I totally agree with what you say about the characterisations. CoE emphasised Jack's monsterishness. A lot of Jack's nobler stuff is only in fanfic, honestly. In the show Jack has been pragmatic to the point of being cruel because his moral system is not the same as those of the rest of 21st century Earth. Partly because of where he's from, partly because of the fact he wasn't a nice guy previously, and partly because becoming immortal and being lost will screw with a guy's perspective. Jack's 'do it for the long term' is not the same as anyone else's. He can honestly say 'I have to do this now, so that in 7,000 years things will be right.'
He can also say 'it doesn't matter because in 2 million years it won't make a difference.' I think people sometimes forget that Jack's morals aren't, and can't be, the same as the mortal humans he lives and works with. Maybe they *should* be, but that's a choice Jack has to make (and will, I think, if he really is Face of Boe and goes on to save New New York in the DW ep Gridlock.) But Jack's most recent history, as of CoE, is of a conman who used to be 'the go to guy' for torture who has suffered a lot of trauma and and loss and is looking forward to only ever losing those he lets himself love.
As for Ianto - well, duh, Ianto lied about stuff. But his lies were never for mean intent; they were either for love (Lisa) or to make himself into something he needed people to believe, or maybe just... to be the sort of person he thought Jack needed. His life really was about Jack - his servant, his lover, and he clearly wished he could be Jack's equal but I doubt Ianto ever felt like he was. But 'entertain Jack' was definitely a role he played, and telling stories about himself could have fit into that. Jack told wild, crazy stories all the time and they may or may not have been true. But perhaps Ianto simply wished to make himself into a little more, to attract and keep Jack's attention in comparison to other people Jack knew and loved.
And heck, maybe Ianto's father had the skill to be a master tailor and was frustrated by having a simple job. Ianto is awesome - I bet his ability to be awesome was inherited.
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He can also say 'it doesn't matter because in 2 million years it won't make a difference.' I think people sometimes forget that Jack's morals aren't, and can't be, the same as the mortal humans he lives and works with. Maybe they *should* be, but that's a choice Jack has to make (and will, I think, if he really is Face of Boe and goes on to save New New York in the DW ep Gridlock.) But Jack's most recent history, as of CoE, is of a conman who used to be 'the go to guy' for torture who has suffered a lot of trauma and and loss and is looking forward to only ever losing those he lets himself love.
As for Ianto - well, duh, Ianto lied about stuff. But his lies were never for mean intent; they were either for love (Lisa) or to make himself into something he needed people to believe, or maybe just... to be the sort of person he thought Jack needed. His life really was about Jack - his servant, his lover, and he clearly wished he could be Jack's equal but I doubt Ianto ever felt like he was. But 'entertain Jack' was definitely a role he played, and telling stories about himself could have fit into that. Jack told wild, crazy stories all the time and they may or may not have been true. But perhaps Ianto simply wished to make himself into a little more, to attract and keep Jack's attention in comparison to other people Jack knew and loved.
And heck, maybe Ianto's father had the skill to be a master tailor and was frustrated by having a simple job. Ianto is awesome - I bet his ability to be awesome was inherited.