Children of Earth: Day Four
Jul. 10th, 2009 12:28 am![[personal profile]](http://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
fairyd123Do you hear that?
Listen very closely.
That would be the sound of a corpulent diva singing a funeral lament.
Yep the fat lady she is singing and she's serenading the end of Torchwood.
So they did it.
They killed off Ianto Jones.
Insert your own South Park joke here.
And it's not like I didn't know they were going to do it. The spoilers have been out there for about 9 months or more with a couple of people being quite adamant that his character was gone. And the signs weren't especially positive, what with Gareth looking for work in the US (you don't try out for Pilot season if you think you have a job to come home too) and the subtle re-positioning of Blue Gillespie from being a fun hobby to a commercial concern and then of course today the net was flooded with spoilers due to HMV messing up and sending out dvds too early (sure the BBC will be delighted with them).
And then there was the series itself with Lois showing off the skill set necessary to effortlessly take over Ianto's job, and the foreshadowing of the "old and grey" speech (not to mention the absolutely blatant goodbye speech in The Dead Line radio play) and did anyone seriously see that moment of Thames House going into lockdown in the "next time" trailer and not know precisely how the end of day 4 was going to pan out (nice going trailer guys - way to keep me in suspense!)
But even after all that there was a part of me that thought, no they can't really be about to kill him off can they?
No actor is irreplaceable - shows can continue on and weather many a change in cast but Torchwood was a tiny cast to begin with and they'd already killed off 2 cast members. So why repeat themselves? Why have yet another shocking death taking the number of remaining cast members down to two? Yes I know this is a re-boot of the series and a lot of the people watching won't know who Tosh and Owen even are but a good writer shouldn't play the same trick twice. A shocking death isn't shocking if everyone is expecting it and how are you supposed to give a damn about any new Torchwood operative when you'll just be assuming that they'll drop dead at any minute? Noone is going to bother emotionally engaging with a red shirt.
I was so sure that RTD wouldn't want to play out the tired old trope of having the bisexual character killed off because god forbid a gay or bisexual character on a prime time drama should be happy. I mean he'd made such a huge deal about the Jack/Ianto relationship being key to this series and so much of the pre-air hype was about how wonderfully refreshing it was to see Jack and Ianto as a couple on prime time tv and their relationship not all be soap opera dramatics about the "turmoil" of being in a same sex relationship. So he wouldn't really have Ianto die after all that would he? He wouldn't really completely de-gay Torchwood and have a bland future series with a boyfriend-less Jack spouting cheesy come ons like he does when he shows up in Tennant's Who therefore making the show more mainstream and accessible and Daily Mail friendly? He wouldn't really want to turn the show into an alien hunting version of Bones with Jack and Gwen fighting the good fight and all that unresolved sexual tension? Would he? I mean the reaction from the gay media to Something Borrowed which did rather suggest that all happily omni-sexual Jack really needed was a cute girl to settle down with was pretty brutal. So he wouldn't want to invite the same sort of wrath by killing off Ianto - would he?
And then of course there is the commercial element to consider. Nearly 6 million people have been watching the show each night. Yay show. And of course the percentage of those 6 million who post on-line, who attend conventions who even know what Gareth and John's names are will be tiny. On-line fandom simply doesn't matter as much as we'd like to think it does. And of course not everyone likes the character of Ianto Jones. Of course they don't. I imagine that in certain areas of the fandom people are doing a happy dance of joy right about now at the news.
But I would suspect that if you were to look at the people who routinely buy Torchwood merchandise the percentage of them who are also Jack and Ianto fans would be very very high indeed. Jack/Ianto is the predominant pairing in the fandom.
Simply put it sells.
It helped put In the Shadows on the Amazon best seller list, people buy convention tickets in the hope they'll get to see John and Gareth kiss in front of them, James Moran is pimping out his tie-in novel on the basis that its full of (and oh god I hate smush names) "Janto" goodness. It may have taken John Barrowman a while to cotton on but Gareth and TPTB were pretty quick to suss out that the Jack and Ianto relationship sells well to the predominantly female fanbase. So why fuck up a source of good income in this dismal market? I mean in all seriousness who is actually going to renew their Torchwood magazine subscription at the end of this year now? Or buy any of the tie in comics? Or buy any of the Ianto-less tie in novels or audio books? I won't and I've bought most of the tie in stuff so far. And if others follow suit that's a fairly sizeable loss of merchandise revenue.
