Actually, and I hope you don't mind me cutting in (this post was on my f-list, so I've been observing), that's one of the big problems I have with writing Gwen. We're not shown much of a skill set. In Everything Changes, Day One, and Random Shoes, we're shown a Gwen who brings a bit of police procedure to the team. She interviews, profiles, compiles a lot of information. That's a very useful skill, but I've never been convinced that it's what she does at Torchwood. Maybe I'm just being hard on her.
In a way, she's hurt by the fact that Tosh and Owen are so specialised-- and even Suzie worked on weapons/tech and obviously knew a lot about computers. Ianto suffers from this as well, though his lack of definition tends to imply that he does everything rather than nothing. (To me, at least. I understand that people read him differently.) They almost made Gwen too normal, too everyman. I'm not sure I 'get' why a team of alien catchers needs her--surely they functioned before she joined? If she's merely there to be the moral compass, then she should be booted off the team after Countrycide.
I have my problems with Gwen as a character (the way she seems to be forgiven everything, the way her kiss revives the dead, the way that when she finally gets around to betraying Jack, she's rewarded when both he and Rhys come back to life-- everyone else lost their romantic interest, even Jack!) (and I can't for the life of me understand why Jack tells her things he hasn't told anyone else on the team), but the above is why I find it difficult to write her into ensemble fics.
I'm not trying to Gwen-bash here, so I'm sorry if it seems that way. I don't hate her; I just don't love her. In fact, if she were just another character in an ensemble cast of flawed characters, she'd be fantastic. (I tend to think that this is why the other characters are 'forgiven' by fans.) But too often she's the focus and I don't feel sold on why. It's all the attention on her and her issues that annoys me. There are other people on this show, too.
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Date: 2007-08-07 10:44 pm (UTC)In a way, she's hurt by the fact that Tosh and Owen are so specialised-- and even Suzie worked on weapons/tech and obviously knew a lot about computers. Ianto suffers from this as well, though his lack of definition tends to imply that he does everything rather than nothing. (To me, at least. I understand that people read him differently.) They almost made Gwen too normal, too everyman. I'm not sure I 'get' why a team of alien catchers needs her--surely they functioned before she joined? If she's merely there to be the moral compass, then she should be booted off the team after Countrycide.
I have my problems with Gwen as a character (the way she seems to be forgiven everything, the way her kiss revives the dead, the way that when she finally gets around to betraying Jack, she's rewarded when both he and Rhys come back to life-- everyone else lost their romantic interest, even Jack!) (and I can't for the life of me understand why Jack tells her things he hasn't told anyone else on the team), but the above is why I find it difficult to write her into ensemble fics.
I'm not trying to Gwen-bash here, so I'm sorry if it seems that way. I don't hate her; I just don't love her. In fact, if she were just another character in an ensemble cast of flawed characters, she'd be fantastic. (I tend to think that this is why the other characters are 'forgiven' by fans.) But too often she's the focus and I don't feel sold on why. It's all the attention on her and her issues that annoys me. There are other people on this show, too.