Torchwood 2.13 Exit Wounds

[selenak]

Like Oscar Wilde, I can resist anything but temptation, and the temptation to say "I told you so" sometimes is irresistable, so I might as well give in. John as the frontman and Gray as the true villain of the episode - check. Gray as Connor - check. And yes, those deaths. About which more in a moment, because of course they were the heart of the episode, but I like to get the other stuff out of the way first.

Firstly, memo to Chris Chibnall: if you pinch pay homage, pay attention not to give into the ambition to go over the top with it. Because Jack's 1900 plus stint under the Earth was just too much. ("You think three months is tough? I'll give you two millennia!") Angel's three months under the sea were something that I could imagine, and feel the horror of, plus we got a realistic (well, for a fantasy show) pay off when he was back at the surface, hallucinating and drinking Wesley's blood. Jack being immediately coherent after two millennia and telling old team Torchwood what to do with him so he won't cross his own timeline completely destroyed what emotional believability was left. (Especially since not too long ago, I've read a terrific Heroes fanfic dealing with the consequences of burying someone immortal alive for "even" a few months.) Similarly, Angel and Connor in Home works (well, for me, but I'm aware I'm still in the minority of fans) because we've spent 1 1/3 seasons knowing Connor, so the mall scene is heartbreaking; we don't know Gray, and it's a little tough to feel for Jack's grief for him when we simultanously just lost Toshiko and Owen. Though I will say Barrowman manfully resisted the temptation of overplaying this time, and at any rate I'm not sure we're even meant to feel a similar impact to the whole Angel and Connor thing precisely because of the way Tosh and Owen were written.

This complaint aside, this episode was a good and truly heartbreaking season finale. Gwen and Rhys are more than ever my favourite couple on this show (in the sense of romantic pairing, not in the sense of "favourite two characters"), drawing strength from another, Gwen stepping in as leader as she did when Jack left last season was great, Rhys and Andy working together was fab, and lo and behold, I've warmed up to John Hart somewhat. I think it was the "how self-absorbed are you to have bought my spurned lover act?" (slightly paraphrasing) thing, that and the fact JM was - imo, as always - not simply going through a routine of mannerisms this time but gave the character a non-derivative life of his own. Also, the two times we see Jack hugging both Gwen and Ianto at the same time underscored the affection there going all three ways, and again I ask, fanon, why do you insist on creating angst where there isn't one because neither Ianto nor Gwen seems to have the slightest envy or problem with how Jack feels for either of them? I'm tentatively considering regarding them as an OT3 minus the sex where Gwen is concerned.

But enough about everyone else, because of course I'm still whimpering here. Oh Tosh. Oh Owen. Despite Owen being my favourite character on this show, I think if someone has the right to complain to her writers, it's Toshiko, not for this episode or her exit as such (magnificent sequence, that) but for the way she generally tended to be underwritten on this show. Because Owen had an arc leading him right to this point, plotted, mapped and played out beautifully. Tosh did not. And yet, and yet, right now I'm so overwhelmed the sheer emotional force that I don't feel like complaining on Tosh's behalf, either. I knew it was going to be a permanent death for Owen when he entered that nuclear plant (because if they killed him permanently, it would be via a method that didn't leave him in still surviving parts, such as beheadings or more shootings, but with something that destroyed his entire body at one stroke, and the two alternative endings for his storyline were either a "cure" for his zombie condition or a permanent death), and when Gray shot Tosh, I knew that was going to be it for her, too. This certainty did not lessen the devastating impact. Both their ways of dying were so them, Tosh's bravery and endurance so she'd keep alive long enough to save the day, Owen of course raging (this is a show set in Wales, you just have to think of Dylan Thomas and his poem there!), and no, having died before would not lessen that - and then Tosh's words ending that and getting the ability for selflessness which along with being a selfish git is also part of Owen at work again. That last conversation, just right - I think if he had said "I love you" it would have felt over the top or fake, but saying "we missed each other" felt so real, and I'm crying now, damn it. They did never become a couple, and perhaps that was best because it might never have worked out, with Owen's brokenness and dark side, and Tosh's self esteem issues, but here they were, drawing strength from each other at what each knew were their final moments, and the quiet tenderness of that just breaks me.

