This one?

She's half of a mixed race couple and is automatically assumed to be the villain.

I think that the assumption of villain was more due to the fact that there were two dead people and two injured people in her apartment and she didn't have a scratch on her than race.

Despite her being "other", she made the ultimate human sacrifice in the end. I believe that her human side was in control when she was "threatening" Gwen; suicide by Torchwood as it were.

I like the fact that they have colorblind casting in this show. The actress was clearly incredible in the part, I doubt that they cast her for her race.

This one?

I can't check youtube from work, so I dunno.

t edit I'll take it to spoilers lite.

sumi, that's not the trailer that aired after "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang" in the UK. The one Jon's referring to only had scenes post-episode 1.

That one has (at least) scenes from episode 2.

If the color of the "villain" in #2 is problematic, is the solution to recast and give the role to a white person instead? Is it only problematic because they had the black cybervillian last season? How long is a good enough gap between black villains, or how many white non-villains do you have to have inbetween (seems that the number is large than one)?

Needless to say, this didn't ping me much.

I think it's less an issue of a gap than the fact that both were young black females, part of interracial couples, who were stripped of their humanity and taken over by aliens.

As I say, it didn't ping me either. It pinged Betsy hard.

Yeah, Dana hits it on the head for me.

But the more interesting bit is the way Jack is played against the backdrop of the conflict. If he is (high pressure tactics, aggressive, pain-inducing) supposed to be in the Right in this episode, then I am upset with the minority depiction because I am supposed to regard her as inhuman, a threat, to be immediately destroyed without thought to her humanity. But if he is wrong and Gwen is in the Right (empathetic, relationship-based, can we redeem) than I am fine with the character being minority, because I am supposed to regard her as human, respect her point of view, attempt to communicate with her.

Does that make any sense?

Is it only problematic because they had the black cybervillian last season?

I'd actually normally be right there with you on this one, if it weren't for the Who/Torchwood franchise's more dominant habit, which is to cast tall, slim, attractive black women with killer cheekbones whenever possible. Not that I mind. Quite the contrary, actually.

In addition to the Cyberwoman and the Sleeper Agent, we've also got the cop that told off Jack and then helped them get out of their HQ, and over on "Who" we've got Martha, of course, in addition to the mom of the kid who could trap people in drawings, and a few others that I'm spacing on, but enough that I'd long-ago begun to think the casting directors have a "type."

There was also that chick in "The Long Game."