It's sad, that heroism - as Jack sees it - is forever closed off to him. But I think a fundamental element of Torchwood - right the way through the three series - is looking at Jack and saying "hero or not?". Doctor Who puts him firmly in as a heroic sidekick, willing to be led, but not The Hero.
But can you be heroic with/about someone else's life? A different kind of heroism maybe, living with that
Can living with your choices be counted as heroism? It's what Gwen's doing, after the 456. Because she is the one who has to stay put, doesn't run, and (presumably) tries to rebuilt after all the devastation.
Jack has to face the consequences of his choice (he doesn't die, but I'd argue that he does play with his own life - he chooses to carry through the act that will change his life completely and utterly in a way that no other thing could. He'll never reach hero on his terms - letting his life hang in the balance - but if you start equating heroism with the act of sacrificing everything you have for good, then it starts becoming much less clear.)
(I think this is one of the big Things with Jack and Ianto; Ianto knows that Jack's human, isn't a Hero in the straightforward sense, and never will be, but still thinks he's capable of being heroic and therefore should bloody well try and act that way, please. It's not a rose-tinted view that Jack IS perfect, it's a solid belief that Jack will do his best to do what's right. And Ianto's belief is similar to the Doctor's belief in his companions - that they are capable of being fantastic, no matter what their background is. And Jack craved that off the Doctor - got it off the Doctor eventually - but found it somewhere else in the meantime.)
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But can you be heroic with/about someone else's life? A different kind of heroism maybe, living with that
Can living with your choices be counted as heroism? It's what Gwen's doing, after the 456. Because she is the one who has to stay put, doesn't run, and (presumably) tries to rebuilt after all the devastation.
Jack has to face the consequences of his choice (he doesn't die, but I'd argue that he does play with his own life - he chooses to carry through the act that will change his life completely and utterly in a way that no other thing could. He'll never reach hero on his terms - letting his life hang in the balance - but if you start equating heroism with the act of sacrificing everything you have for good, then it starts becoming much less clear.)
(I think this is one of the big Things with Jack and Ianto; Ianto knows that Jack's human, isn't a Hero in the straightforward sense, and never will be, but still thinks he's capable of being heroic and therefore should bloody well try and act that way, please. It's not a rose-tinted view that Jack IS perfect, it's a solid belief that Jack will do his best to do what's right. And Ianto's belief is similar to the Doctor's belief in his companions - that they are capable of being fantastic, no matter what their background is. And Jack craved that off the Doctor - got it off the Doctor eventually - but found it somewhere else in the meantime.)