Doctor Who 04x13
Jul. 7th, 2008 11:17 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
karenorOk, I've had a bit of time to collect my thoughts on this, and while probably no one is interested anymore, and half of us want to forget the episode (or at least its end) ever existed, I feel the need to talk at y'all. I probably will be more general than specific. I rewatched about half of it last night, making caps. I may watch the rest later today. But for now, my thoughts.
The Doctor and Rose
All right. By late Saturday night, I'd come to a shaky sort of acceptance over the turn of events. I begrudgingly acknowledge that Rose can, someday, be happy. It won't be wonderful, especially to start off, and there will always be that spectre of the other Doctor, the first one, off alone, sacrificed his happiness for that of hers and his twin (henceforward referred to as D2). D2 IS the Doctor. Rewatching his 'birth' and subsequent actions at least part way through, I'm more convinced of this than I was when I first watched. The differences are subtle (and god bless DT's amazing acting here), but spot on. His bits of Donna (which seemed to fade as he grew more independent), but the differences the Doctor comments on at the end. When he's building that gun thing. He doesn't even consider an alternative to destroying the Daleks. And at that point, it doesn't even stand out. Why WOULD he? But rewatching, you see a sense of glee. He wants that vengeance. That IS a major difference. But it doesn't make him NOT the Doctor. We've seen the Doctor like that. I yelled NO at the screen when he did actually kill them all. But I sort of see where it comes from now.
So yeah, I can make my sort of peace with he and Rose living their lives out together. Eventually they'll be pretty happy.
Here's what I can't make peace with. The Doctor, our Doctor, the one we'll see on our screens forever, WON'T EVER BE HAPPY. And that's the message of this show, ultimately. RTD said it, JG said it. He's a Time Lord, not human, and so the show is about him alone, a man in a blue box. JG said HE couldn't say he loved Rose, because that's a human thing (hence human!Doctor, D2, says it). Never mind that he FEELS it. So what kind of message does that send to the kiddies that watch? The Doctor is awesome because he's an unconventional super hero. He fights his battles with his wits, his keen mind, not his brawn and muscles. But in order to do that? What, he can't be distracted by love? HE MUST BE MISERABLE TO DO HIS JOB???
And for us grown ups... what the hell is the point of watching a show where we know, without doubt, that the main character WON'T ever be happy? Oh we knew he lost his people, from the very beginning we knew. So maybe we understood that he'd never be totally whole. But what's the point of giving us two whole seasons of healing him, of bringing him love and happiness, only to take it away, make him miserable, dangle it in front of him again and then seal it off FOREVER. With a finality that's even MORE final because she has someone else, and even worse for HIM because she IS still alive and out there.
Is Rose the only path to happiness? Well, no, maybe not. You can argue he had a good deal of fun with Martha and Donna and all, but it isn't the same as love. He said it, he needs her. "He needs you, that's very me." Did he stop needing her after he lost her? Clearly not. Turn Left tells us that pretty emphatically (even if it's Donna who stopped him). EotD tells us that too.
And so... here's what er... chaps my hide. Even if this is the way it has to be. If the Doctor must be alone (in LOVE love) to be a Time Lord, must never have THAT type of partner. If this is ordained from on high and the show can not exist any other way... There is still is no reason for it. Because here we have a uniquely formatted show. In which the main character doesn't age, really, and by definition, has years and years of adventures which never appear on screen. So, barring the whole what do we do with D2 thing (pretty easily handled), why couldn't the Doctor slip off for a few decades of happiness with Rose? He could come back, at Christmas, after her death, and still be all sad. Could even have done it WITHIN that ep. Slapped on a "70 years later" at the bottom of the screen, have a nice Rose deathbed scene and THEN do the whole 'killing Donna' thing. That would have been as heart wrenching as was apparently necessary, right? We'd all still be bawling our eyes out, but we'd have completion to the Doctor/Rose storyline. It would be sad, but not unsatisfying. As we'd know that the Doctor had all that we ever really thought was possible for him to have. Donna could have her brain sucked, D2 could die killing the Daleks or whatever and we'd all sob like Rusty wanted us to. But D/R would have its justice. DAMMIT.
