30 Days of Torchwood: Day Eighteen
Either I'm wearing my anti-nudging pants, or you folks are terrible at reminders.
It's okay. My pants and I forgive you. ;)
Ah. We're back to the hideously unfair bits again, I take it.
Ianto is clever, and if he's not a part of the action he's almost always in the background being useful and injecting a bit of dry wit into the proceedings. Owen expresses disbelief at a place called Splott, Ianto quips that estate agents call it "Sploe." Jack brings out a brain-scanning torture chair, Ianto pretends to be electrocuted. Stopwatch going spare? Ianto's got a long list of things you can do with a thing like that.
It would be easy to pick out one of those moments where he says something quotable and just pretend that's it, but I think that would miss Ianto for who he is as a character. So.
What's great about Ianto is that we get to see him make a journey from someone who's more than a little bit fragile and not really part of the team to a man who is genuinely indispensable and tough in the face of extraordinary danger. I find myself enjoying him most once we really get into S2 and into Children of Earth, where he's snappy and capable because he has to be. He's learned to ride that wave of adrenaline that he shouts at Tosh about in Countrycide.
A lot of people talk about Gwen starting out as the moral compass of the show, but I think that's not quite true. I think she starts that way, but it's Ianto who a lot of times is the one who really grasps the deep humanity of a situation and mediates between that and the hard realities of what Torchwood does.
Thinking on it, then, my favorite Ianto moment would have to come out of Day Four of Children of Earth, after Jack's past sins in 1965 with the 456 have been revealed. Jack's on his own, and Ianto goes to him.
IANTO: This must have been eating away at you.
Jack is silent.
IANTO: Why didn’t you tell me? I could’ve helped.
Jack shakes his head.
JACK: No, you couldn’t.
IANTO: I tell you everything.
Jack finally looks at him.
JACK: Ianto, tell me, what should I have done?
IANTO: Stood up to them.
Jack looks away again.
IANTO: The Jack I know would’ve stood up to them. I’ve only just scraped the surface, haven’t I?
JACK: Ianto, that’s all there is.
IANTO: No. You pretend that’s all there is.
JACK: I have lived a long time-I have done a lot of things.
Ianto regards him sadly, rolling his eyes a little bit when Jack starts to charge off again.
JACK: I’ve got to go, I won’t be long.
Ianto turns around towards Jack.
IANTO: You’re doing it again. Speak to me, Jack. Where are you going?
Jack turns around to face him again, getting angry.
JACK: To call Frobisher. I can’t call him from here, cause they’d be able to trace it. Is that okay?
IANTO: You’re the boss.
JACK: And just so you know, I have a daughter called Alice and a grandson called Steven, and Frobisher took them hostage yesterday.
Jack turns and exits, leaving Ianto alone by the windows.
( transcript source)
Ianto has to carry a lot, but he does it with a lot of heart, and he speaks when someone needs to speak, and this is such a good moment. It gets lost a lot in the furor over Children of Earth, and that's a terrible shame.
Day 01 - Your favourite Torchwood member
Day 02 - Your favourite series
Day 03 - Your favourite episode
Day 04 - Your favourite alien
Day 05 - A scene that made you cry
Day 06 - A scene that made you smile
Day 07 - Your favourite quote
Day 08 - Your favourite cast member
Day 09 - An image that makes you smile like a git
Day 10 - Your favourite promo picture
Day 11 - Your favourite couple
Day 12 - Your favourite couple scene
Day 13 - A piece of music you love from the series
Day 14 - Something you’d like to re-write in the series
Day 15 - Behind the scene video that made you laugh the most
Day 16 - Your favourite outfit
Day 17 - Your favourite Gwen moment
Day 18 - Your favourite Ianto moment
Day 19 - Your favourite Jack moment
Day 20 - Your favourite Owen moment
Day 21 - Your favourite Toshiko moment
Day 22 - Who you’d shag, cliff and marry
Day 23 - Your favourite Torchwood website
Day 24 - A Torchwood geek moment you’ve had
Day 25 - Your favourite Torchwood fan-fiction
Day 26 - A piece of fan-art
Day 27 - A fan-video
Day 28 - Your favourite location or set
Day 29 - Where you think the series should continue to
Day 30 - Best Torchwood on Doctor Who moment
It's okay. My pants and I forgive you. ;)
Ah. We're back to the hideously unfair bits again, I take it.
