The Rings of Akhaten. DW S7.8
I almost don't know where to start. There was 'Clara's First Adventure', and I loved that aspect, but for now I will immerse myself in imagery and history and continuity and the wonderful unfolding story of the Doctor... I've seen people say that they didn't feel the big speech was 'earned', and I... don't understand. I mean, obviously we all watch different shows, but do they watch in a vacuum? This is a very important chapter in a long, long arc. Most specifically it's the answer to AGMGTW (although the last ghost of The Timelord Victorious is also laid to rest for good, I hope). Let me illustrate, and then expand:
Because it's about the song.
AGMGTW was his greatest hour, after which he fell further than ever before... He was forced to face what he had become, how the very meaning of his name was changing. How he had enemies and caused danger to those he loved because of who and what he was, and what he had become. Since then we have seen him lay the warrior to rest, step by step, and with great difficulty.
He 'died', returning to the realm of Legend in the universe as a whole, before Oswin erased him from the Daleks' knowledge, removing the label of 'Predator', severing that tie. And he then went on to erase himself from the universe altogether, turning up 'worthless' in Solomon's search. Yet the scars, and the danger was still there, lurking under the surface - he killed Solomon in cold blood, and was ready to execute the dark mirror he found in Jex.
But then he lost his Ponds, and with them his joy in life. He withdrew and would not stir no matter the occasion - until Clara. But notice the way he dealt with Dr Simeon - there was still a good bit of cold warrior in there.
And then he finds Clara again, against all the odds. And takes her away to see the wonder of the universe.
What happens when they realise the severity of the situation?
Clara: “You are going to fight it, aren’t you?”
Doctor: "Regrettably yes, I think I might be about to do that.”
But he doesn't.
Mind you, he doesn't have a clue what to do - and then he hears the singing. The people singing for him... And what do they sing?
“Rest now... My warrior..."
And he smiles.
Doctor: "OK then, that’s what I’ll do. I’ll tell you a story."
The singing then continues:
"Live! Wake up. Wake up. And let the cloak of life cling to your bones."
The speech that follows is important in many ways. It brings casual/new viewers up to date, informing them of the major issues (such as the incredible things he has done and the dangerous secrets he knows), it gives us our first, proper, onscreen mention of Omega, and it is a stunning spectacle, both visually and in the way that the singing carries the Doctor through.
But there is something else, something very important. I said he doesn't fight - what he does instead is offer himself as a substitute sacrifice, with every breath claiming his own humanity (for lack of a better word). It is, in a wonderfully ridiculous way, just like Bracewell:
Doctor: "Good. Remember it now, Edwin! The ash trees by the Post Office and your mum and dad and losing them and men in the trenches you saw die... Remember it! Feel it, because you're human. [...] Believe it! You are Professor Edwin Bracewell! And you, my friend, are a human being!"
Doctor: "You feed on them - on the memory of love and loss and birth and death and joy and sorrow, so- So... [voice goes quiet] Come on then. Take mine. Take my memories."
He doesn't try to win by being stronger or more dangerous or more deadly. But simply by being more human, by having a more than a thousand years of love and loss. Not a remote god, not a warrior, not suppressing or denying his emotions, but waking up and feeling it all. Living.
It gives me chills.
Especially because - it isn't enough. He staggers, defeated, just a man. An old, old man, with two hearts.
And then comes Clara. With her mother's book of 101 Places to See, looking like a very young girl indeed, not much different from Susan all those years before. And what saves the day are the stories not told - contained in a leaf. The most important leaf in human history...
And so, just like in Asylum of the Daleks, being human - hanging onto humanity against everything, - is the most important thing of all. ("I am Oswin Oswald. I fought the Daleks, and I AM human!")
Finally, I'll quote promethia_tenk, who sums up the scene with the leaf beautifully:
Clara's standing there, holding a book of travels.
She has a leaf. A leaf which brings people together. That lets people find each other. That's about husbands and wives and mothers and daughters and connections and loss.
And it's full of history and full of stories.
There are people singing about embracing life, and about laying down the warrior, which is the exact word River used in AGMGTW.
And there is gold magic dust going on.
About the only thing missing is literal water. But as she's standing there making a lengthy philosophical speech about time and loss, and because basically the first thing she asked in the entire episode was what time is made of, I'm willing to overlook the omission ; )
Laying aside any thought of literal connections for a moment, you couldn't fit any more symbolic connections into that scene if you tried. And were T.S. Eliot.
