meta: Jack in "Doctor Who: End of Time"
Enough about the long drawn-out exit of RTD as lead writer David Tennant as Ten. (Just kidding--I'm sad too.) Now it's time to talk about the most important 97 seconds of Doctor Who this year... the reappearance of Jack!
SPOILERS BELOW THE CUT
First of all, I loved the scene with Jack and Alonso. I've been grieving for Ianto, but I don't feel like he's been forgotten by Jack (or even by RTD). Jack is brooding and drinking alone, and the Doctor actually has to REMIND HIM TO FLIRT WITH SOMEONE. How could there be a clearer sign that something is wrong with Jack? And then there's Ten finally accepting Jack and trying to restore him to himself--instead of snarking at him for being a Big Damn Immortal Flirt. And that's what the Doctor can best give Jack at this point. Jack sure doesn't need to have his life saved, like Martha or Luke. Yes, I really wish that the Doctor could just go back and save Ianto, but I'm willing to accept that--within the rules of the Whoniverse--the Doctor can't change a death that is so connected to big historical events.
Now for some thoughts, which I'd like to share with other TW fans, because I feel like this scene can work in several different ways, depending on how well we know Jack and his whole story arc in both shows. Oddly enough, this isn't about Jack and Ianto, or Jack and Alonso, but about... Jack and alcohol.
Of all the gin joints on all the planets in the universe, he walked into mine
For the story line of Jack in Doctor Who, it's perfect that we see him again in a bar that blatantly gestures toward "Star Wars"--while featuring all the aliens that we've come to know in DW. When Jack was first introduced in DW, he followed the archetype of Rick in "Casablanca," as updated for the space age by Han Solo: the rogue with the heart of gold, who wants to stay out of the fight but eventually becomes a hero despite himself. Except that Jack does it all with a twist: he's exuberant instead of world-weary, and he's open (sexually and otherwise) to everyone in the universe. So the final encounter between Jack and Ten reminds us of Jack's origins--within the arc of DW, and within Jack's lineage of reluctant, roguish heroes--and yet it's also jarring. Because now Jack IS depressed and world-weary, like Rick but more so. We first saw him dancing and flirting and drinking champagne in front of Big Ben, and now we see him knocking back the booze in a bar--for the first time in DW.
Which brings us to TW. As everyone (well, everyone obsessed with TW) knows, Jack has a fraught relationship with alcohol. In TW, he drinks water when other people are enjoying a social drink, and that sets him apart. He keeps scotch in his office, but whenever he has a sip, it's clearly marked as an unusual moment. (You know, the kind of special occasion when you've fallen in love with the guy whose name you stole in 1941, and then you need to toast his memory. We've all been there.)
We're kept guessing about his reasons, until we see the flashback in "Fragments," when Jack is... drinking alone and depressed, just like he will in "End of Time." So apparently Jack (in TW) needed to quit drinking in order to pull himself together and start a new life without the Doctor, but I think it's more than that. During TW, Jack is trying to remake himself as a leader, and he feels that he has to stay vigilant, more than anyone else. This new role as leader brings him so much (including Ianto and Gwen!), but it's also a strain. (At least, I always like to think that Jack's melodramatic yelling in TW comes from the strain of forcing himself into a responsible leadership role, and not just from JB's uneven acting skills.)
So the bar scene in EoT is incredibly resonant. Jack has reverted to drinking alone, just like when he first lost the Doctor. But now he's also given up on trying to be the leader who loved and lost Ianto. (My brief Victorian geek moment here: not enough people know that "better to have loved and lost" actually comes from a male-male love poem, Tennyson's "In Memoriam." I do always think of that with Jack and Ianto.)
And this time, Jack isn't hoping to see the Doctor--when Ten arrives in the bar, Jack looks at him blankly, unsmiling. (Anger? Or just numb grief?) But the Doctor does get to remind Jack that he needs to make connections again. It won't bring Ianto back, or replace him, but it's a start. Even if Jack has to fake his smile (and that forced smile is a lovely, subtle touch from JB and director Euros Lyn), it's his way back to life. Without flirting, Jack wouldn't be Jack.
ETA: Thanks to a comment from neifile7, I'm now wondering what Jack is really drinking in EoT. Some kind of alcohol, or water after all? I've just spent the past 5 minutes in deep investigation (aka replaying the one scene) without being able to tell for sure. Anyone have opinions, or really clear screencaps?