Ianto is clever, and if he's not a part of the action he's almost always in the background being useful and injecting a bit of dry wit into the proceedings. Owen expresses disbelief at a place called Splott, Ianto quips that estate agents call it "Sploe." Jack brings out a brain-scanning torture chair, Ianto pretends to be electrocuted. Stopwatch going spare? Ianto's got a long list of things you can do with a thing like that.
It would be easy to pick out one of those moments where he says something quotable and just pretend that's it, but I think that would miss Ianto for who he is as a character. So.
What's great about Ianto is that we get to see him make a journey from someone who's more than a little bit fragile and not really part of the team to a man who is genuinely indispensable and tough in the face of extraordinary danger. I find myself enjoying him most once we really get into S2 and into Children of Earth, where he's snappy and capable because he has to be. He's learned to ride that wave of adrenaline that he shouts at Tosh about in Countrycide.
A lot of people talk about Gwen starting out as the moral compass of the show, but I think that's not quite true. I think she starts that way, but it's Ianto who a lot of times is the one who really grasps the deep humanity of a situation and mediates between that and the hard realities of what Torchwood does.
Thinking on it, then, my favorite Ianto moment would have to come out of Day Four of Children of Earth, after Jack's past sins in 1965 with the 456 have been revealed. Jack's on his own, and Ianto goes to him.
IANTO: This must have been eating away at you.
Jack is silent.
IANTO: Why didn’t you tell me? I could’ve helped.
Jack shakes his head.
JACK: No, you couldn’t.
IANTO: I tell you everything.
Jack finally looks at him.
JACK: Ianto, tell me, what should I have done?
IANTO: Stood up to them.
Jack looks away again.
IANTO: The Jack I know would’ve stood up to them. I’ve only just scraped the surface, haven’t I?
JACK: Ianto, that’s all there is.
IANTO: No. You pretend that’s all there is.
JACK: I have lived a long time-I have done a lot of things.
Ianto regards him sadly, rolling his eyes a little bit when Jack starts to charge off again.
JACK: I’ve got to go, I won’t be long.
Ianto turns around towards Jack.
IANTO: You’re doing it again. Speak to me, Jack. Where are you going?
Jack turns around to face him again, getting angry.
JACK: To call Frobisher. I can’t call him from here, cause they’d be able to trace it. Is that okay?
IANTO: You’re the boss.
JACK: And just so you know, I have a daughter called Alice and a grandson called Steven, and Frobisher took them hostage yesterday.
Jack turns and exits, leaving Ianto alone by the windows.
( transcript source)
Ianto has to carry a lot, but he does it with a lot of heart, and he speaks when someone needs to speak, and this is such a good moment. It gets lost a lot in the furor over Children of Earth, and that's a terrible shame.
Day 01 - Your favourite Torchwood member
Day 02 - Your favourite series
Day 03 - Your favourite episode
Day 04 - Your favourite alien
Day 05 - A scene that made you cry
Day 06 - A scene that made you smile
Day 07 - Your favourite quote
Day 08 - Your favourite cast member
Day 09 - An image that makes you smile like a git
Day 10 - Your favourite promo picture
Day 11 - Your favourite couple
Day 12 - Your favourite couple scene
Day 13 - A piece of music you love from the series
Day 14 - Something you’d like to re-write in the series
Day 15 - Behind the scene video that made you laugh the most
Day 16 - Your favourite outfit
Day 17 - Your favourite Gwen moment
Day 18 - Your favourite Ianto moment
Day 19 - Your favourite Jack moment
Day 20 - Your favourite Owen moment
Day 21 - Your favourite Toshiko moment
Day 22 - Who you’d shag, cliff and marry
Day 23 - Your favourite Torchwood website
Day 24 - A Torchwood geek moment you’ve had
Day 25 - Your favourite Torchwood fan-fiction
Day 26 - A piece of fan-art
Day 27 - A fan-video
Day 28 - Your favourite location or set
Day 29 - Where you think the series should continue to
Day 30 - Best Torchwood on Doctor Who moment