I think Jack/Ianto in TW is the writers' way of saying "we can be subtle" but to the point that "subtlety" is rather too vague in contrast with Rhys/Gwen mostly because none of them knew what was going to happen and which OTP will work out better/be more popular.
Jack/Gwen was in a similar place as Jack/Ianto except Jack/Ianto didn't quite emerge from that ambiguity until the beginning of Season 2 at which point I think there are hints of a larger background some writers wish to explore and others didn't, so the audience get unfinished hints. I would like to think Fragments is suppose to hearken back to Cyberwoman....but it still makes the stopwatch suggestion and "Captain Jack Harkness" a little bizarre.
It's a pick-and-choose canon. It's what the show's doing, so I suppose all interpretations are up for grabs, though somehow I suspect the "Jack is disturbingly emotionally abusive towards Ianto" plotline stems more out of fic kink than canonical interpretation.
Jack hasn't been the most stable character and his Unknown Past (51st century or 18th cent onwards...after his DW appearances) do give people a lot of freedom. For some, it's historic fics, for others, it's "the dark paths of his mind..." which is a legitimate interpreation, I think. Jack is mysterious but canon refuses to explore and fandom explores to various ends and successes...
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Jack/Gwen was in a similar place as Jack/Ianto except Jack/Ianto didn't quite emerge from that ambiguity until the beginning of Season 2 at which point I think there are hints of a larger background some writers wish to explore and others didn't, so the audience get unfinished hints. I would like to think Fragments is suppose to hearken back to Cyberwoman....but it still makes the stopwatch suggestion and "Captain Jack Harkness" a little bizarre.
It's a pick-and-choose canon. It's what the show's doing, so I suppose all interpretations are up for grabs, though somehow I suspect the "Jack is disturbingly emotionally abusive towards Ianto" plotline stems more out of fic kink than canonical interpretation.
Jack hasn't been the most stable character and his Unknown Past (51st century or 18th cent onwards...after his DW appearances) do give people a lot of freedom. For some, it's historic fics, for others, it's "the dark paths of his mind..." which is a legitimate interpreation, I think. Jack is mysterious but canon refuses to explore and fandom explores to various ends and successes...