And who the hell is going to watch another series?
I mean does RTD just fundamentally not understand the fandom or does he just not give a flying fuck?
I admit I had expected the series to get poor ratings (every night, middle of Summer - I think the slight change in the weather has helped it somewhat - if it had aired during the heatwave last week I'm not sure it would have gotten so many viewers) so it wouldn't really matter if he died as there was unlikely to be another series anyway. But the brilliant ratings are kind of adding insult to injury. I'm completely spoiled for tomorrow's episode as well and with the events of the two episodes I'm not quite sure how you could bring the character of Jack Harkness back to being jovial Jack, cracking inappropriate jokes about sex while fighting off aliens in Cardiff. Too much has happened for the character to ever really go back to that. I'm not even sure how he could work on Who - he's suffered too much tragedy. The loss of his brother (not mentioned but he was of course killed when the Hub blew up), loss of his lover, events of tomorrow - its just too too much for one man to bear. Too too dark. And what would the new series be? Jack, Lois and a handful of red shirts with Gwen juggling fighting aliens with raising a baby. Oh so not my cup of tea. Children of Earth wasn't really Torchwood anyway - it was Spooks with aliens but another series would bear so little resemblance to the original premise that it would be far far better just quietly ending it now rather than continuing it.
But despite all the sound reasons NOT to kill him off the fact remains that poor old Ianto Jones is dead.
And at least he got to go out with a degree of style.
The relationship wasn't quite the great romance that the pre-publicity promised us. It wasn't hearts and flowers certainly and all we got was one solitary kiss and a manly hug but I think in a way that made it a bit more real. There weren't flowery declarations of adoration but if you ignored what the characters said and focused on how they looked at each other the depth of emotion was overwhelming.
I loved the beginning - Gwen absolutely devastated with Jack's confession about giving the children to the 456 and Ianto equally distraught but still leaning towards Jack - supporting him. 1960's Jack was a very different man to this Jack. Fed up of being stuck on Earth - fed up of waiting for the Doctor - he'd become disconnected, cold. It was chilling to hear the Torchwood operative say that they needed Jack because they needed someone "who didn't care". He gave the children to the 456 in return for a cure for the flu virus and pretended not to care even though it ate away at him for years. Friendly, smiley, "Uncle Jack" encouraging all the little kiddies into the light and telling them that it was safe was bone chilling and very very hard to watch.
When Clem shot Jack Ianto was the first to reach his side - not concerned at all by the mad man waving the gun around. And the look on his face! Such intense hatred for the man that had killed his Jack. Ianto looked terrifying in that moment.
It was a great acting performance from Gareth all round. His shock at discovering what Jack had done, his hatred towards Clem for shooting Jack, the look of sheer nausea and horror when he sees the child in the 456's tank. Even his cute goodbye speech to his sister "I'm even warming to Johnny" - beautiful. Superb stuff.
I liked the conversation between Jack and Ianto in the Hub 2. Jack desperately pretending that there's nothing more to him than surface gloss, that nothing bothers him, that he can just wipe it all off and that he's not worthy of anyone looking any closer than that. And Ianto refusing to let go, refusing to let Jack dismiss himself like that, desperately trying to get him to open up to him, to let him take some of Jack's burden. I liked that an unravelling and very emotional Jack told Ianto about his daughter and grandson himself and that Ianto didn't find out by accident. He trusted Ianto enough to tell him, to make it clear why he was so upset. It was a nice moment.
And at the end Jack did what Ianto wanted him to do. He stood up and fought. He did what he should have done in 1965 and refused to roll over. He and Ianto - side by side refusing to let the 456 win. It was a great moment because it showed them as total equals. Lovers and brothers in arms willing to face a truly frightening threat together and do what needs to be done because noone else has the courage to. Not the office boy and his boss anymore.
But equally I loved that as soon as the 456 calmly responded by putting the building into lockdown and releasing the gas Jack's immediate response was to back down. Not because of all the people in the building. But because of Ianto. Because backing down meant not losing him. His "Not him" was painful to hear.
