I ran out of room in the last post to flesh out the Owen/Ianto relationship here. The gradual transition from teaboy to The Guardian has been batted about quite a bit...I'm just as interested in how Owen is changing.
Last season, Ianto was the Man Who Takes Care of Things and Owen was a combination between Agent/Guardian and Doctor. This year, Owen has relinquished the Guardian role to Ianto and become the Doctor (as in physician) and Counselor. In every major trauma scene this year, where a character either dies or learns he/she is about to die, Owen is present. It's the so-called heart of Gwen, only Owen seems to understand so much better than Gwen what true compassion is. Gwen would not have knowingly administered a lethal drug mixture to the alien whale, nor would she have shot Beth. Owen was the one to take time to help Tosh when Tommy left, and he took a bullet to keep John from torturing Tosh. (More on Owen and Tosh later.) If Jack's bedside manner sucks, Owen's has improved dramatically.
You pointed out the emerging theme of Owen saving the day...the bit you didn't say is that he is saving the day through non-violent measures. Spearing John in the heart with a blood cocktail must have hurt like hell, but they all lived. No guns--and conspicuously, John was the only one using weapons after the confrontation in the autopsy bay. In Meat, the alien died, but one might argue that a relatively pain-free death by needle is better (for mercy killing) than gunshot, flensing it alive, or any manner of other death. This fits with Owen's role as caretaker and doctor--do no harm, but when you must do harm, do as little as possible and as kindly as possible. He wouldn't have done this last year.
Regarding Owen and Ianto together, all last season they were at each other's throats, and when they weren't Ianto might as well have been furniture to Owen. In every episode this year, Owen has treated Ianto with respect and professional courtesy (with the notable exception of expecting him to get Tommy a cup of tea). Big difference from CJH, with fists and guns and hurtful words. It really gelled here, where we see Ianto and Owen working together on a field mission for the first time. (I think this was actually my favourite bit of character development in the whole episode.) In KKBB it was Ianto and Gwen, in Countrycide it was Ianto and Tosh. Body language says that both men are on alert, but that they trust one another. Later, when Ianto tases the man who Owen has up against a wall, they nod to one another. The subtext was loud and clear: "Thank you, I trust you, let's get to work." Ianto, for his part, does what he has to do and then just steps back and lets Owen get on with it. It takes a lot of faith in a coworker to do that.
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regna
(no subject)
Date: 2008-02-09 04:40 am (UTC)Last season, Ianto was the Man Who Takes Care of Things and Owen was a combination between Agent/Guardian and Doctor. This year, Owen has relinquished the Guardian role to Ianto and become the Doctor (as in physician) and Counselor. In every major trauma scene this year, where a character either dies or learns he/she is about to die, Owen is present. It's the so-called heart of Gwen, only Owen seems to understand so much better than Gwen what true compassion is. Gwen would not have knowingly administered a lethal drug mixture to the alien whale, nor would she have shot Beth. Owen was the one to take time to help Tosh when Tommy left, and he took a bullet to keep John from torturing Tosh. (More on Owen and Tosh later.) If Jack's bedside manner sucks, Owen's has improved dramatically.
You pointed out the emerging theme of Owen saving the day...the bit you didn't say is that he is saving the day through non-violent measures. Spearing John in the heart with a blood cocktail must have hurt like hell, but they all lived. No guns--and conspicuously, John was the only one using weapons after the confrontation in the autopsy bay. In Meat, the alien died, but one might argue that a relatively pain-free death by needle is better (for mercy killing) than gunshot, flensing it alive, or any manner of other death. This fits with Owen's role as caretaker and doctor--do no harm, but when you must do harm, do as little as possible and as kindly as possible. He wouldn't have done this last year.
Regarding Owen and Ianto together, all last season they were at each other's throats, and when they weren't Ianto might as well have been furniture to Owen. In every episode this year, Owen has treated Ianto with respect and professional courtesy (with the notable exception of expecting him to get Tommy a cup of tea). Big difference from CJH, with fists and guns and hurtful words. It really gelled here, where we see Ianto and Owen working together on a field mission for the first time. (I think this was actually my favourite bit of character development in the whole episode.) In KKBB it was Ianto and Gwen, in Countrycide it was Ianto and Tosh. Body language says that both men are on alert, but that they trust one another. Later, when Ianto tases the man who Owen has up against a wall, they nod to one another. The subtext was loud and clear: "Thank you, I trust you, let's get to work." Ianto, for his part, does what he has to do and then just steps back and lets Owen get on with it. It takes a lot of faith in a coworker to do that.