#torchwood text post

[timetanic]

if she had seen him in torchwood first, my GOSH

[sunset-cowboy]

Has anyone done this yet?

[by-gray]

what he thinks every time he resurrects, actually

[captain-ghost]

It's happening again.

[polaritydisturbed]

Guys, guys, please—I can't do this. This episode isn't about painting UNIT as some flawless institution under unfair attack. It’s about a deeply flawed system. One that, on little to no evidence of an actual alien threat, invades a small town in full SWAT gear. That’s not meant to be a good thing.

It’s a story where the person in charge literally releases a dangerous creature to prove a point—and that same institution is being targeted by a misinformation campaign. And yet, despite those serious flaws, they do ultimately act to protect people. That’s the tension. That’s the point.

Let me be clear: this is an allegory for COVID and the online grifters and influencers who took advantage of the pandemic to spread hate and gain popularity—and who continue to do so now.

It’s about how institutions—even when compromised, bureaucratic, or short-sighted—still have the capacity to do good. They’re made of people, many of whom are trying to hold the line, trying to save lives, trying to do the right thing while the ground shifts under them.

But those imperfections? They make it easy for grifters to walk in and sell a fantasy. People like Conrad don’t actually want to protect anyone—they want control. And they know how to dress up that pursuit of power in the language of liberation. He says he’s standing up for you, for “truth,” for “the people,” but really he’s weaponizing frustration, anger, and distrust for his own gain.

Conrad always knew aliens were real. He wasn’t trying to expose lies. He was trying to punish UNIT for not recruiting him. That’s it. His whole crusade is built on a personal grudge. He rejects the Doctor’s reality not because it’s implausible, but because he wasn’t chosen.

That’s the core danger here: villains who tell you exactly what you want to hear. Who appeal to your cause, your values, your righteous anger. They frame themselves as underdogs, rebels, visionaries. But when you look closer, their plans are hollow. Destruction for destruction’s sake, dressed up in whatever narrative gets clicks and followers. People saw what they wanted to see in Conrad. Whatever oppressive system they hate, he claimed to be fighting it. He let you project your beliefs onto him—just like grifters do in real life. He made destruction feel like justice.

Ruby drank the vial, Conrad didn’t. That vial was the only thing that negated the Shreek’s vomit-based marking system, and by refusing to drink it, Conrad didn’t just risk his own life—he put everyone else in danger. Just like those that refused to take the vaccine.

And Kate, in releasing the monster, represents those who, during the pandemic, felt frustration and helplessness. She symbolizes the moment some threw up their hands and said, “If they won’t take the vaccine, let them die.” But that mindset didn’t solve the problem; it only escalated it. The monster had already shown it could mark more than one person, and there was no guarantee it wouldn’t strike again. The monster, like the virus, didn’t distinguish between those who made bad choices and those who couldn’t protect themselves. And she released it anyway.

By surrendering to that frustration, she was putting the vulnerable at greater risk, the very people who needed protection the most.

This mirrors the situation with COVID: surrendering to misinformation or personal pride jeopardizes the lives of the vulnerable, children, the immunocompromised, and those without the same choices or protections.

It was only because of Ruby that those consequences didn’t spiral out of control. Ruby didn’t just save lives—she prevented Kate’s breakdown in judgment from becoming a catastrophe.

So no, this isn’t “UNIT good, Conrad bad.” It’s a story about nuance. About how flawed systems can still serve the public good, and how those flaws are exploited by bad-faith actors who don’t care about truth or safety. It’s a warning: be careful who you believe, and why. Just because someone says what you’re thinking doesn’t mean they’re right. And just because a system needs fixing doesn’t mean you burn it all down.

The episode holds up a mirror to us and asks: what do you do when the systems meant to protect you fall short? Do you give up? Do you burn down the establishment, ignoring that it would put people at great danger? Or do you recognize that while the system is flawed, it still has the capacity to do good, and that dismantling it without a plan and without care for who gets caught in the fallout can cause more harm than reforming it ever would? It challenges us to sit with discomfort, to hold more than one truth at once.

Conrad had valid grievances, but his actions still endangered lives. UNIT made mistakes, but it still stood between humanity and annihilation. Rejecting nuance in favor of easy answers may feel righteous, but it often leaves the most vulnerable to pay the price.

That said, I do think the episode would’ve been stronger had the Shreek actually attacked or marked someone else during that final confrontation. Even just one more target could have underscored the point that the threat was indiscriminate—that Kate’s decision risked more than just Conrad. It would’ve made the stakes more immediate, and made Ruby’s choice feel even more necessary.

And yeah—I really hope we get an episode someday that digs into the tightrope UNIT has to walk. How do you hold them accountable without exposing the dangerous technology and classified knowledge they safeguard? But that's not what this episode was targeting.

[everlastingautumn23]

[spicysaucesteaks]

torchwood text posting part two

[the-doctor-dances]

[melbush]

something so compelling about the weird psychosexual tension owen and ianto have going on. the girls who get it get it

[thetrinitytest]

[burtonsdoodles]

A super random concept that just popped into my brain and I can’t stop thinking about it:

Ianto Jones working at the Time Hotel!

Please tell me someone else has already come up with this concept because I’m actually now obsessed with it. I think it’d be brilliant… and to make it all Janto-y, it would give them both a way to stay in each other’s lives. It would be like a River and the Doctor situation - where circumstance won’t allow them a happily ever after together but that doesn’t stop them making the most of it when their paths do cross.

Also, to add a bit of angst in there - there’s something really interesting about the idea of ianto now being the one who watches Jack get older with each encounter while, physically, he would be the one who barely changes (in correspondence with regular human aging, I mean). Say for every year of Ianto’s life, jacks lived 20, 50, 100 years - idk.

And maybe it gets to a point where the romantic side of things fade away but they remain each others confidants, the meet ups are a way to check in with each other, process events, ground each other in the madness of their respective lives. Or maybe it gets to a point where they don’t actually interact but, like Anita in Reality War, ianto uses the master key to watch over jacks life, and sometimes Jack will spot him in the background and no matter the situation he’s in, he’ll just smile, because it keeps the memories they had together alive and reminds him that even after all this time, he still has someone watching over him…

(Also, I’m totally here for the idea of Anita and Ianto being absolute besties as they bond over their experiences with overly charismatic immoral beings and being undeniably excellent at their jobs as they flawlessly run this mad hotel!)

LB :)

(EDIT: If anyone does wanna do something with this concept, please do tag me or something, because I would genuinely LOVE to see it!! I mean it when I say I’m actually obsessed with this idea <3)

[timetanic]

[patroclusbro]

Rogue (Doctor Who, 2024) + Text Posts (1/?)

The Balcony Scene

Bonus:

[by-gray]

[captain-ghost]

[python-nebula]