Fight Club with weevils. No, let me rephrase that. A bad episode about Fight Club with weevils. Yes, let's search for the meaning of life by getting mauled. That works. In fact, this entire episode was one long metaphor about nasty, aggressive guys being brainless alien animals.
Speaking of Owen... I know I am way too negative about him, but I can't seem to stop myself. But I must say that it was out of character for a womanizer slash misogynist like Owen to miss Diane so much that he wanted to die. Gwen was nice enough to offer him a shoulder, something very few former lovers would do, and he treated her like garbage. What a jerk.
Although again, Owen wasn't a complete loss. He showed a lot of courage, as well as an ability to go with the flow, to do a seriously good job while undercover. And he had a difficult time watching Mark beating a tied-up weevil. Do weevils have rights? Torchwood really should do something about the weevils other than keep them in tiny dank cells. How about a habitat, like a zoo? What about mating, and baby weevils? How about writing them out of the series? I really don't like weevils.
I did like Jack a lot in this episode; he was the high point. He's like a force of nature. In fact, he was pretty much showing what real masculinity was all about in an episode overflowing with testosterone poisoning. In contrast, Gwen was rather weepy and girlie while also turning into Suzie, what with the dosing Rhys with Retcon after telling him the truth about Owen. That's the first step on a dangerous road for her. Let's hope she doesn't take another one.
Rhys actually resorted to the "If you go now, don't come back" speech, which is always a sign that the end is near. I sort of can't blame him. What guy wouldn't be threatened by a guy who looks like Jack just barging in at dinner and taking his girlfriend away? Gwen really needs to tell Rhys the truth, or move on. She can't just stay stuck in the same place in their relationship, not knowing which way to turn or what to do.
Which was nicely illustrated by the scene where she brought pizza into the Hub, just like she did in the pilot episode before she learned the truth about Torchwood. She can't go back to that point now, no matter how much she wishes she could.
Bits and pieces:
-- I thought it was appropriate that Owen's undercover business was in jellied eels. It suited him. He's a jellied eel.
-- Owen snarling at the weevil was outright ridiculous.
-- If weevils are wild, vicious animals, why do they wear clothes?
-- Jack didn't die, but Owen nearly did.
Quotes:
Jack: "You know what they used these warehouses for during World War Two? Storing the bodies of dead G.I.'s. Sometimes you can know too much history."
Gwen: "Why are we still doing this, me and you?"
Owen: "Fine. Let's not. I was getting bored with your fuck tricks, anyway."
I'm tempted to call him a jerk again, but jerk just isn't a strong enough term for him.
Tosh: "You call it Janet?"
Jack: "Barbara just never seemed right."
Mark: "The ultimate extreme sport. Too much disposable income, not enough meaning, that's us."
Not enough brains, more like. What about, say, competitive boxing? Not suicidal enough, even with the prospect of possible brain damage?
One star,
Billie
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Billie Doux loves good television and spends way too much time writing about it.
Why is it that ever since Fight Club came out, every sci-fi/fantasy feels the need to do an episode like it and not one of them can get it right?
ReplyDeleteEven the Angel and Battlestar Galactica versions of this episode suck and this was a terrible episode.
I also really hated Gwen retconning Rhys. Just not remotely cool in the slightest.