Spoilers ahoy for 1x12, "Captain Jack Harkness"
Thoughts while re-watching Episode 12.
Episode 12: Captain Jack Harkness
As far as spoilers go, I'm the freaking Whore of Babylon. Seriously, bring 'em on. I was as spoiled as last week's fish for this episode, and I still gasped aloud and cried more than once. It's not suspense I hunger for, it's character development, and we got that by the bucketful this time. My love for Catherine Tregenna, who also wrote the brilliant "Out of Time," is beginning to get unseemly.
Tosh is trying to have a life outside Torchwood. That worked so well for her last time, didn't it? I love how awkward she is when Jack dances with her; she doesn't "get out" much and you can really tell.
Owen sleeping on the couch in blue light. Hee. His black eye is gone so we can assume some time has passed since "Combat," but not much given how high-strung he is. I don't think we've really seen Owen and Ianto interact before this, have we? I like the testosterone buildup between them. Ianto tries to show sympathy for Owen's loss of Diane, but Owen is having none of that.
Good catch for Toshiko noticing how very much at home Jack is in 1941. Nice backstory on her grandfather being persecuted following Pearl Harbor. "Don't worry - you're with the Captain." Nice. He'll take care of his little geek sister. I heart Jack.
Jack doesn't have money to buy the drinks. Heeee! Boo, hiss, bigot woman calling Tosh a "Jap."
Gwen with her big ol' honkin' flashlight! She and Jack can almost hear each other.
The Original Captain Jack Harkness is even prettier than ours. Eyelashes like that are wasted on men. I wonder how long they had to practice the simultaneous "I'm Captain Jack--" to get it down so perfectly.
Ooh, a view from inside the screen. cool! Love the photos turning up on the boys' computer search.
Okay, now the nickel has dropped for Toshiko. Who the hell IS this guy I've been following, anyway? Even her laptop doesn't completely distract her.
Love the cutaway shot between Jack leading Tosh to the office and Gwen coming down the hall.
Owen gets more and more wound up as the situation develops. You can see him getting edgier, every muscle as tight as it can be. I still think Owen is a major, major asshole but Burn Gorman is possibly the best actor on tv.
Bilis Manger? I thought of Luther Billis, then I thought of Ray Walston in a coconut bra, and then I kind of lost track of all the computer stuff. Tosh, carry an extra damn battery, would you?
Oh, Jack. You thought you just stole a name, but now you're face to face with the reality that someone had to die first. Captain Jack Harkness wasn't just paperwork. He had a soul, and a heart, and it's entirely possible that "our" Jack never thought of that until just this moment.
I love the other geek helping Tosh with her calculus. The guy who punched Jack is just an arrogant...wait a minute! What if 1941 Jack is a version of "our" Jack. The maths guy could be "his" Tosh, and the arrogant fellow might be Owen. Wonder who Ianto and Gwen are - or if one of them is the sadly deluded blonde girl.
Owen is fun when he unspools.
"Without ladies like her, we'd have no way of defending the country." Nice save, "real" Captain Jack.
Poor Tosh, too young to realize that a camera that old would have parallax problems. Bilis is a really, really creepy bad guy.
They have a rift manipulator? Dang. Something really useful. "It's our duty to get them out," Owen? And if Diane comes back, that's just a nice bonus?
"When will you accept that she chose to leave you?" MEAN, Ianto.
Jack likes swing music. Awwww, poor clueless blonde girl. You need to get your gaydar adjusted, Nancy. Actually, it looks like Jack needs HIS adjusted, too, sending Captain Harkness after her for a goodbye kiss. Nice for the Captain, but too bad for Nancy who just got false hope from a man with a ticking time bomb over his head.
"A Captain needs to explain the risks." Yeah, Jack, tell your team about THEIR risks. Interesting backstory about being in a war when he was young. "They made me watch him die, then they let me go." Ouch. Jack really is a terrible leader, relying on bravado and charisma.
Owen has on his Black Jacket of Character Development. That plus the backpack is making me think naughty things.
