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snorkackcatcherSummary: Excellent finish.
OK, first of all -- NOOOOOO! NOT TOSH!
*wails*
Overall, an excellent season finale and one of the strongest episodes so far -- gripping, with good pacing and a number of unexpected twists. Having Gray be the villain behind the plan was one of them which made the plot much more interesting, although I'm not sure how well the portrayal of Captain John here meshes with the one in the first episode where he seemed to be acting psycho on his own behalf rather than on Gray's. Since Gray knows about Jack's immortality I'm presuming that John must have found him before the first episode, then gone back to him and been captured and rigged with the explosive device before episodes
The revenge chosen was well up to scratch for creepiness, although when 1901 Torchwood dug Jack up he seemed remarkably sane for someone who'd been buried under Cardiff for the best part of two millennia. But I have a weakness for plots which use the time travel aspects effectively in this way, so I'll skip the details. It did seem to be consciously written to echo Last of the Time Lords, right down to Jack's "I forgive you" lines (possible hint at the Master actually being the Doctor's brother there perhaps?).
(ETA: One thing that puzzled me about 1901 Torchwood -- and 1918 Torchwood before it -- is the advanced technology they have, able to put Jack and Tommy into cold storage. If the place is supposed to defend the Empire, then even if they're supposed to concentrate on alien threats you'd have thought they might consider using some of their stuff in the world wars. Eh, I'm sure there are plotbunnies there.)
Ah yes -- Owen and Tosh. Owen's looked to be on his way out all through the second half of the season, but Tosh being killed off was a really nasty blow (even if they were the two most expendable characters, I suppose). Their final scenes wrapped their plot arc up nicely and were touching and well-acted. Well, I thought so, anyway! It's a positive thing that the writers are prepared to kill characters off unexpectedly -- it keeps the audience on their toes. Willingness to do this was one of the strengths of Farscape and weaknesses of a number of other shows. I guess we might see Gorman and Mori guesting next season in flashback-type scenes, although I hope they don't start in on the Gloves again.
The citywide attack chaos plot was almost background to the character stories, but it did showcase Gwen well, as she stepped up and took charge (I guess that answers my episode 1 question of why she was leading the team with Jack gone -- she seems to slip into that sort of role naturally). A few nice moments with Rhys too. Very little Ianto here. Oh, and I especially liked the little throwaway line about Tosh having to pretend to be a doctor to cover for Owen in the early days to finally settle the question of whether that really was her in Aliens of London!
Anyway, this sets it up interestingly for the BBC to take season 3 (if they commission one) in a number of possible directions (and I've stayed more-or-les spoiler free on this, fortunately). The ending of S4 Doctor Who may provide clues!
OK, first of all -- NOOOOOO! NOT TOSH!
*wails*
Overall, an excellent season finale and one of the strongest episodes so far -- gripping, with good pacing and a number of unexpected twists. Having Gray be the villain behind the plan was one of them which made the plot much more interesting, although I'm not sure how well the portrayal of Captain John here meshes with the one in the first episode where he seemed to be acting psycho on his own behalf rather than on Gray's. Since Gray knows about Jack's immortality I'm presuming that John must have found him before the first episode, then gone back to him and been captured and rigged with the explosive device before episodes
The revenge chosen was well up to scratch for creepiness, although when 1901 Torchwood dug Jack up he seemed remarkably sane for someone who'd been buried under Cardiff for the best part of two millennia. But I have a weakness for plots which use the time travel aspects effectively in this way, so I'll skip the details. It did seem to be consciously written to echo Last of the Time Lords, right down to Jack's "I forgive you" lines (possible hint at the Master actually being the Doctor's brother there perhaps?).
(ETA: One thing that puzzled me about 1901 Torchwood -- and 1918 Torchwood before it -- is the advanced technology they have, able to put Jack and Tommy into cold storage. If the place is supposed to defend the Empire, then even if they're supposed to concentrate on alien threats you'd have thought they might consider using some of their stuff in the world wars. Eh, I'm sure there are plotbunnies there.)
Ah yes -- Owen and Tosh. Owen's looked to be on his way out all through the second half of the season, but Tosh being killed off was a really nasty blow (even if they were the two most expendable characters, I suppose). Their final scenes wrapped their plot arc up nicely and were touching and well-acted. Well, I thought so, anyway! It's a positive thing that the writers are prepared to kill characters off unexpectedly -- it keeps the audience on their toes. Willingness to do this was one of the strengths of Farscape and weaknesses of a number of other shows. I guess we might see Gorman and Mori guesting next season in flashback-type scenes, although I hope they don't start in on the Gloves again.
The citywide attack chaos plot was almost background to the character stories, but it did showcase Gwen well, as she stepped up and took charge (I guess that answers my episode 1 question of why she was leading the team with Jack gone -- she seems to slip into that sort of role naturally). A few nice moments with Rhys too. Very little Ianto here. Oh, and I especially liked the little throwaway line about Tosh having to pretend to be a doctor to cover for Owen in the early days to finally settle the question of whether that really was her in Aliens of London!
Anyway, this sets it up interestingly for the BBC to take season 3 (if they commission one) in a number of possible directions (and I've stayed more-or-les spoiler free on this, fortunately). The ending of S4 Doctor Who may provide clues!
no subject
Date: 2008-04-06 04:03 pm (UTC)Mmm, very good point. I'm not sure it's very clear just what the objectives of Torchwood of that sort of era really are, aside from being a bit crazy.
And I very much agree that unexpected deaths were a good thing for the writers to do, and it suits the tones and themes of the show, even though I'm still going 'not Tosh, why?!', it was a shocker and they pulled it off well.
no subject
Date: 2008-04-16 07:39 pm (UTC)Maybe the Time War did timey-wimey things to the timeline. Yeah, that'll be it.