I will die on the hill that Yvonne had feelings for Ianto and here’s why [ some spoilers for the Torchwood One box sets ]:
When she’s undercover and away from Torchwood, because she literally feels as though she can’t trust anyone but Matthew, it’s Ianto she picks out to talk to. She even tells him that it’s because he was nice and sweet and a good listener, she liked talking to him. There was something about him that made her want to open up more than she probably had with anyone else, including Matthew, which is was led to the retconning: because she didn’t feel comfortable actually being that vulnerable with anyone. One night she looked at this young man and felt drawn to him in a way that she’s never felt before. To the point that she allowed herself to cry in front of him. It terrified her and she reacted to this new feeling in the only way she knew how: to make it go away. But Ianto left a big enough impression on her that she came back and brought him back into her life. Because she realised she needed him. Wanted him at her side.
So she has Ianto hired at Torchwood and we learn that he wasn’t her PA right away, but I think she probably wanted to see how he would work at Torchwood. He doesn’t remember their first time working together so she probably wants to make sure he can hack it. And he does, and he shows a lot of promise. And she trusts him. Which is huge because the last time, Matthew was the ONLY one she trusted and look what happened. She was wrong. This is Yvonne Hartman and she can’t be wrong. So she chooses Ianto to be her right hand man. She trusts him more than probably anyone shes ever trusted before. He is the one she goes to when Rachel steals everything out from under her, standing on his doorstep looking as vulnerable as she probably ever has and hoping he will take her in and give her a chance. No one else, Ianto. And he helps her, something she knows is a big deal because she knows how it looks. She recognises his potential he has, appreciates him more than anyone else does. She never once underestimates him. She knows he is special. He’s special to her, too.
This one is short. But, basically. Yvonne walks into this room with this big machine and what does she see on screen? Ianto and herself having sex. And what does she do? Gets a snack and sits down to watch it. We know she saw it because Ianto asks “how much did you see?” and her answer very much implies that she saw everything and she is very unbothered. Her tone almost has an eyebrow raised kind of tone to it.
At the end of this audio, Yvonne tells the man she’s about to kill that she considers Ianto to be her conscience. Basically, he’s her better half. She says that she wants him to see her in a good light, because she actually cares what Ianto sees when he looks at her. Why would arguably the most powerful woman in the world care about what one man thinks of her? Hmm??? It shouldn’t matter what he thinks, as long as he’s loyal and does his job well. But, there’s something about Ianto.
And here it is, the moment that made me put everything together. Near the end of the audio, when Ianto comes to pick Yvonne up because of the ghost shift, her mother looks at him and says to Yvonne “he’s cute, is he single?” To which Yvonne replies “hands off.” But then, her mother says “I meant for you.” Is her mother just curious? It does she see something there? He’s young and seemingly just her assistant but Yvonne’s mother looks at the two of them and thinks yes, them. Together. And what does Yvonne say? Nothing. She doesn’t say that he is taken [ because he is ] or ask her why she would think that of her PA. No, she brushes past it. And I think it’s incredibly telling because she doesn’t deny it, but obviously there’s no point in saying anything about the fact that she’s thought about it because there’s no point. It can’t happen between them. So she just lets it go. And that’s it.
Anyway Yvonne Hartman had feelings for Ianto Jones, thank you for coming to my Ted Talk.
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