caffienekitty (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
caffienekitty) wrote2009-08-19 10:58 pm
caffienekitty) wrote2009-08-19 10:58 pm
Reaction: Torchwood - Series 3
Warning; Contains spoilers for Series Three Torchwood, some meta, loads of blithering and a lot of profanity. Also long.
Reaction to Torchwood: Children of Earth.
Also, like the episode, this reaction contains some thoughts on dark and serious topics, and some gore. But mainly a whole hell of a lot of squee and wibbling.
What I know from spoilers and inference from general responses to the series:
-The kids are not all right.
-It will seem like something good is being offered for a price, but there is no good result. (There was a lot of commentary from many direction re: Children of Earth, saying "The cake is a lie". Also, if aliens showing up on Torchwood promise good things, obviously they're lying.)
-One of the main three characters will be dying in a permanent way in part 4. I suspect it will be Ianto, because it can't be Jack, and Gwen is ostensibly the 'audience viewpoint character'. The one in the series with the relatively normal background and perspective on the weird stuff that happens. It's a trope or something. So, Ianto is going to die. This strictly from reactions that didn't mention a single specific thing about the episode. Hope I'm not right, but I'm pretty sure I am.
That's about it.
Here we go! Transcribing from live (with occasional pauses of playback) notes.
Part Day 1
-Kids on a bus in the dark, stopping by the side of the road and walking into the big glowing light. Never a good idea.
-OMG GLEE at the Torchwood opening bingle. *flails* It really has been a long time since I've re-watched any Torchwood.
-*fixes section title to match episode*
-You know, it would be kind of cool if a massive pile of kids coordinated on Facebook or something and planned to freeze wherever they were at such-and-such a time. Briefly, until they started getting in trouble.
-"Morning." Gwen says to the photo of Owen and Tosh. *wibbles*
-"Since we're such good neighbours" BWAH!!! They've been taking lessons in dissembling from Sam and Dean. Or vice versa.
-Jack/Ianto's couple-hood and Ianto being all fluttery about it, awwwww!
-Ooo, nice scalpel! Poor doctor-guy. Hitchhikers, eh? Alien thing going on the wall as a potential plot device.
-Ianto has Tupperware. This fills me with an obscure delight.
-"You're Torchwood."/"Never heard of them." I kind of expected doctor-guy to say "...Buuuuut it says so on your vehicle's fender...?" Good to see they've been trying to work on the whole 'covert' concept.
-"NHS."/"Yeah, sorry, too much red tape." HAHAHA! Gotta love the bureaucracy of health care.
-Vancouver shout-out on Torchwood! OMFG! O.O *gleeeee*
-Ooo, Martha got married? That was quick. Who to?
-"I hate the word 'couple'." Aw, jeez, Jack. *pats Ianto and fetches him tea*
-Kids standing still, screaming in unison... that's not freaky at aaaaall. (Wonder what Sam and Dean et al think of all this happening stateside...)
-The voice thing, "we, we, we, we" omg. *hides under something*
-"We are coming" And thank you Gwen for mildly blowing your "keeping your shit together" roll and making me not feel like a total wimp. See? What did I say? Audience viewpoint character. *continues cowering*
-Ohhhhhh! The adult! He's gotta be the kid that didn't go in 1965! \o/
-I like the doctor-guy, I hope he survives at the very least, if not joins up. I suspect he'll die though.
-"456. I warned you." Ooooo... whassat then?
-I like Lois Habiba. Get a username and a password and use it to breach national security within ten minutes. *nods*
-Hahaha, That 'Government Information Network' window is totally a word processing document. You can see the ruler at the top and side. XD
-Need. The. Soundtrack.
-"I think it's a burst of compressed information." No, really???
-English! Mandarin! I love this show for not assuming its audience is stupid!
-Hee, bridge into England. Panic time. I love the UK.
-Hunh. The car still does have 'Torchwood' embossed on the fender. Doctor-guy may be a tad thicker than he seemed... or... hm. *ponders*
-Jack and Ianto havingemergency backup victims family outside of Torchwood is kind of blowing my mind. o.O And they're both going to get the 'you're seeing someone' chat, aren't they? And then they'll all get imperiled. Or at least the kids.
-Awwwwwww. "Dad" Jack's a dad. Probably a billion times over by now, but still, awwwwwwww.
-"I could take him out, buy him stuff." Heeheehee, Captain Jack. King of subtle. 'Hi daughter I never talk to, can I borrow the grandson to take back to my secret underground base and study? Ta muchly.'
-Doctor Capanjahli? Parthanjahli? I need to figure out this guy's name. My sound is muddy.
-"You've got a children's ward, haven't you" HAHAHAHAHAHA. Nice. :-P
-Ianto's sister is also a master of subtlety. Jeez.
-"It's not men, it's just him. It's only him." Awwwwwwww! *massive flappy hands*
-The Torchwoodmobile getting stolen. The whole thing with the estate. Hee! Ianto's family is, just... kind of awesome. Grounds him as a character, makes him more real. His brother-in-law's an ass, but even that is grounding. All proof that Ianto didn't hatch out of a pod.
-"The technical name is a 'gizmo'." *glee* Looks a bit sonic, yeah? \o/
-Aw. Getting the guy's name and re-greeting him with it.
-"You're pregnant. I can smell it." Again, not creepy at aaaaaall. o.O
-Ah, they're getting rid of witnesses to the 1965 thing, yes? Order to kill; Jack Harkness. Ooo. Good luck with that, guys.
-Doctor-guy shot Jack? Oh my! That was unexpected. O.o
-Yeah, no Doc. You aren't going to need to worry about disappearing.
-Wow. If all that was done by UNIT, they've acquired a hell of a lot moreballs efficiency somewhere.
-Did they put a Hitchhiker into Jack? Doubtful...
-"Did they kill you?"/"Yeah" *Ianto hugs* Naaawwwwwww! *flails* I don't do 'ships. I don't. But damn it! These two just... gaaaah *flails more*
-Gwen's pregnant. Nice moment there.
-A bomb?? Craaaap, that's gonna sting.
-The "Made in Wales" on the cog-door always makes me giggle.
-*flails incoherently* Jack bomb! Gwen! Ianto! *flails more* JACK GETTING EVERYONE OUT TO SAFETY SO HE CAN EXPLODE OMG!
-Oh crap, where's Ianto! He didn't die there, did he?? That would suck!
-"We are coming... back." *gleeeeee*
Day 2
-Holy crap I love Torchwood!
-OMG the Hub's gone! And the Water Tower! And the Millennium Center! Giant smoking pit. That's gonna be a hard one to explain away to the mundanes, although with the kids being alien loudspeakers, maybe people won't be so bothered. Um. But also, what effect will that have on the Rift??? o.O
-Yeah Gwen kicks ass!!! \o/ "Have you ever fired two guns whilst jumping through the air?" Hee. Sorry, 'Hot Fuzz' moment.