The aftermath, with Ianto watching first Owen's, then Tosh's CV on the computer screen while Jack packs Owen's things away and Gwen Tosh's, and the grief of the survivors, and then Tosh's cheerful recorded message -

Yes. Crying. But not cursing. Oh, show.

Comments

[futuresoon.livejournal.com]

Dammit, you and your reasonableness. I've had some time to think about it, I guess, so I went back an added a vague addendum to my post on the subject. But I'm still not happy. Yes, I cried like a baby, but...Tosh? I don't get it. I seriously don't get it. Owen, well, as much as I may not like it, there was a decent dramatic reason for him to go. But Tosh? WTF? Man, the character arc she could have gotten from having to deal with Owen's permanent death! Fuck. Not happy.

[selenak.livejournal.com]

Plot-wise, I think the reason why Tosh died in addition to Owen was because we already saw him die once this season (and face death twice more). Whereas her death was unexpected (unless you noticed that she didn't get much character delopment of her own this season and none last season, which led you to the suspicion the writers didn't quite know what to do with her, which led me to ping Tosh as a death candidate pre-finale) and thus would devastate the audience in a way Owen dying alone would not...

Oh, and you know what wee_warrior said to me when in my review for Reset, I said I was pretty sure Owen was not permanently dead but that I start to feel persecuted when shows fake me out with shooting my favourite characters? That if Owen died in the finale saving Cardiff by removing a source of radiation through his own sacrifice, I would know for sure...

[futuresoon.livejournal.com]

...HAH. Oh, that's rich. Yeah, I can see why killing Tosh might make some sort of equilibrium; besides, there's a certain grace to just having Jack-Gwen-Ianto be the survivors. They...match, really. Whereas Jack-Gwen-Ianto-Tosh feels a little bit off-kilter. Sad, but true.

[skywaterblue.livejournal.com]

I haven't seen it yet, but I'm very excited due because I CANNOT WAIT for the third season with their replacements.

[selenak.livejournal.com]

Well, I'm guessing Martha will replace Owen, but have no idea who will replace Tosh (and don't tell me if you know, I'm spoiler-averse). More Martha on my viewscreen is always welcome, but I can't be cheered at the prospect yet (though I will be, I know!) due to still blubbering hopelessly.

[skywaterblue.livejournal.com]

I will simply reassure you that Tosh's replacement makes me very, very, very happy.

[monanotlisa.livejournal.com]

I would love that! So much!

But. *sniffle* TOSHIKO!

♥

[andraste]

The only way Jack's lack of reaction to being buried for circa 2000 years makes sense is if he was actually dead/unconscious almost the whole time. With no air down there, how could he fully revive anyway?

Agreed that Owen's 'we missed each other' was perfect and heart-breaking. A passionate declaration of love would have been OOC, but that let Tosh know that he could have loved her back in some other, kinder life. And the moment I started crying was when they brought up the space pig, because it was so funny and perfect and I'm glad we finally got an explanation.

[selenak.livejournal.com]

The only way Jack's lack of reaction to being buried for circa 2000 years makes sense is if he was actually dead/unconscious almost the whole time. With no air down there, how could he fully revive anyway?

Oh, good point. As opposed to Angel who as a vampire could remain completely conscious below the sea, he does need air to revive. Still - I must point to this terrific story (http://community.livejournal.com/heroes_fic/901259.html) which really uses the whole "immortal being buried alive" thing in a way that makes the use of it in this episode look like a cheap cop-out.

A passionate declaration of love would have been OOC, but that let Tosh know that he could have loved her back in some other, kinder life.

Yes, exactly. It felt just right for the two of them, the kind of people they were by the time they knew each other and their relationship.

Space pig: I was already sniffling, so I missed that until reading other reviews! Must now rewatch.

[astrogirl2.livejournal.com]

Ditto for me on the space pig thing. Normally, I'd have hit rewind so I could make out what they were saying, but that really just wasn't the moment for it. But when I saw someone else reference it and the lightbulb went on -- oh, that's what they said! -- it gave me a huge smile. Now I have a hankering to watch "Aliens of London" again.

[kathyh]

Especially since not too long ago, I've read a terrific Heroes fanfic dealing with the consequences of burying someone immortal alive for "even" a few months.

