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Ianto Jones
Jan. 15th, 2011 12:48 pmThis article wants to know why Ianto Jones is so popular and why Gwen isn't:
http://nyrhalahotep.wordpress.com/2011/01/12/torchwood-the-rise-of-ianto-jones/
I wrote this in response:
Ianto Jones was an everyman. Like Donna, he had been a temp, working a bunch of jobs and never sticking with one for long. He didn’t get high marks in school. However, he found himself in Torchwood and he found love, that’s all most of us want out of life: to feel we’re wanted and to have someone to share that with. When he ranted about no one caring about him in “Cyberwoman”, that’s what so many of us had wanted to do at our jobs but we never had the guts. We were able to cheer at his successes: going out on cases, having Jack acknowledge his feelings, saving the day like if he can do that…so can we.
He also happened to be gay, a rarity on tv and a more relatable position than Jack’s omnisexuality.
We loved Tosh and Owen, but when they died, we could go…well, at least we still have Ianto. We put all those remaining egg’s in Mr. Jones’ basket. All that grief and disappointment were able to be deferred because we still had him…and then we didn’t and it all came out. All that extra grief came out because not only did he die but Tosh and Owen were barely mentioned which felt weird because if you lose your colleagues like that, don’t you remember them more than that? Even as time passes, don’t you remember them? Yes, the Doctor Who episode addressed the matter more because it was closer to their deaths but that felt a little cheap to assume everyone had seen that episode and moved on. Plus, compare that with the Doctor Who episode with Jack that doesn’t bother to address why he’s broken-hearted and drinking in an alien bar even though it was established in The Stolen Earth that Jack was in an exclusive relationship with Ianto Jones. Wouldn’t those who only watch Dr Who be confused? Likewise, those who only watch Torchwood would have extra reason for claiming that Tosh and Owen were utterly forgotten quickly.
I also want to add that a Russel T Davies interview in the Torchwood magazine, Issue #17, Oct/Nov 2009, he said:
As a colleague of mine who worked on soap operas used to say: ‘You don’t rape Snow White.’ In other words, you shouldn’t push your central characters to the point where they become the walking wounded.
Isn’t that what Jack was by the end of CoE? How else would you describe how he was in The End of Time, Pt. 2? However, he does say this quote in reference to Gwen which is another reason why many do not like her…apparently, Davies feels she is the central character and not Jack.
http://nyrhalahotep.wordpress.com/2011/01/12/torchwood-the-rise-of-ianto-jones/
I wrote this in response:
Ianto Jones was an everyman. Like Donna, he had been a temp, working a bunch of jobs and never sticking with one for long. He didn’t get high marks in school. However, he found himself in Torchwood and he found love, that’s all most of us want out of life: to feel we’re wanted and to have someone to share that with. When he ranted about no one caring about him in “Cyberwoman”, that’s what so many of us had wanted to do at our jobs but we never had the guts. We were able to cheer at his successes: going out on cases, having Jack acknowledge his feelings, saving the day like if he can do that…so can we.
He also happened to be gay, a rarity on tv and a more relatable position than Jack’s omnisexuality.
We loved Tosh and Owen, but when they died, we could go…well, at least we still have Ianto. We put all those remaining egg’s in Mr. Jones’ basket. All that grief and disappointment were able to be deferred because we still had him…and then we didn’t and it all came out. All that extra grief came out because not only did he die but Tosh and Owen were barely mentioned which felt weird because if you lose your colleagues like that, don’t you remember them more than that? Even as time passes, don’t you remember them? Yes, the Doctor Who episode addressed the matter more because it was closer to their deaths but that felt a little cheap to assume everyone had seen that episode and moved on. Plus, compare that with the Doctor Who episode with Jack that doesn’t bother to address why he’s broken-hearted and drinking in an alien bar even though it was established in The Stolen Earth that Jack was in an exclusive relationship with Ianto Jones. Wouldn’t those who only watch Dr Who be confused? Likewise, those who only watch Torchwood would have extra reason for claiming that Tosh and Owen were utterly forgotten quickly.
I also want to add that a Russel T Davies interview in the Torchwood magazine, Issue #17, Oct/Nov 2009, he said:
As a colleague of mine who worked on soap operas used to say: ‘You don’t rape Snow White.’ In other words, you shouldn’t push your central characters to the point where they become the walking wounded.
Isn’t that what Jack was by the end of CoE? How else would you describe how he was in The End of Time, Pt. 2? However, he does say this quote in reference to Gwen which is another reason why many do not like her…apparently, Davies feels she is the central character and not Jack.
