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DW 4.13 - Reactions
I watched the season finale last night and... hmmm. I'm left less squeeful than I would have hoped. Part of it is because I ADORED Donna and I'm feeling that loss, but a bigger part is that I need a series finale to have a little less heartbreak and doom.
So, firstly, Donna. It feels so horribly unfair (even though I know it could be worse, even though I know she'll never miss what she lost, even though I should be glad she's still alive) and it hits this personal tender spot I have for characters having their world-view changed without their knowledge, having their personal freedom to choose completely removed. It makes me upset. Not in the hating-RTD stage, but... upset. I can't explain it more than that, but just... oh.
However, I adored her as a Time Lord/temp combination and I loved her saving the day. LOVED it. And I loved her claiming a hug from Jack. But... yeah, unlike other companions where they may reappear, that's it for Donna. Never again will she appear on our screens. *sigh*
Secondly, Martha and the whole "every companion ever" idea. Good in theory, not so great in actuality. Now, I'm someone who literally did a happy dance when I realised the TW group were appearing on DW, but it didn't leave me feeling satisfied. In the effort to be bigger and better and MORE, I think the last two episodes weren't as well-crafted as they could have been. The storytelling felt a little clunky to me and there was such a huge level of info dump at the start of last week's ep -- a lot of it only explained in a couple of lines of dialogue in the final ep -- and it didn't work for me. I mean, honestly, why have the TW team if they're just going to sit there? Couldn't that have been cleared up last episode, and had Jack set the defense before he disappeared? And for Martha... she... well, didn't hold my interest. Not entirely Martha's fault (I liked her on S3, I liked her appearing on TW, I was... a bit ho-hum about her on this season of DW) but the plot, I think. I mean, yes, Martha works for UNIT, but her entire plot was basically wasted. I didn't overly care about it, but I didn't need to because all the effort was for nothing.
Now, admittedly, the same thing happened with Jack's subplot (and Sarah-Jane's) but theirs was quicker, to the poit, and didn't involve a whole bunch of UNIT secrets being rushedly explained to us. I get that the point is that we were entirely helpless without the second Doctor and Donna rushing in to save the day, but I think the point could have been proved with less info-dumping.
I liked the way the finale tied up so many loose ends (and the potential that Mickey or Martha -- or both! -- might start working for Jack would be great) but I'm left with the vague impression that having so many different characters kind of took away from the story. I don't know, because the Doctor's scenes with Davros were fantastic and rivetting, but the momentum of the story was choppy and uneven.
Out of the four series finales so far, it's my least favourite (For the curious, the order goes: S2's Doomsday, S1 because I cheered for Rose saving everyone and the regeneration scene was fantastic, S3 because the Master was so much fun, and I didn't object to the idea of the Doctor using the Master's mind control system against him and defeating him through human faith). It was still better than most things on TV these days, but I wasn't left overwhelmed with love for my show or the Doctor. I was left emotionally drained. (A good part of that might be being sick, I must admit. But I want DW to fill me with joy and awe, less with the heartbreak and doom.)
I'm looking forward to a break between seasons and a new writer. Secretly, I'm hoping that the new stories will spend less time linking back to the Daleks (seriously, I'm over the daleks, DW was about more than three or four villians, and I'd like some brand new ones, please) and will settle down with a stable companion and doctor team. I need some more emotional security in my show, I think. I can't take a new companion every year, I can't take changing Doctors, I can't take RTD breaking our hearts over and over.
Also... hmmm. What am I forgetting? Rose and the second Doctor.
I liked it. I liked Rose being back (even though I'm pretty sure Billie Piper had this weird lisp thing going on. In 4.11, I was really distracted by it), I loved how much the Doctor cared for her, and I think the second Doctor staying with her was a highly romantic moment and them kissing made me victoriously pump the air with a fist.
This is partly because I love Rose and I loved the bond she had with the Doctor, but I simultaneously don't like the idea of DW becoming a show about a couple that travels in time and space. So this was a solution that worked for me, made Rose and the second Doctor happy, and... gave the first Doctor some satisfaction (even if he was left alone again).
Doc II (because I'm tired of typing "the second Doctor") is the one and only chance the Doctor has of being human and still being *him*, of living the settled life that he can't have as the Doctor. As much as he has companions that love him, everyone settles down to live a life eventually, but the Doctor keeps travelling. While he's had a family and children (and grandchildren) before, while he's had that life of constant love, now he's alone. He's travelling, forever adventuring and having holidays, but never having any certainty, never able to keep his companions because he can't offer them what they need. Doc II is a version of the Doctor that *can*, that can let himself tell Rose he loves her -- that can let himself love her -- because he can now give her what she needs: he can offer himself entirely because he no longer has the responsibility of being the last Time Lord, he no longer has the TARDIS to obligate him to save others. He can settle on Earth, let himself fall head over heels in love with Rose, and live with her for the rest of his life. (He doesn't have to guard himself against not caring too much, not relying too much for fear of being too heartbroken when she leaves him or dies, and he has to live on.)
It's so terribly romantic.
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in_the_bottle was saying that she didn't see that, that she thought Rose thinks DocII is second best, never as good as the original, but I don't think so. There was no hesitation in kissing DocII. But I think she was still worried for the Doctor, who is off to travel again, going to be alone again, going to be challenged and do terrible and wonderful things, and who loves her, even if he can't say it. Rose cares about him, wants to ease things for him, and even if making him feel better meant spending the rest of her life knowing that he couldn't love her as she loved him, she would. She would stand by him to her dying day and not care that she missed life's other opportunities. (Unlike Martha, who has the personal pride/strength/whatever to walk away, but she never saw Nine, never saw the depth of anger and pain that the Doctor held after the Time War.)It's the biggest gift the Doctor can give to Rose -- the opportunity to have him (well, DocII) love her as she really wants -- and it also keeps the universe safe from an angry DocII. It's also the biggest gift he could give to DocII: the influence of someone who loves him and can calm him, can make him love. And he knows that Rose's Earth will be safer with himself (well, DocII) to help her watch over it and who can he trust more to care for Rose than himself?
Basically, it made me very happy.
(For the record, I was thrilled with the not-regenerating loophole. I'm not ready for a new Doctor, and I'd be surprisingly sad to see DT walk away from his role. He seems to be enjoying it so much. ...yeah, inside my head, I'd like him to stay for as long as Tom Baker. And I like the stated idea that the Doctor is happy with who he is now, isn't looking to change, and the implication from River Song knowing him that he goes on to have a lot of adventures as Ten.)
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My guess was dental work, since those invisible braces (the ones that go on the inside of the teeth, so no-one sees them) can cause a lisp like that. Mind you, I hadn't realised how different Rose's accent was to Billie Piper's real accent until I paid attention on the confidentials.
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