-Might want to pitch both of the assassin/EMTs out the back before driving away there Gwen.
-Hey... where's Myfanwy?? :-( The pterodactyl has been shown flying over Cardiff before, maybe Ianto let it out. Yeah. *nods*
-Worst. Sniper. Ever. Seriously, that's a great vantage point, there's a laser sight on that gun and the sniper still can't hit a frigging thing.
-Hey, death warrant-issuing dude? You know you're a 'witness' now too, right? Just sayin'
-Take his phone, Gwen you idiot!
-Hee! Hi Andy, I think. "Uncle terrorist." Cute.
-Please be taking them the long way 'round Andy. Or to an entirely wrong address.
-*pauses to screencap Ianto in the phone booth*
-Ooo! PC Andy's getting an education in Gwen there. Does serve him right for leading the pack of murderous government gits to her place though. And yay Andy for not assuming gunfire equals terrorism.
-"You want your trigger-finger free, don't you?" Now there's a thoughtful spouse. :-)
-"We want a pony." Heheheheheeheh.
-Ah, no bomb cover up for the masses then? Fair enough.
-You're building it? You don't even know- Yeah, what he said. Even though he's a prat.
-Well, at least he's telling you upfront you're a scapegoat. Nice to have that level of honesty from someone who is screwing you over.
-Jack's phone number is 07700900578, in case anyone's curious. Wonder if it works or if it's the UK equivalent of a '555' number.
-Hee. Mental image. Bits of Jack, squishing their way across Cardiff like a liquid metal Terminator. XD
-Aw, Iantooooooo! Watching them pack off Jack and worrying. and looking all lost and alone. *hugs*
-Oh! Hey! The stolen Torchwoodmobile's still out there somewhere! They could get it back! Bet the kids that stole it got way more than they expected for a joyride.
-Aw, ranting to cover up reading secret notes from Ianto. He's not all bad, Ianto's brother-in-law.
-'Where dad broke my leg.' Oh. Wow. Ow.
-"We're the only family he's got." Not quite. :-)
-Okay. Gwen and Rhys must have a plan here, because using their card anywhere is bloody stupid otherwise.
-Heeeeeee! The slowly inflating body bag. *glee* Normally I don't like heroes who can't die, but for some reason, Jack's an exception. Actually, it's more heroes that can't be killed than heroes that can't die, and Jack still gets killed now and then, so there we are.
-"Cuff it to the wall." Heee! You know, if they have any sense, (and an FX department worth it's salt) they'd cuff him through his ribcage. Or spine. Let him regenerate around that and even if he does rip himself off the wall, he'd be incapacitated for a while and they could re-attach him. ...Should I be disturbed that I think of things like this? o.O
-Yay, Rhys' trucking knowledge helps!\o/
-*glee* Brother-in-law and his crew about to get rowdy with surveillance, I'm guessing to cover Ianto's sister's escape...? Yep.
-Also, as well as occasionally being killed, Jack screams well. *nods*
-Aw. Gwen and Rhys in the potatoes. Aww.
-Of course there'll be an incident in the park while Ianto's there.
-Oooo, character data in those files. Must go back and glean later. [Gwen's birthdate is August 16th, 1978, in Swansea to Mary and Geraint Cooper, her address is 138B Pentre Road.]
-I like Lois Habiba. So she'll probably die. Torchwood is like Supernatural that way. Like any non-main character in an episode, they'll die, or go evil. *looks disappointedly at doctor-guy's corpse*
-Yay on Rhys dealing with the mundane things like food and such. Practical man.
-Oh, not cement, oh god, not cement. Geeeeez. Okay, that works. I had been assuming they might need him to talk, but if not? yeh, cement works. Or handcuffing him through his lower jaw. ...What?
-PA! \o/ *glee* Yeah, if she survives, she'd be good at Torchwoodespecially if the tea-boy position is open Not thinking about it, noooot thinking about it. *wibbles preemptively*
-*randomly covets Gwen's boots* That skin-tight outfit has got to be starting to chafe, not to mention getting a bit funky after being worn for, what, 30 hours straight? :-P
-Ya know.... Walking into a secured facility when the people running it are trying to kill you and have security cameras all over the place and you smell like day-old-sweat and raw potatoes is a wee bit daft, yeah?
-I love the Torchwood sonic gizmo! \o/
-Yeah. Cement. *shudders* Hope Kripke doesn't watch Torchwood *thinks of Bobby's Safe Room, nervously*
-YEAH IANTO!!!! \o/ SO WHAT IF JACK'S ENCASED IN CONCRETE AND THE CRANE LIFT THING ONLY GOES TEN KM AN HOUR UNDER LOAD, AND THEY HAVE NO WHERE TO HIDE SEVERAL CUBIC METRES OF CONCRETE! IANTO'S STILL GONNA GET HIM OUT OF THERE!!!! *GLEEEE*
-AND THEY GET AWAY!!! BECAUSE ON TORCHWOOD, CEMENT TRUCKS EXPLODE!!! FUCK YES!!! \o/
-Again. Must have soundtrack.
-Dropping the cement block into the quarry (quarry! *geeks out old school WHO style*) Ooo. That's gonna hurt. Aw, Ianto being all hesitant. Aw. Don't worry Ianto, you won't break him permanently. Although he does look a wee bit shell-shocked. He's had a rough day.
-Jack takes the coat and just slings it over his shoulder and carries on, bare naked. XD Yeah, he's fine. Never change, Jack.
-OMG, I just realized! Those bastards blew up the trenchcoat!!! O.O Okay! Now I'm pissed.
-Hm. big enclosed room full of poison gas. Doesn't bode well. Alien atmosphere, yeah, but still, much boding.
Day 3
-"We become criminals" Oh dear god, just when I thought I couldn't love this show any more, they start going all pragmatic and midnight requisitiony. \o/
-Rhys, official member of the team, telling Jack to stick it. Yeah, sure. You're in, buddy. Deal with it.
-TRENCHCOAT!!! \o/ YEAH!!! It's a little bit different, but workable. Ianto rocks.
-"I'm a fixed point in time and space. That's what the Doctor says" EEE! *flails a little*
-"The world's always ending." True. At least on Torchwood.
-Heeee! Ianto and Jack trying to get rid of Rhys for a half-hour so they can sneak in some nookie. XD
-And Jack's picked up the clue phone about 1965, looks like.
-"Bring her in" Yeah, that's gonna go over really well.
-So much glee over Andy involved in subterfuge.