Now what do we have? A Rose who didn't make the choice to stay with D2. A D2 who knows she probably wouldn't have made that choice. A both of them who know there's a devastated Doctor out there on the other side of the void, and a devastated Doctor, out there, on the other side of the void. Our Doctor. A Doctor without hope.
Even if you see D2 as our Doctor too. And I kinda do. But his happiness is ultimately irrelevant to the Doctor we see on the screen. Except that it may somehow console him a bit.
And what bugs me even more about the whole switcheroo scenario... it shows, more than anything that the Doctor really DOES still need Rose. He went and made what can only be a rash decision. Deciding for the lives of others. Deciding for the rest of their lives. And he didn't do it to make Rose happy. Even if he tells that to himself. He did it because he believed Davros. He thought he didn't deserve love, and that, as a Time Lord apparently, he would only taint Rose with his 'true soul.' But human Doctor is just fine for her. And who knows if D2 was in on the plan. I have a hard time believing he'd be totally complacent in it. Or DONNA for that matter. She knew, better than anyone except Jack maybe, exactly what Rose meant to the Doctor. And she was there playing matchmaker too. Knowing that the walls would close and that her Doctor would never see Rose again. That didn't sit right with me either.
Donna
I thought she was going to die. I'd thought since since early on in the series. Knowing she'd just do one series... all the buildup of her special/not specialness. So in a way, i'm not entirely displeased. She's still alive. Still has all the potential for awesome that she's ever had. So it isn't a total loss. But it's so awful for her! And for him! Donna got him in a way we'd never really seen before. Because there was nothing standing in the way between them. Nothing of himself HE had to hold back from her, really. Because she was just his friend. But she LOVED that life, and loved what it made her. And the Doctor can never see her again. I'm glad he had his little goodbye. I'm glad that he didn't have to mindwipe Wilf and Silvia and I hope that they help her realize her potential. So I'm not going to argue that this SHOULD have been done differently. I'm just saying it seemed like RTD was endeavoring to find the absolute saddest thing he could possibly do to her without actually killing her. And I really thing Donna herself would have preferred death, to go out like a hero. But maybe not. And I guess it spared Wilf and Silvia some grief. But it feels like she was cheated. Just as we were cheated by the Doctor/Rose arc and the rest of the story.
The Rest of the Story
Ok, I liked the DoctorDonna, the threefold man. I predicted a long time ago that it was going to be some sort of magical conglomeration of the Doctor and Donna that saved the world. And it WAS awesome. The two of them snarking on the TARDIS, naked!Ten and the way the three of them handled it all together. I loved all the team work. The interaction of the family. The hugs, the copiloting, all that. What's not to love? Oh, except that no one's sticking around. Right. So much for the family.
And the biggest issue, which clearly affects the parts i've already discussed... is that there was simply not enough time to adequately deal with ANYthing. The episode was longer, yeah, but not long enough. Not by half. Where was the Rose/Jack interaction? She didn't know he was immortal, but didn't seem at all surprised by his being alive. How much DID she know? Why wasn't there some sort of reckoning? I really needed to see Rose acknowledging her part in all of it. To see Jack forgive her. Or even thank her. I think that was necessary for BOTH their characters. Might it have happened off screen? Perhaps, but there is clearly not a lot of time in between the day being saved and everyone going their separate ways. Not long enough for the Doctor (either one) and Rose to have any kind of private moment, that's for sure. Not with Sarah Jane running off to her son.
What about Rose/Martha? Or Rose/Donna? Rose and Martha thought each other were awesome. Yay, but where'd it come from? Couldn't they at least have a chat? He really missed you / Thanks for taking care of him. Something like that? Same with Rose and Donna. Of course that becomes rather unnecessary since Rose is shoved off back to Pete's world. But whatever.
Mickey. Oh Mickey. Did he know and/or agree with what happened to Rose? His storyline needed a bit more time. There was NOTHING for him back in PW but his gran? What about his work with Torchwood? What about all the good he did? What about everything? What is there for him in the proper world? Why is one better than the other? Especially with Rose and other people that love him back in PW? Sure I'd love to see him on Torchwood or in future eps of DW. But I still think that he'd give the Doctor what for about what he did to Rose. I'm pretty sure he assumed she'd stay in the proper world. I still want to write this fic. With the people that love the Doctor surprised by his actions.
