Torchwood - Adrift

[tencrush]

THOUGHTS ABOUT ADRIFT...

• Ummm... Andy was in it! LOTS! And he called Rhys fat!! Go Andy. After this episode I can quite truthfully say I'd be MORE THAN HAPPY with Andy as a part of Torchwood. It's just Gwen who looks down on him and thinks he's shit. Boo, Gwen, boo.


• Ah, but there's the rub: ANDY'S IN LOVE WITH GWEN. Why is EVERYONE always in love with Gwen? What on earth does the woman possess??? Please explain it to me. I can't IMAGINE Andy being in love with Gwen. In my ideal world Andy would get it on with Tosh and they would BOTH be TOTALLY HAPPY. Forever. Poor Tosh.


• Rhys was in it! And being manly! I was indifferent towards Rhys when this season started and now I love him to bits.


• I actually quite liked this one. The moral being that sometimes Jack does spooky mysterious things which are FOR THE BEST, and sometimes it's perhaps better to just leave him to it.


• I'm intrigued by Ianto. Again. He obviously knows that Jack does spooky mysterious things, and he knows where he does them. The question is, did Ianto know what they were? In which case, did Ianto and Jack elaborately set Gwen up? Or did Ianto just see in Gwen a handy opportunity to investigate said things behind Jack's back? Either there is more to the relationship than meets the eye, or there is far more to the manwhorespy aspect of Ianto's character than has been revealed. Either way, I'm intrigued.


• And then there was THAT SCENE. Really, in my mind, two scenes. Scene One involving Gwen walking in on what is quite possibly the most unambiguous sex act I have ever seen on television. Which was, let's face it, played FOR LAUGHS. And it was quite amusing and made me giggle profusely. Handjobs in the Hub, yes, anyone who tries to tell me there's significanty more to this relationship that LULS, weevils and handjobs in the Hub, is WRONG. Having said that, I believe Jack may be more in love with Ianto than I have been giving him credit for. The whole thing reeked of giddy teenage lust, and despite the fact that it didn't, on paper, actually disprove my doubts about there not being any depth to the relationship, the giddy young love aspect actually surprised me. There may yet be more to this kinkfest than meets my jaded eye.


• How good was that second bit though? I'm talking purely visually here, there was something really horny about Ianto actually PUTTING HIS CLOTHES ON. I couldn't help but think as he slowly hid his manflesh from my probing eyes that he was WANTONLY TEASING US. With smirks and everything. Take that, fangirls! I mock you with my buttons!! Bless.


• And then Gwen intrudes on the action and immediately Jack goes a bit weird. Again. The threesome joke I could understand, he wasn't offering her a threesome, he knew she wouldn't take him up on it, it was A JOKE, and I didn't find it offensive to her, or to Ianto, or anything like that. (It's the sort of remark I'd normally pounce on as PROOF JACK DOESN'T LOVE HIM, but I'm not so sure anymore) But, having said that, his cocky attitude towards her and the fact that he didn't even bother doing his trousers up? Either he's flaunting what she's missing at her, or he's just being INCREDIBLY RUDE. Either way, way to look like a bit of a dick again, Jack. What was up with that?


• The one week later bit? The woman whose life was effectively RUINED by Gwen? That really upset me and I kept hoping Ianto would ring her doorbell with a big, frothy retcon milkshake. And that didn't happen, which made me sad. I was actually genuinely sad for her. Downer.


• Pie status: undecided, perhaps a slight pie resurgence here and there.

All in all, a solid episode and one of my favourites so far.

ETA: JUST REALISED THOUGH: WTF??? Jack wears PANTS??? That just seems so... unlikely to me.

Comments

[kurthummel.livejournal.com]

I thought it was a brilliant episode, and not just for gratuitous handjobs. Then again, any episode that came after FOotR (which looks a lot like FotR now that I look at it) is bound to look brilliant.

[fahrbotdrusilla]

The one week later bit? The woman whose life was effectively RUINED by Gwen? That really upset me and I kept hoping Ianto would ring her doorbell with a big, frothy retcon milkshake. And that didn't happen, which made me sad. I was actually genuinely sad for her. Downer.

Yeah, I was thinking retcon too :( would have been for the best.

[tencrush]

I thought it was of the good, yes. I don't really have much to say about it. "He always cheats" FTW! The SCENE at least showed me that Ianto knows exactly where he stands with Jack, even if WE don't. And as annoying as I find that, as long Ianto knows where he stands and is happy to deal with that as is, then I suppose that's fine. I still find it odd that it's been played as LOVE on Ianto's part, but if he's settling for this relationship, then I have to assume there's more on offer from Jack than we're being shown, so I'm content. I think.

