Well normally this would go on my LJ but I can't access it; so I am going to write about it here. However, they have now been moved to their own pages.
So Torchwood:
Part 1
I have enjoyed it so far, and I liked seeing Gwen happy and in love, but paranoid because she is the last of TW, which was being hunted down during the crisis of the 456. I have also noted that there are laws that Rex and others recite, from that event named Code "456". I also loved that look she used to get every time Jack saved her, as she smiled just that way, when he just showed up. He even asks if she missed him, and she said yes. She also asked what he did, and if it helped, and he doesn't answer; ie. NO. Their reunion was surprising when we consider how he left, and that she was heartbroken. But apparently they are going to have it out at some point, and I'll mention that in a bit.
Gwen, is a stronger woman, as she is a mother, and fiercely protective of her life w/Rhys and their daughter. However it was TW that made her that way, and she even says, that she loves the work. And she has been a superstar, rockstar so far in this series, as she is more secure in herself than ever.
In true Torchwood style, and why I love British scifi so much, is that like the 456, why the event is happening and its' consequences, are not the obvious ones, it takes one more step. The fascinating part about the the 456, was that it originated from one of Jack's old sins, when he sacrificed orphans; children no one would know were gone, to them, so their incursion would not escalate. Why did they return? Well, apparently our children, were their crack. They get high on us; a sick and an amazing story line. There we were, sacrificing our children, for their drug addiction. They were not here because they needed our resources. They were here to feed their recreational drug use, which was why so many enemies, the cylons, and even Gwen said it in "Children of Earth", "are we really worth saving?".
I believe that in Season 4, we are again seeing something just as vile, which makes the writing so clever. Normally, you hear no one is dying, and you think what a wonderful, thing; be with your loved ones forever, birds are singing, sun is shining; you know what I mean. But they get down to the truth in this show: people who should be dead, just live in that state forever. It could be with your head cut off, or being permanently strangled when you should be dead.
In this case we have seen hints of the "Miracle" initially coming from Jack's immortality and something he did decades ago. Well, we know it is not how he became immortal, because Rose did that when she absorbed the Tardis, and kissed him back to life. In addition, Jack has no idea what the assassin is talking about when he says that he did something. He does not know what he did, or how these people know about him. This is good for Jack, who as we know, never forgets anything; especially those who have died because of him. So once again it all goes back to Jack's immortality and his past.
Alas, since they have not cut to the crap yet, Jack and Gwen are an awesome team, from pretending to be a hippy couple, to her chatting on the phone while on a mission, to them being "good" as Jack says to her in his drunken state. All of that? I absolutely love, and it has made this series pretty damn cool.
Part II
I immediately noticed, that Jack did not look his usual robust, healthy self; in fact he looks gaunt at times. Now, I know that it is because he is dying; and as the assassin says to him (we all recognize him from the 80's right? C. Thomas Howell.) that he is the only "real human being left on earth". Poor Jack, he's always the odd man out. I also never realized that because he was immortal, he could never get drunk and hung over.
I am going to state that my post at the end of "Children of Earth" about Jack/Gwen was right on the money (http://koft2009.livejournal.com/2052.html#cutid1). Yeah me! I always felt that Jack had a big problem having sex and being in love with one person. He was in love w/Gwen, but he loved lanto, slept w/lanto, but lanto never got him like Gwen did. It seemed he was having sex with anyone, mostly men to our knowledge, but in love w/Gwen. When he calls Gwen, drunk, we are back into their old cycle where she is waiting for him to say "I love you", and once again he did not. The fact he is drunk dialing her right after cheap sex, in bed, is pretty important. But Jack says, "Since you are immortal, and I'm dying, I just wanted to say, we're good aren't we? A good team. I missed you. You and me, like the old days. We don't need anyone..." which as we know from Gwen in "Something Borrowed": "Will you miss me? ", and Jack says "Always", is how Jack says "I love you", but just can not say the words, which is what she always wanted and rightfully so. Gwen says if it had happened sooner things would have been different, and he says, yes. But she throws in, " I was thinking of lanto" and Jack sits back, looks down, and says yes, he wishes he was there; all dead friends. He says they don't need anyone do we? just like the old days." And my theory was confirmed, he was not w/Gwen because he was immortal, which was what he meant, and she knew it. She threw in the lanto comment to deliberately hurt him at that moment.
Then Esther appears with Rhys and the baby on screen, and Gwen has tears running down her face. We think they are tears of joy, but they are tears of sadness for what Jack just said, and meant, so her heart is breaking again. But I think she's had enough, and through her sadness we also see the relief to see her "normal" life which was what saved her, from Jack. But the tables have turned and she turns to her family, over Jack, who PS, is still talking about how they only need each other, and they don't need Rex. And I hate to say that, I really do, but this apparently will play out later. I hope you read my post, you will see what I say and why I say this, after you read it.
Afterall, Jack says he did come back to protect Gwen, which was what he was always about anyway.
Part III
My big issue with this version of TW, is that Jack is not the all powerful presence, ie. things are not circling around the great Jack Harkness, as they usually do. Rex, sexy, strong, very, very smart, and a bastard as well, is front and center. I am not sure if that is on purpose or Mikhail Phifer is just being amazing, which would not be surprising, and he is hot. His lack of sensitivity is not done without some guilt, as he knows he is being a jerk, but he has bigger problems than being nice to a junior agent, who can't seem to get her crap together. But it is actually Gwen who gives them away when she leaves to talk to Rhys outside at the beach. People make parallels to Gwen in the beginning, but Gwen was a little smarter, and now, she admits that she loves her job. Plus, Esther is a huge asset, making mistakes or not.