And as death scenes go it was a good one. Enough to turn me into a snivelling wreck and really a grown woman shouldn't sob her heart out over a tv show. OK maybe I would have liked Ianto to go down all guns blazing and perhaps he was a teeny bit sappy but he was dying dammit! The sap in me would have liked Jack to return Ianto's declaration of love but I don't think it was really needed. Jack's desperation, his pained entreaties to Ianto to stay with him, his promise not to forget him even in a 1000 years- they said far far more than "I love you" ever could. Jack holding Ianto's dead body and begging him to stay with him just broke me. As did Jack kissing him good bye before dying himself cradling Ianto's body.
And Gwen straightening his tie when she saw him lying there.
And now I'm off again.
Bloody Torchwood!
Also credit where it is due John Barrowman has been the best I have ever seen him act in this series - he's giving a really beautiful nuanced performance.
As for the rest of it. Gwen continues to be strongly written - liked her horror at Jack's actions but also how she just got on with what needed to be done. The Gwen of early series would have let rip with self righteous fury but this Gwen whilst not being a push over understands what needs to be done and the difficult choices Jack faces. Loved how cool she was when Johnson burst in (she could after all have shot first and asked questions later) and her pride over Rhys ("my gorgeous husband").
Lois is not quite strong enough to be main cast yet but I loved her carrying out clever Team Torchwood's blackmail plan. Her "and I think that's it" was very funny.
Far too much of the ministerial shenanigans again (Why Nick Briggs why? We love you - you're not allowed to be evil) and them calmly determining the best way to choose the 10% of children to give to the 456 was truly horrific.
Capaldi was once again superb - really not enough superlatives for his performance in this series. Was also impressed by his wife - that moment of her crying her eyes out on the phone knowing damn well that her husband is lying through his teeth to her was really powerful.
Shame that poor old Clem died. Clearly the means of his death is the key to killing the 456 but what a miserable life. Stitched up by Jack, homeless, institutionalised, terrified beyond reason for most of his adult life, then Jack comes back to haunt him and he gets massacred by the alien threat he never really escaped.
And that's the end of day 4. Day 5 tomorrow and by all accounts even more doom and despair to come (why the hell did they feel the need to make this series so dark?) I won't be watching live which is probably just as well as I could do with a break.
Still not quite sure why TPTB felt Ianto's death was necessary. For the record I don't see a magic wand being waved in the next episode - the world of Children of Earth doesn't have Risen Mittens - Ianto is dead and gone. Of course this is sci-fi and they could bring him back - hell they could do a series showing Jack in different eras of Torchwood and have Ianto in one episode - I would definitely watch that show - an episode with the naughty Victorian girls, an episode with the guy who killed everyone at New Year's , one with Suzie and an episode with Ianto. Definitely my type of show.
But if he's not coming back I think it might be better to retire the show now on a critical and ratings (although not an emotional) high rather than bring back a diluted show which is effectively Gwack and the red shirts. It would make a mockery of all their good work.
So farewell Ianto Jones. It's been a pleasure.
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no subject
Date: 2009-07-10 12:01 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-07-10 12:06 am (UTC)Even if Ianto's death didn't necessarily lead to the end of the show it still would lead to fandom's death (or at least, a huge part of it).
I mean, they must have been making a lot of money from this merchandise. Otherwise they wouldn't have produced so many action-figures, magazine, radio plays, tie-in novels... I'm pretty sure they can say goodbye to all that.
I'd really like a sort of "justification" for Ianto's death. I'd like to see a writer explaining why they thought it was a good move for the show. Because now it just feels pointless...
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Date: 2009-07-10 06:30 am (UTC)RTD may have really blown it for a whole fandom & a cashstrapped BBC.
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Date: 2009-07-10 01:08 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-07-10 12:13 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-07-10 08:12 am (UTC)i need an explanation mr davies
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Date: 2009-07-10 12:14 am (UTC)Think RTD's trying to destroy Who and all the spin offs before he goes?
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Date: 2009-07-10 07:17 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-07-10 12:55 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-07-10 04:51 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-07-10 05:16 pm (UTC)I was reading... somewhere... about how Ianto wasn't supposed to last beyond Cyberwoman (or whatever that ep was called) and that the show was initially intended to be The Jack and Gwen Show. I'm now thinking that RTD wants to get it back to what he originally wanted before he leaves and to hell with the consequences to the show's future.
