http://www.flickr.com/photos/gravitule/4891220880/Something which concerns me about the continuing, if much attenuated, campaign for Ianto Jones to return to
Torchwood... well, there are plenty of things to be concerned about. I have nothing but sympathy for grief and hope, even now. It's harder to feel sympathy for jealousy and hate, selfishness and self-centredness, all of which have marred the campaign - not to mention a certain amount of deceitfulness. (How many of those Twitter accounts are the same person?)
But what concerns me at the moment is the belief -
- and this is a belief deeply held by many fans, certainly not just the handful of Iantoids still sourly posting demands to Twitter or Facebook in the mistaken belief that TPTB will notice -
- the belief that, if you want something enough and you demand it enough, you'll get it.
Last year, when I went through my own surprisingly intense grieving process over the character, I called it a "dress rehearsal" for grief in real life - a chance to experience those powerful feelings in a small, safe way, to learn what to expect, and that I would get through it. (Frank and his cancer are offering another learning opportunity, although right now, he's as happy as Larry on his chemo!).
The thing is, in real life - or rather, real death -
there are no takebacks. No-one to petition. Nobody to send coffee. No amount of wishing, asking, rational argument, appeals to fairness, bargaining, threats, or tantrums will get you what you want.
If there are fans who can't process the death of a character, how are they going to process the death of their loved ones?
Oh, never mind that - how will they manage when they can't get other things they want? What will they do when their applications for jobs or schools are turned down? How will they handle unrequited love? What happens if they become chronically ill or injured? Gods help them, what if they want to be writers?
Not that me posting about it will make any difference. It just worries me, that's all. Plus it's the far end of the spectrum of fandom's widespread entitlement issues.
All of which said... I still hope, one day, to visit the shrine in Cardiff. The protester's attempt to claim it is wrong: it's as much a celebration as it is a complaint. For the overwhelming majority of Ianto's fans, it was part of a funeral, held here and there, in all sorts of ways, across the planet: a celebration, a mourning, a moving forward together.