-Ah. They shut the dog up. There's a subtle yet nasty touch.
-OMG Grannie's stealth games for the grandson of Jack Harkness. *More glee!*
-See, now that's why a solid oak cutting board beats the crap out of a lame plastic one any day. Much more efficient at knocking out government thugs so you can take their weapons.
-Oh ho, she puts down the gun, but she's still got the knife, yes? Ah hell. No. :-P
-All the kids are pointing to London... So any kids awake in New Zealand are pointing down at the ground?
-Also, given all the alien invasions and weirdness that's been happening in London lately that the public knows about, why is anyone remotely surprised? Well, I guess it's not Christmas, so they aren't expecting it.
-I flat out LOVE that when Ianto says 'come on' after the kids start pointing to London, Rhys just picks up and goes with him without question. Tell me who's not a member of the team now, dude.
-Ooo, transmat beam?
-Whoops, looks like someone's a wee bit transmat-sick.
-"Bring them." With a side of chips and some coleslaw. Maybe a little mint sauce.
-Don't get closer you idiot! If nothing else they might still be projectile vomiting.
-*soaks in the awesome for a long while* I love this show.
-"Except you won't, because you're a better man than me." Cool.
-"Big moment. History." Yeah, try not to piddle on your shoes in terror, alright?
-SMILIE! XD Nothing says high-stakes, gravely serious covert op like smilies! \o/
-Of course Ianto can read shorthand! \o/
-Ask it 'why Britain?' Yeah. Bypass all the 'no talking about what happened in 65'. Frobisher's gonna have an aneurysm
-"You're Middlemen" Heeeee. There's a crossover waiting to happen.
-"We want your children." Yeah, that's not gonna fly too well.
-So, there's going to be a promise of cake in exchange for kids now, right? And the last time they came, they handed over a bunch of orphans and didn't tell the rest of the world a damn thing, and got nothing of value for it. And so they'll do it again, right?
-And lemmee guess. Jack is the Man. Yep. Jack is the man. If you have a past as long as Jack, and a human sense of morality, hope and despair, you're bound to have some very dark things lurking in it. *nods*
Day 4
-Ohhh, inoculations. Heh. At least it was for a marginally altruistic reason and not super-weapons or something. Yeah, sure. And now they'll do it again, except 10% is a lot more than 12. And because Frobisher's sworn them to secrecy, he can't say why it's a bad thing without outing what they did in 1965 front of the world. Frobisher will be chewing on a gun before the end of this, mark my words.
-Geeeeez. Ouch. Jack was really having a rough patch morals-wise in the 60's.
-No harm in letting the old guy shoot Jack. A little catharsis, no lasting damage. Shooting Captain Jack is like popping bubble wrap, in a way.
-(Well, no permanent harm except to the new coat. Sigh.)
-"Can I take that?" Yeah, quick Gwen, take the gun before Jack wakes up.
-"This is normal." HA!!!! HAHAHAHAAHAH! Normal for Torchwood.
-Hm. So they did get something in exchange for the kids last time? Hm. Maybe that was to make the humans more likely to give up so many more kids this time? Maybe that virus wasn't native to earth... *ponders*
-Ohh. Protection racket. Yeah. Not a native virus.
-These aliens really like bashing their heads against the tank walls. Odd.
-"It is 'off the record'." Dude, you are sooooo busted. The aliens are using an English-language colloquialism they have no reason to know unless someone used it with them before.
-"Come in" Heh, camera won't even work in that atmosphere, parts would corrode and things.
-"And we can hearyour dying screams anything you say." I'm suddenly thinking of the opening scenes in Independence Day, right before everything goes to hell... Go try to communicate with the aliens, get splatted.
-Ah. Special camera. Nifty. Looks a little like a deep-sea rig.
-Um. Beware of projectile vomit, camera-dude. Hey. Maybe it's sneezing. The aliens have colds. A dozen kids have a hell of a lot of germs. *ponders*
-Ooo. Three forms of life... is one a kid??? Yep. Nice. Very creepy. Rhys is handling it well. And like I said. Frobisher is soooo busted. Also, poor camera guy, barfed on by alien.
-"We will wipe out your entire species." Well. there's fun. So much for cake. Wonder if it's the same virus as last time?
-"It was convenient." Hahahahah, oh my. Mr. Prime Minister, you really need a PR person in there to spin this for you. Either that or fake amnesia, because you're so screwed. Not that you don't deserve it, you weasel.
-"I've only just scraped the surface, haven't I?"/"Ianto, that's all there is." Ow. Ow ow ow ow ow ow . Ow. Also Ow.
-"No, you pretend that's all there is." And Ow again. Gah, these guys are killing me. *flails*
-Hey, they've used this warehouse a couple times before. "Out of the Rain", and this is where they captured Myfanwy who is flying loose somewhere in Wales and no one's going to tell me any different. And while I'm at it, again, what the hell is happening to the Rift???
-60 'units'. Nice weasel-wording.
-6000 kids. Yeesh.
-"3. 2. 5. 0. 0. 0." Shiiiiiiit. This show does not fuck around with the creepy. Ah. Number of kids per country. Oh my god. o.O
-Oh do not tell me this bozo is trying to spin this from an over-population angle. Yeah, he is. Well, it was bound to come up.
-"Which is out of my hands, over to you sir." Look out, hot potato!
-My goodness there's some political commentary flying around here!
-Hey! A 'Cibus' sign! Wasn't that the corporation that did the Cybermen? In Pete's World? Maybe it was spelled different.
-Ooooo! Ianto telling his sister is simultaneously telling the people with the phone taps and is going to set the cat among the pigeons!!! YEAH IANTO!!! INSTIGATE LIKE THE WIND! \o/
-*grins aaaaaall over at Lois standing up and saying she's with Torchwood* Heck of a job interview, but about par for the course with Torchwood.
-Okay, obviously Gwen's not just sitting there oblivious as they swoop in on her, what's the plan here...?
-Aw, no last chance elevator snogging? Because I'm pretty certain Ianto's going to die soon. *kicks spoilers*
-*glee at the ultimatums and standing up and stuff*
-"Check your records. His name is Captain Jack Harkness." Not quite as much of a name to conjure with as the Doctor, but it'll do in a pinch.
-"Then the fight begins" Oh crap, Ianto, duck! Or get in a hazmat suit or something. Gah!!! *smishes*
-Oh shit Ianto. OMG.
-"I take it all back! Not him!" Dude. Wow. Jack would sell out the world to save Ianto, except he can't, because it's too late.
-Yeah, run, you government science weasel. Save your own skin without trying to help. Let's see where that gets you.
