“The Waters of Mars”: It all led to this. A meta made of quotes

[alumfelga]

Author:alumfelga
Title: “The Waters of Mars”: It all led to this. A meta made of quotes
Notes: Meta. Spoilers for Russell T Davies’ era.
Summary: It's a set of quotes from "The Waters of Mars" in juxtaposition with quotes from various episodes.

I love Russell T Davies’ writing. His stories are character-driven, the events lead to one another, and the 2005-

Comments

[aletheiafelinea]

Scratch "sci-fi" and it's about god(s)...
*keeps reading*
Ah, but you said it already.

Someone saving people self-sacrificially and being loved for this is a hero. Someone saving people arrogantly and scaring them is a god.
Hm...

[alumfelga]

Depends on a god, I suppose ;) Well, for the Doctor arrogance is a symptom, not a reason. The Doctor doesn't actively look for people in need. He's a passer-by who becomes the last man standing, if you ask him and he's there, he'd help. In "The Waters of Mars" he decides it's up to him to say who deserves his interference, and (I haven't written that so you hardly know it) he saves Adelaide against her will. That's what makes him a god, the thought he basically owns Earth and its history, that he can do what he pleases. The fact that he scares people is a symptom, too - it shows that he cannot be trusted or persuaded, that he doesn't really care about people, not in the way other people do, he's no longer one of us. A hero is one of us.

[aletheiafelinea]

Depends on a god, I suppose ;)
Billious the Oh God pitifully agrees. *g*

(I haven't written that so you hardly know it) he saves Adelaide against her will.
Oh, but you have, in a way. :) I didn't know who was saved, but I guessed that.

he doesn't really care about people, not in the way other people do, he's no longer one of us. A hero is one of us.
Exactly! I should have written it before, but it just passed my mind fleetingly. It's all about equal vs looking upon down.

[alumfelga]

I really need to read more Discworld.

It's all about equal vs looking upon down.
Funny thing, I tried to find another characters who cross the line but I couldn't think of any. Villains seem to be born with the 'looking down on people' attitude...

[shivver13]

This is an absolutely beautiful, well-written analysis. I had already noticed many of the correlations you made here, but there were a number I hadn't noticed, and you brought them all together perfectly. This is indeed why I love the Tenth Doctor and RTD's writing - because the Tenth Doctor is very flawed, grows throughout his tenure, and still ultimately fails, and it all came together. There are so many layers, and so much foreshadowing.

I especially love your phrase, "There's no reset button in Russell T. Davies' world," because the current world is all about reset buttons. *shakes head*

Thank you for writing this!

[alumfelga]

Thank you!

I was a bit worried about adding my own words between the quotes as I think they speak for themselves ;) But it didn't look right as a list or a table, it needed a form. I just hope I didn't ruin everything with my writing...

This is indeed why I love the Tenth Doctor and RTD's writing - because the Tenth Doctor is very flawed
Precisely. When you say you're a fan of the Tenth Doctor, some people look down on you and say: "it's because he's attractive and falls for his companions, and you're blindly in love with him". Ha ha. I'm not going to apologize for noticing his good looks but his flaws are exactly why I can't take my eyes of him. He's such a complex character. He might have good intentions but all the pain and guilt have been destroying him. He might be sweet and charming when he liked but he's treated Martha and Mickey very badly, and never apologized for it (how many times he said "I'm so sorry" when it wasn't his fault?). And the scene when his soul has been revealed, so true. He had his big moments, he's

[shivver13]

You wrote it very well. Your words were needed, because the quotes actually don't speak for themselves - readers require you to point out the exact connections you want them to make.

Yes! People definitely do that, think that I'm a fan of the Tenth Doctor simply because he's attractive! Or they assume I'm a Rose fan (which I am definitely not). I certainly do love his general demeanor and attitude, but the real meat of the character is his dark side, which we were shown in his very first full episode. (Reminds me of a random Facebook person who commented on a picture of Ten meting out his punishment to the Family of Blood by saying, "I think he became cruel when he lost Rose." My thought was, "Wow, you really have no real insight into Ten. We knew exactly who he was when he punished Harriet Jones.")

