Torchwood 2x05: "Adam"

[jadesfire]

I barely know where to start with this, since I loved so much of the episode. In an attempt to get myself to calm down, I've started with the few things that bugged me about it – mostly plot holes, nothing major – before getting to the 101 things I loved. I think I'm going to need a whole other post for my response to Jack, but I'm going to need more time for that, so I've pretty much left him out here.

I did watch 'Reset' as well, but that post is going to have to wait until I've written the torchwood_meta one, and stopped bouncing off the walls with excitement.



So, to start with the problems:

- The gaping plot hole that was the conclusion. Things like what's Rhys going to say to Gwen when she gets home? And they're seriously going to just let this go? Not try to find out who Adam was? Maybe they will, but have no success. Who knows? I just would have liked to see more of that on the screen.
- Note to Jack: Do not reconstruct unknown alien artefacts under uncontrolled conditions. While I loved the effect of that part, I have to admit I was yelling at him not to reconstruct the box. *sigh* You'd think he'd know better by now.
- Note to the director: Please keep JB's acting under control. He sometimes pushes just a little bit too hard in the emotional exposition scenes, and he's not great at monologues. I thought the last scene with his father, when he says that 'this isn't what happens' was great, but just standing still, emoting into the distance, he falls back on his theatre roots, which comes across as too big for the small screen.
- The last Tosh/Owen scene. I found that just a little bit over done, as though CT really wanted to make the point that "things are as they were". It's not that I disagree with the decision, but I felt it was just a little bit too much.
- Jack letting Adam back into his mind at the end. While it led to my favourite part of the whole episode, I was still yelling "You Muppet!" at the screen.



Nope, it's no good. I still don't know where to start. I think more than anything, I loved the tone of this episode. Catherine Tregana is probably the best character drama writer on the Torchwood team, and she created a complete story just out of the characters – who they are and how they relate to each other was everything in this, proving that the best science fiction is character driven.

The Plot, such as it was, was wonderfully simple: what happens to the Torchwood team when you mess with their memories of who they are? All the drama came out of the characters, and if it hadn't been for Ianto's diary, it would have taken much longer for them to figure everything out. But I loved the way that things snowballed once Ianto found out, and Jack's complete trust in the other man that forced him into action.

Ianto is definitely growing on me. Snarky, capable, and still just a little bit shy, his scene with Adam played out really well, and I loved the mixed scared/scary performance in front of the lie detector. And doesn’t he know better than to keep a diary? I can see it as the kind of thing he would do, and the scene with Jack at the end was just priceless. I think we have another 'line that spawned a thousand fics' and the tape measure is about to become as ubiquitous as the stopwatch, but I can live with that, just for the look on Ianto's face.

Gwen was great – this is the kind of performance that Eve Myles hits every single time. Lost and frightened, but strong and determined as well. Her falling back in love with Rhys was so well handled, and the bedtime scene was such a lovely mix of awkward and tender, and a perfect echo/contrast to the one at the beginning. Her smile when she said 'it was nice, though' made me just melt.

I can't just pass by without saying something about the 'Not like I love you' line, which actually, I really liked. Gwen's happy memories, her defining moments, are all with Rhys. Yes, she loves Jack, but it is different to the way she loves Rhys, and I thought Jack's response was pitch perfect. Tender and acknowledging it, but not doing more than that. Plus, I love the idea that both Jack/Gwen and Jack/Ianto is canon, because it works with the way that I think of Jack.

Last season, I never would have thought that my 'most want to hug' character would be Owen, but he's by far and away my favourite in S2. This is the man who was lurking under the surface in S1, swamped by bitterness that made me really dislike him. Now, with the heat of his anger gone without losing the brittle edge that makes him Owen, I just adore him. It helps that Burn Gorman pretty much acts everyone else off the screen. His preppy!Owen was pitch perfect, and his scene with Tosh in the briefing room was wonderfully difficult to watch, as was his later apology. When Adam says 'he's happier like this', I had such a mixture of 'no he's not!' and 'yes he is', but came down on the side of 'no'. I like Owen more confident and snarky, but he was also completely convincing as sweet and shy. The performance absolutely made this episode for me.

The revelations about his past, about his childhood, go so far to explaining Owen, as well as the end of S1 and his relationship with Jack. I think I want to write more about this, once I get my head around the words.

And Tosh? Well, I loved sexy!Tosh, and thought it was great to see her come out of her shell and be confident and happy. I was all but crying for her at the end, with all that she was going to lose. Strong suits her, and it was a shock to go back to the 'real' Tosh, who I suddenly wanted to shout at to be braver. Naoko Mori and Burn Gorman gave the performances of the episode, and they seem to bounce off each other incredibly well. I can't think of much else to say, other than 'more of this Tosh, please!'

As a baddie, I really liked Adam. I thought the actor playing him did a fantastic job, just the right side of creepy, and suitably earnest when his (Adam's) role called for it. He had great chemistry with Tosh, and his scenes with Jack just sparkled, especially at the end. As much as it was easy to hate him for what he'd done, I had a smidge of sympathy for him, just trying to survive, the only way he can. A well written and superbly performed part.

So, what about Jack? I have far too much to say, so will restrain myself to a few bullet points for now:
- He is the team's rock, and they are his family. It's pretty much that simple. For me, the most striking showing of this wasn't the conference room scene, it was when he first pulls the gun on Adam. He says that he looked that pictures and felt nothing for him, no pride, no warmth. So that's what he feels when he looks at his team.
- He showed both his ruthlessness and his compassion, locking Adam up to starve, then giving him one last chance. He's also selfish, taking that risk in order to have his memory unburied. There are mountains of character depth there that I'm going to have to scale another time.
- He loves Gwen and he loves Ianto. The two are not mutually exclusive.
- I lovedlovedloved that in all the 'childhood' scenes, no-one said his name. This makes me happy, because I want much of Jack's past to remain a mystery. I love that every time we find something out, it creates a dozen more questions. What we saw explains a lot about Jack's character, without really telling us anything fundamental about his early life. Excellent.

I have to stop there before I get carried away. I also have to try and formulate this for torchwood_meta, which I think is going to require more coffee.

What I do know is that I nearly died of squee last night (my other half's hand may never be the same again after I kept grabbing it and bouncing), and that it's lasted right through to this morning. Torchwood's all grown up, and turning into the show we all said it could be. Hoorah!

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