Children of Earth - Day Five

[fictional]

Hahahahah. Seriously?

I reject this reality.

You know, I'm a Rusty apologist from way back. I am, truly. He's created some of the most amazing characters and stories; I have always been grateful (and still am!) but, omg, what a hack!

(This is not to be interpreted as go tell him so, or take any action whatsoever. See above: I remain grateful.)

I am not pissed off because he killed Ianto. At all.

You know what I'm pissed about? He killed Torchwood, and he killed Jack, and he didn't even do it well.

I'm not mad at Jack for sacrificing his grandson. Because hey, when it's one child to save millions, sure, that's what you do. And a hero sacrifices his own child before he sacrifices someone else's. Fine. Okay. Got it.

BUT OMG, TECHNOBABBLE WAS THE REASON THAT HE NEEDS TO DO THIS? TECHNOBABBLE??!?? No, Torchwood, with their classic skin-of-the-teeth rescue... in which we make Jack devour his own young?

Why, what possible reason is there, aside from killing the franchise, to put your heroes in this position?

I don't hate him for making that choice in that position -- what else could he do? -- what I do hate is that before that, he gave up. HE GAVE UP.

And fuck me, but after Ianto died, you fight! YOU THINK OF SOMETHING. My Jack would have fought. He wouldn't have sat there with his head in his hands like a great, useless article...No. Just, no. IANTO WOULD BE SO ASHAMED OF YOU.

You're telling me Sarah Jane's super computer wouldn't have been helpful? And Martha's on her honeymoon? What the fuck? The whole point of having the show NOT go global, was that the Doctor never needed to visit. But okay, you made it bigger, but NOW IT DOESN'T MAKE SENSE.

It was so out of universe, it wasn't even funny.

Why was so little of this episode focused on Torchwood? Why did we care more about Frobisher and Bridget than we did about, you know, the team??? Why? That's asinine. And then, no Torchwood at the end either, no rebuilding, no "we go on."

It's not just like killing something, it's like salting the earth on the way out.

Way to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory, yet again, Rusty. Thanks. I haven't been so fucking disappointed in a really long time.


ETA: Euros Lyn, however, is still a god. It was still beautiful to look at. Bring on Steven Moffat to Doctor Who, sexism and all. I don't care.

ETA Part Deux: I was SO FUCKING PLEASED to see that the final S. Asian character, "Mr. Patel", was the compliant person dragging the kids away from the white teacher, screaming, "you can't do that." Nice, RTD. Nice.

Comments

[exbentley]

Where was Sarah Jane! Why didn't she take one look at all her kiddie protoges talking in unison and get her act together and do something about it! I find it odd that one of the Whoniverse's most competent side-characters, whose show is about how close she is to children, was so overlooked. I kept expecting her to show up.

That aside, I think I am possibly the only person in fandom who is not like "EVERYTHING IS RUINED FOREVER AND EVER" and I am still trying to vocalize why this has all made me so happy. That was the best episode of Torchwood I have ever seen. Maybe because I waited and marathonned 2-5 so I didn't have that process of stewing and denial and discussion and theorizing that turns uncomfortable plot twists into truly obnoxious ones.

[rm.livejournal.com]

Nah, I'm okay. Just.... jesus. Gut punched.

[exbentley]

Oh, me too, I feel like my heart stuttered during a few of those scenes. Like you said somewhere else (or I think it was you) — it's somehow harder identifying with and adoring the love left alive than it is with the character who died. But it's sort of a glorious sadness. I'm wrecked, but it doesn't have the sense of bitterness that, say, Deathly Hallows left me with.

[rm.livejournal.com]

Yeah, that was me. Patty keeps trying to comfort me, and I'm like "no no, you don't need to pet me, you need to let me hold you very tight so I know you're still here."