Now for some more COHERENT thoughs on Doctor Who "The End of Time"
So...now that the weeping has stopped.
Seriously people, this was rough. In both good and bad ways.
Let's start with the bad first
1. The tenuous link between "The Waters of Mars" and "The End of Time"- I feel like it was never spelled out, but there was a link between the Doctor's actions, messing with fixed events, and what happens in this two-parter. That's pretty obvious from Ood Sigma showing up in TWoM And yet, aside from guilty words from the Doctor when he first talks to Wilf, there's really nothing there that underscores the link. I think that could have been a greater part of the story arc, i.e. Ten's feelings of culpability, but it was pushed to the side, making the Master and the Time Lords the "big bads" of the episode, to take a term from Joss. I think it would have been more effective to underline the Doctor's agency in the turn of events a bit more.
2. The Master's return. Honestly? The whole thing just felt like a rehash of the end of season three. Kooky special effects, the same characters. I like John Simm, but after the disappointment of the last episodes in which the Master appeared (aside from "Utopia," which kinda rocked), bringing him back just made me groan and dread the story. And it was just as ridiculous in many ways...but at least this time we didn't get gollum!Doctor! I really, really wish we had something new instead of something recycled.
3. The pacing of the episodes. I feel like RTD has a problem with that in his two parters. There was definitely less of a feeling like he was trying to shoehorn everything in, like in "Journey's End," but it still doesn't have the right sort of flow. And because of this, it wasn't as dramatic as the more well plotted episodes.
There are definitely other things that bothered me, but these were the biggies...
I'm on the fence about...
1. The Time Lord twist- Do I prefer to think that the Doctor had to kill his people along with the Daleks to save the universe with the Time Lords functioning as somewhat more innocent victims, or do I prefer to see them as just as bad as the other side. I don't know. In some ways, I like the idea of the Doctor being tortured by his people being more innocent in the conflict, but like I said, I'm on the fence about this. While we always knew what happened to his people, this is a new shading on it that I'm not sure how to interpret.
Now, the oh so good.
1. Wilf. Oh dear lord, Wilf. I have adored his character ever since we got introduced to him as Donna's grandfather. He was really the one, in the end, who broke me during "Journey's End." By saluting the Doctor? Oy. What I love in these new episodes is that we truly get to see him as his own man, a defender of Earth, and old soldier. But more than that, it's like seeing the Doctor with a family. There's a love and respect there that goes beyond Wilf's place as a tether to Donna, though that's definitely part of it. The scene with Wilf and the gun...oh my. Just brilliant, brilliant interactions...like...
2. The scene between Ten and Wilf in the restaurant/bar. This whole two-parter gives us a beautiful back and forth between Wilf and the Doctor where, at different times, each seems more fatherly/older than the other. It's never one sided. In this scene, we see the Doctor opening up and admitting his fears to Wilf, like he would do with few others, and then in turn we see the true horror of the situation take hold for Wilf. If the Doctor is scared, then it must be bad. And, as we've NEVER seen the Doctor so despairing in such a quiet way, this must be really, really really bad But the genuine caring and respect between the two is threaded throughout this scene. It's just fantastic.
3. The four knocks...coming from Wilf. WILF!!! That was brilliant. When I heard those knocks, I literally yelled "no way!" at the screen. I know I've read that some folks don't like how Ten reacts here, first getting angry that he has to die and then telling Wilf it's an honor. It's seen as incongruous by some, but honestly, I don't see it that way at all. It's perfectly in character. This Doctor , Ten, for all of his darkness, had a lot of light and joy. So it seems to me rather fitting that there would be tug of war in the end between his instinct to stay alive and his desire to save Wilf. When he tells Wilf that it's an honor, he truly means it. It's like he's gotten through a few steps in the grieving process already and can see the forest for the trees. He can save a man he respects and loves, and he can give Donna her grandfather back. It's quite the combo. Still, this is Ten. He's erratic, he's dark and light, up and down, so it's really quite fitting how he handles the situation.
4. Ten visiting the companions. For as much as these two episodes were uneven for me, I LOVED this part. Because this Doctor truly became defined by the people around him, that he collected into a mini family. This has never been so obvious as in the elbow-to-elbow, shoulder-to-shoulder crowding of the TARDIS in "Journey's End." These are the people who helped create the man he was in this incarnation, so it's fitting that he would want to say his goodbyes.
- Mickey/Martha threw me for a loop (I wanna know THAT back story!) What happened to her doctor fiance? And it looks like she truly went the way of the soldier/Torchwood-type character. Interesting especially since that seemed to make the Doctor uncomfortable. Still, I am intrigued! This notion of two people connected to the Doctor finding each other...very, very intriguing indeed.