Rex Matheson: is all about the CIA, and he is an amazing agent. We know he is cocky, knows he is awesome, and is very self involved. I mean right before the accident, the comment he makes in the beginning about getting a job because another agents' wife has leukemia, is pretty horrendous. When we meet his father, who could give a crap, we see why he is, who he is. Seeing Rex in action, you see why he was so valued by the CIA. Rex knows what he is doing, but he can't do it without Jack. His attitude probably also stems from the fact he was awake for the entire impaling, and now lives on pain killers since his heart is constantly bleeding out. I thought that Dr. Juarez said that she had repaired all of his organs because the fact he was living gave her more time to fix him. But as he is constantly reminded, he is most likely dead when they solve "The Miracle". It was a brilliant touch when he is running up the steps, his heart bleeding out, gasping, going to save Gwen and Jack, and as he falls down, he sees the postcard "Dead is Dead"; just so he and we, are all reminded of that fact. So, I'll cut him some slack for his attitude. Can you blame him? He is paralyzed with fear of the fact that he should be dead, and might very well be, if they find out what is happening on Earth. He knows he should be in those camps that we will be seeing next episode. It is his anger, and fear that are driving him to find a solution.
Part IV
The sex
Well I devoted a small part to it, simply because it was bad sex, with people who have no real feelings or chemistry with each other. It was bad, and I believe it was meant to be that way. I also liked how you could never tell who was having sex, because it wasn't about who was having sex, it was about how it is a primal, animal instinct. Thus showing, we might be immortal, but we are still human. I just hope we actually see some good sex, between people who actually like each other at some point.
Part V
Oswald Danes and Jack: Jack is not pedophile as Oswald Danes is, but he feels he is a lot like him. This is why he tells him that he wants to die, as Jack always wanted when he killed his grandson, gave those kids to the 456, etc.... I don't think OD wants to die, but I just remember how Jack tells Gwen on that mountain, "look at what I became (a monster)". So we know he is mortal, but also very much changed by losing all of his friends, culminating in killing his grandson. Gwen knows he is not one, but well, the link above will explain that in detail.
My Early Theories
PhyCorp or however you spell it, is putting the undead, into death camps. They are cleansing the human population as a whole. Why do I say this? Well, when the "Dead is Dead" lady is told before she is condemned to being crushed to "alive", the speaker says she was revealing things they were not ready to reveal yet. So, they are putting them into these camps, and then, they will flip the switch, and they will all die. Somehow they took something from Jack, and turned it into something that caused people to keep living, in hell. Those dying and in agony, just keep living in pain. It reminds me of a Greek myth about the titan Prometheus, who stole fire from Zeus and gave it to humanity. He is then punished by Zeus for this sin. He is sentenced to lie on the top of a mountain to have his liver eaten daily by an eagle, heal, and then be eaten again, for ETERNITY.
But the thing they took from Jack is confusing, because his immortality goes back to Dr. Who, Time Lords and a whole other story. So, they took something, distorted it and made it into whatever they did to flip on the immortality switch, and switching it off for Jack.
Which then leads to, are those behind this human? Someone or something from Jack's past be it here on Earth, or the 51st century (as they knew Jack), had to be involved.
Gilly Kitzinger: Well, she is everywhere, pretending to always be losing things, and being unorganized, searching for cards or whatever in her big bag; but gets everyone on the PhyCorp agenda. She is everywhere, as I was quite surprised by the spilling of jelly beans or whatever, at the meeting w/Dr. Juarez and the other Dr.'s. She seems to be following certain people around, pretending to be unorganized, and just appearing out of nowhere. She takes joy in being called the devil by Dr. Juarez, and takes glee in the success of the monster Oswald Danes. Another thing: He DOES NOT SCARE HER. Honestly, I thought she was immortal, either from the future, or the past. Someone, who came from whatever Jack gave someone else. Why? She shows up, like Jack disappears. Remember the end of Season 1 when he just vanished for months? And no one ever sees him leave, like no one ever sees her arrive?
I was thinking of her as a cylon; looks human, immortal, (not a robot), and has all the looks of Satan, as a PR hottie. Laura Ambrose is transformed for this role. I hardly recognize her, but she is an amazing actress, and I love seeing her on a new show.
However, they threw me a curve ball, when she tells Oswald that she cannot look at his hands, because she knows what they did. And he tells her that he knows PhyCorp is not who they say they are. This shows that she does have a small amount of integrity. So, I thought maybe she could just be an example of showing the "evil" in humanity, and a reason for this "cleansing". She is using a vile criminal for a company, solely for money and power. I mean even Vera says to her that "they'll screw this up too, because we always do", meaning humanity. So maybe RD is using her as a reason for the "Miracle", that's not really a miracle, but a curse.
But I don't buy that because she uses a cover as a drug salesperson, to a PR chick. She is oddly peppy and energetic, and has targeted specific people, so she is a key to the execution of the Miracle Day phenomenon. Think back at how she tells Vera about the commencement speech she made, and pitches PhyCorp to the Dr.'s as a company that is making great strides in the "new world". Who recruits Oswald? I don't think Vera is falling for her game, as she is no fool, but she is looking for solutions and Phycorp seems to be providing them. Even scarier, we see at that meeting where PhyCorp proposes no more prescription drugs, so they stand to make billions. We also see how the company man is telling Vera how she is amongst her brilliant colleagues, thus specifically pointing out, that this is not just any meeting, and PhyCorp is not just any company. They are taking over, as she sees in the video during the meeting.
Who knows, in the end, my theories might all be blown out of the water. I can't wait to find out!
To be continued on my LJ, as it is back up and running, all things Torchwood will be here: http://koft2009.livejournal.com/.
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