"You will never
be just a blip in time, Ianto Jones."
‘The stream will cease to flow;
The wind will cease to blow;
The clouds will cease to fleet;
The heart will cease to beat;
For all things must die.’
An extract from All Things Will Die,
By Lord Alfred Tennyson (1809-1892)
On July 9th 2009, the
world belonging to Ianto Jones came crashing to the ground. After releasing
Jack Harkness from the concrete engulfed cell in Ashton Down, both Ianto and
Jack entered Thames House and confronted the 456. It was to be the last battle
Ianto faced. The 456 released a toxic virus into the building, sealing the fate
of all the office staff and that of the young Welshman. He died in Jack’s arms.
To many, Ianto seems to
have given voice to a segment of the LGBT population who were very glad to have
a beautiful and witty metrosexual spokesperson.
It didn't hurt that he was shagging the omnisexual Captain Jack himself. He represented the struggle for
self-acceptance, coming to terms with his own perception of sexuality and
sexual expression. As time went by,
Ianto became the hero he so obviously wanted to be, and as we know, the legend
of a hero is what lasts in the psyche long after the hero is gone. He longed for a place to belong and he found
his niche, filling in the gaps where other team-members' specializations
failed. Ianto, quite literally, seemed
to know everything.
He was more than simply
a man learning to understand his own heart; Ianto, whether butler or gun-toting
operative, was a boy who came to manhood in Torchwood, where no one ever lives
to draw their pension.
This is a beautiful description of Ianto's character.All we can ask of a literary character is that he grows and develops within the larger context, and that he in some way impacts our lives. I think Ianto Jones did that, and he will be remembered.
ReplyDeleteBeautifully written; it awoke many wonderful memories of Ianto Jones and brought tears to my eyes. Ianto's death is the moment when Torchwood died.
ReplyDeleteTorchwood died when Ianto wasn´t there. Jack´s life is much more sad without Ianto, HIS TRUE love.
ReplyDelete