- Jack! Oh, post CoE, I worry for Jack. (And am desperate to see Miracle Day- damn you, Starz! I don't want to have to buy a subscription to you to watch it.) So, the way that the Doctor tries to give him (and Alonso from the Titanic!) a little bit of calm in the storm is quite sweet. Just loved it. And it's a nice nod to Astrid as well, since she's a companion who was brief, but made an impression. A sad impression, but an impression indeed.
- Luke! I have never watched that show, but it was so lovely to see him, and Elizabeth Sladen, especially now that she has passed. The Doctor saving him...and Sarah Jane getting to see him one last time? Oh yes.
- Verity. Oh holy crap. If there was really ever any doubt that the Doctor retained not just the memories, but the feelings of John Smith, well, there you go. That about broke me. Joan was happy...the Doctor? Well, he really couldn't answer that. Which is so very, very sad.
- Donna- Ok, I know some folks think it's cheap to just hand Donna that perfect life, marriage, money, etc. But to me...oh, this is perfect and so very Ten. She's he best friend, he said it himself. And if he could do anything for her, it would be to protect her from danger (hence the golden time lord light personal defense system, patent pending) and help her to be happy. So, marriage, money, and peace. It's still not the life any of her fans would have wanted for her- we would have wanted with her traveling with the Doctor forever- but it's what the Doctor can give her in the end.
5. Rose. I gotta give this its own bullet point. I really didn't think they were going to be able to do anything with Rose, what with her being in the parallel universe. This? Was just lovely. And oh so appropriate. If you think about the Time War...who helped to heal the Doctor after the ravages of it? Rose. She helped "make him better," and then when he regenerated, she got to enjoy her time with a man who was a great deal more whole than broken, no matter the darkness they faced. So now it's fitting that, as he's confronted the Time War again, he comes back to Rose. Full circle, His end is her beginning...and that's just fantasttic.
So yes, character driving stuff to love.
But...I have a question, too.
Ok, who WAS that woman who appeared to Wilf and who was the "weeping" Time Lord? (They were on one in the same, right?) At first I thought it might be Ten's mother, but then the way he looked at Donna at the end when her mother asked, was it Donna instead who somehow manipulated the time stream? I feel like for sure it was Ten's mother, which would be brilliant, but not sure if there is a decision on this one.
All in all, episodes that were uneven and didn't pack the punch of "The Waters of Mars," but that gave a gorgeous ended, quiet and sad, to a fabulous Doctor.
My Doctor.
Seriously people, this was rough. In both good and bad ways.
Let's start with the bad first
1. The tenuous link between "The Waters of Mars" and "The End of Time"- I feel like it was never spelled out, but there was a link between the Doctor's actions, messing with fixed events, and what happens in this two-parter. That's pretty obvious from Ood Sigma showing up in TWoM And yet, aside from guilty words from the Doctor when he first talks to Wilf, there's really nothing there that underscores the link. I think that could have been a greater part of the story arc, i.e. Ten's feelings of culpability, but it was pushed to the side, making the Master and the Time Lords the "big bads" of the episode, to take a term from Joss. I think it would have been more effective to underline the Doctor's agency in the turn of events a bit more.
2. The Master's return. Honestly? The whole thing just felt like a rehash of the end of season three. Kooky special effects, the same characters. I like John Simm, but after the disappointment of the last episodes in which the Master appeared (aside from "Utopia," which kinda rocked), bringing him back just made me groan and dread the story. And it was just as ridiculous in many ways...but at least this time we didn't get gollum!Doctor! I really, really wish we had something new instead of something recycled.
3. The pacing of the episodes. I feel like RTD has a problem with that in his two parters. There was definitely less of a feeling like he was trying to shoehorn everything in, like in "Journey's End," but it still doesn't have the right sort of flow. And because of this, it wasn't as dramatic as the more well plotted episodes.
There are definitely other things that bothered me, but these were the biggies...
I'm on the fence about...
1. The Time Lord twist- Do I prefer to think that the Doctor had to kill his people along with the Daleks to save the universe with the Time Lords functioning as somewhat more innocent victims, or do I prefer to see them as just as bad as the other side. I don't know. In some ways, I like the idea of the Doctor being tortured by his people being more innocent in the conflict, but like I said, I'm on the fence about this. While we always knew what happened to his people, this is a new shading on it that I'm not sure how to interpret.
Now, the oh so good.
1. Wilf. Oh dear lord, Wilf. I have adored his character ever since we got introduced to him as Donna's grandfather. He was really the one, in the end, who broke me during "Journey's End." By saluting the Doctor? Oy. What I love in these new episodes is that we truly get to see him as his own man, a defender of Earth, and old soldier. But more than that, it's like seeing the Doctor with a family. There's a love and respect there that goes beyond Wilf's place as a tether to Donna, though that's definitely part of it. The scene with Wilf and the gun...oh my. Just brilliant, brilliant interactions...like...
