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wintercompanion2012-03-06 10:34 am
wojelah.livejournal.com) wrote in wintercompanion2012-03-06 10:34 am
Entry tags:
Meta Month of March: Ep Discussion: The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances
Captain Jack Harkness. 133 Squadron, Royal Air Force. American volunteer.
And so we meet Jack Harkness. Actually, the first time we meet Jack Harkness, he's complimenting someone's bottom. Multiple someones, come to think of it.
Truthfully, we haven't known Nine all that long at that point, either - we don't have nearly as clear an idea of what exactly happened to him. Mostly, we know there was a war, and they lost. We know he's brusque and funny and closed and damaged, and that he doesn't suffer fools gladly.
Enter Jack, the quintessential trickster. He's a conman. The quintessential Fool, in many respects. He's a pretty face and a great smile, a glib tongue and a lot of Spock. He knows his assets, and he doesn't mind using them. Underneath it all, there's something hard and dangerous - just because you can see teeth doesn't mean it's a grin. And it's hard to laugh when, at bottom, you hate what you've become. I was conning you - that's what I am, I'm a con man.
No lie, I think that's where I first fell for Jack. I wonder if the Doctor doesn't hear it, too. Because while Nine's not impressed - the banana groves at Villengard, anyone? - and he sure as hell doesn't trust Jack - he doesn't write him off, either. More, Jack still manages to slip in under Nine's guard and set him off balance. Consider the sonic screwdriver conversation. Consider further the look on Nine's face when Jack admits to two missing years of memories. And consider the genuine amusement at Jack Harkness, flexible, 51st century flirt.
I'm still not sure where or what, exactly, it is, that lets the Doctor say Do what you've got to do, and trust that Jack's going to do the right thing. I'm not sure either he or Jack are either. I'm not entirely sure I think the Doctor didn't forget about Jack, just briefly, until Rose reminded him. But I think that's part of what I love about these introductory episodes. It's not a meeting of the minds - they're very different, and they're both a little (a LOT) banged up around the edges. Still - there's some sort of recognition, and a dawning sense of respect, amidst the wariness. By the time we move to Boom Town, that dynamic's quite different, and I think that's why I adore post-The Doctor Dances fic as much as I do. There's a bridge to cross at the end of these eps, and I want to know how we get there.
What do you think? Am I giving either of them too much credit? Does Rose act as the bridge between the two? (Me, I am of two minds on this.) What do you think of these eps as Jack's debut? What do you make of the Doctor's reactions? Does Jack earn "companion" status later, after these eps, or do you think the Doctor's made up his mind when he first brings Jack on board?
And so we meet Jack Harkness. Actually, the first time we meet Jack Harkness, he's complimenting someone's bottom. Multiple someones, come to think of it.
Truthfully, we haven't known Nine all that long at that point, either - we don't have nearly as clear an idea of what exactly happened to him. Mostly, we know there was a war, and they lost. We know he's brusque and funny and closed and damaged, and that he doesn't suffer fools gladly.
Enter Jack, the quintessential trickster. He's a conman. The quintessential Fool, in many respects. He's a pretty face and a great smile, a glib tongue and a lot of Spock. He knows his assets, and he doesn't mind using them. Underneath it all, there's something hard and dangerous - just because you can see teeth doesn't mean it's a grin. And it's hard to laugh when, at bottom, you hate what you've become. I was conning you - that's what I am, I'm a con man.
No lie, I think that's where I first fell for Jack. I wonder if the Doctor doesn't hear it, too. Because while Nine's not impressed - the banana groves at Villengard, anyone? - and he sure as hell doesn't trust Jack - he doesn't write him off, either. More, Jack still manages to slip in under Nine's guard and set him off balance. Consider the sonic screwdriver conversation. Consider further the look on Nine's face when Jack admits to two missing years of memories. And consider the genuine amusement at Jack Harkness, flexible, 51st century flirt.