[tencrush]

Yeah, man. Way to depress me. I'd have liked a little sekrit l33t moment of Iantoness, to see him sneaking in there and fixing it behind Jack and Gwen's backs. That would have made me very happy.

[kurthummel.livejournal.com]

More than ever, I got the impression that Ianto is really just a sex toy, which is... surprisingly fine, because like you said, I think Ianto knows his position and that's what makes it okay. See, unless they do something utterly squee, I think I'm done drawing hearts around them and and and turning them into that kind of thing. Am I making any sense? Probably not.

[tencrush]

I don't understand what's wrong with me, I was ranting and raving about EXACTLY THAT two weeks ago, and now I'm fine with it. Because HE'S fine with it. As long as they show me HE'S fine with it, it's okay. I don't quite understand WHY he's fine with it, but I give him credit for not being a total dunce, so I'm sure there's a reason. Either there's more to it, or some things have been ironed out and a path has been chosen, or whatever. But he's obviously happy to go in this direction, so, you know. Meh. Cool. Whatever. I gave up on their hearts and flowers ages ago.

[kurthummel.livejournal.com]

You're not alone - I'm so utterly confused with myself, I look like such a fickle little fuck. And I still don't understand how Ianto, being the kinda guy he is, can accept it, but then, the season isn't over yet. Technically. Maybe. And then of course there's series three... some day. A long time from now. Tear.

[tencrush]

I'm kind of secretly hoping Ianto's been using Jack as a sex toy ALL ALONG. I'm putting money on Friday's episode showing us they've been at it like bunnies since the day they met. AND THEN I WILL DREDGE UP MY POLL IN TORCHWOODCOFFEE WHERE I SAID THEY WERE FUCKING ALL ALONG AND NOBODY BELIEVED ME. AND I WILL POINT. AND LAUGH. LOUDLY!!!

Went a bit capslocked there, but you get the gist.

[tencrush]

In fact, I'm going to do it RIGHT NOW.

[kurthummel.livejournal.com]

That would be fantastic. And caps lock all the way. I'm so glad we don't have to wait another damn week for a new episode, but then that means that after this, it's the finale.

[aquirkofmatter.livejournal.com]

I was yelling "RETCON!" at the telly for that poor woman. It would've been the best way to finish it - she's seen her son, now she can have all them old memories back that she lost.

And I think Andy would be amazing in Torchwood. Stupid Gwen with your stupidness. Andy would bring comedy and be PERFECT for Tosh. Plus, they need more alive people now Owen's dead. I don't know why Andy loves Gwen, but Rhys was very good - manly and angry when Gwen deserved it, and all lovely and cuddly when she was sad.

All I established this episode was that Gwen's a silly cow. But I agree - great episode, much better than last week's, but it just made me like Gwen less, and I did quite like her before!

[tencrush]

Yeah, the finale... IN TWO AND A HALF WEEKS.

WTF, BBC??? WTF???

[kurthummel.livejournal.com]

AM SO ANGRY. LET'S NOT EVEN GO THERE.

"lulz, we'll give you two in one week, BUT THEN YOU WAIT. WE ARE NOT SORRY."

[tencrush]

I think she kind of redeemed herself at the end when it came to Rhys, but she did do something phenomonally stupid and fuck some poor woman's life up FOR REALS. Stupid Gwen. I reckon the web content will hint that she was retconned later, just to make us feel better.

[erinnthered.livejournal.com]

Did you catch Jack getting ready for his date...I mean, weevil hunting...with Ianto? He was pretty excited. I thought the sex was at the culmination of the "date."

I don't know. I really got the opposite impression here. I got that they really are in a relationship. The very early, still fucking like bunnies, stage but definitely a relationship. I also didn't see the scene as played for LULZ. The situation was funny, but not the sex. Ianto settled that when he walked out and, instead of apologizing, said it didn't matter that she'd walked in. No silly apologies for teh ghey sexin. The apologies are for interrupting it. Jack did use the sex to make a point with Gwen. To put her in her place, even. I still don't think he was acting disrespectfully to Ianto. In fact, exactly the opposite. Ianto, on the other hand...

I didn't get the impression that Jack was in on Ianto's deception. I got the impression that Ianto knew this was the best way to help both Jack and Gwen achieve their goals with the least amount of trouble. Tough love, if you will.