"What would Jack and Tosh do?" Nice to see Gwen using the police training again. Also, that's the best-preserved Polaroid photo ever. Yeah, that parallax thing is a bitch, Tosh.
Love Captain Jack calmly directing people to the bomb shelter.
Slow down, Owen. You do your best work when you're thinking, not just making the prop people hope you get this in one take.
Creepy feel in the bomb shelter. Love the "You could be the last girl I ever kiss" line, especially since we know that the Captain's men all survive.
OWWWW! Tosh! Writing in BLOOD? Although, thinking back on math classes, it certainly felt as if I were doing my homework in blood.
Owen the safecracker! I'm surprised he didn't use a stethoscope. Oh, look, clock ex machina. Bilis has seen "Sleuth" a few times, maybe?
Nice moment showing how awkward Owen and Gwen still are. No anvils, just two people who can barely co-exist.
"Yes, of course I'm scared." And you have reason to be, with fewer than 24 hours to live.
Creepy rendition of "Over the Rainbow" helps Gwen hunt for the missing paint can. "I've got a first-aid kit in the van," and Jack gives Tosh the Eyebrow of Whoopie.
Pretty random that Gwen would look in a paint can in the midst of all the rubble. "It's written in blood." Oh, God.
I'm surprised Ianto can't do the math in his head. Awww, the boys are worried about Tosh.
Captain, do you not get that this man is TELLING you something? I'm a little distracted by his eyelashes. You could cut diamonds on his cheekbones, for that matter. "There's no one," says Jack. And the slashers weep. Lovely thing with the eyes at the end of the scene for JB.
Ianto, arguing with Owen is like getting cats to march in a parade. Owen is second in command? I guess that would be Jack's best offer, since Tosh is so meek, Ianto folds like a cheap card table in an emergency, and Gwen doesn't know enough. But Owen is such a loose cannon.
Speaking of canon, nice shots of the Life Knife and Ghost Machine. Who drew the blueprints for the Rift Machine, by the way?
"That's why I came back." It must have been awful for closeted guys in the time of war, when men were supposed to be "real" men, whatever that means. This Captain is so conflicted. "You've told me all I need to know." Awwww. And the kissing couple.
"This isn't some random act of madness." Sure, Owen. And watch Ianto going totally bonkers. Not since Sulu on Trek has there been an officer who unhinges as totally as Ianto.
Figures that Owen fights dirty.
Jack tells Tosh how Captain Jack will die. She's so horrified that they just have to let it happen. She looks at him, this beautiful man who's going to burn to death tomorrow, and then back at "her" Jack.
Ianto's hand shakes when he points the gun at Owen.
He admits being a con man, admits falsifying his records, but he can't talk about the Doctor. "They're keeping me for something and I don't know what it is." Beautiful. And she still trusts him - and he'll look after her. Awwww. I heart Jack, did I mention that. JB's voice breaks beautifully on "But there's nothing I can do for him."
"Don't compare yourself to me. You're just a tea boy."
"In your sad wet dreams, where you're his part-time shag, maybe." MEAN, Owen.
OW! Can Burn please, please give lessons to other sci-fi actors about what to do when you're in pain?
Awwww, man pain. The Captain's guy is SO stunned, hee. I'm surprised the musicians kept going when everything else on the floor came to a frozen halt. Jack is so sweet, trying not to cry over this man who's more or less going to die "for" him.
RIFT! Nothing like a rift to interrupt a good snog. "It's my duty."
Stay out of the light, Carol Ann! Sorry, wrong thing.
Whoa, just whoa, is there anyone JB can't kiss? He'd have chemistry with an old sock. The salute is a bit much, but I cried anyway.
Bilis is SO evil! Gwen is SO relieved! Jack is SO angsty!
Did Owen have to take out his own bullet? OW! Love when he gives himself the injection in the chest. "Good job you're a crap shot." "I was AIMING for your shoulder." Hee.
How many fics will bear the title, "Angels Dancing at the Ritz?"
