A new Gwen hater!

[msjaybee.livejournal.com]

Found this in an MD review.  Thought it summed up Gwen perfectly:

If Captain Jack is the most important, then Gwen is the second most important. She started off fine, if not a bit too stereotypical action-heroine-y but as time went on she started to get on my nerves a lot, to the point that I started to greatly dislike her. Having her marry Rhys might have been a mistake, but giving her a child was even worse. She now seems irresponsible and selfish. Most of the time, especially early on, is spent with her whining about how she wants to be with her family, but she doesn’t realize that this would put them directly into the line of fire. Is she selfish, stupid, or both? What is she going to do? Have her daughter in a carry harness while she’s breaking into PhiCorp, both guns a blazin’? It didn’t break my heart she was separated from her family, it was more of a case of me annoyed as piss that she cared more about herself than the actual well being of her family.

Speaking of family, the subplot with her father was not needed outside of padding. I know that the idea of having a loved one in a position of being in a camp is tragic but you know what? Anyone with half a brain knows this. I’m fairly sure everyone that watched this has seen a loved one get sick and slowly die over a prolonged period of time and experience the heartbreak that goes with it; we don’t need it spelled out for us. Instead it made Gwen and her mother seem almost cruel, keeping him alive because it’s what they wanted, not necessarily what was best for him. While yes, burning to death is horrific, but so is spending months bedridden and in so much pain you need to be drugged to the point you can’t function anymore. This proved more than anything she is not meant to be a mom or a wife and was incredibly selfish.

The only thing Rhys really did (outside of being Gwen’s bitch) was either get yelled at for pointing out the flaws in logic (like a man saying “It’s a blessing I survived” means that it must mean “The Blessing” is a bit of a jump) or was so incredibly out of character when he was willing to kill Oswald that it was obvious it was just to provide a reason for Oswald to tag along to Shanghai.

The whole review is here:

http://t.co/BZv2XXlY

Comments

[irishjantogirl.livejournal.com]

I read this and my day becomes so much brighter; its always good to see that we're not the only people who see Gwen this way

[dr-doomsduck.livejournal.com]

Read the whole review and was thinking wow, this guy's watched the entire of MD TWICE and still nothing made sense. Though I disagree with mr. on how good Gwen was in the beginning, but it's good to see the eyes opening. Especially on the part where Gwen is selfish for wanting her daughter with her on this thing.

Have we not been calling that one since before the start?

I liked it that he made the same analogy with Daddy dearest. Ah, this whole review is just so thorough in what it disliked and why, it's a pleasure to read. Just to check if this guy wasn't a generic internet snark, I went to check out his review for the 'Girl who waited' from Who (last episode of it that I've seen) and while praising that episode, he couldn't leave out the MD-hate, it was just that bad. XD

Wow… just… wow. I literally just finished reviewing the finale for Torchwood before watching this episode (don’t worry no spoilers) and that thing wished it had a 1/100 of the emotional power of this story.

...

It’s like the universe heard me crying out in pain from Torchwood and the powers that be said “You know what, poor bloke’s sat through all ten episodes twice and reviewed the whole thing, let’s throw him a bone.” I thank them for that. If you haven’t seen it, see it. If you have, see it again, I know I will.

[kamiandcat.livejournal.com]

I think what RTD caught up in his love for Gwen never realized is this: yes you can be a heroine and a mother at the same time, but that usually comes out of a situation when a woman IS already a mother and has to become a fighter, soldier, hero afterward. But Gwen chose to have a family. I think the right thing to do when she realized that she was expecting would have been what Lucia did- leave Torchwood. And even that turned out badly in the end.

[dr-doomsduck.livejournal.com]

I think that even heroines can become mothers. The dynamic however, would completely change. She doesn't have to leave Torchwood, after all, there are plenty of women in the police or in the army, even those with babies. It's not the job that's the problem. The problem is Gwen wanting her daughter too close to the job, while Lucia took it too the other end and chucked even her baby's father in the same category as the job.

For example, Piper from Charmed played this one straight. She got pregnant halfway through the series and continually wanted a normal life for her kid. But she didn't retire from fighting the good fight, so Baby was left out of fights wherever possible. Even when that child was a Deus ex Machina and pretty capable of kicking ass.

[kamiandcat.livejournal.com]

True. IF there had been the old team around (or hell, even a new one) by the time Gwennie poo popped out "her daughter" Gwen could have been, dunno, "Hub duties", concentrating even more in torturi.... comforting, poor victims such as Jonahs mother.

