DW 4x06
Wow, that was certainly quite an episode. It's one of those story lines that I feel like I have to digest for a bit, yet overall, I know that I really liked it.
Finally, finally, an episode that makes me like Martha! I think this was my favorite one that she's been in -- I loved seeing her on her own with the Hath, and how confident she was in that role. In fact, I feel like I've finally seen the real Martha, and I enjoyed it very much. She's finally come into her own, both as a doctor and soldier (and as a Torchwood operative), and I liked seeing how that played out for her. Not to mention I liked how it was her decision to come home -- not because she suffered some deep trauma on a trip (though losing her Hath friend was surely devastating for her) but because she has come to know herself well enough to say that, although she misses that first rush of excitement when stepping out into a new world, she doesn't miss the stress of seeing it all play out. And I really respect her for that.
Jenny turned out to be an absolute delight, and I was very happy when she actually did regenerate at the end. I kept hoping she would -- and was pleased that the Doctor seemed to wait a long time before giving up on her -- though I was quite confused as to 1) why she didn't get a new body, and 2) what the Doctor meant when he said she was "too much like me" while they were talking about regeneration. Anyone have any ideas on that? I'm really quite baffled about what that conversation meant. Too much like me to avoid getting shot? Too much like me to regenerate? I confess I'm lost and am hoping others on my flist will be able to explain what I missed there. (I'm also very curious as to why the Doctor didn't sense her regeneration, and whether she'll show up again later in the series. Will they just keep her character in their pocket for the future, leaving the story line open for whoever wants to use it? Or do they have more specific plans to deal with her? Either way, it was a lovely way to leave her ... giddy and confident and eager to tackle the universe on her own terms. Even if she is starting with "training wheels" -- a ship that travels in space, but not in time.)
As for the Doctor and Donna, I really liked their conversation about his earlier family and the huge painful hole their deaths left in him. And I think it said so much that the Doctor was willing to answer Donna's questions about his past in the first place. She is just so good for him! Both in the questions she's willing to ask and in the fact that he feels close enough to her (and trusts her enough) to open up a bit. And I especially like that the more she gets to know him, and the more he opens up to her, the gentler she is with him. She's learning about his past, just as we the viewers are, and it's really opening her eyes to what he's had to deal with all this time. And while she'll never put him on a pedestal (thank goodness), it does make her feel more protective of him ... and I love that about their relationship just ever so much.
Perhaps oddly, the thing that strikes me most strongly about this episode, though, is that it was the TARDIS who completely freaked out when she sensed another Time Lord. In fact, the more I think about it, the TARDIS' reaction is heartbreaking, but in a wonderfully loving kind of way. She's so intent on taking care of the Doctor that she frantically rushed to follow the trail to his daughter ... only to show up too soon and end up responsible for her creation. This error in judgement demonstrates both that the TARDIS has a mind of her own (i.e., she's not just absently taking the Doctor where she feels he's needed, but is actually emotionally involved herself) and that she's not perfect in her judgement. Honestly, if I didn't already love the TARDIS as a character, this would have made me fall in love with her because ... my goodness, that's just so wonderful.
The only thing I was ambivalent about in this episode was Donna and Martha's conversation at the end. Donna's comment about "I'm going to travel with that man forever" clearly was designed to be a BIG HONKIN' WARNING SIGN and it's got me even more worried about how her story line is going to play out by the end of the series. I really, really, really like Donna, and I really don't want anything bad to happen to her.
Yet I have to admit, I would be very, very happy if the series did end with the Doctor finally "finding something worth living for" ... and if that something just happened to be a certain other someone who once promised him forever. Pipe dreams, probably ... but it makes me happy to hope, so I'm going to enjoy it as long as I can. :)
All in all, I'd have to say that S4 has been proving to be an absolutely fabulous season so far. I can't wait to see what they're going to come up with next. Roll on, Agatha! Murder mysteries await!
Finally, finally, an episode that makes me like Martha! I think this was my favorite one that she's been in -- I loved seeing her on her own with the Hath, and how confident she was in that role. In fact, I feel like I've finally seen the real Martha, and I enjoyed it very much. She's finally come into her own, both as a doctor and soldier (and as a Torchwood operative), and I liked seeing how that played out for her. Not to mention I liked how it was her decision to come home -- not because she suffered some deep trauma on a trip (though losing her Hath friend was surely devastating for her) but because she has come to know herself well enough to say that, although she misses that first rush of excitement when stepping out into a new world, she doesn't miss the stress of seeing it all play out. And I really respect her for that.
Jenny turned out to be an absolute delight, and I was very happy when she actually did regenerate at the end. I kept hoping she would -- and was pleased that the Doctor seemed to wait a long time before giving up on her -- though I was quite confused as to 1) why she didn't get a new body, and 2) what the Doctor meant when he said she was "too much like me" while they were talking about regeneration. Anyone have any ideas on that? I'm really quite baffled about what that conversation meant. Too much like me to avoid getting shot? Too much like me to regenerate? I confess I'm lost and am hoping others on my flist will be able to explain what I missed there. (I'm also very curious as to why the Doctor didn't sense her regeneration, and whether she'll show up again later in the series. Will they just keep her character in their pocket for the future, leaving the story line open for whoever wants to use it? Or do they have more specific plans to deal with her? Either way, it was a lovely way to leave her ... giddy and confident and eager to tackle the universe on her own terms. Even if she is starting with "training wheels" -- a ship that travels in space, but not in time.)
As for the Doctor and Donna, I really liked their conversation about his earlier family and the huge painful hole their deaths left in him. And I think it said so much that the Doctor was willing to answer Donna's questions about his past in the first place. She is just so good for him! Both in the questions she's willing to ask and in the fact that he feels close enough to her (and trusts her enough) to open up a bit. And I especially like that the more she gets to know him, and the more he opens up to her, the gentler she is with him. She's learning about his past, just as we the viewers are, and it's really opening her eyes to what he's had to deal with all this time. And while she'll never put him on a pedestal (thank goodness), it does make her feel more protective of him ... and I love that about their relationship just ever so much.
Perhaps oddly, the thing that strikes me most strongly about this episode, though, is that it was the TARDIS who completely freaked out when she sensed another Time Lord. In fact, the more I think about it, the TARDIS' reaction is heartbreaking, but in a wonderfully loving kind of way. She's so intent on taking care of the Doctor that she frantically rushed to follow the trail to his daughter ... only to show up too soon and end up responsible for her creation. This error in judgement demonstrates both that the TARDIS has a mind of her own (i.e., she's not just absently taking the Doctor where she feels he's needed, but is actually emotionally involved herself) and that she's not perfect in her judgement. Honestly, if I didn't already love the TARDIS as a character, this would have made me fall in love with her because ... my goodness, that's just so wonderful.
The only thing I was ambivalent about in this episode was Donna and Martha's conversation at the end. Donna's comment about "I'm going to travel with that man forever" clearly was designed to be a BIG HONKIN' WARNING SIGN and it's got me even more worried about how her story line is going to play out by the end of the series. I really, really, really like Donna, and I really don't want anything bad to happen to her.
Yet I have to admit, I would be very, very happy if the series did end with the Doctor finally "finding something worth living for" ... and if that something just happened to be a certain other someone who once promised him forever. Pipe dreams, probably ... but it makes me happy to hope, so I'm going to enjoy it as long as I can. :)
All in all, I'd have to say that S4 has been proving to be an absolutely fabulous season so far. I can't wait to see what they're going to come up with next. Roll on, Agatha! Murder mysteries await!