TW meta: The last scene of Children of Earth. (My Captain)

[elisi]

So, the last scene. I have no words for how much I loved it, or how perfect I think it is... but I’ll try. The parallels, circles and repeated themes are so thick that I’m probably only scratching the surface. But here is what I see:

The book-ending was what struck me mostly at first, and what makes it all seem so final.

At the very beginning Gwen saw Jack, coat buttoned up just like he wears it on the hill. These are the only two times in the entire show he buttons up the coat, belt and all. (Apart from flashbacks obviously.) It signifies his remoteness - the way he inhabits a different world. At the beginning he ends up inviting Gwen into that world, and now he leaves her behind. The symbolism is gorgeous. I’m almost tempted to read something into the fact that at the beginning she’s looking down at him, and he pulls her down into Torchwood (he’s mysterious, ruthless, in-your-face and overly sexual) - but at the end he is the one above her, going up into the heavens (calm, ethereal, remote, alien).





One parallel that struck me was ‘Doomsday’ - or rather, the differences struck me. And Jack actually comes off much better than the Doctor...

Rose made the Doctor her entire life (“There’s nothing for me here”, PotW), and the Doctor never questioned that, really. Sure, he wanted her to appreciate her human life, but he didn’t question that he was worth it (“I love you.”/”Quite right too.”). Jack’s story is different. He wanted Gwen, that much is very obvious, but he never went there. Now this is partly because Jack’s relationship story was split into the Gwen/Jack/Ianto triangle, with the three sides making up a unit, so for the “I love you” we have to go to Ianto, where Jack’s response of course is “Don’t”. And so in CoE we see Doomsday refracted - no permanent separation with a broken life, but one death (the one who had lost everything and made Jack and TW his entire life) and one life deeply touched, but still intact.

So I think this is the reason why Gwen had to be the one to survive - she was never fully absorbed into Jack’s world the way the others were. She (sometimes more by accident than planning) managed to hang onto life outside Torchwood, outside Jack. You could say that she saved herself. Or - she was saved by Rhys, since Rhys is the very embodiment of ‘everyday, ordinary life’ that RTD (mostly through the Doctor) keeps holding up as the most important thing of all. (The Doctor asks if Rose is the one who’s pregnant. She’s not, she can’t move beyond the Doctor. But Gwen is.)

Anyway, I’ve transcribed the whole scene, because it is amazing, and because there were so many things that made me think, that I kinda had to do it this way. Transcript is the indented stuff, other quotes are in italics, and general thoughts are like this.

Last scene

Gwen: Couldn’t just have chosen a pub, could you?
Rhys: It’s bloody freezing. My feet!
Jack: Oh I missed that - the Welsh complaining.

Jack: That is so Welsh.
Gwen: What is?
Jack: I show you something fantastic - you find fault.

More bookending. I love it.

Jack: You look good.
Gwen: I look huge.
Rhys: She’s bloody gorgeous.
Gwen: You OK?
Jack: Yeah.

Donna: Is "all right" special Time Lord code for... "really not all right at all"?

He’s *so* Doctor-like here. ‘I’m always all right.’ The mask is in place and nothing can put even the tiniest dent in it.

Gwen: Did it work?
Jack: Travelled to all sorts of places. This planet is too small. The whole world is like a graveyard.

Jack: These people. This planet. All the beauty you could never see. That's what I come back for.

The difference between these two statements just *guts* me.

Gwen: Come back with us.
Jack: Haven’t travelled far enough yet. Have a lot of dirt to shake off my shoes. And right now there’s a cold fusion cruiser surfing the ion reefs just on the edge of the solar system. Just waiting to open its transport dock. I just need to send a signal.

Doctor: Off we go! The open road! There is a burst of starfire right now over the coast of Meta Sigmafolio.

And there it is... the running away.

[Gwen holds up her hand]
Gwen: They found it in the wreckage. Indestructible. Like it’s owner. I put on a new strap for you.
Rhys: Cost me fifty quid that.
Jack: Bill me.
Gwen: Are you ever coming back Jack?
Jack: What for?
Gwen: Me...

Jack [to Ianto]: I came back for you. [looks around] All of you.

Jack [to Gwen]: But after it was all over ... I knew I belong here. What kept me fighting was the thought of coming home to you.

As he says at the beginning of Day 5, he can’t even look at Gwen anymore. What was once his refuge - his reason to fight - has now become something far, far different. The only thing that could have kept him on Earth would have been Ianto (partly, I think, because Ianto never had any illusions about Jack), but with him gone...

Gwen: It’s wasn’t your fault.
Jack: I think it was. Stephen and Ianto. And Tosh and Owen and Suzie and... All of them. Because of me.
Gwen: But you saved us - didn’t you?
Jack: Began to like it. And look what I became. Still. I have lived so many lives. It’s time to find another one.
Gwen: But they die, and I am sorry Jack, but you can not just run away. You can not just run away.
Jack: Oh yes I can. Just watch me.