So even with the story left as it is... It could have worked much better if it'd been given more development. Even if all the characters were necessary (which frankly, they weren't). Give me a bit more time to acclimate to D2. To see his love for Rose. His need for her. Give me more time to see why the Doctor is letting her go (long ago I said I would never accept the Doctor or Rose voluntarily giving the other up as in character). I mean, as I mentioned, the whole thinking he doesn't deserve her thing is one thing. And goes a long way to explain his actions. But it wasn't developed enough for it to make sense with what we know of him. He wanted her SO badly. He could make it work. Somehow. I think that D2, in his sort of pre-Rose mentality, might even willingly give up his life to make the proper Doctor happy. He has vengeance yes, but also all the guilt. More guilt, probably.
Anyway, a lot more things could have ended up making a lot more sense if just been given more time. I know Rusty was trying to make this, his last proper series finale the biggest and best by bringing back every character ever, but it suffered from being way way way too rushed. The two endings, already so problematic were made SO much worse for their stuntedness. Here Rose, have him, he loves you and is broke, fix him, BYE! Donna, you no can has Time Lord mind, you are pre-me-you, sorry, Bye!
Yes, there were a lot of things to love about this episode. There was lots of good funny. There was lots of good emo. There was lots of hotness. And several wonderful hugs. But the end... basically left me immensely unsatisfied and unsure of all my thoughts regarding this show and its future and MY future with it. I'm not giving up the show, not yet, not while DT is still around, but it's all so emotionally confusing now... with regards to the characters. And with no hope and no pleasing conceivable futures for the Doctor... what's the point, you know?
Sigh. In time, I may better acclimate to what we've been given. I hope that SOME of the holes will be dealt with in the future, but I really doubt they will be. What are the chances of a special entirely in the alt-verse? How bought revisiting that verse in 15 actual real world years? That could be fun.
I know there are several/lots of people out there who found this episode perfect and satisfying, but I can't, not just yet.
But hey, look I got through my review without crying! That's progress.
The Doctor and Rose
All right. By late Saturday night, I'd come to a shaky sort of acceptance over the turn of events. I begrudgingly acknowledge that Rose can, someday, be happy. It won't be wonderful, especially to start off, and there will always be that spectre of the other Doctor, the first one, off alone, sacrificed his happiness for that of hers and his twin (henceforward referred to as D2). D2 IS the Doctor. Rewatching his 'birth' and subsequent actions at least part way through, I'm more convinced of this than I was when I first watched. The differences are subtle (and god bless DT's amazing acting here), but spot on. His bits of Donna (which seemed to fade as he grew more independent), but the differences the Doctor comments on at the end. When he's building that gun thing. He doesn't even consider an alternative to destroying the Daleks. And at that point, it doesn't even stand out. Why WOULD he? But rewatching, you see a sense of glee. He wants that vengeance. That IS a major difference. But it doesn't make him NOT the Doctor. We've seen the Doctor like that. I yelled NO at the screen when he did actually kill them all. But I sort of see where it comes from now.
So yeah, I can make my sort of peace with he and Rose living their lives out together. Eventually they'll be pretty happy.
Here's what I can't make peace with. The Doctor, our Doctor, the one we'll see on our screens forever, WON'T EVER BE HAPPY. And that's the message of this show, ultimately. RTD said it, JG said it. He's a Time Lord, not human, and so the show is about him alone, a man in a blue box. JG said HE couldn't say he loved Rose, because that's a human thing (hence human!Doctor, D2, says it). Never mind that he FEELS it. So what kind of message does that send to the kiddies that watch? The Doctor is awesome because he's an unconventional super hero. He fights his battles with his wits, his keen mind, not his brawn and muscles. But in order to do that? What, he can't be distracted by love? HE MUST BE MISERABLE TO DO HIS JOB???
