Yeah, seems like every character has their moments of making a *zomg huge mistake* especially the "new girl" and the "teaboy," but even the "techie" and "smart guy doctor" get told off by Jack for something they did. Usually because they went right ahead and did stuff without saying something to him first, and I'm sure everyone has done something like that, especially when they start a new job. Gwen just gets the blame a lot of the time from viewers because she's the newest and shows her emotions the most. Not to mention the whole thing with Jack recruiting her and spending time with her. But yes, Ianto does look unprepared as well, since he was like the personal assistant at Torchwood One and now he's put forward as one of the main defenders of Earth.
It seemed like in "Ghost Machine" that the alien device started reacting as soon as someone picked it up, since the same thing happened when Owen and Bernie had it. And Owen and Gwen were drawn to each other, like they went through many traumatic experiences together and they needed some outlet to make it better. I think they would react in an extreme fashion when they had just been put in many dangerous situations. Though season 1 is a bit uneven due to the writers putting in as many things as they could think of to emphasize the "adult" nature of the program, and distinguish it from
Doctor Who. I still think the show really got into gear by series 2.
