“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...

[aletheiafelinea]

Yes, you do. :>

Villains seem to be born with the 'looking down on people' attitude...
Indeed, and...
I tried to find another characters who cross the line but I couldn't think of any.
...now I'll be thinking.
(Matthew Swift and the angels have it at times, though not to that extent, or not exactly this way, I suppose.)

[alumfelga]

Matthew Swift and the angels have it at times, though not to that extent, or not exactly this way, I suppose.
Good one! Yeah, a bit different case but still, good one.

[aletheiafelinea]

Oh, so it's not only me? And I don't know how far you've got in the series; I thought especially about "The Minority Council" and "The Glass God" (who is not Matthew, btw). Should be noted, though, that in his/their case it's usually the result of the personality temporarily getting more splitted than usual, due of different incidents. But now I must say this was already my thought when you quoted "fire and ice and rage" for the first time, months ago. :)

[alumfelga]

I'm not that far, I've finished "The Midnight Mayor" and I've got the next one at home. But there were fragments when he fights with the angels and doesn't let them go loose and dominate him, because I believe he might not get "him" back in control again.

Oh, now I get why I liked it.

[aletheiafelinea]

After rethinking, I'd say it's much more in "The Minority Council". Killing and crossing the line is not only due of angels going loose there (though too, in one case), and he also creates life there. As in: a new life from dead matter, and he gives it free will. And the angels tell it: Stopping will be difficult - when you are strong, when you can revel in it. Being weak will be difficult. Choosing to be weak. Choosing when not to… choosing to be human will be difficult. However, in "The Glass God" there's also a motif of deciding about deaths of accidental people, but Matthew is not involved in this, and these are not his choices.

I believe he might not get "him" back in control again.
I'd tell you, but I don't know if you'd rather not know whether you're right about it before reading, or if you're okay to hear it now. :)

Oh, now I get why I liked it.
I'm not surprised after this entry. :D This is also what hooked me. (If I ever watch Doctor Who, it'll be for "The Waters of Mars" in big part.)

[alumfelga]

I'd tell you, but I don't know if you'd rather not know whether you're right about it before reading, or if you're okay to hear it now.
No, don't tell me. Spoilers! :)

If I ever watch Doctor Who, it'll be for "The Waters of Mars" in big part.
If you ever watch Doctor Who, you know who's going to wait for comments and reaction posts ;)
And they say it's a kids show!

[aletheiafelinea]

I'm a little afraid, though. Winded up expectations and all that... :}

[alumfelga]

For Doctor Who? It's a kids' show! That's what I keep telling to myself when I read long, detailed meta essays. ;)

[dm12]

Interesting thought... he did save Adelaide against her will, but it started earlier than that. He did the same to Donna. She wanted to stay with him, keep her promise to him, die at his side if necessary... and he took that away from her. She begged him, pleaded with him, told him explicitly, "No, please, no!" and he still did it, still violated her mind. She was the only one who could stop him cold, except for the one time it really counted. That was the beginning of his shattering, coming completely unhinged.

I've always said that if the Doctor lost those inhibitions and sense of rules that he had, he'd be far worse than even the Master because he's clever about it. He approached that level with these events. It was too late when he realized it, and that was the cue for this Doctor to make his exit, before he exceeded the Master's level of arrogance and evil.

[alumfelga]

Interesting thought... he did save Adelaide against her will, but it started earlier than that. He did the same to Donna
You're absolutely right, I completely overlooked it! She had his mind, she knew exactly what would happen to her, and she's made a decision. Her own decision about her own life. She was an equal to him and he's still done it.

Actually, he's wanted to do it even earlier, with Rose, when he sent her to the parallel universe in "Doomsday" but she came back. I'm sure he'd still be pining about her if she'd stayed there but somehow it was more devastating for him to lose her when it's been because of her choice and not his.

The Master never(?) thought he's got a right to do everything he's done. He's been doing it because he could, and wanted to, and didn't care about others. The Doctor is dangerous because he believes he has the right, that he's doing the right thing, and yes, it's very easy to believe him.