Doctor Who Season Finale: Spoilers Ahoy!
In my typical manner, I had to watch Doctor Who twice before I could decide whether I liked it or not.
a) What I think about the Rose plot:
The new Doctor had to go back with her, without question. Every time I can think of, when the Doctor loses the Tardis, he reaches out to Rose. Why? I think it is because she had the essence of the Tardis within her, when she was Bad Wolf. There's more to this, in my opinion, than a Doctor who loves her. The need is vaster than just needing him to be humanized; it's a basic need. Doctor + Tardis. Since Rose still has a bit of the Tardis within her, the new Doctor needs her. And ultimately, that is the right choice.
You'll notice the new Doctor never did the typical Sci-fi convention of trying to say he had as much right to the Tardis as the old Doctor. He was going to have a finite life span; of course he couldn't have the Tardis. He could, however, have the John Smith life, and marry and have children. That was a part of him, too.
Plus, the Doctor couldn't have moved on to River Song if he couldn't put Rose behind him.
b) What I think about the Donna plot:
This isn't over. Not by a long shot. Remember when all three Time Lords were moving the planets, and she spun the Daleks around and around? She told him that he couldn't think of these things because he was limited by having a Time Lord brain. He couldn't see the options that she could, being human. I think that when she was saying, "No, no, no" to him, in that heart-breaking scene, it was more than trying to keep her memories. It was because she had another idea, another option, or more information than he had.
And this is what I noticed on the second pass. No one takes full credit for Donna being locked in the Tardis. It wasn't necessarily Dalek Khan; he was waiting for the prophecy to manifest, but he was limited by his form. It wasn't Davros. It wasn't the Doctor. So who was it? The Tardis. The Tardis is alive; we know that. We know that the Doctor doesn't completely understand it, even though he's linked to it, and it to him. Now the Tardis, she was powered down, trapped by the Temporal Prison of the Daleks. So she broadcasted the heartbeat, so Donna would hear it, and kept her within. The Doctor kept saying they were "connected".
How did we meet Donna the first time? She was so attuned to the Tardis that she appeared, because her molecules had been changed by that fluid she was drinking. What if she still is? It will only take a split second to reignite her memories, and we've seen that happen before. It happened in the Library. So when she "burns," as the Doctor put it to her family, will she die? Or will she just change? I think this is something that will stretch out at least til the end of next season, if not longer.
When she got the mind of the Time Lord, she touched the container with the ring, and it glinted. It glinted at the end. Those of you who wished she died instead? For shame. I think it's going to be like Family of Blood. Her Time Lord self is in that ring. Or some of it, anyway.
c)Mickey & Martha at Torchwood:
As soon as I saw Mickey, I said, "Computer Nerd! He's replacing Tosh." I know people are complaining about Martha. I think Torchwood sorely needs her. It's too dark, and she believes in life. She's the warmth that show needs, and Mickey too: last season's darkness just about did me in. "Meat?" I cried for hours. Hours. So three cheers for the new Smith and Jones. Stellar, I say. And Gwen? You cheat on Rhys one more time, and I'm personally coming over to kick your ass. Don't think I won't.
Things I liked, in no particular order:
1. The Doctor deliberately not changing again in front of Rose. After the way she reacted in Christmas Invasion, I see why.
2."We Smiths have to stick together."
3. Mickey kissing his Dalek-killing gun.
4. Martha's mum. I hope she makes an appearance on Torchwood, too.
5. "You parked your car right where the Tardis was going to land!" There are no coincidences. Remember Bad Wolf.
6. That 2 of the 3 strong enough to make it with the Aster Hagen key were women.
7. The Crucible. Cool concept, cool double entendre.
8. The Children of Time. That will come back again.
9. That Davros said "The apotheosis of my genius." That line was stellar.
10. Lisa's idea about Martha, the servant who loved Jesus, and Donna, the Virgin Mary. Brilliant! (Okay, I think it was Lisa. Sorry if I'm not crediting the correct source! Tell me right away if I'm wrong!)
11. "The Universe been waitin' for me." You know it, Donna!
