Asylum thoughts, actual serious ones.

[tencrush]

I've heard a lot of complaints around about Jack's characterisation in Asylum. I'm intrigued as to why people think he was so enormously OOC.

First off, I'll explain one of the major problems I have with RTD's writing, and specifically his characterisation. The problem I see onscreen again and again is the major discrepancy between what we ARE TOLD about characters, either by the characters themselves or through the eyes of other characters, and how those characters ACTUALLY BEHAVE. Gwen is a prime example of this, and as it's one of themost obvious ones, it's one that grates on a lot of people, this discrepancy between Jack's SUPER COMPASSIONATE WONDERFUL HUMAN BEING opinion of Gwen, and Gwen's actual onscreen rather pushy, ditzy, sometimes downright stupid, cheating-on-her-boyfriend etc etc behaviour. RTD often seems to have trouble actually MAKING his characters wonderful, awesome, compassionate and so forth and resorts instead to the rather lazy tool of TELLING US that they are these things.

Torchwood itself, and Jack as head of Torchwood, is another example. We've been told that Jack has reshaped Torchwood, as a hommage to the Doctor, and has altered the focus of the organisation. But what actually has he done? Onscreen the one major difference between Jack's Torchwood and the Hartman Torchwood at Canary Wharf would appear to be a lack of organisation and professionalism, but that, really, is about it. You would think that this "reshaping" of the organisation would have, at the very least, involved a realisation on Jack's part that perhaps not everything that comes through the Rift is a threat, and that providing asylum (as they do for humans at Flat Holm and as they do for humans who are temporally displaced) for those beings that are trapped on Earth against their will should form a major part of their focus. A Weevil island sanctuary, perhaps? As opposed to indefinite incarceration of these alien beings who seemingly are just trying to survive. You'd think Jack would be on this somehow, but Asylum tells us that he isn't. And really, is that so out-of-character for the Jack that we've seen thus far? Look at the way he treats Beth in Sleeper, how he uses a Weevil to threaten people in whatever episode that was, how he erases Adam out of existence without really so much as a thought for the fact that this is just what this creature needs to do to live and, you know, maybe we could come up with a solution somehow. Even Lisa, really. This isn't exactly a guy who's open to the idea that perhaps a middle ground can be reached somehow. This is a guy who transports aliens into the heart of the sun without really blinking. In fact, the most compassion Jack's ever shown for any alien being is the space whale, let's face it. Maybe that's because it was a big fish?

I don't really know what I'm trying to say, but there's this fannish in-joke about Torchwood and Jack shooting aliens inna face, you know? In all seriousness, though, that joke didn't just fall out of the sky like a giant space whale.

Comments

[kateorman.livejournal.com]

OK, as threatened promised: a rundown S1 dialogue regarding Jack's opinion of Gwen and her Compassion. (Thank gods for tw_transcripts)


EVERYTHING CHANGES (script: RTD)

GWEN: I could be like your liaison with the police.
JACK: Right, I can see the mistake. You think because we showed up at the
scene of crime, we're out to catch the killer. [...]
GWEN: Then what were you doing there?
JACK: Testing the glove. We need murder victims, simple as that. [...]
GWEN: No, you were asking that man [...] about his killer.
JACK: He'd just been murdered, what else are you gonna ask?
GWEN: You could get an ID. You could help.

JACK: Torchwood's got a vacancy. Job going spare. Do you want it?
GWEN: But ... what do you need me for?
JACK: Cos maybe you were right. We could do more to help.

___

DAY ONE (script: Chibnall)

GWEN: That girl's body is being overrun by I don't know what. And you think it's a
joke?... We should be helping her. She's not some lab rat.

GWEN: What are we doing having Chinese while a girl fights for her life?... You've been hidden down here too long. Spending so much time with the alien stuff, you've lost what it means to be human.
JACK: So remind us. Tell me what it means to be human in the 21st century.
GWEN: All right.

[and she does]

JACK: Why have you done this? [Uh... you just asked her to?]
GWEN: This isn't about meteorites or gases. We have a trapped girl and we have to
save her. When I was with her in the cell, Carys told me she was losing. We have to find a
way to keep her fighting, remind her to hold on to who she is. (Jack stares) Have I got something on my face?
JACK: No. Uh ... Just, it's ... brilliant. You are brilliant.

[and yet!] GWEN: After all I said, a severed hand is more important to you than Carys' life.

JACK: Do one thing for me. Don't let the job consume you. You have a life.
Perspective. We need that... Go home, Gwen Cooper. Eat lasagne. Kiss your boyfriend. Be normal. For me.

Hmm. As barfy as Gwen's Powerpoint presentation is, it's not exclusively about sharing and caring - it's also a profile, as Tosh explicitly remarks later, which assists them in finding Carys; and a search for a way to help Carys resist (although this is quickly forgotten as she escapes, leaving us staring at Owen's nipples).

(More in a bit.)