tencrush | Torchwood

Fragmented because this one kind of killed me a little and I don't think I've quite recovered.

Okay, story by story, then:

Jack

Yeah, okay, so maybe the Victorian steampunk lesbians were a bit over the top, but I do kind of like the implication that once you start working for Torchwood and associating with alien life forms, human categories of gender and race and such perhaps do start to seem terribly arbitrary. Even in Victorian times.

Tosh

I thought this one was kind off dull, I must admit. Though Tosh is a technical genius, it's always nice to see that on screen, they don't show enough of her l33t skills.

And WTF happened to UNIT?? I've mentioned Guantanamo before in discussions about this season, but really. UNIT? I never thought they'd go there.

Ianto

Jones, Ianto Jones. Wait... is that a l33t manwhorespy I see before me?? Remember when that was a funny thing I made up? I'm so glad they went with it. I really, really, really am.

His background story is a plant, yes? Give me one good reason Yvonne Hartman's Torchwood would hire a 20-year-old average-student drifter from Wales... with a shoplifting conviction? NOPE, NO WAY. Also, the excerpts from his diary in Adam seem to imply he has some sort of engineering background, he seems highly skilled technologically, and he seems to know all sort of non-technical stuff as well. Basically, he seems to be REALLY CLEVER. See also "surviving Canary Wharf and getting his girlfriend out"

HIS FAMILY ARE ALL DEAD, YES? I'm not going to say it again, peeps, pay attention. (Either that or he really is the Doctor's son, right? Ianto, John junior?)

The Ianto Jones school of being a manwhorespy is a really thorough one, isn't it? The Dressing and looking and walking and talking like you're cruising the park for gay sex module is one where he paid a lot of attention, I noticed. Adjusting your wardrobe until you hit the right kink and then running with that as hard as you was can also a popular subject. And when all else fails, make coffee, catch a dinosaur, roll around the floor... in short, cheat. I like this school.

Oh, and I'm usually the first to be annoyed when Ianto cries, as well you know, but that small bit there was the nicest bit of characterisation I've ever seen in this show and was absolutely fucking wonderfully done. I don't want this boy to EVER be off my screen AGAIN. I LOVE that he's attracted to Jack even while Lisa's still alive, I still maintain they were probably having no-strings sex right from when he was hired, or at least at whatever time Ianto felt the need to REALLY distract Jack from the cyberchick in the basement. And I love seeing how he feels about whoring himself out like that. Beautiful.

I'm very tempted to say the "51st centrury pheromones" line is just a continuity error on the part of the writers that nobody picked up on. If not, it's HELLA INTERESTING.