Torchwood vs Torchwood

(Spoilers if you haven't watched "The Category of Life" yet.)

I have been meaning to write this blog post for about a week or so now, but it hasn't happened yet. I decided earlier today, after I finished watching Merlin Season 3 (aghhhhhhh I need season 4 NOW), that I was going to watch latest installation of Miracle Day and then write what I'd wanted to write. I had planned on writing a I DO NOT LIKE THIS NEW TORCHWOOD AKDAJSH type post, which, to an extent, this will still be. But...something changed in this new episode. Vera.

RTD killed her off. Or at least, it seems that way. I mean, she has two gunshot wounds and is stuck in an oversized oven. All signs point to dead. This is nothing new - I'm used to having character's being killed off of Torchwood. What I was surprised at, was my emotional reaction. I was horrified, sad, even. I gasped out loud when that pig (can't remember his name) shot her. That is the first emotional response I've had in this entire series. (Well, except for seeing Jack the first time. I got very excited. But that's different.) I think that says something, no?

I'm not really sure what is wrong with the new series. I really like the message behind it. It's a warning of sorts. I like that. But there's just something missing. I don't feel connected to the new characters, except Vera. I think I really only remember Esther's name because of Esther Earl, but I honestly can't tell you the other guy's name. I think it starts with an R?

Part of my issue is the fact that it's so Americanized now. It's not just that it's set in America (which, no, I do not like. I miss Cardiff and the Hub.). It feels like a standard American cop show, with Jack and Gwen and Rhys thrown into it and the name "Torchwood" slapped across the front. It just doesn't feel like Torchwood. And I don't know what makes Torchwood. I have no idea. I thought it was Jack, but obviously it's not. I know that I really miss the old team. When Jack called himself Dr. Owen Harper I nearly lost it. And then when R-man started going off about the team and tearing Jack apart and blaming him for their deaths...I think that's when I started to really dislike him. I didn't really like him to begin with (he's the cliche American cop - gruff and angry.) but that did nothing to make me like him more.

I think...having new people, plus a new setting, plus nothing really to tie it back to the old series (well, except Gwen, Rhys and Jack, obviously) it just feels so new and weird. I mean, there aren't even Weevils! There hasn't been a single alien. Isn't that what Torchwood is all about? Aliens? Where are they? I suspect they're behind this whole Phicor business, but still.

This is also the first time I've watched Torchwood as it aired, so maybe that's part of it too. I haven't had to wait to see the aliens, or see the solution.

I dunno. I'm still undecided. I know that I really very much prefer Season 2 and Children of Earth. I'm still waiting for Miracle Day to win me over.

Owen Harper vs. Ianto Jones

(I tried to avoid spoilers for Torchwood, but it is kind of obvious what happened in Season 2 from how I wrote it. Proceed with caution.)

It's no secret that I'm a huge Whovian, and with my obsession with all things Who, Torchwood is obviously part of that obsession. I watched most of Torchwood after I finished watching Series 1-5 of new-Who this summer (I finished Season 2 during the school year and watched Children of Earth in November? Or was it December? Don't remember, exactly.) and at first, I hated it. Specifically, Gwen. Couldn't stand her. Not to mention how very Law And Order: Science Fiction it felt. But then I got passed Season 1 and watched Season 2 and fell in love with the characters. Jack was no longer the only reason I watched the show. There was Ianto, and Tosh, and hell, I even started to like Gwen. And then there was Owen. I hated him in Season 1. I felt about him like I felt about all of the hockey players I know. But mid-way through Season 2, I could honestly say that I loved Owen. He was easily my favourite. And when the thing that happened in Season 2 happened, I sobbed. Sobbed like I would have sobbed had I been alone the first time I watched Dumbledore die. Tears pouring down my cheeks, glasses thrown onto my desk, hands to my cheeks, entire body shaking with gasps and hiccoughs. Thankfully no one else was home.

Kayla and I have since had the Owen vs Ianto debate. She loves Ianto. I love Owen. We haven't really gotten into it heavily - usually we'll just throw our favoured Torchwood man at the other in succession until Elise and Chantelle are utterly confused. Every time one of us plays Torchwood music and we hear our favoured man's theme song we shout the name into the house. You get the picture, right?

Well, tonight, while I was doing laundry and writing out notes for my sound class, I was listening to the music from Torchwood, and the song "Goodbyes" came on. I stopped writing and just kind of stared at my textbook - I do that a lot when I listen to music that moves me. I was suddenly hit with a realization that I hadn't considered since Season 1 - Owen Harper was an actual absolute ass. I continued to stare at my textbook, mulling this over, wondering what I saw in him, what Tosh saw in him. I couldn't think of one redeemable quality. And then, because I couldn't figure it out, I texted Kayla. Sure, it might seem like I was admitting defeat on our Owen vs. Ianto debate, but it was really bugging me. I started comparing the two in my head:

• Owen, ass. Ianto, sweet.
• Owen, manwhore. Ianto, in love with Jack.
• Owen, made fun of Tosh far too often. Ianto, kind to everyone.
• Owen had an affair with Gwen when she was with Rhys. Ianto...just Jack.
• Etc., etc., etc.

And then I remembered something, thanks to Kayla: Owen was nice too. Sure, he was an ass most of the time, but he had his good moments. He was kind to Tosh when she needed him to be. He was very passionate about his work. He was very compassionate about the people they helped. And it made me feel a little better, but I still can't help but think: why the hell do girls find bad boys so attractive?

(I'm starting to upload videos to my YouTube account regularly, hopefully every Sunday. Linkage: http://www.youtube.com/siriusismyhero)