Quick follow up thoughts on "The End of Time, parts 1&2"
So, I've commented in somewhat length about "The End of Time" in this lj post, but it's been a day now and I'm still reflecting. But rather than reflecting on the episode itself, I'm thinking about Ten's run as the Doctor.
And here it is. For as much as this Doctor could be mercurial to the point where it angered you at how it affected his actions and the lives of those around him, for as much as he lost himself toward the end and became even unlikeable for a time, for as much as he fell into melancholy and had run out of time...good god, I love this Doctor. I think it's exactly those issues, those intricacies in his character that made some people not like the Tenth Doctor, which have made him MY Doctor.
I love my characters flawed, almost broken, but still clawing their way out of the abyss to reach the sun. It's one of the things that Ten loved so much about humans...how fitting that, as his journey made its way to the end, he began to fully embody those same qualities. Ten is truly one of the most human Doctors we've had. Come on, fear of death? This humanity seems to be one of the reasons that folks dislike Ten, but to me, it's exactly that humanity that develops and the way that it can't mesh with the near-immortality of the Time Lord existence that makes Ten's story so lovely and sad. In the end, he's emulated the race he loved so much that he really can't continue on forever. Humans have a finite existence...and so does the Tenth Doctor. (And if you think about it, this humanity within the Doctor is only underscored by the various storylines that touch upon the topic. He becomes human for a time as John Smith...there's a partly human version of him out there in the other universe...beyond even the regular character traits and experiences, it's these major elements that reveal this truly recurring theme of the Tenth Doctor and his confusing humanity.)
Oddly enough, for as much as I have been dreading it, I'm looking forward to seeing what Eleven will bring, but I think the thing that is making this transition easier is that I'm pretty sure that no one will supplant Ten for me. And that's a lovely place to be in so that I can move on and watch the next series.
(Well, maybe I need a little bit of a breather first. :)
And here it is. For as much as this Doctor could be mercurial to the point where it angered you at how it affected his actions and the lives of those around him, for as much as he lost himself toward the end and became even unlikeable for a time, for as much as he fell into melancholy and had run out of time...good god, I love this Doctor. I think it's exactly those issues, those intricacies in his character that made some people not like the Tenth Doctor, which have made him MY Doctor.
I love my characters flawed, almost broken, but still clawing their way out of the abyss to reach the sun. It's one of the things that Ten loved so much about humans...how fitting that, as his journey made its way to the end, he began to fully embody those same qualities. Ten is truly one of the most human Doctors we've had. Come on, fear of death? This humanity seems to be one of the reasons that folks dislike Ten, but to me, it's exactly that humanity that develops and the way that it can't mesh with the near-immortality of the Time Lord existence that makes Ten's story so lovely and sad. In the end, he's emulated the race he loved so much that he really can't continue on forever. Humans have a finite existence...and so does the Tenth Doctor. (And if you think about it, this humanity within the Doctor is only underscored by the various storylines that touch upon the topic. He becomes human for a time as John Smith...there's a partly human version of him out there in the other universe...beyond even the regular character traits and experiences, it's these major elements that reveal this truly recurring theme of the Tenth Doctor and his confusing humanity.)
Oddly enough, for as much as I have been dreading it, I'm looking forward to seeing what Eleven will bring, but I think the thing that is making this transition easier is that I'm pretty sure that no one will supplant Ten for me. And that's a lovely place to be in so that I can move on and watch the next series.
(Well, maybe I need a little bit of a breather first. :)