And for us grown ups... what the hell is the point of watching a show where we know, without doubt, that the main character WON'T ever be happy? Oh we knew he lost his people, from the very beginning we knew. So maybe we understood that he'd never be totally whole. But what's the point of giving us two whole seasons of healing him, of bringing him love and happiness, only to take it away, make him miserable, dangle it in front of him again and then seal it off FOREVER. With a finality that's even MORE final because she has someone else, and even worse for HIM because she IS still alive and out there.
Is Rose the only path to happiness? Well, no, maybe not. You can argue he had a good deal of fun with Martha and Donna and all, but it isn't the same as love. He said it, he needs her. "He needs you, that's very me." Did he stop needing her after he lost her? Clearly not. Turn Left tells us that pretty emphatically (even if it's Donna who stopped him). EotD tells us that too.
And so... here's what er... chaps my hide. Even if this is the way it has to be. If the Doctor must be alone (in LOVE love) to be a Time Lord, must never have THAT type of partner. If this is ordained from on high and the show can not exist any other way... There is still is no reason for it. Because here we have a uniquely formatted show. In which the main character doesn't age, really, and by definition, has years and years of adventures which never appear on screen. So, barring the whole what do we do with D2 thing (pretty easily handled), why couldn't the Doctor slip off for a few decades of happiness with Rose? He could come back, at Christmas, after her death, and still be all sad. Could even have done it WITHIN that ep. Slapped on a "70 years later" at the bottom of the screen, have a nice Rose deathbed scene and THEN do the whole 'killing Donna' thing. That would have been as heart wrenching as was apparently necessary, right? We'd all still be bawling our eyes out, but we'd have completion to the Doctor/Rose storyline. It would be sad, but not unsatisfying. As we'd know that the Doctor had all that we ever really thought was possible for him to have. Donna could have her brain sucked, D2 could die killing the Daleks or whatever and we'd all sob like Rusty wanted us to. But D/R would have its justice. DAMMIT.
Now what do we have? A Rose who didn't make the choice to stay with D2. A D2 who knows she probably wouldn't have made that choice. A both of them who know there's a devastated Doctor out there on the other side of the void, and a devastated Doctor, out there, on the other side of the void. Our Doctor. A Doctor without hope.
Even if you see D2 as our Doctor too. And I kinda do. But his happiness is ultimately irrelevant to the Doctor we see on the screen. Except that it may somehow console him a bit.
And what bugs me even more about the whole switcheroo scenario... it shows, more than anything that the Doctor really DOES still need Rose. He went and made what can only be a rash decision. Deciding for the lives of others. Deciding for the rest of their lives. And he didn't do it to make Rose happy. Even if he tells that to himself. He did it because he believed Davros. He thought he didn't deserve love, and that, as a Time Lord apparently, he would only taint Rose with his 'true soul.' But human Doctor is just fine for her. And who knows if D2 was in on the plan. I have a hard time believing he'd be totally complacent in it. Or DONNA for that matter. She knew, better than anyone except Jack maybe, exactly what Rose meant to the Doctor. And she was there playing matchmaker too. Knowing that the walls would close and that her Doctor would never see Rose again. That didn't sit right with me either.
Donna
I thought she was going to die. I'd thought since since early on in the series. Knowing she'd just do one series... all the buildup of her special/not specialness. So in a way, i'm not entirely displeased. She's still alive. Still has all the potential for awesome that she's ever had. So it isn't a total loss. But it's so awful for her! And for him! Donna got him in a way we'd never really seen before. Because there was nothing standing in the way between them. Nothing of himself HE had to hold back from her, really. Because she was just his friend. But she LOVED that life, and loved what it made her. And the Doctor can never see her again. I'm glad he had his little goodbye. I'm glad that he didn't have to mindwipe Wilf and Silvia and I hope that they help her realize her potential. So I'm not going to argue that this SHOULD have been done differently. I'm just saying it seemed like RTD was endeavoring to find the absolute saddest thing he could possibly do to her without actually killing her. And I really thing Donna herself would have preferred death, to go out like a hero. But maybe not. And I guess it spared Wilf and Silvia some grief. But it feels like she was cheated. Just as we were cheated by the Doctor/Rose arc and the rest of the story.
