selenak

I continue to like the show without loving it. Which happens a lot of the time; I needed about one and a half seasons to go from "like" to "love" with Alias, for example, and then there is Veronica Mars where I never got to the love stage at all. To use the inevitable Angel comparison yet again, I think it worked somewhat faster with AtS; around the time of Somnabulist in s1, I think. But certainly not yet by episode 3. This said, the episode in question was a mixed affair; mostly it worked for me, but one element didn't, and that could be a long term problem.

Which is to say: I do hope we're spared more scenes like the one where Jack teaches Gwen to use a gun. To me, it felt like the writing staff having the following conversation when mapping out the episode:

RTD: okay, so that's it for the main plot. Now, anything else?
Writer X: Well, most of the viewers probably are still tuning in because they want to see Captain Jack flirt and shag people. Which the show isn't about, but they won't have accepted that yet.
RTD: Right. Let's add an UST scene with Gwen where he gets to fondle her. Moving on...

That scene stuck out like a sore thumb. And no, it didn't come across as hot or sexy to me. In fact, at times I felt it was downright creepy, as when he touched her neck. If my boss did that, I'd see it as sexual molestation. I do hope that whatever relationship Gwen and Jack are going to have - and I think a romance would be a mistake - it will feel more natural.

Incidentally, the scenes with Gwen and her boyfriend Rhys, by contrast? Both the serious ones and the silly/fun ones? Now that's believable, endearing, and yes, sexy, too. Here's hoping against hope Rhys won't be ditched.

My other complaint, before I get to what I liked about the episode, is that the script had Gwen pressing that button at the beginning. Gwen isn't a teenage girl, and btw, a teenage girl would know better. She's an adult woman, and a trained police officer. She's seen several examples of Alien tech being dangerous by now. The only reason why she makes such a stupid mistake - which could have gotten her killed, if the device had been something lethal, and she would have had to count on that as no one yet knew what it was - is because the story needs her to so the plot can get going. It makes Gwen look incompetent and foolish, and I resent that.

Now, on to the praise. Firstly, the B7 fan in me was of course thrilled and delighted by the fact Gareth Thomas had a part in this episode. (I was thinking of

watervole and how we watched him on stage in Dear Brutus and A Midsummer Night's Dream in Nottingham, too.) He was great as Old Ed Morgan, making it believable both what a wreck Morgan is now and that he was the killer/rapist who murdered Lizzie in his youth. I do hope RTD took notice and will employ him further.

The device as a MacGuffin, and for the most part a well-used one. Gwen saw first a little boy lost - part of how she probably still feels at times - and later happy memories of herself and Rhys. Owen, by contrast, saw a rape/murder about to happen, sharing the victim's feelings. I think that answers the question as to whether or not the writers are aware his use of the alien pheremones in Everything Changes wasn't just a laddish lark but date rape (either intended or carried out - I rewatched the scene in question by now and still can't make up my mind as to whether he calls the taxi to make a getaway or because he wants to get to his threesome). What I think Ghost Machine leaves ambiguous is whether Owen himself makes the connection. I could buy it either way - that he's still kidding himself, or that he does make the connection, and this contributes to his determination to track down Ed Morgan and to his need to punish Morgan. Speaking of that, he was both intense and vicious there, which made it possible for the scene to be not just about a rapist and killer confronted with his deed but about the problem of vigilantism. Good work, script and actors. The first confrontation scene was the acting highlight of the episode to me.

Can someone explain the Ianto thing to me, i.e. his popularity? I mean, sure, he's pretty, but so far, he's a completely blank slate, with his one or two lines per episode. If they give him more to do, I might get interested in him, but so far, nah.

Toshi needs more character depth as well, but as we're very early in the show, I'm expecting that to happen.

Lastly, on a tangent: it's becoming apparent that Team Leader! Jack is noticably different from Charming Rogue!Jack. Which makes sense to me, but it also reminds me why, as opposed to many a Highlander fan back in the day, I didn't want a Methos spin-off and was relieved when the spin-off we got was about Amanda instead. I also really, really, don't want a Spike spin-off or a Spike movie for similar reasons, though Spike is a slightly different type than the one I'm getting at. The thing is, certain characters work well and are much beloved by fandom because they are the sideckick/ additional character. They get to play off the hero, present alternate view points, etc; they get to be the ones to say "why should we save the universe/world/person again?" or "you know, I'd rather party" or "lighten up already". The main condition for this is that they're not the main character. As soon as you move them to the main position, they're the ones stuck with the responsibility main characters usually have. They're not the foil any more; they're the center. Goodbye, rogueness, hello, gravitas.

Mind you, another element that usually gets lost in the transition is mystery, and that one isn't true for Torchwood yet, as the show uses Jack sparingly and keeps him in the background a suprising amount of time, with so far just one revelation/hint about his past and present state per episode. But he does get main character scenes like the one calling the team on their slackerness re: Bernie early on. Q.E.D.