Torchwood audio: House of the Dead
Aug. 3rd, 2011 05:38 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
beccaelizabethYou know what's not helpful? Having developed a tendency to giggle whenever Ianto says 'Lisa'. *facepalm*
Lots of spoilers:
I think I wasn't in the mood for this. Not for audios, where people talk very slowly and don't interrupt in time and don't seem to say the obvious things but stop at 'you're in danger'. Not for ghost stories, I thought, where obvious things happen to obvious people and you can count it off by numbers, wife, brother, child, father, yada.
... and then Ianto realised what had been obvious from the start, and suddenly I was listening very hard.
"You knew who you'd find if you came to the House of the Dead", and so did we.
See, I thought I was done with them, I thought I wasn't into the story, I thought there wasn't much left to say.
Then I realised the first half hour was just faffing around so that last ten minutes could happen.
And it had my full attention.
Syriath? I couldn't take syriathly at all. But forget her.
Blow up the stones to close the rift? Yes, very helpful, never could have happened before, makes perfect sense, I'm sure. *yawn*
Ten minutes of Jack and Ianto saying everything for once?
*hugs it very tight*
See usually it takes fanfic to do this.
Now we have the voices to go with it.
Ianto Jones, saving the world
*drink*
Jack though?
needs so many hugs
... and some counselling. quite a lot of that actually. it might be nice to go a whole year without attempting suicide.
also, "six months ago you died in my arms" means just before Jack gave up on Earth he tried this.
and he didn't leave the rift sitting around open, which is nice.
"did I get a funeral" / "I don't know, I wasn't there" :-(
Jack expecting it to only be an image of Ianto and thinking that was still worth dying for?
"Ianto, all the people I've lost, don't you understand, the only one I wanted to see was you"
"I lose everyone, but I don't forget any of you"
*hugs Jack*
"Jack, I didn't think the last thing I'd ever say to you would be this: Ju... just go away, please. This is horrible." :-( :-(
"I had to see you again. You have no idea what it felt like coming back to life and knowing the world was empty, because you'd gone." :-( !
"I didn't ask to come back"
"Neither did I"
!
*hugs them hugs them hugs them*
Stupid Jack, all hurting, Ianto won't let you.
Ianto still looking after him even when he's dead. And missing memories. I mean, even a copy of Ianto, to be enough Ianto, has to include the bits that would do this.
"Just for once, let someone else deal with it"
... yeah, you'd think he'd earned it.
and also, :-( !
"screw it, worth a try!"
for Ianto, he does that
... Earth would be so screwed
"Come on Ianto, be brave"
"Always"
... he does get some good send offs
*hugs them A LOT*
also, the actually saying it? kind of proves how much they usually are saying it. I mean, it's just fitting in between the saving the world bits, the "right then, best get a move on", and that's where it always fit.
... I'm still making sad face cause, Ianto! *hugs*
So I was all blah blah, yada yada, blah blah, thought I would be bored...
and then I pretty much quoted all the last bit.
So I'd say the ending worked. Really quite a lot.
... unfortunately, now there is no more. This was why I was saving them up and rationing them. All done now.
*hugs Ianto*
So for themes from these three audios we have: a lot of very unsubtle stuff about how Jack wants to be dead, and how the dead want to be dead, and really trying to cheat death always turns out badly for everyone.
It's cheerleader stuff for death.
bugger that.
The thing is, if Jack hadn't been doing a very elaborate suicide, and had in fact only wanted to get the job done, he could have put the damn bomb on a timer and walked out with Ianto.
Being too enamoured of death blinds you to the alternatives, and that costs you everything.
... if we're very very lucky that was an intentional message.
Lots of spoilers:
I think I wasn't in the mood for this. Not for audios, where people talk very slowly and don't interrupt in time and don't seem to say the obvious things but stop at 'you're in danger'. Not for ghost stories, I thought, where obvious things happen to obvious people and you can count it off by numbers, wife, brother, child, father, yada.
... and then Ianto realised what had been obvious from the start, and suddenly I was listening very hard.
"You knew who you'd find if you came to the House of the Dead", and so did we.
See, I thought I was done with them, I thought I wasn't into the story, I thought there wasn't much left to say.
Then I realised the first half hour was just faffing around so that last ten minutes could happen.