2. The scene between Ten and Wilf in the restaurant/bar. This whole two-parter gives us a beautiful back and forth between Wilf and the Doctor where, at different times, each seems more fatherly/older than the other. It's never one sided. In this scene, we see the Doctor opening up and admitting his fears to Wilf, like he would do with few others, and then in turn we see the true horror of the situation take hold for Wilf. If the Doctor is scared, then it must be bad. And, as we've NEVER seen the Doctor so despairing in such a quiet way, this must be really, really really bad But the genuine caring and respect between the two is threaded throughout this scene. It's just fantastic.
3. The four knocks...coming from Wilf. WILF!!! That was brilliant. When I heard those knocks, I literally yelled "no way!" at the screen. I know I've read that some folks don't like how Ten reacts here, first getting angry that he has to die and then telling Wilf it's an honor. It's seen as incongruous by some, but honestly, I don't see it that way at all. It's perfectly in character. This Doctor , Ten, for all of his darkness, had a lot of light and joy. So it seems to me rather fitting that there would be tug of war in the end between his instinct to stay alive and his desire to save Wilf. When he tells Wilf that it's an honor, he truly means it. It's like he's gotten through a few steps in the grieving process already and can see the forest for the trees. He can save a man he respects and loves, and he can give Donna her grandfather back. It's quite the combo. Still, this is Ten. He's erratic, he's dark and light, up and down, so it's really quite fitting how he handles the situation.
4. Ten visiting the companions. For as much as these two episodes were uneven for me, I LOVED this part. Because this Doctor truly became defined by the people around him, that he collected into a mini family. This has never been so obvious as in the elbow-to-elbow, shoulder-to-shoulder crowding of the TARDIS in "Journey's End." These are the people who helped create the man he was in this incarnation, so it's fitting that he would want to say his goodbyes.
- Mickey/Martha threw me for a loop (I wanna know THAT back story!) What happened to her doctor fiance? And it looks like she truly went the way of the soldier/Torchwood-type character. Interesting especially since that seemed to make the Doctor uncomfortable. Still, I am intrigued! This notion of two people connected to the Doctor finding each other...very, very intriguing indeed.
- Jack! Oh, post CoE, I worry for Jack. (And am desperate to see Miracle Day- damn you, Starz! I don't want to have to buy a subscription to you to watch it.) So, the way that the Doctor tries to give him (and Alonso from the Titanic!) a little bit of calm in the storm is quite sweet. Just loved it. And it's a nice nod to Astrid as well, since she's a companion who was brief, but made an impression. A sad impression, but an impression indeed.
- Luke! I have never watched that show, but it was so lovely to see him, and Elizabeth Sladen, especially now that she has passed. The Doctor saving him...and Sarah Jane getting to see him one last time? Oh yes.
- Verity. Oh holy crap. If there was really ever any doubt that the Doctor retained not just the memories, but the feelings of John Smith, well, there you go. That about broke me. Joan was happy...the Doctor? Well, he really couldn't answer that. Which is so very, very sad.
- Donna- Ok, I know some folks think it's cheap to just hand Donna that perfect life, marriage, money, etc. But to me...oh, this is perfect and so very Ten. She's he best friend, he said it himself. And if he could do anything for her, it would be to protect her from danger (hence the golden time lord light personal defense system, patent pending) and help her to be happy. So, marriage, money, and peace. It's still not the life any of her fans would have wanted for her- we would have wanted with her traveling with the Doctor forever- but it's what the Doctor can give her in the end.
5. Rose. I gotta give this its own bullet point. I really didn't think they were going to be able to do anything with Rose, what with her being in the parallel universe. This? Was just lovely. And oh so appropriate. If you think about the Time War...who helped to heal the Doctor after the ravages of it? Rose. She helped "make him better," and then when he regenerated, she got to enjoy her time with a man who was a great deal more whole than broken, no matter the darkness they faced. So now it's fitting that, as he's confronted the Time War again, he comes back to Rose. Full circle, His end is her beginning...and that's just fantasttic.
So yes, character driving stuff to love.
But...I have a question, too.
Ok, who WAS that woman who appeared to Wilf and who was the "weeping" Time Lord? (They were on one in the same, right?) At first I thought it might be Ten's mother, but then the way he looked at Donna at the end when her mother asked, was it Donna instead who somehow manipulated the time stream? I feel like for sure it was Ten's mother, which would be brilliant, but not sure if there is a decision on this one.
All in all, episodes that were uneven and didn't pack the punch of "The Waters of Mars," but that gave a gorgeous ended, quiet and sad, to a fabulous Doctor.
My Doctor.