Saturday, March 22, 2008

I wanted to write something about the new Torchwood episode, that's a lot more detailed and spoiler filled - which means if Mollie is reading this - then just stop now. lol. That goes for anyone else who hasn't seen the episode. Just skip this. Because I want to talk about all the amazing stuff that was revealed here. Got that?

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Ok. Here we go. The episode in question is called "Fragments" it's the 12th episode of Torchwood's 2nd Season. It's the 25th episode of Torchwood overall. And at this point I'm thinking it's episode 092 of the New Whoniverse episodes (beginning with 'Rose' as episode 001); episode 33 of Whoniverse Season 4 (that's taking the 4th Season of Doctor Who, the 1st of The Sarah Jane Adventures & the 2nd of Torchwood, combining them, and placing them in an order that supports continuity), and by my current reckoning...makes it episode number 795 of all Doctor Whoniverse episodes (starting with "The Empty Child" back in 1963).

The episode serves as part 1 of at least 2 episodes, as it leads us into the finale that will air Friday, April 4th in the UK; the day before Doctor Who Season 4 begins. The story (though we don't know this until the end) is about the return of Captain John Hart, last seen in the season premiere "Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang". He's really not happy about being rejected by Jack in the previous episode and is back for his revenge. He sets a trap for the Torchwood team by leading them into a deserted bulding, loaded with bombs that simulate rift stuff and alien lifesigns - the perfect bait for the Torchwood team. John knows he can't kill Jack, but he's hoping to kill those that Jack loves (more than him) and this is just the start of his plan. The team enter the building (minus Gwen who's late getting up - and is being driven to the site by Rhys), split up and find the bombs just before they go off. The episode is then split up into section in which we see each member of the team facing down their death or possible grusome damage with them remembering how they came to be a part of Torchwood...while Gwen & Rhys dig through the rubble to find them. This is a neat twist, as we don't need to see any of Gwen's Torchwood history - we've already seen all of it. :-0)

Jack dies in the bombing, but we know he's going to come back because we know how Jack will one day die for real in "Gridlock"). His flashback section apparently starts in 1908 (or nearly so), no date is given, though it's revealed through dialogue that Jack will wait 100 years before he finally meets the Doctor again (which he does in February 2008). This section is great fun, with Jack at his best and lots of fun continuity relating to Doctor Who episodes like "Tooth and Claw" & "The Parting of the Ways"; episodes of Who that should be required viewing for Torchwood fans. The Torchwood women that recruit Jack are sexy and scary. You get to see an early construction scene of the Hub. You learn why Jack joined Torchwood, and why he stayed. This actually makes sense given what he told Tosh in "Captain Jack Harkness" & what he told the Doctor in "Utopia" / "The Sound of Drums". Very cool. We also learn that including the death he resurrects from at the start of the 1908 section, that Jack will die 1,392 times between 1908 & his 2009 death in the bombing. And that figure doesn't even cover all his deaths since he became immortal. When we encounter Jack in 1908, he's been living on Earth for 39 years (he's explained that he arrived in 1869), and we know about some of his early deaths from his dialogue with the Doctor in "Utopia".

Later we see a flashback of New Year's Eve 1999. What struck me first about this story is that this is the same time frame as part of "Doctor Who: The Movie", and I was thinking...somewhere close by (relatively speaking), the 8th Doctor is running around! Yay! :-0) Beyond that we learn in this section how Jack came to possess Torchwood 3, and where that line about everything changing in the 21st Century came from - which I alwasy thought was odd, but now has this amazing feeling about it. Wow. Nicely done.

However...in the background we see the hand in the jar. If it's meant to be the same hand in jar from the first season of Torchwood, then they seem to have the Doctor's hand nearly 7 years before his hand is severed. But we never saw Torchwood recover the hand, so there is plenty of room for them to explain that away - because it doesn't really contradict anything that we've seen on screen. If we'd seen Torchwood recover the hand during "The Christmas Invasion" or there had been some reference to same, then this would be a huge plot-hole. As it is, it just raises some interesting questions. Or not. It's possible that the hand in the jar is not the Doctor's but something else, which is replaced with the Doctor's at a later date (presumable after Christmas 2006). Anyways - this possible plothole is just that at this point, and not the flaw that it could have been, which makes it not bother me at all. In fact, it makes me hungry for a story explaining the hand in the jar in 1999 (and later shown again in 2005). :-0)