Yes, I was thinking of that too. Having read andrastewhite's comment though I'll put Jack's total coherence and lack of angst down to lack of air! Otherwise a terrific episode and Tosh and Owen's deaths were utterly heart-rending and the best acted scenes on the whole show to date. If that had happened at the end of Season 1 I wouldn't have cared in the slightest but this season I felt so much more warmth for the characters that the deaths had real impact.

On to tonight...*g*.

[selenak.livejournal.com]

Lack of air: saving Jack Harkness from insanity for two millennia! Yes, that's going to be my fanwank, too.

and Owen's deaths were utterly heart-rending and the best acted scenes on the whole show to date.

I just rewatched and am crying all over again, and I usually don't cry much for tv shows.

And yes, tonight is a bright spot on the horizon - I'm so much looking forward to the Ten 'n Donna team-up!

[kalypso-v.livejournal.com]

Almost throughout, I kept muttering "selenak's hit the jackpot here."

But I seem to be the only person who didn't like the episode because I thought it was rather dull - the big problem being that Gray was two-dimensional, and just not forceful enough for a super villain. And then, when it came to the deaths - well, obviously I was disappointed to lose Owen, though it's probably best for Burn Gorman's career not to do more than two seasons, and the deaths themselves were fine, but I found all the subsequent emoting too sentimental, and found myself in a "just get on with it" state of irritation.

Also, when Jack came out of his box and his first words for "I forgive you", I did a bit of eye-rolling. We've already done all that over on Doctor Who.

[selenak.livejournal.com]

the big problem being that Gray was two-dimensional, and just not forceful enough for a super villain.

His motivation made somewhat more sense than the "you didn't want to spend time with me" thing that was John Hart's pretend-motivation, plus he as the opponent is far worse for Jack, but otherwise I agree. Especially, as I said above, when you compare it to where they ripped this plot off from, because the Angel-Connor storyline competes with the Darla arc as my favourite storyarc from Angel.

Also, when Jack came out of his box and his first words for "I forgive you", I did a bit of eye-rolling. We've already done all that over on Doctor Who.

To repeat what I said in my pre-finale thoughts about John as a Master copy (only now with Gray): it just suffers by comparison, even when it's a self-rippoff instead of a Whedon-ripoff. Mind you, that's the Doylist perspective. Watsonian-wise, it makes sense for Jack, offers fodder for meta, and when I get around to my overall s2 post, I'll have something to say about the three forgiveness-instances and why the Master and Gray couldn't accept it while Owen could.

[wee-warrior.livejournal.com]

Well, here's hoping Naoko Mori can find a show that makes more of her. (There is no doubt that Burn Gorman will.)

As for my apparent precog talents, I swear I'm neither secretly Chris Chibnall, nor have I been exposed to electromagnetic radiation recently. Nor do I take drugs before painting...

[selenak.livejournal.com]

*squints* Are you sure about the electromagnetic radiation part? I mean, Desmond wasn't sure for a good while, either, WAS HE?

Ah well. At least over in Doctor Who, I'm safe with my favourites. No idea how Ten will go out, and it might be via getting shot and/or of radiation (though I doubt it, given Nine's exit - they wouldn't repeat themselves that early), but he'll just regenerate, Martha I think is safe from death by radiation and shooting, too, given they'll probably transfer her over to TW permanently to replace Owen now, and Donna is just too vital to die.

Although if they bring the Brig back just to have him die via radiation or shooting, I'll be more than cross. Seven promised he'd die in bed!

[wee-warrior.livejournal.com]

*squints* Are you sure about the electromagnetic radiation part? I mean, Desmond wasn't sure for a good while, either, WAS HE?

...let me check briefly if that world-saving button I found in our cellar is still intact. (At least I only predict fictional characters' demises. It could be worse. People could ask me what their hairstyles in twenty years look like.)

Favourite character deaths: I'm reasonably lucky where that is concerned, as mine either die in finales (which is usually predictable since they are either Eeevilll, or equipped with Honour! instead of Brains, or father figure/mentor types) or are too adorable/mischievous/plot relevant to die. You may guess that I'm usually very careful not to chose the adorable person in a Joss Whedon cast as my favourite character.

Although if they bring the Brig back just to have him die via radiation or shooting, I'll be more than cross. Seven promised he'd die in bed!

I'm reasonably sure they wouldn't dare to go there, especially with Nicholas Courtney being of frail health. It would be very disrespectful.

[wondygal.livejournal.com]

Yes. Crying. But not cursing. Oh, show.

