Torchwood: more on CoE
Jul. 19th, 2009 12:16 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
butterflyI'm totally going to be rewatching this when I get another free five hours, btw. Oh, and I'd love to read people's positive reviews of CoE if they have them. Because I kinda think that this was the strongest writing that Torchwood has had over the entire course of its run (though "They Keep Killing Suzie" comes close, but it only had to sustain for one episode rather than five), as well as containing some of the best acting.
I'd love to put the end of S2 in there, and everything about it is great except Grey's acting, which doesn't really stand up. If his character/actor had been stronger, then those episodes would have been 100% effective. One of the reasons TKKS works so well is because the actress is so good.
And the acting was really great here -- I don't think John has done 'devastated' as well anywhere else as he did here. And one of the things about RTD that I like is that he trusts his actors -- that silent moment at the end where Alice and Jack just look at each other and all the weight of what's been done is between them... a lesser writer would have put a conversation in there. RTD knew he didn't need to. Love him.
This show is bleaker than Doctor Who. It always has been. Someone called it the 'seamy underbelly of RTD's Who' and I think that works really well. It's also about those times that Gwen talks about, the times that the Doctor doesn't come.
TW goes dark. It always has, especially at its best. The origins of Torchwood are dark -- born in misunderstanding and blind denial of the truth. It's a place about control and fear (whereas DW, despite its moments of bleakness, always returns to the idea of wonder and curiosity filling and driving the universe). No matter what Jack did, he couldn't really change that. It's built into the bones of the place, into its mission statement.
One of the things that I kept wondering when we first met the aliens was why they were so unreasonable (and why they kept having random fits of violence). And the answer was so obvious and clear once they told us -- they're fucking junkies. You can't reason with junkies (one of my late aunts was a heroin addict).
The plotline with Jack's daughter and grandson took my breath away. Perfect and painful. I adored the actress who played Alice; how she was both so certain of Jack's abilities and yet didn't want him around her and her son, and then her agony when she realized that Jack's ability to be ruthless included his own family.
Also, let me gush about the Frobisher subplot. Perfect counterpoint to Jack's, because it comes off as more humane but... what purpose did it really serve? It didn't 'save' anyone -- his daughters and his wife are still dead (the wait before he shot himself was timed perfectly, btw, because after the first three shots, I was literally on the edge of the couch, waiting for that last bang). Whereas Jack's act seems so horrific, yet saved so many with the cost of just one life.
So fucking well done, show, seriously.
And Gwen, as always, is the light at the end of the tunnel. She's carrying the new life, the symbol of hope for the future. She shows an ability to organize and think on her feet. And she's just, you know, all around awesome. I love Gwen.
I could keep gushing, really -- I adored the character of Lois. Wow. She was curious and brave and intelligent. And the character of Johnson is someone I really loved, in part because of the casting. I love that, on this show (on RTD shows), when a character doesn't need to be male or female for a particular reason, this show doesn't default to male. I love that so much.
I love that they went there in the 10% conversation. Because... people would go there. It was cutting and real and very, very dark.
So, yes, excellent episodes. I couldn't tear my eyes away from the screen while it was on.
I'd love to put the end of S2 in there, and everything about it is great except Grey's acting, which doesn't really stand up. If his character/actor had been stronger, then those episodes would have been 100% effective. One of the reasons TKKS works so well is because the actress is so good.
And the acting was really great here -- I don't think John has done 'devastated' as well anywhere else as he did here. And one of the things about RTD that I like is that he trusts his actors -- that silent moment at the end where Alice and Jack just look at each other and all the weight of what's been done is between them... a lesser writer would have put a conversation in there. RTD knew he didn't need to. Love him.
This show is bleaker than Doctor Who. It always has been. Someone called it the 'seamy underbelly of RTD's Who' and I think that works really well. It's also about those times that Gwen talks about, the times that the Doctor doesn't come.
TW goes dark. It always has, especially at its best. The origins of Torchwood are dark -- born in misunderstanding and blind denial of the truth. It's a place about control and fear (whereas DW, despite its moments of bleakness, always returns to the idea of wonder and curiosity filling and driving the universe). No matter what Jack did, he couldn't really change that. It's built into the bones of the place, into its mission statement.
One of the things that I kept wondering when we first met the aliens was why they were so unreasonable (and why they kept having random fits of violence). And the answer was so obvious and clear once they told us -- they're fucking junkies. You can't reason with junkies (one of my late aunts was a heroin addict).
The plotline with Jack's daughter and grandson took my breath away. Perfect and painful. I adored the actress who played Alice; how she was both so certain of Jack's abilities and yet didn't want him around her and her son, and then her agony when she realized that Jack's ability to be ruthless included his own family.
Also, let me gush about the Frobisher subplot. Perfect counterpoint to Jack's, because it comes off as more humane but... what purpose did it really serve? It didn't 'save' anyone -- his daughters and his wife are still dead (the wait before he shot himself was timed perfectly, btw, because after the first three shots, I was literally on the edge of the couch, waiting for that last bang). Whereas Jack's act seems so horrific, yet saved so many with the cost of just one life.
So fucking well done, show, seriously.
And Gwen, as always, is the light at the end of the tunnel. She's carrying the new life, the symbol of hope for the future. She shows an ability to organize and think on her feet. And she's just, you know, all around awesome. I love Gwen.
I could keep gushing, really -- I adored the character of Lois. Wow. She was curious and brave and intelligent. And the character of Johnson is someone I really loved, in part because of the casting. I love that, on this show (on RTD shows), when a character doesn't need to be male or female for a particular reason, this show doesn't default to male. I love that so much.
I love that they went there in the 10% conversation. Because... people would go there. It was cutting and real and very, very dark.
So, yes, excellent episodes. I couldn't tear my eyes away from the screen while it was on.
(no subject)
Date: 2009-07-19 07:48 pm (UTC)I wrote a review here:
http://monanotlisa.livejournal.com/904412.html
(no subject)
Date: 2009-07-19 09:50 pm (UTC)yes.