Going back to my point, however, then this needed to be said. Self-pity, and the wallowing therein, is a dangerous, dangerous thing (just see the Tenth Doctor), and a lot of Jack’s matter-of-fact-ness when talking to Gwen at the very end of CoE might have come from this moment. Lesson the first: Don’t make excuses.
“I had to see you again. You have no idea what it felt like coming back to life and knowing that the world was empty! Because you’d gone! No matter how many times I die, I always wake up alone!”
I am selfishly very pleased with how this echoes a particular snippet of my own fic [set during S2 of TW]. A snippet which necessitated dipping into Jack’s POV very briefly - slightly breaking the flow of the narrative - but I really wanted to use it:
When the world came rushing back (why did it have to hurt so much?) Jack felt strong young arms holding him, and grasped onto them gratefully. He could do this forever, as long as he had arms to come back to...
I knew that soon enough he’d wake up alone, and to have that very point emphasised here just pleased me immensely.
Ianto: ”I didn’t ask to come back.”
Jack: “Neither did I!
And it was at this point that I nearly fell of my chair in delight. Oh the parallels! *flails*
Jack: [laughs wobbly] “You and me, Ianto Jones, together again at the end. How it should be. In a few seconds Siriath will rise. I’ll trigger this device, destroying her and sealing the rift forever!”
Ianto: “You’re not planning on coming back, are you?”
[Jack laughs - it’s almost a giggle. Really quite unhinged]
Jack: “No. Gonna be a pretty big bang.”
Ianto: “You can’t die!”
Jack: “Next best thing. Eternal oblivion! Lost in the space between worlds, forever! Come on! It’s quite a way to go. [laughs - although it’s more of a hysterical breath] I think I’ve lived long enough. I’ve seen you once more. What else is there?”
I don’t know if I can put into words how much I love this. Jack, saying his goodbye to Gwen, [quite understandably] wore an impenetrable mask. Seeing what lay behind it - the naked, literally suicidal, despair - the way he is the tiniest fraction away from just losing it completely... It gives a dark glimpse into the six months he tried, and failed, to come to terms with what he’d done. No wonder he runs away to the stars.
Anyway, we see that it’s at this point that Ianto becomes pro-active, rather than re-active. And I think it’s important here that Ianto doesn’t remember the circumstances that surrounded his death. Doesn’t know the stakes. Can’t begin to guess at the reasons behind Jack’s death wish. If he’d known what Jack did? (If Jack had told the truth...) He might have gone along with the double suicide I think. But as it stands, he focusses on saving Jack.
Ianto: “Well... We could just go.”
Jack: “What?”
The surprised squeak in his voice rather makes me laugh - it’s amazing. And the sheer shock it conveys is incredible.
Ianto: “Dad said we could both leave together!”
[another unhinged laugh]
Jack: “Never. You’re kidding, right?... You mean leave here?”
Ianto: “Why not try it? The rift- ancient evil- magic pebbles- just for once, let someone else deal with it!”
One, I like Ianto’s world weariness here. He’s deceiving Jack, but that doesn’t mean that he’s not speaking the truth. I love it when people lie with the truth...
Two, I might need an icon that says ‘My fandom has magic pebbles!’
Because it’s awesome.
Jack: “Can we do that?”
And this. Oh this. Jack’s genuine shock, his incredulity... How did they get JB to do that? Because it is so revealing, beautifully showcasing the way Jack looks to Ianto to guide him. This was of course one of the features of CoE, where most of Jack’s actions [after they discovered the truth and Jack revealed his part in what happened in 1965] were driven by Ianto. It was very clear that the only action Ianto would accept was an attempt to fix it, to this time do the right thing. Stand up for what’s right. So they faced down the 456... and paid the price. Of course ghost!Ianto doesn’t remember this, but he’s still the same man. Still holds the same principles. And so if he says that it’s OK to walk away? Then it’s OK. Jack can let go, can step away from being the hero.
Also see Adam, for proof of Jack’s belief in Ianto’s basic decency:
JACK: Best lie detector on the planet. If something's untrue, the light turns red. Go.
IANTO: My… hands on her throat. And it felt so good. Squeezing the life out of her. It reads as truth.
JACK: I don't believe it. OK, tell me about the second girl.
IANTO: She tried to get away... but I was too quick. Pleading... And I... I didn't care. Something in me wants to kill.
JACK: No. This is not you. (Turns machine off.) Something's changed you. You're not a murderer. (Hand to Ianto’s shoulder as he walks past.) I'm certain of it.
Ianto is the boy who loved monsters. Cyberwoman!Lisa. Jack. Because Jack knows he is a monster. And he also knows that Ianto isn’t.
There’s also another side to this (and thanks to solitary_summer for pointing it out) - Ianto believes in Torchwood, something Jack never really did. Oh he worked for them, and tried his best to make a difference with the tools at his disposal, but his jadedness and bitterness were always in evidence. But Ianto...