Yeah. I expected something would happen to Owen, and I told myself I was okay with it, but I'm gonna miss Burn Gorman. I thought the acting for this episode was very good(except for Gray and, well, sorry, Barrowman and Spike).

I thought John Hart became slightly more interesting, but that his deep relationship with Jack, while more convincing than in KKBB, was still out of place. What I mean is, I loved when Jack held the dying Toshiko in his arms, and she looked at him with so much love. I wanted Jack to be around; his parts felt off, because of the reasons you mentioned: uninterestingness of Gray, total coherence after two thousand years on the ground, and I agree with an above poster, when his first words after waking up were "I forgive you", I rolled my eyes. I felt, this season, real affection between the Torchwood team, so I would have liked for him to be around, even though the team acted beautifully by themselves. I don't think I'm being very coherent, I'll stop here.

Tosh's message totally broke me. And the space pig. Damn, I'm tearing up. I hope the first episode of Doctor Who is hilarious.

I'm adopting your fanwank, Jack was unconscious while he was buried. Yes, my brain likes this better.

[selenak.livejournal.com]

I'm going to miss both Owen and Burn Gorman something fierce, but as I said - writing-wise, I thought Owen was well served.

I felt, this season, real affection between the Torchwood team, so I would have liked for him to be around, even though the team acted beautifully by themselves. I don't think I'm being very coherent, I'll stop here.

No, I know what you mean. Mind you, in theory I think the whole Gray thing was a good choice, because a villain who has a personal impact is always better. But the execution was flawed; if we had been shown Gray - and perhaps the relationship the brothers used to have - more often than just in the Adam flashback, and if he hadn't been so one note, I'd have been far more invested. As it was, I loved the Team Torchwood scenes and shrugged at the Grey-Jack-John plot, and of course safe for the last five minutes Jack was with the Grey-John part of the episode.

This being said: I think if Jack had been back sooner to the team, we might have had a problem storytelling wise, because he'd have tried to save Tosh and Owen, they probably would have died anyway (Tosh was too badly wounded, and Jack couldn't have reached the reactor in time), BUT without having the chance to talk to each other alone, as it were. And they did deserve that. We already had the goodbyes to Owen from the rest of the team from his mid-season arc, and they were with Tosh when she died.

[monanotlisa.livejournal.com]

Hah! RE: that 3rd paragraph point, see my brief review!

[astrogirl2.livejournal.com]

Gray as Connor - check.

You know, this seemed quite reasonable to me when you pointed it out, but I didn't expect the parallels to be remotely that, well, exact. :) The Jack getting buried thing bothered me immensely for about five seconds, whereupon I decided that he could not possibly have spent more than the barest fraction of that time actually conscious (which, really, is quite bad enough without being too over the top to accept). And then I shrugged and laughed, because there is a sort of Torchwoodian absurdity to the whole thing, and sometimes you just have to go with it. IMHO, there was actually a fair bit of that in this episode. Somehow, it didn't detract from the ending.

And, man, Chibnall was doing a lot of, er, "homage," wasn't he? I'm not sure how deliberate the Angel parallels actually are -- entombing the immortal guy alive is pretty much the obvious thing to do if you're out for revenge on him, really -- but by the time we got to the point of Captain John cranking up the stereo, the only thing I could think is, "Ye gods, it really is an unvarnished retread of the Doctor and the Master, with all the subtext elevated to text." Given that, I'm really quite glad John turned out not to be the villain of the piece, even if Grey was not nearly as, um, charismatic.

And y'know, you may not be cursing but I am! Damn you! Damn you show! First season I kept saying that I totally wished they'd kill Owen off, and now they've given me that, twice, and I DO NOT WANT! Waaah! How cruel is it to take a character I hate, turn him into a character I love, and only then kill him horribly? Unfair! Unfair! Surprisingly well done, I admit, but still, unfair! And, oh, man, I was really, really liking Toshiko a lot this season, too. *sniffle*

I must say, though, given that Torchwood, IMO, sometimes really misses the target when it's trying to do Serious Emotional Drama, those death scenes were very well done. All the character's reactions felt very right and very them, and did hit the appropriate emotional buttons. Hell, I actually yelled, "Not like this!" about ten seconds before Owen did, and that was me imagining how he must feel and channeling him, more than me reacting as me. I like when the writers' sense of someone's characterization agrees that completely with my own.