Ianto [to Jack]: You like to think you're a hero. But you're the biggest monster of all.

Davros: How many more? Just think. How many have died in your name? The Doctor... the man who keeps running, never looking back, because he dare not, out of shame. This is my final victory, Doctor. I have shown you... yourself.

I’m not sure that the Doctor is the best role model Jack could have, although on the plus side he knows exactly what he’s doing here. The writers (on purpose, one presumes) are dragging Jack through every single thing the Doctor has been through... all that’s left is genocide, and I doubt they’ll go there. Anyway, Jack is now very much at the same point that the Doctor was when we first met him at the start of New Who. The parallels are eerie by now:

Dr Constantine: Before this war began, I was a father and a grandfather. Now I am neither. But I am still a doctor.
The Doctor: Yeah. Know the feeling.

Martha: Have you got a brother?
The Doctor: No, not any more. Just me.

So they keep running... As Buffy once put it:

Buffy: I don't have that any more. I don't understand. I don't know how to live in this world if these are the choices. If everything just gets stripped away. I don't see the point.

Or, to bring it back to the show, here’s Gwen.

Gwen: This is what Torchwood does, you see? It ruins your life.

It echoes Suzie’s despair at the very beginning, but Gwen manages to fight her way back because she has something to live for. Jack doesn’t, but he has no choice but go on...

You know, for the first time ever I’m genuinely glad for the Face of Boe connection, because it means that one day he will actually find peace.

That’s all for now. Goodbye my Captain. Goodbye show. Goodbye Ianto. I loved you all entirely too much, but I guess you had a good run.

ETA: I'm rather impressed at how calm I can sound, but then I've never really been quite as utterly shattered by a character death before. It'll take me *forever* to get used to a world without Ianto.

Comments

[lynnenne]

You know, for the first time ever I’m genuinely glad for the Face of Boe connection, because it means that one day he will actually find peace.

Agreed. One day he will find it, and that is a sort of comfort.

[elisi]

I know I ought to hate him for what he did, but I can't. I just want him to be OK.

[gillo]

Began to like it. And look what I became.

For me that is one of the most important lines. This is where hubris leads. Jack got in the habit of saving the world, and had fun. Now he knows that it's not just about collateral damage. Real people really die. And it hurts. His list of people he's lost, and sees as his responsibility too - in reverse order:

Gwen: It’s wasn’t your fault.
Jack: I think it was. Stephen and Ianto. And Tosh and Owen and Suzie and... All of them. Because of me.

He knows he's a monster. Even if Gwen treats him like a man.

[elisi]

For me that is one of the most important lines. This is where hubris leads.
He wanted to be the hero, I think. Desperately. Loved being the one saving the day. But it *does* cost, and the price he had to pay this time was too much.

He knows he's a monster. Even if Gwen treats him like a man.
Very nicely put. (Also it reminded me of this line, which I've now added:

Ianto: You like to think you're a hero. But you're the biggest monster of all.

I think this is why Jack opened up to Ianto as time went by. Ianto was good at loving monsters.

[adriana-is.livejournal.com]

When I watched that scene, I could not miss the Doctor parallels because they were very obvious that my heart breaks for both of them now. I actually expected the TARDIS to be somewhere nearby considering that both of them are mourning the loss of everything they've held dear. RTD follows a theme here (just like Joss) and while I found this series riveting I couldn't help but hate it a little bit. I felt the same way about Chosen and Journey's End.

[elisi]

When I watched that scene, I could not miss the Doctor parallels because they were very obvious that my heart breaks for both of them now.
I know. *pets broken hearts*

RTD follows a theme here (just like Joss) and while I found this series riveting I couldn't help but hate it a little bit. I felt the same way about Chosen and Journey's End.
RTD has moved to the top of my list of people I hate, because of what they've done to fictional characters. (Mostly because he killed Ianto. I can see why, but I won't forgive him. Still, it was a stunning ride.)

[debris4spike]

Thanks for that - hadn't noticed about the coat!

These are some great comparisons.

I still haven't ordered my thoughts to put something down - I must!

[elisi]

Thanks for that - hadn't noticed about the coat!
I re-watched parts of S1 recently, and the coat stood out, since he *never* buttons it up.

These are some great comparisons.
Thank you. :)

I still haven't ordered my thoughts to put something down - I must!
There's just so much there there, it's hard to know where to start.

[beer-good-foamy.livejournal.com]

Very good post.

You know, for the first time ever I’m genuinely glad for the Face of Boe connection, because it means that one day he will actually find peace.