[wanda1969.livejournal.com]

Companionless Doctor, I feel you pain- and I only watched it once (although I did have to see parts of some episodes twice to catch up due to the narcolepsy that this series seemed to cause in me...)!!
Agree with virtually the whole review, apart from the fact that I've felt that Gwen has been objectionable in the extreme from the very beginning.
As for her having a baby- I'm not particularly interested in babies popping up in my sci fi and drama... especially when there's no need for it story wise or character development wise. I ended up wishing that the poor child had been kidnapped/killed (along with Gwen's dad) just to get the boring & constant references to 'my famerlee' to stop! At least then perhaps Gwen may have gone on some kind of 'proper' kick arse Vendetta...
I was going to catch up wiht one of the episodes I missed a bit of, but it's off Iplayer now... and I don't care in the least. I'd probably kick my TV in if I saw this (and Gwen) again in the next six months. And I've better things to waste my time on than another 10 hrs of MD.

[kassy2.livejournal.com]

Gwen did not annoy me at all in the beginning, TBH I did not actually notice her- in fact there are HUGE parts of Cyberwoman I find I completely blanked out! (Actually, I would quite like to forget most of it, well, plot wise, anyway. And that sure as hell was Jack bringing Ianto back to life- I know CPR when I see it, I'm a first aider!)
I think, as a plot device, it would have been far more interesting to have had Gwen pregnant during MD, not the irresponsible, selfish bitch of a mother who does not get her whole family to safety right at the beginning, making sure Rhys keeps them there, and then staying incommunicado with them for the rest of the series- I've watched NCIS and I've read Dean Koontz- even if only half of it is true, they can trace you by a cell phone, and they know when you're awake- oh, no wait, that's Santa, different show......

[charie-caphine.livejournal.com]

The reviewer (The Companionless Doctor) is talking about not being bothered by Gwen in the beginning of MD, not the whole show overall. I agree with him there.

I actually liked Gwen in the first few MD episodes, because it really looked like they were going to seriously address all that's wrong with her personality. And they did, I suppose, sort of... Only Gwen has also managed to sink to new, previously unimaginable even for her lows in the further installments, and any soul searching she may have done has had - no news there - no lasting effect. I personally ended up despising her on a whole new level by the end of it all.

But there's one thing about Gwen and MD that truly warms my heart: it is the distinct impression I got throughout the whole season that Jack really isn't blind to her heinous and innumerable faults anymore.

Then again, MD might not be worth taking into account. Was that even Torchwood?..

[kassy2.livejournal.com]

My whole problem with CoE and MD (I think I like Miracle Dud the best as a pseudonym!) is that it is not TW!

[excentric397.livejournal.com]

Absolutely agree with you. NOT Torchwood, just shows he couldn't sell without using the name.

[kamiandcat.livejournal.com]

Exactly. It's a totally new show starring JB and EM in their roles from Torchwood. If JB would show up in Jack's coat (if only it HAD been Jack coat...well different story) in Tonight is the Night, do you call that Torchwood as well then?

[jennelldhalrbj.livejournal.com]

As the Mother of 8 I feel that anyone who puts their kid in danger the way Gwen did should be sterilized and have the kid taken away from them. However, RTD was in charge of this story line and we all know he alters bits of other folks scripts if he doesn't like them, and he knows absolutely nothing about family life.

[mscatmoon.livejournal.com]

The difference between Gwen and every other character in TW, is that they were good people who occasionally did bad things. Things they ended up regretting and trying to make up for. But Gwen is a bad person who pretends to be good. I'm not sure there's anything good or salvagable inside her. I just can't imagine ever being glad my co-workers died -- even if I didn't like them! At this point, honestly, I don't see anything redeemable in her personality.

Wow, Suzie really called it, didn't she? She said Gwen was her replacement, and I think maybe she's the only one who saw Gwen for who she is. Saw right through her. I didn't read the book where I heard she was alive yet again, but I'd love to see a story where she comes back to get revenge on Gwen.

[kamiandcat.livejournal.com]

I think the "I'm glad my co-workers died" line comes straight from Mister Davies himself. He IS Gwen, clearly. He sees himself as a "star", the most important person to the show, but just like Gwen he's just a bad and immature person. Though I think he never wrote her like that because he wanted her to come over like a b!tch, he just thinks that's normal and good and... *gag*. Anyway, the "I'm glad...." line. That's RTD giving the finger to all the Owen, Tosh and- his archenemy- Ianto fans out there. See Gwen is alive, they're not and I'm glad because it made me RTD feel important to stomp around on your petty little fangirl feelings...

Only "shame" is, he totally ruined his show sitting on his high horse. LOL

[aeshna-cyanea.livejournal.com]

Things they ended up regretting and trying to make up for.

This, to me, is the fundamental difference between Gwen and the rest of the team. They took responsibility for their actions, had regrets, tried to make amends. Gwen never ever did. Oh, she may (claim to) regret that something turned out badly. But she never thought for one minute that it did so because of her own actions, that she had caused the bad outcome, that she was responsible and at fault. It was always the fault of external circumstances and other people's actions. She always blamed everything and everybody else for her mistakes and bad decisions.