I have to admit, when we saw Jack saying that if Gwen wasn't at Torchwood, he would know the difference to simply be an acknowledgement of the changes that have come about because of her. Think about "Day One" - Jack, quite frankly, doesn't give a toss about Carys. He doesn't care about the men who are dying. It seems the only thing he cares about in the whole episode is when Carys nearly damages the hand! Gwen lays into him about it, Jack even comments on that to Rhys in "Meat".
I think that the Jack we saw in Season 1 had stopped caring, largely. After so long alone, I think he was basicaly shutting everyone and everything out. Owen, Susie, Tosh and Ianto are all so deeply damaged in their own ways that what you had was five people who worked in the same building and had to work with each other but didn't really connect with each other. When Gwen arrived it started a series of events that changed the whole team. Then Jack's re-union with the doctor restored him, in some measure, to the man he used to be. I think at that moment, with Gwen basically challenging him to Retcon her, Jack was thinking back to how the team and Jack himself had been, before Gwen. And he passionately doesn't want that. The look in his eyes, to me, was more scared then loving.
that said, IANTO's reaction was interesting. Unsure whether it was a sort of "woah, don't want to get caught in that argument" sort of thing (I've seen the same sort of look on my husband's face when I'm having a row with a family member) or a "do I really want to know what just happened there?" (which might imply he's wondering just what Jack's feelings for Gwen are). That said, his behaviour in later episodes doesn't make it seem like he feels Gwen is a challenge or a threat, so......and of course we have that lovely smug smirk/"trying hard not to laugh" look on Ianto's face when Tosh goes on about being single. And the intense looks from Jack in the Hub....
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
regna
Gwen
Date: 2008-03-16 11:33 pm (UTC)I think that the Jack we saw in Season 1 had stopped caring, largely. After so long alone, I think he was basicaly shutting everyone and everything out. Owen, Susie, Tosh and Ianto are all so deeply damaged in their own ways that what you had was five people who worked in the same building and had to work with each other but didn't really connect with each other. When Gwen arrived it started a series of events that changed the whole team. Then Jack's re-union with the doctor restored him, in some measure, to the man he used to be. I think at that moment, with Gwen basically challenging him to Retcon her, Jack was thinking back to how the team and Jack himself had been, before Gwen. And he passionately doesn't want that. The look in his eyes, to me, was more scared then loving.
that said, IANTO's reaction was interesting. Unsure whether it was a sort of "woah, don't want to get caught in that argument" sort of thing (I've seen the same sort of look on my husband's face when I'm having a row with a family member) or a "do I really want to know what just happened there?" (which might imply he's wondering just what Jack's feelings for Gwen are). That said, his behaviour in later episodes doesn't make it seem like he feels Gwen is a challenge or a threat, so......and of course we have that lovely smug smirk/"trying hard not to laugh" look on Ianto's face when Tosh goes on about being single. And the intense looks from Jack in the Hub....