12. I LOVED the scene with the Doctors sending back the planets. LOVED it.
13, Yeah, yeah. "I can't tell you what I'm thinking now." Okay, Jack. I cheered a bit.
14. Dalek Khan: "This would always have happened. I saw the truth of us, creator, and I decreed NO MORE."
15. The little mention of Gwen's ancestor from the Dickens episode.
16. Wilt giving the header to the ball in celebration. AWESOMESAUCE.
17. How easy it was for Sarah Jane to leave for Luke. "He's only 14!"
18. Davros & Sarah Jane squaring off. I loved the little shudder and smirk she gave him.
Things I didn't like:
1. The Matrix Bullets at Torchwood. Seriously? Tosh set that up before she died, and it was never mentioned? If you didn't set it up, you shouldn't use it. Ick.
2. The Temporal Prison of the Daleks. If they had that weapon in the war, they WOULD'VE WON. Hands down. I was expecting to find out the Doctor was faking it. Otherwise? For crying out loud.
3. Pete's babysitting? Seriously?
4. Jack's clothes and hair not catching on fire in the incinerator. His clothes won't live forever, people.
Things that I'm still thinking about:
1. Was the Doctor's soul really revealed?
2.Jackie saying "I'm so sorry." When the people dissolved, they dissolved exactly like the Daleks in Bad Wolf. Did the Daleks hit upon this because of Rose? Is this a full circle moment?
3. The Medusa Cascade... we've heard that before, many times. Why is it important that the beam went to the Medusa Cascade and beyond?
4. Davros' assertion about the Doctor. "You take ordinary people and turn them into weapons." He thinks it's true, and yet, Martha only stopped using the Aster Hagen key because she answers to a higher authority: the Doctor. He actually takes ordinary people and teaches them to be strong and wise. It's interesting how Davros played on his fear. And his fear of death. "How many have died in your name?"
5. Davros: "I name you forever. You are the Destroyer of Worlds." We heard that starting with 8, right? I know they said it in the pilot, "Rose."
6. Dalek Khan: "One will still die." Is that this memory death of Donna? Hmm? I doubt it.
7. What about Donna's true love, way out in time? I want that to happen somehow.
All in all, for me, way more pluses than minuses.
a) What I think about the Rose plot:
The new Doctor had to go back with her, without question. Every time I can think of, when the Doctor loses the Tardis, he reaches out to Rose. Why? I think it is because she had the essence of the Tardis within her, when she was Bad Wolf. There's more to this, in my opinion, than a Doctor who loves her. The need is vaster than just needing him to be humanized; it's a basic need. Doctor + Tardis. Since Rose still has a bit of the Tardis within her, the new Doctor needs her. And ultimately, that is the right choice.
You'll notice the new Doctor never did the typical Sci-fi convention of trying to say he had as much right to the Tardis as the old Doctor. He was going to have a finite life span; of course he couldn't have the Tardis. He could, however, have the John Smith life, and marry and have children. That was a part of him, too.
Plus, the Doctor couldn't have moved on to River Song if he couldn't put Rose behind him.
b) What I think about the Donna plot:
This isn't over. Not by a long shot. Remember when all three Time Lords were moving the planets, and she spun the Daleks around and around? She told him that he couldn't think of these things because he was limited by having a Time Lord brain. He couldn't see the options that she could, being human. I think that when she was saying, "No, no, no" to him, in that heart-breaking scene, it was more than trying to keep her memories. It was because she had another idea, another option, or more information than he had.
And this is what I noticed on the second pass. No one takes full credit for Donna being locked in the Tardis. It wasn't necessarily Dalek Khan; he was waiting for the prophecy to manifest, but he was limited by his form. It wasn't Davros. It wasn't the Doctor. So who was it? The Tardis. The Tardis is alive; we know that. We know that the Doctor doesn't completely understand it, even though he's linked to it, and it to him. Now the Tardis, she was powered down, trapped by the Temporal Prison of the Daleks. So she broadcasted the heartbeat, so Donna would hear it, and kept her within. The Doctor kept saying they were "connected".