And it had my full attention.
Syriath? I couldn't take syriathly at all. But forget her.
Blow up the stones to close the rift? Yes, very helpful, never could have happened before, makes perfect sense, I'm sure. *yawn*
Ten minutes of Jack and Ianto saying everything for once?
*hugs it very tight*
See usually it takes fanfic to do this.
Now we have the voices to go with it.
Ianto Jones, saving the world
*drink*
Jack though?
needs so many hugs
... and some counselling. quite a lot of that actually. it might be nice to go a whole year without attempting suicide.
also, "six months ago you died in my arms" means just before Jack gave up on Earth he tried this.
and he didn't leave the rift sitting around open, which is nice.
"did I get a funeral" / "I don't know, I wasn't there" :-(
Jack expecting it to only be an image of Ianto and thinking that was still worth dying for?
"Ianto, all the people I've lost, don't you understand, the only one I wanted to see was you"
"I lose everyone, but I don't forget any of you"
*hugs Jack*
"Jack, I didn't think the last thing I'd ever say to you would be this: Ju... just go away, please. This is horrible." :-( :-(
"I had to see you again. You have no idea what it felt like coming back to life and knowing the world was empty, because you'd gone." :-( !
"I didn't ask to come back"
"Neither did I"
!
*hugs them hugs them hugs them*
Stupid Jack, all hurting, Ianto won't let you.
Ianto still looking after him even when he's dead. And missing memories. I mean, even a copy of Ianto, to be enough Ianto, has to include the bits that would do this.
"Just for once, let someone else deal with it"
... yeah, you'd think he'd earned it.
and also, :-( !
"screw it, worth a try!"
for Ianto, he does that
... Earth would be so screwed
"Come on Ianto, be brave"
"Always"
... he does get some good send offs
*hugs them A LOT*
also, the actually saying it? kind of proves how much they usually are saying it. I mean, it's just fitting in between the saving the world bits, the "right then, best get a move on", and that's where it always fit.
... I'm still making sad face cause, Ianto! *hugs*
So I was all blah blah, yada yada, blah blah, thought I would be bored...
and then I pretty much quoted all the last bit.
So I'd say the ending worked. Really quite a lot.
... unfortunately, now there is no more. This was why I was saving them up and rationing them. All done now.
*hugs Ianto*
So for themes from these three audios we have: a lot of very unsubtle stuff about how Jack wants to be dead, and how the dead want to be dead, and really trying to cheat death always turns out badly for everyone.
It's cheerleader stuff for death.
bugger that.
The thing is, if Jack hadn't been doing a very elaborate suicide, and had in fact only wanted to get the job done, he could have put the damn bomb on a timer and walked out with Ianto.
Being too enamoured of death blinds you to the alternatives, and that costs you everything.
... if we're very very lucky that was an intentional message.
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no subject
Date: 2011-08-04 12:47 am (UTC)Guessing there wasn't a timer. Otherwise, why'd Ianto himself not try to get out of the House instead of staying behind to detonate the petals? (Oh yeah, magic rocks & petals - this truly is Torchwood!)
Anyway, the reason for this comment is, could you please tell me about the anecdote about Ianto saying 'Lisa'? I've heard this mentioned by various fans, but I just don't know who to ask to explain for muggles (aka late arrivals into the fandom). Please? =)
no subject
Date: 2011-08-04 05:34 am (UTC)The 'Lisa' thing... I think it's just one of those repetition makes it funny thing. At conventions GDL mentioned it was a funny on set, and kept on semi randomly saying 'Lisa?' and cracking the other guests up. And saying it pretty much the exact way as on the audio.
Something like that. I haven't thought about it for a while, I've just still got the giggle response.
no subject
Date: 2011-08-04 04:16 pm (UTC)Then I saw this question. In fact I saw this "Lisa" joke on a recording someone posted from a convention. The other actors used to tease GDL on set by saying "Lisa" in a plaintive voice, and he would look around all pouty and sad. I think the convention featured a little demonstration of it.
no subject
Date: 2011-08-04 09:03 pm (UTC)But even without knowing the story, I also kind of snorted at 'Lisa' in HotD, in a 'STELLA!!!', or more appropriately even, 'Cathy! Cathy!' sort of way. =)