-*deep breath*
-"I love you."/"Don't." *totally loses it*
-Whoooo... Glad Barrowman managed to suppress most of his inner cheesiness for this. Otherwise it might have come off as an over-wrought take on Romeo and Juliet, and really, it doesn't. There's a few really weird faces, and no one can deliver lines like "Don't speak, save your breath," without a modicum of cheese, but on the whole... yeah. *wibbles*
-Heh. All on camera in front of the assembly of government people. Ouch. Yeah. Torchwood's not looking really effective at the moment. And is there anyone who doesn't know Jack comes back to life anymore?
-13 and 14. Oof. Probably a good thing I knew that Ianto's death was coming and that it's not getting reversed (at least in this series *crosses fingers*), or I'd be frothing with false hope right now. Damn it.
Day 5
Let's do this.
-Oooooo.... Gwen's recording. Yeah. Ow. Wonder now if the 456 is forcing this kind of action from the humans so the Doctor will stay away? But he's dealt with similar situations before... Hm... Wonder what's really keeping the Doctor away.
-Oh shit. The Aliens are addicted to children. Like licking cane toads or something. Shit. That's why it's flailing around and vomiting. It's going through withdrawal, or tweaking out. Shiiiiiit. This is officially fucked up. I love this show.
-Wow. They got the World Health Organization to back this plan up? Wow.
-Gaaaah. *wibbles a whole hell of a lot over Gwen's phone call and Jack asking them to let her go and losing hope and giving up and gahhhhh*
-"Your children will be inoculated" Oh you bastard. Is this finally going to make Frobisher stand up and say fuck no? Even though it's too late? That thing, how's it go? "I did not speak for those who could not speak for themselves. Now I cannot speak, and there are none to speak for me." Something like that. Come on you bastard, stand up and fight.
-I gotta say, I love the consistency of weasel-word vocabulary in the script for the government folk. It's very true to what would happen. Call it anything but what it is to make the horrific things being done to very real and innocent people seem acceptable. Happens somewhere every single day.
-Hit him. Come on, you knew you were being set up all along as the fall guy, you didn't realize that would include your kids, but really, you should have. Belt the fucker. What's he gonna do? Fire you?
-Requisition 31. Bet it's a gun. Called it. Now the only thing is, is Frobisher just going to do himself, or is he going to go home and ventilate his kids so they don't have to become living uppers for puking aliens for the next 44 years.
-Hey, is that Hitchhiker thing still in Ianto's stolen SUV? Ooo! Can they get the aliens hooked on those instead???? Still waiting for either of those things to reappear.
-See, now here's the thing. If these aliens are so powerful, why don't they just take the kids themselves directly? Scoop up a school or two? Unless it's just one drug dealer with a virus, or being deliberately cruel. I think it's not as powerful as it's making itself out to be. With the pre-adolescent drug-pump and constant puking it's probably too strung out to coordinate anything complex. Give it some Doritos, put a Teletubbies tape on an endless loop and load it up with Hitchhikers while it's distracted. They're looking for hosts to make happy, the 456 are looking for good chemicals. Seems like a logical pair-up to me.
-Forbisher goes home with a gun. Yep. I thought so. As tough as the subject matter is, this really is well-written and well done, with the juxtaposition of the loyal assistant telling Frobisher's story, as he goes and does what he's about to do. I've got it paused so I don't know exactly how it's going to play out yet, but given the situation... see, there's masses of media outside, since he's supposed to be getting his kids 'inoculated'. If he goes along with the plan quietly, his kids go to the aliens and become drugs. If he rats out the government, his kids are taken to the aliens anyway, and there's mass worldwide public panic, possibly enough to blow the deadline and kill the entire population. By Frobisher doing this, horrible as it is, the media will know about it immediately. They'll have the line of bull the PM fed them, and they'll have a man in the know who went home in the middle of the crisis to kill his whole family rather than have his children get 'inoculated'. They might put the two situations together, get something close to the true, ugly picture, and tell the world about it. Word might get out that way before it's repressed. This is very poignant. I love this show. I love that it gets so dark in sci-fi terms and in real world terms and that it keeps that layer of reality, the bureaucracy and politics condoning the mass sacrifice of unknowing children all over the world. It's horrific, and chilling, and very real, and very human.
-Right now, with this still paused... I don't know how or if Torchwood will win this. I'm hoping they do, with the Hitchhikers, or something. But they might not win at all.
-Unpausing now.
-Loads of guys with guns in the schoolyard. That'll reassure the kiddies. *eyeroll* There's going to be no way of spinning this positively. I'm really rooting for the Hitchhikers now.
-Yay! Jailbreak! \o/ I don't know who this woman and her team are with. Unit has red hats. I'm blanking out on whether these guys have showed up before, or if they are UNIT, but the extra covert arm that leaves the bright red hats at home. Arg.
-Hee! Neighbourhood fights back! And probably dies.
-Worst. Riot formation. Ever. It was breaking up before anyone even hit it. I've seen better riot formations when I was in Girl Guides playing 'Red Rover' *makes rude noise*
-GO ANDY!!!!!! TAKE A STAND YOU BASTARD!!! \o/ Though taking off the body armour might not have been a good idea.
-Hey, science-guy who's name I never got and saved his own skin instead of trying to help! You don't need kneecaps for science, do ya?
-Whoooo. This is intense. Very resonant with real world atrocities, people being hunted down and rounded up, hiding each other from the armed squads. I can't even say how much I love this show for going there with this. It's stuff that makes you think, but it's not a soap box. It's... I can't even say. Well done, RTD.
-Ooo. Frobisher's Assistant is watching the PM very closely.... Someone's plotting a bit of assassination, Methinks.
-Yeah, Jack's grandson had to get scrambled up in this somehow. Emergency Backup Victim. I could give Jack the benefit of the doubt and say he'd done this and hoped that the Tardis-resurrection effect would have spread to his progeny, but no. It's obvious he doesn't think so. He would kill his grandson to save the world, but let the world hang for Ianto. Hunh. So, if the situation was switched around and Jack had needed to channel that signal through Ianto, the kids would be toast. Or Ianto would've had to fight Jack in order to sacrifice himself. Wow.
-And the aliens explode in a Kool-aid fireball. Red though? It's not an oxygen atmosphere... That can't all be from the kid. Hunh. Really curious about the 456's blood chemistry now. Also they totally cleaned up after themselves? Wow. That's impressive. Not even a smear.
-"Prime minister" says the US general, saluting. Love his expression. Like he'd rather salute a heap of rotting manure.
-"The Torchwood contact lenses" Ahahahaahahaahahaaaaa! GO GIRL! *fistpump* Regular assassination is messy. Political assassination requires less mopping.
-Oh Jack.
-Oh, oh, oh, Jack. His surface is going to be a million miles thick, just to dissociate from the pain after all this, and Ianto's not there anymore to chip away at it. Oh Jack.
