So, the final episode of season 2 of Torchwood played to all of its strength; the characters, the relationships, and the undeniable ugliness of humanity and its strength.


While I had issues with the casting of Gray I did love what he represented. That hate, anger and all that jazz lead to the dark side. And that the human race can do ugly things because sometime all you can do is lash at those that loved you, those that should have done more to save you because you depended on them, because you trusted them.

I think story-wise the writers made a mistake by bringing Gray into the story so late in the arc and then getting rid of him so fast. His character could have been so much more, except they chose the route of focusing of John and the Torchwood team, which is not a bad thing. The show has always shined when it focused on the team, but Gray had potential to have been a truly awesome antagonist for at least 3 episodes. To me, it felt like a wasted opportunity, and possibly a way for the writers to end the season with a bang.

Moving onto the good stuff; John Barrowman was all sorts of awesome in this episode, I love how he chose to underplay key scenes rather than over the top melodrama. The nuances of pain and betrayal and angst in Barrowman’s eyes were the only thing that made me believe that Gray actually mattered on an emotional level. Captain John, well, James Masters, is pretty much a pro now when it comes to playing the dickhead with a passion for living and the ability for unconditional love. So, bravo for him, and I do love the snark he brings to the show.

Ianto and Gwen were just awesome in the competence field, and I didn’t say this earlier, but I really LOVED Gwen in the episode that she got married. But yes, the competence of Gwen in this episode is awesome; taking charge, waving guns and so forth. Also Ianto and Tosh shooting the Weevils, and Ianto going straight for John; guns and shooting and competency! Eee!

Owen and his anger, and his acceptance because of Tosh, and it just break my heart because the damn missed opportunities. (And no the fucking video recording of her message does not make it any easier).

And finally, Toshiko is just awesome in this episode; cool, brave, and just so brilliant that it fucking hurts to even talk about how she dies. And just fucking Christ, dragging herself across the Hub and stairs and I just cannot stop crying. Because she was so damn brave, being there for Owen till the end.

So, in conclusion this whole season is the season of Toshiko and Owen, and seriously, I'm still fucking crying you fucker.

Still crying because writing the above required me to re-watch the episode, blondeleo, hope that was at least semi-coherent, typing while crying is just a bit difficult. Now I go in search of beer and chocolate.