Honestly, the only reasonable conclusion to Owen's arc was to kill him off for good (or else to pull an amazingly well done and emotionally justified "cure" story out of their butts, but that's not something I would have counted on). I just didn't want it to be this soon! A couple of years of zombiehood, that's all I asked! *sniffle again*

Sigh. I may have to break down and start writing writing fic for the poor bastard.

[selenak.livejournal.com]

but I didn't expect the parallels to be remotely that, well, exact. :)

Me neither, and I brought up the idea to begin with. But they followed the Angel script so closely that when we got to the point where Gray discovered Jack in the freeze, I expected Jack to say "I love you, now get out", but obviously that was when Chibnall decided to switch to quoting RTD instead of Steve DeKnight.*g*

Given that, I'm really quite glad John turned out not to be the villain of the piece, even if Grey was not nearly as, um, charismatic.

Indeed. Because if John had really been straightforward the main opponent, I'd have felt like quoting what's his name the Veep candidate: "I've watched the Master. I know the Master. You, sir, are no Master."

All the character's reactions felt very right and very them, and did hit the appropriate emotional buttons.

Oh yes. At no point did I feel like saying "oh, come ON..." or taken out of the story, disconnected from the emotions. I just watched a second time and sobbed again. Both during the death scenes and the aftermath, when Jack packed up Owen's coat, when Gwen touched Tosh's glasses...

How cruel is it to take a character I hate, turn him into a character I love, and only then kill him horribly?

Forgive me if I see losing him after never having hated him to begin with but having loved him a good while longer as even more cruel. *imitates insect follower of Jasmine declaring "We loved her first in Peace Out*

Sigh. I may have to break down and start writing writing fic for the poor bastard.

YES. You must! Give in. .

[kalypso-v.livejournal.com]

I may have to break down and start writing writing fic for the poor bastard.

[Smiles beatifically] Then he did not die in vain after all!

There's also immense scope for fanfic in Gray, because they did so little with him and there must be so much story to fill in. How did Spike John find him, what was his original plan (didn't he say something like "He thought I was a noble rescuer at first"?), how did Gray turn the tables? My current tentative outline: John found Gray pretty much by accident, but on realising who he was decided this was the way to get Jack running after him. So he seduces him (he's bound to, isn't he?) and is keeping him somewhere at the time of Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. Meanwhile Gray, who has the emotions of a nine-year-old (I'd have played him a lot more petulant) but the intelligence and experience (especially about horrible things) of a much older man, begins to work out the situation and plots to gain control of John while he's in a post-coital stupor.

I'd have made it a two-parter, in order to give Gray's character a chance to reveal itself - with the fraternal reunion only turning nasty in the first-part cliff-hanger.

[astrogirl2.livejournal.com]

There certainly is a heck of a lot of scope for fic in Gray, but sadly the episode doesn't do very much to excite my interest and imagination about him. I never thought I'd hear myself say this, but I'd rather write Owen fic. :)

Your tentative outline seems perfectly sensible to me, though, and I'd love to see it expanded out into a story. And now that I think about it, I absolutely agree with you about the two-parter thing. I think that might have helped a lot, as far as getting us invested in the emotional dynamics goes.

[kalypso-v.livejournal.com]

No, no, I'd much rather read your Owen fic! It's just that Gray's one of those problems I immediately see how to fix, and therefore I work out a rough outline in my head and think there, that's done, and someone will probably do it better sooner or later.

[joonscribble.livejournal.com]

Despite being spoiled, I was still left reeling at Owen and Tosh's demise. Having said that, they got a great send off. If ever we were going to get a near perfect conversation between Tosh and Owen, it was their short discussion about Tosh always covering for Owen (DW reference!!!) leading to Owen's "We sort of...missed each other." That line was the one that got me the most. Because there was just so much lost potential being acknowledged there that...oh, Burn Gorman. You acted your heart out so much on this show.

I think I lost it the most though as the remaining team members packed up all their things. Owen's lab coat and Tosh's glasses both so lovingly folded away was the final straw.

[selenak.livejournal.com]

That line was the one that got me the most.

Me too. I mean, the entire conversation was one fantastic sequence that ripped my heart in tatters, but that line really most of all.

And yes, the packing up. That's when I lost it all over again and blubbered like a baby.