I can talk about Ten and his character growth forever... :) I can also rant about Moffat's reset buttons (and other things) with the best of them.

[alumfelga]

Your words were needed, because the quotes actually don't speak for themselves - readers require you to point out the exact connections you want them to make.
Thank you. This is why I find it difficult to write fanfiction - I don't know what is clear to another person and what I have to elaborate about and point out directly. I often end up being too obvious or too enigmatic. So any feedback in this matter is important for me :)

I'm not a Rose fan, either. It's not I don't like her but she seems to have that status of the (Tenth, at least) Doctor's true love and ultimate companion in the fandom and I don't understand it.

My thought was, "Wow, you really have no real insight into Ten. We knew exactly who he was when he punished Harriet Jones."I had that episode in my notes and I thought about mentioning it the meta - but as it was about quotes, there wasn't a direct connection in the dialogues so I eventually left it. But this is, I believe, the episode when his arrogance is at the highest level until "The Waters of Mars". He's in

[scripsi]

Waters of Mars is truly an amazing epsiode, for all it's so hard and painful to watch. You've made an excellent analysis! The companions have always grounded the Doctor, but Donna is the one who does it the most. And I think that if the Doctor really had continued to be Time Lord Victorious, he would have been much worse than the Master. Partly because while the Master at the best doesn't care if people are hurt or die or at the worst does it for fun because he's a sadist, we realise that the Doctor will do terribly things because he cares. And partly because the Doctor as Time Lord Victorious decides he can disregard the Laws of Time. The Master tries to find ways to be able to disregard the rules, like controlling Chronos in The Time Monster, or creating the paradox machine, but he never dares to just stand up and calmly defy it as the Doctor does. Ten is SO scary when he says that the Laws of Time will obey him. And they would have, I believe, and it would have been chaos and destruction on a Ccsmic scale.

[alumfelga]

Thank you so much!

The companions have always grounded the Doctor, but Donna is the one who does it the most.
True. I feel Martha's never quite managed to get through to him, he's been pushing her away for most time. And Rose was very good for the Ninth Doctor (It's not the one pointing the gun at me) but with Tenth, I had the feeling that he's been sweeping things under the carpet when he was with her. Donna was the one who's been with him in Pompeii and when he lost Jenny, and River. She's understood him best and she was always an equal to him.

Partly because while the Master at the best doesn't care if people are hurt or die or at the worst does it for fun because he's a sadist, we realise that the Doctor will do terribly things because he cares.
Precisely. How can you stop him when he believes he's doing the right thing?

And partly because the Doctor as Time Lord Victorious decides he can disregard the Laws of Time. The Master tries to find ways to be able to disregard the rules, like controlling Chronos in The Time Monster,

[scripsi]

She's understood him best and she was always an equal to him.

Yes, that was one of the things I loved about her- she could be insecure at times but she always valued herself as an equal to the Doctor. I'd love to see her tear in at the master when s/he talks about inferior humans...

I think the existence of the other Time Lords might be a significant factor here but you're right. The Master usually wants to rule people, the Doctor wants to rule time.

I'm sure we would never have see Time Lord Victorious if the Doctor hadn't thought he was the last one and the one who destroyed his people to boot. But the Master has a huge need to control his environment, while the Doctor just want to live i it.

And considering the Tenth mental state, I absolutely agree. Oh, I need fanfiction about it.

Oh yes!

[alumfelga]

I'd love to see her tear in at the master when s/he talks about inferior humans...
I hate that line. This is where Steven Moffat and I competely disagree.

But the Master has a huge need to control his environment, while the Doctor just want to live i it.
And then the fate, the universe hurts him again and again so he finally rages against the rules.

[davesmusictank]

Enjoyed this alot!

[alumfelga]

Thanks!

[empressith]

Heartbreaking. Nice read.

[alumfelga]

Thanks!