-Also, given the ending here, I'm thinking Jack will manage to show up in the next Doctor Who series. (Please do not confirm or deny this if you know anything.)
-And all that's all well and good (not really), but who's running Torchwood, who's minding the rift, and where the hell's Myfanwy?
Gahhhh.
Okay. I need fic now.
And I just bought the soundtrack off iTunes.
Reaction to Torchwood: Children of Earth.
Also, like the episode, this reaction contains some thoughts on dark and serious topics, and some gore. But mainly a whole hell of a lot of squee and wibbling.
What I know from spoilers and inference from general responses to the series:
-The kids are not all right.
-It will seem like something good is being offered for a price, but there is no good result. (There was a lot of commentary from many direction re: Children of Earth, saying "The cake is a lie". Also, if aliens showing up on Torchwood promise good things, obviously they're lying.)
-One of the main three characters will be dying in a permanent way in part 4. I suspect it will be Ianto, because it can't be Jack, and Gwen is ostensibly the 'audience viewpoint character'. The one in the series with the relatively normal background and perspective on the weird stuff that happens. It's a trope or something. So, Ianto is going to die. This strictly from reactions that didn't mention a single specific thing about the episode. Hope I'm not right, but I'm pretty sure I am.
That's about it.
Here we go! Transcribing from live (with occasional pauses of playback) notes.
-Kids on a bus in the dark, stopping by the side of the road and walking into the big glowing light. Never a good idea.
-OMG GLEE at the Torchwood opening bingle. *flails* It really has been a long time since I've re-watched any Torchwood.
-*fixes section title to match episode*
-You know, it would be kind of cool if a massive pile of kids coordinated on Facebook or something and planned to freeze wherever they were at such-and-such a time. Briefly, until they started getting in trouble.
-"Morning." Gwen says to the photo of Owen and Tosh. *wibbles*
-"Since we're such good neighbours" BWAH!!! They've been taking lessons in dissembling from Sam and Dean. Or vice versa.
-Jack/Ianto's couple-hood and Ianto being all fluttery about it, awwwww!
-Ooo, nice scalpel! Poor doctor-guy. Hitchhikers, eh? Alien thing going on the wall as a potential plot device.
-Ianto has Tupperware. This fills me with an obscure delight.
-"You're Torchwood."/"Never heard of them." I kind of expected doctor-guy to say "...Buuuuut it says so on your vehicle's fender...?" Good to see they've been trying to work on the whole 'covert' concept.
-"NHS."/"Yeah, sorry, too much red tape." HAHAHA! Gotta love the bureaucracy of health care.
-Vancouver shout-out on Torchwood! OMFG! O.O *gleeeee*
-Ooo, Martha got married? That was quick. Who to?
-"I hate the word 'couple'." Aw, jeez, Jack. *pats Ianto and fetches him tea*
-Kids standing still, screaming in unison... that's not freaky at aaaaall. (Wonder what Sam and Dean et al think of all this happening stateside...)
-The voice thing, "we, we, we, we" omg. *hides under something*
-"We are coming" And thank you Gwen for mildly blowing your "keeping your shit together" roll and making me not feel like a total wimp. See? What did I say? Audience viewpoint character. *continues cowering*
-Ohhhhhh! The adult! He's gotta be the kid that didn't go in 1965! \o/
-I like the doctor-guy, I hope he survives at the very least, if not joins up. I suspect he'll die though.
-"456. I warned you." Ooooo... whassat then?
-I like Lois Habiba. Get a username and a password and use it to breach national security within ten minutes. *nods*
-Hahaha, That 'Government Information Network' window is totally a word processing document. You can see the ruler at the top and side. XD
-Need. The. Soundtrack.
-"I think it's a burst of compressed information." No, really???
-English! Mandarin! I love this show for not assuming its audience is stupid!
-Hee, bridge into England. Panic time. I love the UK.
-Hunh. The car still does have 'Torchwood' embossed on the fender. Doctor-guy may be a tad thicker than he seemed... or... hm. *ponders*
-Jack and Ianto having
-Awwwwwww. "Dad" Jack's a dad. Probably a billion times over by now, but still, awwwwwwww.
-"I could take him out, buy him stuff." Heeheehee, Captain Jack. King of subtle. 'Hi daughter I never talk to, can I borrow the grandson to take back to my secret underground base and study? Ta muchly.'
-Doctor Capanjahli? Parthanjahli? I need to figure out this guy's name. My sound is muddy.
-"You've got a children's ward, haven't you" HAHAHAHAHAHA. Nice. :-P
-Ianto's sister is also a master of subtlety. Jeez.
-"It's not men, it's just him. It's only him." Awwwwwwww! *massive flappy hands*
-The Torchwoodmobile getting stolen. The whole thing with the estate. Hee! Ianto's family is, just... kind of awesome. Grounds him as a character, makes him more real. His brother-in-law's an ass, but even that is grounding. All proof that Ianto didn't hatch out of a pod.
-"The technical name is a 'gizmo'." *glee* Looks a bit sonic, yeah? \o/
-Aw. Getting the guy's name and re-greeting him with it.
-"You're pregnant. I can smell it." Again, not creepy at aaaaaall. o.O
-Ah, they're getting rid of witnesses to the 1965 thing, yes? Order to kill; Jack Harkness. Ooo. Good luck with that, guys.
-Doctor-guy shot Jack? Oh my! That was unexpected. O.o
-Yeah, no Doc. You aren't going to need to worry about disappearing.
-Wow. If all that was done by UNIT, they've acquired a hell of a lot more
-Did they put a Hitchhiker into Jack? Doubtful...
-"Did they kill you?"/"Yeah" *Ianto hugs* Naaawwwwwww! *flails* I don't do 'ships. I don't. But damn it! These two just... gaaaah *flails more*
-Gwen's pregnant. Nice moment there.
-A bomb?? Craaaap, that's gonna sting.
-The "Made in Wales" on the cog-door always makes me giggle.
-*flails incoherently* Jack bomb! Gwen! Ianto! *flails more* JACK GETTING EVERYONE OUT TO SAFETY SO HE CAN EXPLODE OMG!
-Oh crap, where's Ianto! He didn't die there, did he?? That would suck!
-"We are coming... back." *gleeeeee*
Day 2
-Holy crap I love Torchwood!
-OMG the Hub's gone! And the Water Tower! And the Millennium Center! Giant smoking pit. That's gonna be a hard one to explain away to the mundanes, although with the kids being alien loudspeakers, maybe people won't be so bothered. Um. But also, what effect will that have on the Rift??? o.O
-Yeah Gwen kicks ass!!! \o/ "Have you ever fired two guns whilst jumping through the air?" Hee. Sorry, 'Hot Fuzz' moment.