I'm still not sure where or what, exactly, it is, that lets the Doctor say Do what you've got to do, and trust that Jack's going to do the right thing. I'm not sure either he or Jack are either. I'm not entirely sure I think the Doctor didn't forget about Jack, just briefly, until Rose reminded him. But I think that's part of what I love about these introductory episodes. It's not a meeting of the minds - they're very different, and they're both a little (a LOT) banged up around the edges. Still - there's some sort of recognition, and a dawning sense of respect, amidst the wariness. By the time we move to Boom Town, that dynamic's quite different, and I think that's why I adore post-The Doctor Dances fic as much as I do. There's a bridge to cross at the end of these eps, and I want to know how we get there.
What do you think? Am I giving either of them too much credit? Does Rose act as the bridge between the two? (Me, I am of two minds on this.) What do you think of these eps as Jack's debut? What do you make of the Doctor's reactions? Does Jack earn "companion" status later, after these eps, or do you think the Doctor's made up his mind when he first brings Jack on board?
no subject
Not to anticipate later episodes too much (*g*), but this actually made me think of the Doctor's climactic decision in Parting of the Ways and the lines "Coward or killer?" "Coward. Every time." And I just realized that, in a way, he and Jack follow inverse character arcs in s1: Jack started out working for the Time Agency, was presumably forced to sacrifice way too much in the line of duty, and struck out on his own. What we see over the course of TEC/TDD is a man who insists on being accountable only to himself realizing--slowly and uncomfortably, though with Jack's usual charming good cheer--that he's found something more important than his own self-interest, and casting his lot in with a team. In TDD he demonstrates it with a grand self-sacrificing gesture that saves everyone's butts; by Parting of the Ways he's willing to lay down his life like a soldier just to buy the Doctor more time.
Whereas the Doctor spent centuries on end (the entire classic series, pretty much) as an itinerant spacetime adventurer merrily thumbing his nose at duty, and then the Time War happened. We don't know exactly what happened or how the Time Lords got him to come back home and do his part for the fatherland, all we know is that Nine spends most of s1 acting like a soldier having one hell of a time readjusting to civilian life and getting his solo-adventurer (well, dynamic-duo adventurer) groove back. Jack's big triumph of character development is being able to lay down cowardice and selfishness in service of a higher cause; Nine, coming from the opposite direction, also triumphs when he refuses to kill civilians in cold blood for a higher cause, even if it means cowardice and selfishness and being just one individual who can't bring himself to cross the wires no matter what his inaction might mean.
(At some point I really need to go back and assemble a timeline of reveals about the Time War; right now I'm not even sure whether the parallels with the destruction of Gallifrey were meant to be obvious at the time or only in hindsight.)
no subject
Also okay, that's a really interesting take on the overall arcs - I'm going to keep that in mind during the rest of the discussion. Question - by the end of TDD, even given the self-sacrifice, is Jack really part of Team TARDIS (whether in his own head or in the Doctor's mind)? (I can answer this either way in my own head - I'm interested in your thoughts)
Your comments also make me think about the fact that both the Doctor and Jack have been ill-used by the organizations that recruited them - whether it's the Time Agency, for which (we get the sense) Jack signed up gladly, or the Time Lords, whom (we get the sense) found some way to get hooks in the Doctor and pulled him back despite (or possibly against) his will. I wonder if that's part of what goes through the Doctor's mind when Jack mentions his missing memories. I also wonder if some part of the Doctor thinks Jack lucky not to remember given that the Doctor can't ever forget his own role. Thoughts?
no subject
I don't think the Doctor would ever be in favour of not knowing, no matter how painful the knowing is. Not if there's a choice.
no subject
But that's not to say that some dark small part of him wouldn't appreciate the idea of the simple relief of not knowing?
no subject
no subject
Oh, that's a fascinating take on it! You're right, that makes so much sense.
And I'd love to see your timeline - it's so easy to forget what we knew when, and I'm afraid I've long lost track of it.