Which needs another illustration. And I love the colours, the mirroring... everything.
And that's all for now. Am tired. Will probably write more later, but right now, this is all. It was the episode where the Doctor took on a god - by refusing the label himself. And believing it.
Because it's about the song.
AGMGTW was his greatest hour, after which he fell further than ever before... He was forced to face what he had become, how the very meaning of his name was changing. How he had enemies and caused danger to those he loved because of who and what he was, and what he had become. Since then we have seen him lay the warrior to rest, step by step, and with great difficulty.
He 'died', returning to the realm of Legend in the universe as a whole, before Oswin erased him from the Daleks' knowledge, removing the label of 'Predator', severing that tie. And he then went on to erase himself from the universe altogether, turning up 'worthless' in Solomon's search. Yet the scars, and the danger was still there, lurking under the surface - he killed Solomon in cold blood, and was ready to execute the dark mirror he found in Jex.
But then he lost his Ponds, and with them his joy in life. He withdrew and would not stir no matter the occasion - until Clara. But notice the way he dealt with Dr Simeon - there was still a good bit of cold warrior in there.
And then he finds Clara again, against all the odds. And takes her away to see the wonder of the universe.
What happens when they realise the severity of the situation?
Clara: “You are going to fight it, aren’t you?”
Doctor: "Regrettably yes, I think I might be about to do that.”
But he doesn't.
Mind you, he doesn't have a clue what to do - and then he hears the singing. The people singing for him... And what do they sing?
“Rest now... My warrior..."
And he smiles.
Doctor: "OK then, that’s what I’ll do. I’ll tell you a story."
The singing then continues:
"Live! Wake up. Wake up. And let the cloak of life cling to your bones."
The speech that follows is important in many ways. It brings casual/new viewers up to date, informing them of the major issues (such as the incredible things he has done and the dangerous secrets he knows), it gives us our first, proper, onscreen mention of Omega, and it is a stunning spectacle, both visually and in the way that the singing carries the Doctor through.
But there is something else, something very important. I said he doesn't fight - what he does instead is offer himself as a substitute sacrifice, with every breath claiming his own humanity (for lack of a better word). It is, in a wonderfully ridiculous way, just like Bracewell:
Doctor: "Good. Remember it now, Edwin! The ash trees by the Post Office and your mum and dad and losing them and men in the trenches you saw die... Remember it! Feel it, because you're human. [...] Believe it! You are Professor Edwin Bracewell! And you, my friend, are a human being!"
Doctor: "You feed on them - on the memory of love and loss and birth and death and joy and sorrow, so- So... [voice goes quiet] Come on then. Take mine. Take my memories."
He doesn't try to win by being stronger or more dangerous or more deadly. But simply by being more human, by having a more than a thousand years of love and loss. Not a remote god, not a warrior, not suppressing or denying his emotions, but waking up and feeling it all. Living.
It gives me chills.
Especially because - it isn't enough. He staggers, defeated, just a man. An old, old man, with two hearts.
And then comes Clara. With her mother's book of 101 Places to See, looking like a very young girl indeed, not much different from Susan all those years before. And what saves the day are the stories not told - contained in a leaf. The most important leaf in human history...
And so, just like in Asylum of the Daleks, being human - hanging onto humanity against everything, - is the most important thing of all. ("I am Oswin Oswald. I fought the Daleks, and I AM human!")
Finally, I'll quote promethia_tenk, who sums up the scene with the leaf beautifully:
Clara's standing there, holding a book of travels.
She has a leaf. A leaf which brings people together. That lets people find each other. That's about husbands and wives and mothers and daughters and connections and loss.
And it's full of history and full of stories.
There are people singing about embracing life, and about laying down the warrior, which is the exact word River used in AGMGTW.
And there is gold magic dust going on.
About the only thing missing is literal water. But as she's standing there making a lengthy philosophical speech about time and loss, and because basically the first thing she asked in the entire episode was what time is made of, I'm willing to overlook the omission ; )
Laying aside any thought of literal connections for a moment, you couldn't fit any more symbolic connections into that scene if you tried. And were T.S. Eliot.
Which needs another illustration. And I love the colours, the mirroring... everything.
And that's all for now. Am tired. Will probably write more later, but right now, this is all. It was the episode where the Doctor took on a god - by refusing the label himself. And believing it.