I adore Cyberwoman. It’s my favourite of season 1, and on par with Adam for my overall favourite.
As I’ve said before, upon first watching it, I just headcanoned that the flashback scene is incorrect, and Lisa was more body-horror than sexualized after immediate conversion. But as Ianto looked after her, he purposefully made it look like underwear so she could cover up in clothing. Either her own (which the books say he kept at his home) or his own.
Just, on the point someone mentioned about Ianto should have more experience with Cybermen, he doesn’t. He wasn’t at Canary Wharf until after the episode ended, when all the Cybermen had left, and all that remained were the bodies (Torchwood Archive audio). Though it is also implied he used underground tunnels to escape the building with her.
But I do love how later EU material expanded on the idea that Ianto’s greatest fear would be metal beings following the Fall.
In the episode itself, I also love GDL’s portrayal of love, and loyalty to Torchwood One. With the additional context of Blind Summit, I honestly don’t think it’s over-acting or bad-acting at all. His loyalty was dedicated to TW1 (as with most operatives, through indoctrination) so it makes sense why it’s difficult for him to think rationally or pragmatically here, with that loyalty being so artificially ingrained. Atp he knew nothing but Torchwood One. Before joining, he was a depressed loser, broke, lonely guy, and Yvonne saw him and was like “I’m gonna manipulate and drug him into being my dedicated, soldier-like PA 
”. Imo, she did that to such an extreme, that by the time Ianto joins TW3, that artificial loyalty has been redirected nearly entirely on to Lisa.
Though I do recognize I’m bringing up a lotta EU points, but these honestly just add cherries to the top of the (delicious) cake that is the episode itself.
My only critique would be 1) I wish some of the camera angles would zoom out a bit. Especially when Ianto and Jack are arguing after first finding Lisa, I wish that scene wasn’t so zoomed in on their faces. Because it does make out Ianto to be distraught, but as seen with the BTS photos, in the scene he’s literally standing his ground, and staring down Jack, which somewhat changes the tone for me. And the 2) critique, the barbecue sauce was pretty dumb. But it doesn’t ruin anything for me.
Also GDL’s portrayal of anxiety, the slow turn as Jack asks for a coffee, I love that so much, the dread is so palpable.
Won’t lie, I watched this as a kid, and the episode was the first time I properly felt what a heartache was. That’s how good I found the acting. (Apart from JB’s acting, I do think that’s a bit stunted-).
I think Lisa was genuinely herself, and only became fully converted in her mind once she was able to walk independently. We see other operatives (who again, can’t walk) in the Torchwood Archive audio who are still themselves when partially converted. If you look in the background of the scene where she’s introduced, Ianto had basically made that room into a mini-home for them both. Which is so heartbreaking.
They should’ve kept in the final deleted scene with Toshiko too, that was just adorable. She’s the only operative I could think of at that point who he’d be willing to accept a coffee from.
I’d also mention the great scene in In The Shadows audio, highlighting how one of Jack’s greatest insecurities was that Ianto was still loyal to Lisa by 2008, and that he only ever wanted to hurt Jack in the long-run, so he could feel the same pain as what Ianto felt when he killed Lisa. In this, Jack also describes what happened as “saving” Ianto from his own “Madness”, which again, imo, alludes to the indoctrination of TW1.
Having only just completed all of the Revival era of Doctor Who, I can definitely say that this is my favorite Cyberman story of the Revival run. I much prefer seeing this portrayal of love (through Ianto’s devotion) than the typical “the power of love prevented me from becoming a Cyberman” (Craig Owens cough-cough).
This ‘Iantos devotion’ point, I could also literally write an essay about. I don’t think it was “the power of love” which was the reason for his actions. In the short story Virus, Ianto goes on a massacre in order to save Jack and Gwen, demonstrating that same intense loyalty. I view it more as a soldier with a duty (to Queen and Country), or a worshipper to their religion, than the Power of Love trope.
And it made me much more intrigued by Ianto as a character, as someone who rewatched Doomsday/Army of Ghosts a million times as a kid, and who still has an Army of Ghosts poster on their wall lol.
Edit: maybe I’d write a proper review at some point, but I’m still on the fence (no pun intended) about writing one for Disco.
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8/10