How did we meet Donna the first time? She was so attuned to the Tardis that she appeared, because her molecules had been changed by that fluid she was drinking. What if she still is? It will only take a split second to reignite her memories, and we've seen that happen before. It happened in the Library. So when she "burns," as the Doctor put it to her family, will she die? Or will she just change? I think this is something that will stretch out at least til the end of next season, if not longer.
When she got the mind of the Time Lord, she touched the container with the ring, and it glinted. It glinted at the end. Those of you who wished she died instead? For shame. I think it's going to be like Family of Blood. Her Time Lord self is in that ring. Or some of it, anyway.
c)Mickey & Martha at Torchwood:
As soon as I saw Mickey, I said, "Computer Nerd! He's replacing Tosh." I know people are complaining about Martha. I think Torchwood sorely needs her. It's too dark, and she believes in life. She's the warmth that show needs, and Mickey too: last season's darkness just about did me in. "Meat?" I cried for hours. Hours. So three cheers for the new Smith and Jones. Stellar, I say. And Gwen? You cheat on Rhys one more time, and I'm personally coming over to kick your ass. Don't think I won't.
Things I liked, in no particular order:
1. The Doctor deliberately not changing again in front of Rose. After the way she reacted in Christmas Invasion, I see why.
2."We Smiths have to stick together."
3. Mickey kissing his Dalek-killing gun.
4. Martha's mum. I hope she makes an appearance on Torchwood, too.
5. "You parked your car right where the Tardis was going to land!" There are no coincidences. Remember Bad Wolf.
6. That 2 of the 3 strong enough to make it with the Aster Hagen key were women.
7. The Crucible. Cool concept, cool double entendre.
8. The Children of Time. That will come back again.
9. That Davros said "The apotheosis of my genius." That line was stellar.
10. Lisa's idea about Martha, the servant who loved Jesus, and Donna, the Virgin Mary. Brilliant! (Okay, I think it was Lisa. Sorry if I'm not crediting the correct source! Tell me right away if I'm wrong!)
11. "The Universe been waitin' for me." You know it, Donna!
12. I LOVED the scene with the Doctors sending back the planets. LOVED it.
13, Yeah, yeah. "I can't tell you what I'm thinking now." Okay, Jack. I cheered a bit.
14. Dalek Khan: "This would always have happened. I saw the truth of us, creator, and I decreed NO MORE."
15. The little mention of Gwen's ancestor from the Dickens episode.
16. Wilt giving the header to the ball in celebration. AWESOMESAUCE.
17. How easy it was for Sarah Jane to leave for Luke. "He's only 14!"
18. Davros & Sarah Jane squaring off. I loved the little shudder and smirk she gave him.
Things I didn't like:
1. The Matrix Bullets at Torchwood. Seriously? Tosh set that up before she died, and it was never mentioned? If you didn't set it up, you shouldn't use it. Ick.
2. The Temporal Prison of the Daleks. If they had that weapon in the war, they WOULD'VE WON. Hands down. I was expecting to find out the Doctor was faking it. Otherwise? For crying out loud.
3. Pete's babysitting? Seriously?
4. Jack's clothes and hair not catching on fire in the incinerator. His clothes won't live forever, people.
Things that I'm still thinking about:
1. Was the Doctor's soul really revealed?
2.Jackie saying "I'm so sorry." When the people dissolved, they dissolved exactly like the Daleks in Bad Wolf. Did the Daleks hit upon this because of Rose? Is this a full circle moment?
3. The Medusa Cascade... we've heard that before, many times. Why is it important that the beam went to the Medusa Cascade and beyond?
4. Davros' assertion about the Doctor. "You take ordinary people and turn them into weapons." He thinks it's true, and yet, Martha only stopped using the Aster Hagen key because she answers to a higher authority: the Doctor. He actually takes ordinary people and teaches them to be strong and wise. It's interesting how Davros played on his fear. And his fear of death. "How many have died in your name?"
5. Davros: "I name you forever. You are the Destroyer of Worlds." We heard that starting with 8, right? I know they said it in the pilot, "Rose."
6. Dalek Khan: "One will still die." Is that this memory death of Donna? Hmm? I doubt it.
7. What about Donna's true love, way out in time? I want that to happen somehow.
All in all, for me, way more pluses than minuses.