I have to say that for me, knowing (or at least thinking I know) that was pretty much what rescued the character for me, even if I'm not sure you agree. What he did was... perhaps not unforgivable, but somehow it feels right that he knows that (even if his very IC response is to run rather than do what a Whedonverse character would have done, stayed and tried to make up for it) and that it's going to take him a long time to make up for it.

And "YOU ARE NOT ALONE" suddenly took on a brand new meaning, didn't it?

[elisi]

Very good post.
Thank you.

What he did was... perhaps not unforgivable, but somehow it feels right that he knows that (even if his very IC response is to run rather than do what a Whedonverse character would have done, stayed and tried to make up for it) and that it's going to take him a long time to make up for it.
I actually have a post about the differences between the Joss & RTD 'verses brewing, so I'll leave that part aside (too many thoughts), but I get what you're saying.

And "YOU ARE NOT ALONE" suddenly took on a brand new meaning, didn't it?
Oh. I like your brain.

[annegables.livejournal.com]

Here's the thing. I only watch Torchwood on Dvd. But from the sounds of all this on Livejournal something really awful has happened. Is this show now cancelled? Is it going to go on with all new characters with Jack? I don't mind spoilers - just someone let me know what happening, please....?

[elisi]

As I'm sure you picked up, the new series (UK speak for season) was a mini-series and only 5 episodes long. RTD (the creator) used this format to tell one long story, and in the process finally used the show to it's maximum ability - seriously, it's one of the best things I've ever seen on TV, and also one of the darkest. As I put it earlier, it basically grew up. Unfortunately, this also meant destroying it. There might be a S4 (the ratings were through the roof), but it'll probably be a completely different thing.

Does that answer your question? (I don't want to spoil you.)

[annegables.livejournal.com]

Yes - thank you!!

[elisi]

Oh good. Try to stay unspoiled, it's an awesome, awesome show.

[musicianatheart.livejournal.com]

this. I hadn't thought about that last scene very much, actually, because the entirety of days four and five was so hard to deal with to begin with, the end was just... the end. but this is brilliant, all these beautiful parallels. I think all along rusty has been trying to run parallels of the doctor with jack, and finally he had nothing left but to run away. I totally agree about why gwen was the one to survive, she had her own life to go back to and that would just give jack more reason to leave her behind--he didn't want to ruin her life the way he had ruined everyone else's.

and for the record, I'm still pretty damn shattered about Ianto too, I may have reached "tv enlightenment" as a friend of mine put it and finally accepted the series for what it is rather than what I wanted it to be, but I am still grieving. I think most of fandom is, and will continue to be, even those of us who aren't begging for a do-over.

[elisi]

but this is brilliant, all these beautiful parallels.
Thank you. :) (This is very much how my brain works.)

I think all along rusty has been trying to run parallels of the doctor with jack, and finally he had nothing left but to run away.
And Owen walked in Jack's footsteps... he likes his parallels, does Rusty.

I totally agree about why gwen was the one to survive, she had her own life to go back to and that would just give jack more reason to leave her behind--he didn't want to ruin her life the way he had ruined everyone else's.
And really, I can't fault his logic. It might be cowardly, but it's logcial.

I may have reached "tv enlightenment" as a friend of mine put it
Oh I love that. And yes, Torchwood was never the show I hoped it would be. First it was too crack-tastic, and then too awesomely dark for its own good. I'll miss it SO SO MUCH! (Especially the cracktasticness.)

[zanthinegirl.livejournal.com]

I did notice the coat thing-- hadn't put it all together though. Interesting!

I adore the Doctor like whoa, but I'm not all that sure I want Jack to turn into the Doctor.2 That seems a little too obvious to me!

That’s all for now. Goodbye my Captain. Goodbye show. Goodbye Ianto. I loved you all entirely too much, but I guess you had a good run.

does that mean you won't watch whatever it is that they put out as a fourth series? I'm curious!

[elisi]

I did notice the coat thing-- hadn't put it all together though. Interesting!
It must be deliberate.

I adore the Doctor like whoa, but I'm not all that sure I want Jack to turn into the Doctor.2 That seems a little too obvious to me!
Yes. Although in many ways CoE showed how Jack *isn't* the Doctor, how he is all too human and helpless...

does that mean you won't watch whatever it is that they put out as a fourth series? I'm curious!
Oh I'd watch, but it'd be totally new show.

[zanthinegirl.livejournal.com]

BTW, check out http://www.bbc.co.uk/torchwood/gallery/day_three.shtml I found looking for something else-- sheds interesting light on the whole coat issue!

[elisi]

Yes, I noticed that. Also in the last scene his hair is a lot more slicked down...

[priscellie.livejournal.com]

Excellent analysis. You've given my brain some lovely material to ruminate over to stop it from blaring WAH IANTO every time I think of Torchwood.

[elisi]

My pleasure - I tend to find meta a good way of dealing with broken hearts. (WAH IANTO indeed... *curls up into ball of mourning*)