-Might want to pitch both of the assassin/EMTs out the back before driving away there Gwen.
-Hey... where's Myfanwy?? :-( The pterodactyl has been shown flying over Cardiff before, maybe Ianto let it out. Yeah. *nods*
-Worst. Sniper. Ever. Seriously, that's a great vantage point, there's a laser sight on that gun and the sniper still can't hit a frigging thing.
-Hey, death warrant-issuing dude? You know you're a 'witness' now too, right? Just sayin'
-Take his phone, Gwen you idiot!
-Hee! Hi Andy, I think. "Uncle terrorist." Cute.
-Please be taking them the long way 'round Andy. Or to an entirely wrong address.
-*pauses to screencap Ianto in the phone booth*
-Ooo! PC Andy's getting an education in Gwen there. Does serve him right for leading the pack of murderous government gits to her place though. And yay Andy for not assuming gunfire equals terrorism.
-"You want your trigger-finger free, don't you?" Now there's a thoughtful spouse. :-)
-"We want a pony." Heheheheheeheh.
-Ah, no bomb cover up for the masses then? Fair enough.
-You're building it? You don't even know- Yeah, what he said. Even though he's a prat.
-Well, at least he's telling you upfront you're a scapegoat. Nice to have that level of honesty from someone who is screwing you over.
-Jack's phone number is 07700900578, in case anyone's curious. Wonder if it works or if it's the UK equivalent of a '555' number.
-Hee. Mental image. Bits of Jack, squishing their way across Cardiff like a liquid metal Terminator. XD
-Aw, Iantooooooo! Watching them pack off Jack and worrying. and looking all lost and alone. *hugs*
-Oh! Hey! The stolen Torchwoodmobile's still out there somewhere! They could get it back! Bet the kids that stole it got way more than they expected for a joyride.
-Aw, ranting to cover up reading secret notes from Ianto. He's not all bad, Ianto's brother-in-law.
-'Where dad broke my leg.' Oh. Wow. Ow.
-"We're the only family he's got." Not quite. :-)
-Okay. Gwen and Rhys must have a plan here, because using their card anywhere is bloody stupid otherwise.
-Heeeeeee! The slowly inflating body bag. *glee* Normally I don't like heroes who can't die, but for some reason, Jack's an exception. Actually, it's more heroes that can't be killed than heroes that can't die, and Jack still gets killed now and then, so there we are.
-"Cuff it to the wall." Heee! You know, if they have any sense, (and an FX department worth it's salt) they'd cuff him through his ribcage. Or spine. Let him regenerate around that and even if he does rip himself off the wall, he'd be incapacitated for a while and they could re-attach him. ...Should I be disturbed that I think of things like this? o.O
-Yay, Rhys' trucking knowledge helps!\o/
-*glee* Brother-in-law and his crew about to get rowdy with surveillance, I'm guessing to cover Ianto's sister's escape...? Yep.
-Also, as well as occasionally being killed, Jack screams well. *nods*
-Aw. Gwen and Rhys in the potatoes. Aww.
-Of course there'll be an incident in the park while Ianto's there.
-Oooo, character data in those files. Must go back and glean later. [Gwen's birthdate is August 16th, 1978, in Swansea to Mary and Geraint Cooper, her address is 138B Pentre Road.]
-I like Lois Habiba. So she'll probably die. Torchwood is like Supernatural that way. Like any non-main character in an episode, they'll die, or go evil. *looks disappointedly at doctor-guy's corpse*
-Yay on Rhys dealing with the mundane things like food and such. Practical man.
-Oh, not cement, oh god, not cement. Geeeeez. Okay, that works. I had been assuming they might need him to talk, but if not? yeh, cement works. Or handcuffing him through his lower jaw. ...What?
-PA! \o/ *glee* Yeah, if she survives, she'd be good at Torchwood
-*randomly covets Gwen's boots* That skin-tight outfit has got to be starting to chafe, not to mention getting a bit funky after being worn for, what, 30 hours straight? :-P
-Ya know.... Walking into a secured facility when the people running it are trying to kill you and have security cameras all over the place and you smell like day-old-sweat and raw potatoes is a wee bit daft, yeah?
-I love the Torchwood sonic gizmo! \o/
-Yeah. Cement. *shudders* Hope Kripke doesn't watch Torchwood *thinks of Bobby's Safe Room, nervously*
-YEAH IANTO!!!! \o/ SO WHAT IF JACK'S ENCASED IN CONCRETE AND THE CRANE LIFT THING ONLY GOES TEN KM AN HOUR UNDER LOAD, AND THEY HAVE NO WHERE TO HIDE SEVERAL CUBIC METRES OF CONCRETE! IANTO'S STILL GONNA GET HIM OUT OF THERE!!!! *GLEEEE*
-AND THEY GET AWAY!!! BECAUSE ON TORCHWOOD, CEMENT TRUCKS EXPLODE!!! FUCK YES!!! \o/
-Again. Must have soundtrack.
-Dropping the cement block into the quarry (quarry! *geeks out old school WHO style*) Ooo. That's gonna hurt. Aw, Ianto being all hesitant. Aw. Don't worry Ianto, you won't break him permanently. Although he does look a wee bit shell-shocked. He's had a rough day.
-Jack takes the coat and just slings it over his shoulder and carries on, bare naked. XD Yeah, he's fine. Never change, Jack.
-OMG, I just realized! Those bastards blew up the trenchcoat!!! O.O Okay! Now I'm pissed.
-Hm. big enclosed room full of poison gas. Doesn't bode well. Alien atmosphere, yeah, but still, much boding.
Day 3
-"We become criminals" Oh dear god, just when I thought I couldn't love this show any more, they start going all pragmatic and midnight requisitiony. \o/
-Rhys, official member of the team, telling Jack to stick it. Yeah, sure. You're in, buddy. Deal with it.
-TRENCHCOAT!!! \o/ YEAH!!! It's a little bit different, but workable. Ianto rocks.
-"I'm a fixed point in time and space. That's what the Doctor says" EEE! *flails a little*
-"The world's always ending." True. At least on Torchwood.
-Heeee! Ianto and Jack trying to get rid of Rhys for a half-hour so they can sneak in some nookie. XD
-And Jack's picked up the clue phone about 1965, looks like.
-"Bring her in" Yeah, that's gonna go over really well.
-So much glee over Andy involved in subterfuge.
-Ah. They shut the dog up. There's a subtle yet nasty touch.
-OMG Grannie's stealth games for the grandson of Jack Harkness. *More glee!*
-See, now that's why a solid oak cutting board beats the crap out of a lame plastic one any day. Much more efficient at knocking out government thugs so you can take their weapons.