SPOILERS BELOW THE CUT
First of all, I loved the scene with Jack and Alonso. I've been grieving for Ianto, but I don't feel like he's been forgotten by Jack (or even by RTD). Jack is brooding and drinking alone, and the Doctor actually has to REMIND HIM TO FLIRT WITH SOMEONE. How could there be a clearer sign that something is wrong with Jack? And then there's Ten finally accepting Jack and trying to restore him to himself--instead of snarking at him for being a Big Damn Immortal Flirt. And that's what the Doctor can best give Jack at this point. Jack sure doesn't need to have his life saved, like Martha or Luke. Yes, I really wish that the Doctor could just go back and save Ianto, but I'm willing to accept that--within the rules of the Whoniverse--the Doctor can't change a death that is so connected to big historical events.
Now for some thoughts, which I'd like to share with other TW fans, because I feel like this scene can work in several different ways, depending on how well we know Jack and his whole story arc in both shows. Oddly enough, this isn't about Jack and Ianto, or Jack and Alonso, but about... Jack and alcohol.
Of all the gin joints on all the planets in the universe, he walked into mine
For the story line of Jack in Doctor Who, it's perfect that we see him again in a bar that blatantly gestures toward "Star Wars"--while featuring all the aliens that we've come to know in DW. When Jack was first introduced in DW, he followed the archetype of Rick in "Casablanca," as updated for the space age by Han Solo: the rogue with the heart of gold, who wants to stay out of the fight but eventually becomes a hero despite himself. Except that Jack does it all with a twist: he's exuberant instead of world-weary, and he's open (sexually and otherwise) to everyone in the universe. So the final encounter between Jack and Ten reminds us of Jack's origins--within the arc of DW, and within Jack's lineage of reluctant, roguish heroes--and yet it's also jarring. Because now Jack IS depressed and world-weary, like Rick but more so. We first saw him dancing and flirting and drinking champagne in front of Big Ben, and now we see him knocking back the booze in a bar--for the first time in DW.
Which brings us to TW. As everyone (well, everyone obsessed with TW) knows, Jack has a fraught relationship with alcohol. In TW, he drinks water when other people are enjoying a social drink, and that sets him apart. He keeps scotch in his office, but whenever he has a sip, it's clearly marked as an unusual moment. (You know, the kind of special occasion when you've fallen in love with the guy whose name you stole in 1941, and then you need to toast his memory. We've all been there.)
We're kept guessing about his reasons, until we see the flashback in "Fragments," when Jack is... drinking alone and depressed, just like he will in "End of Time." So apparently Jack (in TW) needed to quit drinking in order to pull himself together and start a new life without the Doctor, but I think it's more than that. During TW, Jack is trying to remake himself as a leader, and he feels that he has to stay vigilant, more than anyone else. This new role as leader brings him so much (including Ianto and Gwen!), but it's also a strain. (At least, I always like to think that Jack's melodramatic yelling in TW comes from the strain of forcing himself into a responsible leadership role, and not just from JB's uneven acting skills.)
So the bar scene in EoT is incredibly resonant. Jack has reverted to drinking alone, just like when he first lost the Doctor. But now he's also given up on trying to be the leader who loved and lost Ianto. (My brief Victorian geek moment here: not enough people know that "better to have loved and lost" actually comes from a male-male love poem, Tennyson's "In Memoriam." I do always think of that with Jack and Ianto.)
And this time, Jack isn't hoping to see the Doctor--when Ten arrives in the bar, Jack looks at him blankly, unsmiling. (Anger? Or just numb grief?) But the Doctor does get to remind Jack that he needs to make connections again. It won't bring Ianto back, or replace him, but it's a start. Even if Jack has to fake his smile (and that forced smile is a lovely, subtle touch from JB and director Euros Lyn), it's his way back to life. Without flirting, Jack wouldn't be Jack.
ETA: Thanks to a comment from neifile7, I'm now wondering what Jack is really drinking in EoT. Some kind of alcohol, or water after all? I've just spent the past 5 minutes in deep investigation (aka replaying the one scene) without being able to tell for sure. Anyone have opinions, or really clear screencaps?