thing about Donna
Something I'm now unsure of regarding Donna's fate.
Is mind-rape too strong an expression for what happened to her? That was my insta-reaction to what I saw, but I'm prepared to accept it isn't the right word to use. There were extenuating circumstances in that the choice was invade her mind and wipe it or she dies, but the Doctor still invaded her mind by force, against her wishes and only when she was, if you want to use the medical analogy going round, 'critically ill.' Doctors with any sense of ethics don't have a cure handy then wait for their dying patient to be within moments of death before talking to them about treatment and then forcing it on them when they don't want it. And it certainly isn't clear that Donna, even at the end, is incapable of giving her informed consent. Dismissing the dodginess of the situation as an emergency op when the patient's unable to consent is too simplistic. The patient's got the mind of a Time Lord so it's not like she wouldn't have understood, she's obviously conscious and aware of what's going on, and she makes her wishes explicitly clear: she says no. It is in no way made clear that she is not capable of consenting.
Essentially, it's ambiguous as to how wrong the Doctor's actions were. And I do think they were wrong. Not because I think Donna should have died but because it's clear the Doctor knew exactly what was going on and he had had time to talk to her, explain what would happen, and convince her her other life was worth living. That she was worth something and that everything that made her the exceptional person she was at the end of the season would still be within her.
But he didn't, he waited and he didn't allow her to make her own choice, or if you believe she could not give informed consent, he didn't give her the chance for her to make her own choice by talking to her earlier. Either way, it's rather a bit squicky to me.
ETA: Still think it's slightly squicky, but rj_anderson's explanation works wonderfully for me and stops me having to think rather horrible things about the Doctor.
Is mind-rape too strong an expression for what happened to her? That was my insta-reaction to what I saw, but I'm prepared to accept it isn't the right word to use. There were extenuating circumstances in that the choice was invade her mind and wipe it or she dies, but the Doctor still invaded her mind by force, against her wishes and only when she was, if you want to use the medical analogy going round, 'critically ill.' Doctors with any sense of ethics don't have a cure handy then wait for their dying patient to be within moments of death before talking to them about treatment and then forcing it on them when they don't want it. And it certainly isn't clear that Donna, even at the end, is incapable of giving her informed consent. Dismissing the dodginess of the situation as an emergency op when the patient's unable to consent is too simplistic. The patient's got the mind of a Time Lord so it's not like she wouldn't have understood, she's obviously conscious and aware of what's going on, and she makes her wishes explicitly clear: she says no. It is in no way made clear that she is not capable of consenting.
Essentially, it's ambiguous as to how wrong the Doctor's actions were. And I do think they were wrong. Not because I think Donna should have died but because it's clear the Doctor knew exactly what was going on and he had had time to talk to her, explain what would happen, and convince her her other life was worth living. That she was worth something and that everything that made her the exceptional person she was at the end of the season would still be within her.
But he didn't, he waited and he didn't allow her to make her own choice, or if you believe she could not give informed consent, he didn't give her the chance for her to make her own choice by talking to her earlier. Either way, it's rather a bit squicky to me.
ETA: Still think it's slightly squicky, but rj_anderson's explanation works wonderfully for me and stops me having to think rather horrible things about the Doctor.