Doctor Who, 4.08 & 4.09

[fourteenlines]

I managed to catch up on Doctor Who on Monday, and in a way I'm glad that I watched 4.08, "Silence in the Library," all the way through to 4.12, "The Stolen Earth." I think it helped me keep some stuff fresh in mind for the giant WTF of the season. *g*

Comments

[chickwithmonkey]

I kind of think that's truly the only way the Doctor could ever have a real, deep, loving, equal relationship with a human: he's already seen her die. The biggest thing holding him back from getting that close is that he knows humans die and he's always going to be sad about it - having already lived through that pain (and, yeah, knowing that she really will live forever) frees him to get close. I think if he'd met her at any other first time, even if he saw her two or three times before the library, he'd still get closed off and angsty about her; her total comfort with the situation and assurance that he had their whole relationship ahead of him is the only way he could possibly open himself up

[fourteenlines]

I kind of think that's truly the only way the Doctor could ever have a real, deep, loving, equal relationship with a human: he's already seen her die.

Oooh, u r smrt.

I forgot to mention, I think the only way it could work for the Doctor to have a human lover is if she weren't a full-time Companion. Because he's going to live way longer than her anyway, so wouldn't it make more sense if he only saw her once in a while (in his timeline) and went back and filled up the days in her timeline? That really seems the way this happened/will happen/if it does happen, because her experience of him wasn't linear, and she's shocked at how young he is. Ten or fifteen Time Lord years aren't going to do that.

I would love to see the whole storyline, but I would be perfectly content if she just shows up every so often and does awesome stuff and we know as fans that our Doctor has a great love who keeps him happy even as he has friendships with his Companions.Yeah, that could work. Although I do hope that we get to see a little bit of it. (

[elflore]

Yes, yes, yes. Everything you said. But also

[fourteenlines]

Ah, yeah, what I meant about the problem named Romana -

The Doctor seemed pretty sure, not just that he wouldn't tell some random woman his real name, but that he couldn't except under very specific circumstances. I have to assume that those circumstances mean one of two things: A) River Song is a Time Lord (which, NO) or B) they were lovers. (I have no doubt about this whatsoever.) I suppose it could be something different, but if it was just, "Oh, it has to be a Tuesday in 1752 and we have to have beef tea for lunch and you have to be wearing red socks," he wouldn't be quite so angsty about the whole thing, you know?

But if it's B) then Romana told the Doctor her name immediately upon meeting him. I'm certainly open to the idea that the Doctor and Romana were lovers (but I don't have a dog in that fight) but they certainly weren't lovers before they met. I suppose it could be a situation where either A) OR B) had to be true, though.

[elflore]

Ahhh, I see your thinking now. I don't think it's a Time Lord thing with the name--many Time Lords toss their full names about quite easily. The Doctor and The Master (not to mention The Rani, the Meddling Monk, the War Chief, and the dubiously canonical Minister of Chance), with their distinctive titles, are the exception rather than the rule

[blkjwldgds]

I seem to be one of the grouping who thinks it could be Jenny. He doesnt know as of now that she regenerated, its probably the one woman he could have a true relationship with Romantic or Platonic. She's of him, and family, yet not a true daughter; and there didnt seem to be a "Father Daughter" vibe from the pair to me, just "Older Younger, figure it all out later". The older/younger vibe would also play into the trust issues, and the flirting, name calling, ect, I think.

She would be important enough as a 'time lord' to be given a screwdriver, and to have a witness for her death, I cant imagine the Doctor not forcing himself to watch that... And after a lifetime of being a Time Lord, why not an archeologist? Besides the fact that the Doctor points and laughs at them. The challenge of finding what you saw last time, in the same place, without prompts years later. *shrug

[ivorychopsticks]

Oh yes to everything you said. I loved the nuanced performance of Alex Kingston--casual intimacy and flirtation and awareness and bravado; she was so awesome and real. I had an Aeryn/John flashback with the face touching and the "you're so young."

I also really loved the "are you all right?" conversation with Donna at the end. I'm digging her emotional/protective character through-line so much, and especially the way she demands the Doctor always examine and acknowledge his own emotional connection to the events that surround him.

I can't believe it's almost over (in the UK, at least).

Edited to add: I think the story I want the most now is when River meets the Doctor for the first time--like chickwithmonkey explained so brilliantly, he already knows how she's going to die so that fear is removed, but he also knows why she died and what their future (for him) relationship means to her. Oy, so awesome to think about!