-Oh ho, she puts down the gun, but she's still got the knife, yes? Ah hell. No. :-P
-All the kids are pointing to London... So any kids awake in New Zealand are pointing down at the ground?
-Also, given all the alien invasions and weirdness that's been happening in London lately that the public knows about, why is anyone remotely surprised? Well, I guess it's not Christmas, so they aren't expecting it.
-I flat out LOVE that when Ianto says 'come on' after the kids start pointing to London, Rhys just picks up and goes with him without question. Tell me who's not a member of the team now, dude.
-Ooo, transmat beam?
-Whoops, looks like someone's a wee bit transmat-sick.
-"Bring them." With a side of chips and some coleslaw. Maybe a little mint sauce.
-Don't get closer you idiot! If nothing else they might still be projectile vomiting.
-*soaks in the awesome for a long while* I love this show.
-"Except you won't, because you're a better man than me." Cool.
-"Big moment. History." Yeah, try not to piddle on your shoes in terror, alright?
-SMILIE! XD Nothing says high-stakes, gravely serious covert op like smilies! \o/
-Of course Ianto can read shorthand! \o/
-Ask it 'why Britain?' Yeah. Bypass all the 'no talking about what happened in 65'. Frobisher's gonna have an aneurysm
-"You're Middlemen" Heeeee. There's a crossover waiting to happen.
-"We want your children." Yeah, that's not gonna fly too well.
-So, there's going to be a promise of cake in exchange for kids now, right? And the last time they came, they handed over a bunch of orphans and didn't tell the rest of the world a damn thing, and got nothing of value for it. And so they'll do it again, right?
-And lemmee guess. Jack is the Man. Yep. Jack is the man. If you have a past as long as Jack, and a human sense of morality, hope and despair, you're bound to have some very dark things lurking in it. *nods*
Day 4
-Ohhh, inoculations. Heh. At least it was for a marginally altruistic reason and not super-weapons or something. Yeah, sure. And now they'll do it again, except 10% is a lot more than 12. And because Frobisher's sworn them to secrecy, he can't say why it's a bad thing without outing what they did in 1965 front of the world. Frobisher will be chewing on a gun before the end of this, mark my words.
-Geeeeez. Ouch. Jack was really having a rough patch morals-wise in the 60's.
-No harm in letting the old guy shoot Jack. A little catharsis, no lasting damage. Shooting Captain Jack is like popping bubble wrap, in a way.
-(Well, no permanent harm except to the new coat. Sigh.)
-"Can I take that?" Yeah, quick Gwen, take the gun before Jack wakes up.
-"This is normal." HA!!!! HAHAHAHAAHAH! Normal for Torchwood.
-Hm. So they did get something in exchange for the kids last time? Hm. Maybe that was to make the humans more likely to give up so many more kids this time? Maybe that virus wasn't native to earth... *ponders*
-Ohh. Protection racket. Yeah. Not a native virus.
-These aliens really like bashing their heads against the tank walls. Odd.
-"It is 'off the record'." Dude, you are sooooo busted. The aliens are using an English-language colloquialism they have no reason to know unless someone used it with them before.
-"Come in" Heh, camera won't even work in that atmosphere, parts would corrode and things.
-"And we can hear
-Ah. Special camera. Nifty. Looks a little like a deep-sea rig.
-Um. Beware of projectile vomit, camera-dude. Hey. Maybe it's sneezing. The aliens have colds. A dozen kids have a hell of a lot of germs. *ponders*
-Ooo. Three forms of life... is one a kid??? Yep. Nice. Very creepy. Rhys is handling it well. And like I said. Frobisher is soooo busted. Also, poor camera guy, barfed on by alien.
-"We will wipe out your entire species." Well. there's fun. So much for cake. Wonder if it's the same virus as last time?
-"It was convenient." Hahahahah, oh my. Mr. Prime Minister, you really need a PR person in there to spin this for you. Either that or fake amnesia, because you're so screwed. Not that you don't deserve it, you weasel.
-"I've only just scraped the surface, haven't I?"/"Ianto, that's all there is." Ow. Ow ow ow ow ow ow . Ow. Also Ow.
-"No, you pretend that's all there is." And Ow again. Gah, these guys are killing me. *flails*
-Hey, they've used this warehouse a couple times before. "Out of the Rain", and this is where they captured Myfanwy who is flying loose somewhere in Wales and no one's going to tell me any different. And while I'm at it, again, what the hell is happening to the Rift???
-60 'units'. Nice weasel-wording.
-6000 kids. Yeesh.
-"3. 2. 5. 0. 0. 0." Shiiiiiiit. This show does not fuck around with the creepy. Ah. Number of kids per country. Oh my god. o.O
-Oh do not tell me this bozo is trying to spin this from an over-population angle. Yeah, he is. Well, it was bound to come up.
-"Which is out of my hands, over to you sir." Look out, hot potato!
-My goodness there's some political commentary flying around here!
-Hey! A 'Cibus' sign! Wasn't that the corporation that did the Cybermen? In Pete's World? Maybe it was spelled different.
-Ooooo! Ianto telling his sister is simultaneously telling the people with the phone taps and is going to set the cat among the pigeons!!! YEAH IANTO!!! INSTIGATE LIKE THE WIND! \o/
-*grins aaaaaall over at Lois standing up and saying she's with Torchwood* Heck of a job interview, but about par for the course with Torchwood.
-Okay, obviously Gwen's not just sitting there oblivious as they swoop in on her, what's the plan here...?
-Aw, no last chance elevator snogging? Because I'm pretty certain Ianto's going to die soon. *kicks spoilers*
-*glee at the ultimatums and standing up and stuff*
-"Check your records. His name is Captain Jack Harkness." Not quite as much of a name to conjure with as the Doctor, but it'll do in a pinch.
-"Then the fight begins" Oh crap, Ianto, duck! Or get in a hazmat suit or something. Gah!!! *smishes*
-Oh shit Ianto. OMG.
-"I take it all back! Not him!" Dude. Wow. Jack would sell out the world to save Ianto, except he can't, because it's too late.
-Yeah, run, you government science weasel. Save your own skin without trying to help. Let's see where that gets you.
-*deep breath*
-"I love you."/"Don't." *totally loses it*
-Whoooo... Glad Barrowman managed to suppress most of his inner cheesiness for this. Otherwise it might have come off as an over-wrought take on Romeo and Juliet, and really, it doesn't. There's a few really weird faces, and no one can deliver lines like "Don't speak, save your breath," without a modicum of cheese, but on the whole... yeah. *wibbles*
-Heh. All on camera in front of the assembly of government people. Ouch. Yeah. Torchwood's not looking really effective at the moment. And is there anyone who doesn't know Jack comes back to life anymore?