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Date: 2009-07-10 12:15 am (UTC)Yep, that part broke me. Well, began the long slew of things said and done that broke me. If there was any doubt over how Jack felt about Ianto it was all dispelled during their last two scenes. We didn't need an 'I love you', that pretty obvious by the end, but the promise that he'll remember was heartbreaking because I think that really is what Ianto needed to hear.
I'm off to drown my sorrows in gin.
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Date: 2009-07-10 12:25 am (UTC)Without Ianto there is no Torchwood.
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Date: 2009-07-10 12:32 am (UTC)We had the spoilers, but I - like many others, no doubt- didn't think TPTB would actually go there. I hope that someone notices when fandom EXPLODES in paroxysms of grief over the next 24 hours, but I don't know how much I would count on it :/
It is times like this that I wish I drank
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Date: 2009-07-10 12:50 am (UTC)John's acting has been brilliant. Eve..wonderful. Gareth..WOW oh WOW. No one has gone over the top..just what was needed and effective.
As you said..Gwen fixing Ianto's tie..oh my.. here come the tears.
Jack saying..don't leave me to Ianto as he lay dying.
Ahhh...oh the eyes are welling up once again.
All the cast has been brilliant and the writing to me very, very good as well.
Why or why kill of Ianto? I'll never understand that. He's like Joss Whedon..hates to see a happy relationship--he destroys it.
I'm thrilled the ratings have been as good as they are; especially in July. I don't want a Jack / Gwen show. I read the IMDB bit and the ending has me wondering as well.
I like your idea for a show though..Have Jack in the various years w/Ianto by his side. Now that would be great.
The last few scenes with Jack and Ianto..Jack not wanting to go through with stopping them because of him..Ianto..not wanting to lose him. The last 5-10 minutes broke me into tears.....
If the show does come back for a 4th series; they better have a plan cause I know a lot of people are ready to put out a contract on RTD.
Lori
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Date: 2009-07-10 12:51 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-07-10 01:06 am (UTC)NIcole
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Date: 2009-07-10 01:22 am (UTC)they said far far more than "I love you" ever could
So very much This.
You know, I get that sometimes characters have to die. Especially in a show with a worldview as dark as Torchwood's. But coming so soon on the heels of Tosh and Owen, it... It actually made me think of Serenity and Wash. (Or Willow and Tara)
Narratively speaking, I think they were trying to make the stakes intimate to the characters. Global devastation is hard to conceive emotionally; but someone you've invested three seasons worth of emotion into? It's a far easier task. Then there's the reaction from the one left behind -- grief, rage, vengeance.
Going into a Joss production, I expect to have my heart stomped on at some point. But to paraphrase -- RTD, you are no Joss Whedon.
And I haven't even begun to process how I feel as a gay audience member. On the one hand, everyone in Torchwood is not long for this world, on the other... it's disheartening.
Sorry. I'm rambling. Didn't mean to go on. Also, hello.
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Date: 2009-07-10 02:49 am (UTC)I'm not gay but I can't even imagine the backlash from the aspect of we moved it to big network let's kill off the other half of a gay relationship.
Nicole
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Date: 2009-07-10 04:28 am (UTC)I'd go on, but this response to Tara's death on Buffy is equally applicable, and more eloquent than I can manage.
http://www.stephenbooth.org/
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Date: 2009-07-10 10:29 am (UTC)I too did hope for a bit more as well.
Nicole
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Date: 2009-07-10 01:48 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-07-10 02:20 am (UTC)I am absolutely disapointed in RTD and anyone else that lead us to believe that we Janto fans were going to be happy. Happy for them must mean having your heart stomped on by some one wearing boots with broken glass soles. Talk about switch and bait! I am equally disapointed over the end of such an interesting same-sex couple. Im sure that the LGBT community isn't going to be pleasant about this. I feel that they have really let their fans down, and have really moved into a terrible direction. If the rumors are true for tomorrow- I can't imagine Jack being the sexy, flirty Jack that we all love ever again. I can't imagine him traveling with the Doctor and being the same. I think if I saw that happen I'd turn it off.
I keep thinking about Garreth at Torchsong (from what I have heard) he was wonderful- it must have been so hard being the hero of the hour so to speak, but knowing that everyone at the con was going to have their hearts broken. I guess he did give it away a bit by saying that Ianto's theme song would be The Final Count Down.