Jack and Tosh drink to "their" Captain Jack. Sweet.
Episode 12: Captain Jack Harkness
As far as spoilers go, I'm the freaking Whore of Babylon. Seriously, bring 'em on. I was as spoiled as last week's fish for this episode, and I still gasped aloud and cried more than once. It's not suspense I hunger for, it's character development, and we got that by the bucketful this time. My love for Catherine Tregenna, who also wrote the brilliant "Out of Time," is beginning to get unseemly.
Tosh is trying to have a life outside Torchwood. That worked so well for her last time, didn't it? I love how awkward she is when Jack dances with her; she doesn't "get out" much and you can really tell.
Owen sleeping on the couch in blue light. Hee. His black eye is gone so we can assume some time has passed since "Combat," but not much given how high-strung he is. I don't think we've really seen Owen and Ianto interact before this, have we? I like the testosterone buildup between them. Ianto tries to show sympathy for Owen's loss of Diane, but Owen is having none of that.
Good catch for Toshiko noticing how very much at home Jack is in 1941. Nice backstory on her grandfather being persecuted following Pearl Harbor. "Don't worry - you're with the Captain." Nice. He'll take care of his little geek sister. I heart Jack.
Jack doesn't have money to buy the drinks. Heeee! Boo, hiss, bigot woman calling Tosh a "Jap."
Gwen with her big ol' honkin' flashlight! She and Jack can almost hear each other.
The Original Captain Jack Harkness is even prettier than ours. Eyelashes like that are wasted on men. I wonder how long they had to practice the simultaneous "I'm Captain Jack--" to get it down so perfectly.
Ooh, a view from inside the screen. cool! Love the photos turning up on the boys' computer search.
Okay, now the nickel has dropped for Toshiko. Who the hell IS this guy I've been following, anyway? Even her laptop doesn't completely distract her.
Love the cutaway shot between Jack leading Tosh to the office and Gwen coming down the hall.
Owen gets more and more wound up as the situation develops. You can see him getting edgier, every muscle as tight as it can be. I still think Owen is a major, major asshole but Burn Gorman is possibly the best actor on tv.
Bilis Manger? I thought of Luther Billis, then I thought of Ray Walston in a coconut bra, and then I kind of lost track of all the computer stuff. Tosh, carry an extra damn battery, would you?
Oh, Jack. You thought you just stole a name, but now you're face to face with the reality that someone had to die first. Captain Jack Harkness wasn't just paperwork. He had a soul, and a heart, and it's entirely possible that "our" Jack never thought of that until just this moment.
I love the other geek helping Tosh with her calculus. The guy who punched Jack is just an arrogant...wait a minute! What if 1941 Jack is a version of "our" Jack. The maths guy could be "his" Tosh, and the arrogant fellow might be Owen. Wonder who Ianto and Gwen are - or if one of them is the sadly deluded blonde girl.
Owen is fun when he unspools.
"Without ladies like her, we'd have no way of defending the country." Nice save, "real" Captain Jack.
Poor Tosh, too young to realize that a camera that old would have parallax problems. Bilis is a really, really creepy bad guy.
They have a rift manipulator? Dang. Something really useful. "It's our duty to get them out," Owen? And if Diane comes back, that's just a nice bonus?
"When will you accept that she chose to leave you?" MEAN, Ianto.
Jack likes swing music. Awwww, poor clueless blonde girl. You need to get your gaydar adjusted, Nancy. Actually, it looks like Jack needs HIS adjusted, too, sending Captain Harkness after her for a goodbye kiss. Nice for the Captain, but too bad for Nancy who just got false hope from a man with a ticking time bomb over his head.
"A Captain needs to explain the risks." Yeah, Jack, tell your team about THEIR risks. Interesting backstory about being in a war when he was young. "They made me watch him die, then they let me go." Ouch. Jack really is a terrible leader, relying on bravado and charisma.
Owen has on his Black Jacket of Character Development. That plus the backpack is making me think naughty things.
