Torchwood 2x12: Fragments

[such_heights]

CHRIS CHIBNALL I COULD KISS YOU RIGHT ON THE MOUTH ABOUT NOW.

50 solid minutes of character backstory. OF AWESOME. I am a massive flaily mess right here, and have just been on the phone to a friend for over an hour squeeing about how utterly brilliant this was.

Ok, c'mon Amy, coherency. Capslock for later.

Jack's backstory was so perfect. Doctor references! Jack getting drunk in seedy bars and getting into bar fights and generally being the wastrel we all knew he was, before he finds out he's going to have to wait a century and decides to man up. Loved the early Torchwood women, who were fabulous and so fitting for that era of Torchwood crazy - Yvonne's predecessors, much? So, Jack really has died a fair few times, hasn't he, and that's obviously a lot to do with the fact that Torchwood used to know perfectly well he was immortal and so stuck him in harm's way all the time, which obviously started to grind him down and turn him into the Jack we see at the beginning of Series 1. I thought it was really interesting how he only got complete control of Torchwood Three when that Alex bloke shot himself at the millennium (argh, that was all creepy, wasn't it?), and so this presumably is when Jack breaks away from Canary Wharf, starts remaking Torchwood in the Doctor's honour, sets out to find himself a team of his own and doesn't let them in on his secrets any more. Yeah, that works for me in a big way.

Wow, Tosh as an unexpected prison convict badass, didn't see that one coming! Great to finally get some explanation of her relationship with her mother, and gosh, I just wanted to give her a massive hug with all of that awful stuff that happened to her. Bad UNIT! Jack coming to get her out because she's a genius was lovely, though. Jack & Tosh have the most uncomplicatedly affectionate relationship of anyone in the team, just about, and right from the off we see why.

IANTO JONES. HOW ARE YOU SO FUCKING AWESOME? His backstory was so entirely perfect I could weep for joy, oh god. His first meeting with Jack and the Weevil was great, with the whole dark and mysterious thing going on and generally being all kinds of hardcore. Then desperately asking for a job, because he's got Lisa and this is the only way to help her he can see, and Jack brushing him off because he's found his team and he doesn't want anything to do with Torchwood One and he doesn't need some junior researcher, but then THEY BOND OVER MYFANWE and it is amazing. You know, I've read a lot of fic where Ianto gets interviewed and hired by Jack, but I absolutely adore this version of how Ianto came to be on the team, it works so well for both characters and does a great job of explaining how Ianto does start off as being a spare wheel, and in a funny way it's after Lisa gets uncovered that his potential starts getting tapped. And there was fantastic tension between the two of them and coat appreciation and all around infinite joy. This fits my personal canon for Ianto beautifully, in spirit if not in details. And now there is epic, epic amounts of fic to be written by all of fandom and I cannot wait.

Oh, Owen! Owen before he got bitter and twisted, and who knew he was part of the dead alien girlfriend club? That made all kinds of sense, about his relationship with Jack, the way he is with people, the way he's still a doctor even though a lot of the time he at least acts like he doesn't care, oh, his backstory broke my heart. ♥

That was I loved best about this episode, how it took the characters as they are now and reminded us of how they used to be back when 'Everything Changes' first aired, and shows us how they got to stage in the first place and it all makes oodles of sense and can you tell I enjoyed this a lot? New favourite episode, no lie.

And the finale? Looks amazing! How much better to have Captain Spike John come back with a vendetta rather than some big bad poorly CGI-ed alien. I cannot wait! And then Doctor Who returns the day after! Oh, happy, happy days.

*flails* I LOVE MY SHOW.