Relationships and Torchwood: Children of Earth

[Here there be spoilers! Reader beware!]

Torchwood Logo I got a lot of good feedback after my post about Torchwood’s sexuality. Impassioned comments and emails came my way declaring much love for the show. Some folks agreed with me while also admitting the wanton sex was a draw for them. Others heralded Ianto Jones (we’ll get into him later) as the shining example of a same-sex "love" on the show. Throughout the feedback there was one thing I heard over and over again… I need to see Torchwood: Children of Earth.

Children of Earth was a mini-series version (only 5 episodes) of what should have been the third season of Torchwood. I’m not quite sure why they went in this direction as opposed to a full 13 episode run, but since Torchwood always underwent heavy change with each transition between seasons this was just par for the course.

An intense powder keg of a story arc, Children of Earth hit the ground running and never looked back. I loved the insane loyalty the team had for Jack, going to batshit insane lengths in order to rescue him. The story also worked very well with the reduced cast, keeping the narrative tight and focused.

Kudos to the writers for creating the 456, a flailing, vomiting monstrosity in a gas filled box. These drug addicted fiends with their serenely calm voices had more menace just sitting there than almost any other alien on the show. The sound of their voice reminded me of a relaxed serial killer reciting all of the gruesome things he’ll do to a victim as they sit there bound and gagged. Scary indeed.

One thing that did bother me was Torchwood breaking its own world rules by ridiculing sexual choices. In the normal series everyone shagged everything without batting an eye. With Children of Earth, Ianto seemed to take the brunt of this harassment—which was completely underserved, all things considered—from his family and random strangers. Granted, the family comments were playful jests, but they mark the first time any of the characters had been singled out for sexual choices outside the norm. It didn’t sit well with me and didn’t add to the narrative, so I wonder why they put it in.

Speaking of Mr. Jones, he was the one character most mentioned when debating my point that the only real relationships on the show were hetero. At the time I hadn’t seen Children of Earth, so I didn’t know if the writers had changed their ways, but even after having seen it, I will still go with my original assessment.

A Tearful Death Scene Does Not Make A Relationship

Ianto Jones got shafted by the writers and not in a good way. Out of all of the characters, he grew the most over the course of the series. He went from a sad, little coffee boy who cried through the entire Cyberwoman episode to an essential member of the team who could have easily run his own Torchwood branch.

He was also the only character other than Gwen to regularly get a piece of ass (Jack doesn’t count, he gets a piece of everything). All in all, Ianto had it good. Then the writers decided to get dramatic and the quickest way to inject drama and peril into a story is to kill a main character. Poor Jones pulled the short straw.

Before I go any further let me revisit my original statement:

It became apparent during the course of the show that only straight pairings would be the allowed "loves" of the cast. As constant as the same sex romps were, they were never elevated above the status of casual fling. ~ Cuban Nomad | The Bisexuality of Torchwood

Specifically, the only relationships shown were hetero. We’re not talking about back story or implied through dialogue, we’re talking about relationship interactions that were part of the plot. Gwen and Rhys went on dates, shagged and bickered, like a real relationship. Tosh at least went out on a date, though it was with a frozen World War I soldier. Jack was constantly being caught in flagrante delicto yet a simple dinner or day off with a loved one was never seen.

The one thing you can remotely tie to Jack and Ianto being in a real relationship was Ianto’s sister knowing about the dinner they had together. That’s it. Three seasons and the best we have is a passing comment, not even a flashback of said dinner. Sure they shagged like rabbits, but that only made them fuck buddies. The entire Children of Earth Jack spent brushing off Ianto’s attempts to define them as something more or blatantly dismissing any references to being a couple. It wasn’t till Ianto’s dying in Jacks arms that they’re allowed a moment of love. Honestly, it was too little, too late and completely unfair to Ianto.

Yes, I Remember Captain John Hart & No He’s Not A Love Either

Capt John Hart James Marsters played Captain John Hart, a blast from Harkness’ past packing guns and emotional baggage. Half nemesis, half former lover, John wrecks havoc on the Torchwood team from the moment he sets foot in Cardiff.

As sordid as their past was—the reunion was a combination drag down fight and passionate make out session—when John’s introduced to the rest of the crew we see the same dismissive behavior from Jack. John says they were an item and Jack quips "It was only two weeks". Later in the series we find out more about their time together and Jack made it sound like he was more John’s wrangler—controlling his impulses and keeping him in line—than significant other.

Jack didn’t give any of his male partners more than sex. An undercurrent of the show was Jack’s love of Gwen. We see it in bits during the first season and much more so in the latter ones. The first episode of the second season we see Jack’s shock at Gwen getting married. For the rest of the time we saw his glances of longing, love and regret. I don’t remember a single time he was that emotionally invested in Ianto like that. Sure there was affection and attraction, but the love was missing until it the end.

I Wish They Had Done More

My fondness for Torchwood grew the more I watched it. The show was filled with potential yet still trying to find its footing, which in a way is what you’d expect from Jack as he rebuilt Torchwood from the ashes of a misguided organization. The fourth season is in question (after CoE how could it not be?) and an American version would more than likely steal John Barrowman. If somehow the BBC decides to continue the UK Torchwood I would like to see them take a better approach with their same-sex pairings.

Imagine how cool it would have been to see Ianto and Jack enjoy an evening off? Of course there’d be hijinks and interruptions, but at least they would have had a chance to enjoy each other’s company not just rub shoulders while working a case. The progressive nature of the show should have been expanded in all aspects not just the superficial ones.