Sigh. Do you think John will say anything about it at his concert tomorrow?
It just seems to me that they have never intended to contine the show. If they had they wouldn't have bitten the hands that have fed them for so long.
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Date: 2009-07-10 04:53 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-07-10 05:38 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-07-10 05:48 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-07-10 04:56 am (UTC)Word...
Everything you said...
I just can't add a bit. Seriously.
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Date: 2009-07-10 05:14 am (UTC)While online fandom does not necessarily represent general viewership it is also not necessarily different. I made that assumption before with other shows and was usually proven wrong. A classic example being Spock's popularity among both more involved Star Trek fans and the general viewership. I think it is in error to assume that Torchwood viewers as a whole are all or mostly interested in the Jack and Gwen show. Fans also do contribute disproportionately to merchandise sales. However, I suspect they may not notice the drop until a series 4 airs. (Although some sources said that the American numbers would also be considered and if the knowledge spreads those may drop.)
Still not quite sure why TPTB felt Ianto's death was necessary.
It was a nice scene in many ways taken by itself, but it is also pointless. We already know from Owen's and Tosh's deaths that Torchwood is dangerous. That was only a few episodes ago. This really feels like, well, over-kill.
I assume Rhys dies in the next series. As I can't imagine them killing Gwen and they can't kill Jack he is the only one left to kill who could have any impact. Who is going to care much about some new red shirts?
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Date: 2009-07-10 05:50 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-07-10 07:08 am (UTC)OK maybe I would have liked Ianto to go down all guns blazing and perhaps he was a teeny bit sappy but he was dying dammit!
I wanted his death to have some meaning. Have him die in a blaze of glory, giving his life for the cause. Instead, to have him die for nothing? That's what hurts most of all.
That and the fact that they couldn't even at least wait until the final episode to off him.
I seriously want to throw up, preferably on whoever came up with the idea in the first place.
As for the merchandise, well my first reaction was to say right, no more, not buying the DVD's etc. No ffing way are RTD and the BBC getting any of my hard earned cash.
Then of course though, don't the actors get some sort of cut from the DVD sales, and since GDL is going to be out of a job...
Fuck them, fuck them all.
no subject
Date: 2009-07-10 07:26 am (UTC)They wanted to try and make everyone tune is to see if he comes back. They didn't know that the DVDs would be out and no one needs to tune in to find out. Just more manipulation of the fans.
no subject
Date: 2009-07-10 09:16 am (UTC)This.
I just... God. I haven't even been able to cry. I will, tonight, I think, whatever happens -- still hoping and praying for a deus ex machina -- but right now I just feel as though I've been hit in the head with a baseball bat.
But, for now, this. Jack and Ianto, shoulder to shoulder, ready to save the world or die trying. Yes.
no subject
Date: 2009-07-10 11:19 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-07-10 04:12 pm (UTC)I take it personally because:
1) RTD, another LGBT community member, sold me out.
2) RTD sold the fans out. He knows Janto is the most popular pairing in the fandom.
3) This leaves Gwack, which since her marriage is patently offensive.
4) The only way for Gwack not to be completely irresponsible and immoral is to now kill Rhys.
5) And we had enough death in S2.
6) RTD is either idiot enough to think that viewers are only loyal to Barrowman or that longer-time viewers don't mind accepting entirely new casts without consequence.
7) Ianto's role in the show and the development of the J/I relationship took enough space that there's now a gaping hole. If it's not filled with something familiar -- which unfortunately sounds like Gwack -- then it's playing with viewers' feelings by having to bring in new cast, sort out new relationships, and then kill off whoever doesn't stick.
8) RTD is now officially Joss Wheedon's idiot twin.
I think he needs to give the fracking OBE back. Whatever is left here is not my show.
no subject
Date: 2009-07-10 06:00 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-07-10 07:35 pm (UTC)Honestly, I just really don't understand this. But then, I've thought this entire series hasn't felt much like Torchwood anyway, so in a way maybe I shouldn't be so surprised.
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Date: 2009-07-10 11:23 pm (UTC)I was incredibly sad about Ianto as Janto was the best thing about Torchwood (I still keep bursting into tears). But at least he got a beautiful death scene with Jack.