-13 and 14. Oof. Probably a good thing I knew that Ianto's death was coming and that it's not getting reversed (at least in this series *crosses fingers*), or I'd be frothing with false hope right now. Damn it.
Day 5
Let's do this.
-Oooooo.... Gwen's recording. Yeah. Ow. Wonder now if the 456 is forcing this kind of action from the humans so the Doctor will stay away? But he's dealt with similar situations before... Hm... Wonder what's really keeping the Doctor away.
-Oh shit. The Aliens are addicted to children. Like licking cane toads or something. Shit. That's why it's flailing around and vomiting. It's going through withdrawal, or tweaking out. Shiiiiiit. This is officially fucked up. I love this show.
-Wow. They got the World Health Organization to back this plan up? Wow.
-Gaaaah. *wibbles a whole hell of a lot over Gwen's phone call and Jack asking them to let her go and losing hope and giving up and gahhhhh*
-"Your children will be inoculated" Oh you bastard. Is this finally going to make Frobisher stand up and say fuck no? Even though it's too late? That thing, how's it go? "I did not speak for those who could not speak for themselves. Now I cannot speak, and there are none to speak for me." Something like that. Come on you bastard, stand up and fight.
-I gotta say, I love the consistency of weasel-word vocabulary in the script for the government folk. It's very true to what would happen. Call it anything but what it is to make the horrific things being done to very real and innocent people seem acceptable. Happens somewhere every single day.
-Hit him. Come on, you knew you were being set up all along as the fall guy, you didn't realize that would include your kids, but really, you should have. Belt the fucker. What's he gonna do? Fire you?
-Requisition 31. Bet it's a gun. Called it. Now the only thing is, is Frobisher just going to do himself, or is he going to go home and ventilate his kids so they don't have to become living uppers for puking aliens for the next 44 years.
-Hey, is that Hitchhiker thing still in Ianto's stolen SUV? Ooo! Can they get the aliens hooked on those instead???? Still waiting for either of those things to reappear.
-See, now here's the thing. If these aliens are so powerful, why don't they just take the kids themselves directly? Scoop up a school or two? Unless it's just one drug dealer with a virus, or being deliberately cruel. I think it's not as powerful as it's making itself out to be. With the pre-adolescent drug-pump and constant puking it's probably too strung out to coordinate anything complex. Give it some Doritos, put a Teletubbies tape on an endless loop and load it up with Hitchhikers while it's distracted. They're looking for hosts to make happy, the 456 are looking for good chemicals. Seems like a logical pair-up to me.
-Forbisher goes home with a gun. Yep. I thought so. As tough as the subject matter is, this really is well-written and well done, with the juxtaposition of the loyal assistant telling Frobisher's story, as he goes and does what he's about to do. I've got it paused so I don't know exactly how it's going to play out yet, but given the situation... see, there's masses of media outside, since he's supposed to be getting his kids 'inoculated'. If he goes along with the plan quietly, his kids go to the aliens and become drugs. If he rats out the government, his kids are taken to the aliens anyway, and there's mass worldwide public panic, possibly enough to blow the deadline and kill the entire population. By Frobisher doing this, horrible as it is, the media will know about it immediately. They'll have the line of bull the PM fed them, and they'll have a man in the know who went home in the middle of the crisis to kill his whole family rather than have his children get 'inoculated'. They might put the two situations together, get something close to the true, ugly picture, and tell the world about it. Word might get out that way before it's repressed. This is very poignant. I love this show. I love that it gets so dark in sci-fi terms and in real world terms and that it keeps that layer of reality, the bureaucracy and politics condoning the mass sacrifice of unknowing children all over the world. It's horrific, and chilling, and very real, and very human.
-Right now, with this still paused... I don't know how or if Torchwood will win this. I'm hoping they do, with the Hitchhikers, or something. But they might not win at all.
-Unpausing now.
-Loads of guys with guns in the schoolyard. That'll reassure the kiddies. *eyeroll* There's going to be no way of spinning this positively. I'm really rooting for the Hitchhikers now.
-Yay! Jailbreak! \o/ I don't know who this woman and her team are with. Unit has red hats. I'm blanking out on whether these guys have showed up before, or if they are UNIT, but the extra covert arm that leaves the bright red hats at home. Arg.
-Hee! Neighbourhood fights back! And probably dies.
-Worst. Riot formation. Ever. It was breaking up before anyone even hit it. I've seen better riot formations when I was in Girl Guides playing 'Red Rover' *makes rude noise*
-GO ANDY!!!!!! TAKE A STAND YOU BASTARD!!! \o/ Though taking off the body armour might not have been a good idea.
-Hey, science-guy who's name I never got and saved his own skin instead of trying to help! You don't need kneecaps for science, do ya?
-Whoooo. This is intense. Very resonant with real world atrocities, people being hunted down and rounded up, hiding each other from the armed squads. I can't even say how much I love this show for going there with this. It's stuff that makes you think, but it's not a soap box. It's... I can't even say. Well done, RTD.
-Ooo. Frobisher's Assistant is watching the PM very closely.... Someone's plotting a bit of assassination, Methinks.
-Yeah, Jack's grandson had to get scrambled up in this somehow. Emergency Backup Victim. I could give Jack the benefit of the doubt and say he'd done this and hoped that the Tardis-resurrection effect would have spread to his progeny, but no. It's obvious he doesn't think so. He would kill his grandson to save the world, but let the world hang for Ianto. Hunh. So, if the situation was switched around and Jack had needed to channel that signal through Ianto, the kids would be toast. Or Ianto would've had to fight Jack in order to sacrifice himself. Wow.
-And the aliens explode in a Kool-aid fireball. Red though? It's not an oxygen atmosphere... That can't all be from the kid. Hunh. Really curious about the 456's blood chemistry now. Also they totally cleaned up after themselves? Wow. That's impressive. Not even a smear.
-"Prime minister" says the US general, saluting. Love his expression. Like he'd rather salute a heap of rotting manure.
-"The Torchwood contact lenses" Ahahahaahahaahahaaaaa! GO GIRL! *fistpump* Regular assassination is messy. Political assassination requires less mopping.
-Oh Jack.
-Oh, oh, oh, Jack. His surface is going to be a million miles thick, just to dissociate from the pain after all this, and Ianto's not there anymore to chip away at it. Oh Jack.
-Also, given the ending here, I'm thinking Jack will manage to show up in the next Doctor Who series. (Please do not confirm or deny this if you know anything.)
-And all that's all well and good (not really), but who's running Torchwood, who's minding the rift, and where the hell's Myfanwy?
Gahhhh.
Okay. I need fic now.
And I just bought the soundtrack off iTunes.