"What would Jack and Tosh do?" Nice to see Gwen using the police training again. Also, that's the best-preserved Polaroid photo ever. Yeah, that parallax thing is a bitch, Tosh.
Love Captain Jack calmly directing people to the bomb shelter.
Slow down, Owen. You do your best work when you're thinking, not just making the prop people hope you get this in one take.
Creepy feel in the bomb shelter. Love the "You could be the last girl I ever kiss" line, especially since we know that the Captain's men all survive.
OWWWW! Tosh! Writing in BLOOD? Although, thinking back on math classes, it certainly felt as if I were doing my homework in blood.
Owen the safecracker! I'm surprised he didn't use a stethoscope. Oh, look, clock ex machina. Bilis has seen "Sleuth" a few times, maybe?
Nice moment showing how awkward Owen and Gwen still are. No anvils, just two people who can barely co-exist.
"Yes, of course I'm scared." And you have reason to be, with fewer than 24 hours to live.
Creepy rendition of "Over the Rainbow" helps Gwen hunt for the missing paint can. "I've got a first-aid kit in the van," and Jack gives Tosh the Eyebrow of Whoopie.
Pretty random that Gwen would look in a paint can in the midst of all the rubble. "It's written in blood." Oh, God.
I'm surprised Ianto can't do the math in his head. Awww, the boys are worried about Tosh.
Captain, do you not get that this man is TELLING you something? I'm a little distracted by his eyelashes. You could cut diamonds on his cheekbones, for that matter. "There's no one," says Jack. And the slashers weep. Lovely thing with the eyes at the end of the scene for JB.
Ianto, arguing with Owen is like getting cats to march in a parade. Owen is second in command? I guess that would be Jack's best offer, since Tosh is so meek, Ianto folds like a cheap card table in an emergency, and Gwen doesn't know enough. But Owen is such a loose cannon.
Speaking of canon, nice shots of the Life Knife and Ghost Machine. Who drew the blueprints for the Rift Machine, by the way?
"That's why I came back." It must have been awful for closeted guys in the time of war, when men were supposed to be "real" men, whatever that means. This Captain is so conflicted. "You've told me all I need to know." Awwww. And the kissing couple.
"This isn't some random act of madness." Sure, Owen. And watch Ianto going totally bonkers. Not since Sulu on Trek has there been an officer who unhinges as totally as Ianto.
Figures that Owen fights dirty.
Jack tells Tosh how Captain Jack will die. She's so horrified that they just have to let it happen. She looks at him, this beautiful man who's going to burn to death tomorrow, and then back at "her" Jack.
Ianto's hand shakes when he points the gun at Owen.
He admits being a con man, admits falsifying his records, but he can't talk about the Doctor. "They're keeping me for something and I don't know what it is." Beautiful. And she still trusts him - and he'll look after her. Awwww. I heart Jack, did I mention that. JB's voice breaks beautifully on "But there's nothing I can do for him."
"Don't compare yourself to me. You're just a tea boy."
"In your sad wet dreams, where you're his part-time shag, maybe." MEAN, Owen.
OW! Can Burn please, please give lessons to other sci-fi actors about what to do when you're in pain?
Awwww, man pain. The Captain's guy is SO stunned, hee. I'm surprised the musicians kept going when everything else on the floor came to a frozen halt. Jack is so sweet, trying not to cry over this man who's more or less going to die "for" him.
RIFT! Nothing like a rift to interrupt a good snog. "It's my duty."
Stay out of the light, Carol Ann! Sorry, wrong thing.
Whoa, just whoa, is there anyone JB can't kiss? He'd have chemistry with an old sock. The salute is a bit much, but I cried anyway.
Bilis is SO evil! Gwen is SO relieved! Jack is SO angsty!
Did Owen have to take out his own bullet? OW! Love when he gives himself the injection in the chest. "Good job you're a crap shot." "I was AIMING for your shoulder." Hee.
How many fics will bear the title, "Angels Dancing at the Ritz?"
Jack and Tosh drink to "their" Captain Jack. Sweet.