I loved that they finally gave us a hint as to where Ianto stands in this. I think that's part of why I get a more serious impression. I got that while Ianto believes it is serious, he separates the sex from the emotions. The overall, season-long impression that I get is that emotionally they are very close, but that Ianto is just as open as Jack to allowing in other partners and experimenting.

This episode really solidified a lot of things in my head. I just hope they stick with this characterization after Chibnall leaves, because this is what makes the most sense to me. I CANNOT WAIT for Friday. Then how long until a new episode? Bastards.

[th-esaurus.livejournal.com]

LOL PIE STATUS.

I didn't watch the freakshow one, because most people said it was rubbish. So I am glad that this one is getting better reviews!

[rowanswhimsy.livejournal.com]

Unless of course Ianto is too damaged to want love from someone again. Or Ianto feels that he's not worthy of love from Jack. Or...this is the problem with Ianto being in love with Jack while Jack has been silent on the subject. It's too easy (given how Ianto's character has been portrayed as someone with an essentially serious nature) to start psychoanalyzing him. If Ianto is fine with this and things are truly fine, the writers perhaps need to make a more explicit caes for that.

I for one am starting to hope that series 3 features some nice young girl or boy who falls hard for Ianto. PC Andy anyone?

ETA: Edited to fix my atrocious spelling.

[rowanswhimsy.livejournal.com]

PIE STATUS:

Jawline: blurrier than last week
Back: Pudgy if not flabby

Put down the pies and pick up some free weights, Ianto. You would think all that sex would burn some calories.

[rowanswhimsy.livejournal.com]

I had a bad feeling when I found out Ianto was some carbon copy of some prior lover of Jack's at TW through one of the novelizations.

The easiest explanation (for me) is that Ianto experienced so much heartache and grief at such a young age with Lisa that now he just wants to have something fun with no attachment for a while so he's chosen Jack as his transitional relationship. The fact that he's chosen to do this for 1 1/2 years is a bit problematic for me as it's had to reconcile with someone of Ianto's serious nature. But if I don't interpret things this way, then I end up imagining Ianto has all sorts of emotional damage with which he's not dealing (like Owen and Tosh). I may end up thinking that anyway if this relationship continues through series 3.

This series pretty much has the same dynamic as last series -- Ianto has deep feelings for Jack that don't appear to be reciprocated in quite the same way but they are having a sexual relationship. The only difference is that we're seeing it this year on screen (somewhat) and the team knows about it.

I mourn for my ship because I really was hoping for some emotional attachment between the two. Since I basically watch the show for Ianto, I'm doubtful I'll make it through series 3 with this status quo but that's a long way off so who knows?

[rowanswhimsy.livejournal.com]

Well, I think the trailer scene is more complicated that it appears. However, whatever the setup turns out to be, obviously the writers are establishing that there was an instant attraction. Two men can't lie on each other panting without us knowing the truth of it. :-) Which really works because it helps explain Jack's anger in CW by making it really, really personal. And it gives Ianto some depth because he was probably all tortured by his love for Lisa, his need to hide her from Jack so that he could 'heal her', his guilt over his burgeoning attraction to Jack, his need to flirt or sex Jack to keep Jack clueless, and his manwhorespyishness.

Right now I'm leaning more towards some type of sexual activity having happened prior to the stopwatch scene but we'll see how the episode plays out.

[tencrush]

OM NOM NOM... mmmm... PIE.

Fix it, Gareth, NOW!!!

[rowanswhimsy.livejournal.com]

And I know you're basking in your rightness over manwhorespy. Enjoy it for ONE DAY. After that, it becomes unseemly. I wasn't in the fandom until series 2 so I have plausible deniability re: wrongness.

[tencrush]

I know, that's why I'm doing it now. I will be subtly and quietly right about the manwhorespy thing from now on. Ladylike, even.

[rowanswhimsy.livejournal.com]

Although I feel compelled to note that he was a tormented manwhorespy. GDL claims that Ianto flirted with Jack to distract him but unhappily so.

I'm liking how Ianto can apparently manipulate Jack by his, er, manhood (can I use naughty words for body parts in your LJ??) I like how Ianto really 'manages' Diva!Jack in Adrift. He tries to talk to him reasonably and if that fails, he manwhorespies him. See -- it works as a verb. You are brilliant!

Wacko theory for next series: I hope Ianto doesn't get possessed by that locket.

[erinnthered.livejournal.com]

I'm sad to say I think I saw the hint of manboobs in that side shot. i am very afraid.

And I love both of your avis.