Unpopular Opinion Alert: Donna in 'Journey's End' = Perfect

[arabian]

I'm putting any and all thoughts behind the cut even though it's been a week, because it was a week ago on BBC one, but it will be a bit of time before it airs on the Sci-Fi network. (How anyone can wait that long is beyond me, but there ya go ...)

Comments

[chalcidice]

How you can take such a horrible ending of the series, in my opinion, and string it into something more deep and complex is beyond me. I am truly amazed. I don't know if you have swayed my dislike for the ending of this series of Who. But it does give another perspective on the entire matter

[arabian]

I think I can see this so clearly because it comes from personal experience a bit. I had a complicated relationship with my mother, similar to the surface of what we saw with Donna and Sylvia, and so I know how much it means when your mom believes in you. And that's all Donna needs

[wendymr]

I had a complicated relationship with my mother, similar to the surface of what we saw with Donna and Sylvia, and so I know how much it means when your mom believes in you.So did I - and that's why I disagree with you entirely over the likelihood of Donna ever getting that reassurance from her mother. Emotionally abusive people - which is what Sylvia is - do not change their behaviour. Think about that scene. Yes, Sylvia defended Donna, but then she would. The Doctor is an outsider. She can criticise her daughter all she wants, but anyone outside the family can't. It's not their place. It's none of their damned business

[arabian]

As I wrote in response below, the reason I think it WILL be different this time is because Sylvia had proof that Donna WAS this amazing, brilliant person. And I don't agree that Sylvia is emotionally abusive; I know she's hard on Donna, but it always came across more to me as disappointment that Donna never achieved anything which to me read more a thought based on that Donna HADN'T achieved anything. She was a temp, and then when PiC came around, she was essentially living off her mother (and had been since the Doctor left) seemingly unable to get a job.

Sylvia didn't know that Donna was trying to find the Doctor, she just knew that Donna had spent a year "trying to find a job" and was still failing miserably. Sylvia just needed to KNOW that Donna had it in her, which DONNA hadn't shown her at this point. Now that Sylvia DOES know it, she will push Donna the right way.

[wendymr]

But when did Sylvia actually SEE Donna be brilliant? She didn't actually see anything. She wasn't there at crucial moments, and she's also the type of woman - and, again, I know the type - who sees only what she wants to see. In her world-view, Donna is useless, worthless, has never amounted to anything and will never amount to anything, and she's seen nothing to change that view. Even if she had seen just one example, I'd argue that she'd explain it away as Donna just being in the right place at the right time, or it being something anyone could do - oh, and she'd also be standing there haranguing Donna for getting in people's way and making herself out to be important when she's just a useless unemployed temp. Sorry, but that's how Sylvia is shown to us in the episodes, and she's incapable of seeing her daughter through other people's eyes

[arabian]

We'll just have to agree to disagree then. As I said to afrocurl, when there is no concrete answer in canon and I can make it make logical sense in my brain then I'll happily accept the happy alternative. We just do see Sylvia differently and if I saw her the way you did, I would agree with your point of view.

[chalcidice]

I think I have gotten over Donna's ending. I am now happy they didn't kill her. When the series ended I thought it would have been better then kill the character than take away her year with the Doctor. But giving it time I can appreciate the ending.

I would love to get some specials with Rose and 10.5. I think it would be nice to have a true conclusion about their life, but I don't see that happening. I think may of the Who fans will feel that RTD is just continuing his shipping for Rose/Doctor. But it would be nice to see where Rose and 10.5's relationship goes, what kind of life they are having and so forth. I was always the kid who wanted to know what happened after "Happily Ever Afer".