The Rest of the Story
Ok, I liked the DoctorDonna, the threefold man. I predicted a long time ago that it was going to be some sort of magical conglomeration of the Doctor and Donna that saved the world. And it WAS awesome. The two of them snarking on the TARDIS, naked!Ten and the way the three of them handled it all together. I loved all the team work. The interaction of the family. The hugs, the copiloting, all that. What's not to love? Oh, except that no one's sticking around. Right. So much for the family.
And the biggest issue, which clearly affects the parts i've already discussed... is that there was simply not enough time to adequately deal with ANYthing. The episode was longer, yeah, but not long enough. Not by half. Where was the Rose/Jack interaction? She didn't know he was immortal, but didn't seem at all surprised by his being alive. How much DID she know? Why wasn't there some sort of reckoning? I really needed to see Rose acknowledging her part in all of it. To see Jack forgive her. Or even thank her. I think that was necessary for BOTH their characters. Might it have happened off screen? Perhaps, but there is clearly not a lot of time in between the day being saved and everyone going their separate ways. Not long enough for the Doctor (either one) and Rose to have any kind of private moment, that's for sure. Not with Sarah Jane running off to her son.
What about Rose/Martha? Or Rose/Donna? Rose and Martha thought each other were awesome. Yay, but where'd it come from? Couldn't they at least have a chat? He really missed you / Thanks for taking care of him. Something like that? Same with Rose and Donna. Of course that becomes rather unnecessary since Rose is shoved off back to Pete's world. But whatever.
Mickey. Oh Mickey. Did he know and/or agree with what happened to Rose? His storyline needed a bit more time. There was NOTHING for him back in PW but his gran? What about his work with Torchwood? What about all the good he did? What about everything? What is there for him in the proper world? Why is one better than the other? Especially with Rose and other people that love him back in PW? Sure I'd love to see him on Torchwood or in future eps of DW. But I still think that he'd give the Doctor what for about what he did to Rose. I'm pretty sure he assumed she'd stay in the proper world. I still want to write this fic. With the people that love the Doctor surprised by his actions.
So even with the story left as it is... It could have worked much better if it'd been given more development. Even if all the characters were necessary (which frankly, they weren't). Give me a bit more time to acclimate to D2. To see his love for Rose. His need for her. Give me more time to see why the Doctor is letting her go (long ago I said I would never accept the Doctor or Rose voluntarily giving the other up as in character). I mean, as I mentioned, the whole thinking he doesn't deserve her thing is one thing. And goes a long way to explain his actions. But it wasn't developed enough for it to make sense with what we know of him. He wanted her SO badly. He could make it work. Somehow. I think that D2, in his sort of pre-Rose mentality, might even willingly give up his life to make the proper Doctor happy. He has vengeance yes, but also all the guilt. More guilt, probably.
Anyway, a lot more things could have ended up making a lot more sense if just been given more time. I know Rusty was trying to make this, his last proper series finale the biggest and best by bringing back every character ever, but it suffered from being way way way too rushed. The two endings, already so problematic were made SO much worse for their stuntedness. Here Rose, have him, he loves you and is broke, fix him, BYE! Donna, you no can has Time Lord mind, you are pre-me-you, sorry, Bye!
Yes, there were a lot of things to love about this episode. There was lots of good funny. There was lots of good emo. There was lots of hotness. And several wonderful hugs. But the end... basically left me immensely unsatisfied and unsure of all my thoughts regarding this show and its future and MY future with it. I'm not giving up the show, not yet, not while DT is still around, but it's all so emotionally confusing now... with regards to the characters. And with no hope and no pleasing conceivable futures for the Doctor... what's the point, you know?
Sigh. In time, I may better acclimate to what we've been given. I hope that SOME of the holes will be dealt with in the future, but I really doubt they will be. What are the chances of a special entirely in the alt-verse? How bought revisiting that verse in 15 actual real world years? That could be fun.
I know there are several/lots of people out there who found this episode perfect and satisfying, but I can't, not just yet.
But hey, look I got through my review without crying! That's progress.