Ianto: “Coming her gave me meaning again. You.”
Ianto didn’t just believe in Torchwood, he believed in Jack. And that is an incredibly powerful thing.
Now Gwen... Well Gwen is different. Jack was the person who plucked her from her ordinary life. She became to believe in the cause, but for Gwen there was always a conflict between her normal life and Torchwood, and if forced to choose she'd choose normal life.
Ianto however chose Torchwood and Jack, and he accepted the darkness that came with that. That’s why he died (and Gwen lived), and that is why Jack will walk out on his mission for his sake (and wouldn’t for Gwen, if she’d been there). Because Ianto is his.
Ianto: “I’m real, aren’t I?”
Jack: “Wuh... It’ll never work! We cross that door we’ll be back in the real world! What if you vanish? What’ll happen?”
Ianto: “That’s no reason for not trying! Seems a shame you know. To get me back, only to lose me again. Touch careless.”
Is this a ‘The Importance of Being Earnest’ reference, or am I overanalysing? Either way, it made me smile.
Jack: “True. Siriath. The last remnant of a dead universe. Ah she’s not so special! But there’s only one Ianto Jones!”
Ianto: ”And there’s only ever been one Captain Jack Harkness.”
Jack: “Heh. Huh. Ah screw it! Worth a try. Let’s leave the device here for Siriath. We better go now.”
Ianto: “Cross that doorway and there’s no coming back.”
Jack: “Why would I want to? I’ve got you back, Ianto. Come on, lets do this Ianto. Let’s do this. Be brave.”
Ianto: “Always.”
Oh god. Betrayal. And the bravery to pull it off. I just... *hands*
Jack: “Welcome back to the land of the living Ianto Jones. Has it worked? Are you real again? Ianto? Ianto?”
Ianto: “I’m not coming.”
Jack: ”Ianto no, come on! There’s still time!”
Ianto: “No Jack, you know I can’t. My place is here. In the House of the Dead. With your device. Saving the world!”
And this is where the writers were very clever in that they make Ianto the Big Damn Hero, saving the world all on his own, and at the same time say: ‘He’s dead, OK? And he’s staying dead!’
Jack: “Don’t do this!”
Ianto: “Sorry Jack, someone’s got to destroy the rift! Quite a way to go!”
Jack: “No! Not like this! Don’t leave me like this!”
Just let me take a moment to savour the fact that Ianto takes Jack’s place - the mirroring is complete. See River’s sacrifice for another example. Plus, of course, it makes Ianto’s [second] death his own choice. He could have run, but he didn’t.
Also I feel obliged to point out how Ianto’s action mirrors another one of my favourite fictional characters: Spike. Not only do they save the world more-or-less single-handedly, they change the world. Spike closes the Sunnydale hellmouth. Ianto seals the Cardiff rift. Those are pretty damn awesome accomplishments!
Ianto: "Gotta go!”
Jack: “Ianto, no!... I never said it properly before-”
Ianto: “Doesn’t need saying.”
Others have remarked upon how this mirrors the Doctor/Rose scene on Bad Wolf Bay - except here it’s reversed. Ianto doesn’t demand proof of Jack’s love, indeed he states that it goes without saying. It’s Jack who insists on ‘making it official’.
Jack: “Yes it does! Ianto Jones - I love you.”
Ianto: “And I love you too, Jack. [...] Right then, best get a move on. ... Goodbye Jack!”
[...]
Jack: “Goodbye Ianto.”
Goodbye Ianto. You saved the world. You changed the world. And you were loved. (I couldn’t ask for more.)
So... Thank you for three wonderful years. They were daft and stupid and silly and much too OTT angsty for their own good. And they hurt me more than any other story ever has. But I wouldn’t swap for anything.
~♥~
So, where do we go from here? Oh, anywhere we want. Ianto, killed by the 456’s virus, was pretty much impossible to resurrect. I’ve read a fic or two where he’s saved/resurrected/something happened and he didn’t really die (and I had a bunny of my own, even), but they never really rang true. Partly because the show went out of its way to confirm that he was dead, and partly because of the timeline and Jack’s six months on Earth and so on. But a resurrected/recreated-by-ancient-evil-real!boy-ghost-Ianto, who sacrifices himself by blowing up the rift and possibly gets stuck in the space between dimensions? Dude, the fic writes itself. No really, it does. It took me about... oh 30 seconds to think of a plausible scenario? It’s a LOVELY bunny btw, and I’ve stuck it in a hutch and am regularly checking on it, so it’ll be ready when I find the time to pay proper attention to things like plot. *pets it* Heck, it’s even quite plausible to argue that Ianto is now immortal - gotta love those ancient evils with unlimited powers... I mean, isn’t that what Torchwood is - or rather was - all about? To be a fanfic writers dream!