Jack is found by Gwen and Rhys, dead. He revives, much to the shock of Rhys, and they get Jack out, and begin searching for the others. We move on to Tosh's history. Tosh's backstory wasn't as fun as Jack's. Back in 2004, she's being blackmailed for high tech designs that she has access to (in the government think tank mentioned in "Greeks Bearing Gifts" I assumed), by some people who are holding her mother hostage. She gives them what they want, but then the operation is shut down by UNIT. Tosh is held, and will apparently be held forever. Until Jack comes along, and sees how brilliant she is, he recruits her to Torchwood, with the stipulation that she won't be able to see her mother again, but that she'll be able to send her postcards and things. This is cool because it explains why the appearance of Tosh's mom (who is apparently alive) is such a revelation to Tosh during "End of Days". Very cool. I was hoping for a bit of something relating to her appearance on Doctor Who, but this doesn't confirm that anymore than her background from "Greeks Bearing Gifts" did, unless I missed something. It was cool however, that Tosh's background here meshed so well with what we knew about her from before; all the dates line up - if the current year is 2009 - which later is confirmed. In the present Toshiko is saved. She has a broken arm and some bruised ribs.

We move on to Ianto in the rubble, who hears Jack calling for him and it flashes back to 21 months before, which by my reckonging places it in June 2007, which makes perfect sense, since this is apparently February 2009. And Ianto's story takes place just after "Doomsday" which also takes place in June 2007. And given what we know that Ianto is taking care of (Cyberwoman Lisa), it makes sense that he'd try to get into the other branch of Torchwood as quicly as possible. We also learn here that Jack cut off all ties with the other Torchwood, which also supports what Jack had told the Doctor. And this section also explains where our beloved pet dinosaur came from, and also hints at the Jack / Ianto chemestry to come. Last year I rewatched "Cyberwoman" and I was struck by the little hints that seemed to imply that Jack & Ianto were already involved in some way at that point, well, this episode supports that theory. Now I don't think they were fucking at that point...but they were obviously attracted to each other, and I think they had some intense feelings for each other by that point. Everytime I see "Cyberwoman" and Ianto says: "Haven't you ever loved anyone Jack?" - it just sounds like he's asking if Jack loves him, and it's heartbreaking. This episode just strenthens those scenes in my mind. This scene also references that Owen, Tosh & Suzie are part of the team at this point in time, with what I think might be a veiled reference to them concerning the GLOVE; or about how they might be about to find it. The team lineup, which is about to include Ianto, makes sense, as that's the lineup for the team when Gwen stumbles on to it later that year. In the present, Ianto is saved, and has his shoulder relocated by Jack, and they continue to search for Owen.

Owen's backstory takes place in 2005. He was a doctor, engaged to be married to a woman he loved deeply. Medically she's falling apart and he feels helpless. His fiance dies, and it comes to light that she was killed by an alien parasite of some kind. Jack recruits him to Torchwood. This is a good backstory for Owen, as it explains why he's cut himself off from everyone; what made him cynical about relationships, and made him into a whore - and explained his reactions to Diane. This is just lovely work. This works very well.

Also in Owen's section - in the present, he's stuck in the rubble. We know he can't die, because he's already dead, but we also know he can't heal, and this is played out in terrifying suggestion, as a broken window is getting closer and closer to falling directly down on his face, which he'd survive, but only to walk around looking like a movie style zombie! Really disturbing stuff, but only through suggestion, which was brilliant. He's evenutually saved by Gwen, who risks being impaled herself to save him from a fate worse than what he's already enduring.

As the team regroups, they find the SUV is gone, and Jack gets another hologram message from John, explaining the trap and hoping that some of the team has died. John says he'll rip Jack's world apart and that maybe then he'll want to spend some time with John. He reveals that he has Jack's brother Gray. And everything is set up for the finale. Nice Work.

Now I'm left wondering about the origins of the hand. I'm left wondering how the finale will end. I'm wondering if Jack's crossover to Doctor Who will be set up in that episode. I'm wondering about how Rose, Mickey, Jackie, Sarah Jane, Martha & Captain Jack are all recruited in the finale of Doctor Who that's coming up, and how that will all fit together in my list of episodes....that's just the way my geeky brain works. :-)

   posted by Bald Jason at 06:59 PM
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