(Okie Dokey... so I spend an hour of this morning discussing palliative care in philosophy class, and then this pops up online. I'm having a morbid day
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That's interesting. Maybe how we view the Doctor has a big effect on how we view Ten's regeneration. I'm one of the people who sees the Doctor as mainly the same person, with the regenerations being slightly different incarnations of the same person. So I don't think of regeneration as death, which makes Ten's reaction (especially in light of the fact that none of the other Doctors seem to react that way) kind of bothersome.
I adore Ten, he's my favorite, and I don't blame him AT ALL for being upset. In fact, I get a little offended when people call him a crybaby about it, because he WAS dying, and as far as I'm concerned he had the right to not be okay with that.
This. So much this. I completely agree that he has a right to be upset about dying. True, he's not dying the way we think of it, but in a sense, Ten IS dying. He knows that his new regeneration will change him. He'll still be the Doctor and a Time Lord, but he'll also be different. His mannerisms, likes and dislikes, and (to a smaller degree) his personality will change. He wasn't ready to let go yet, and he was upset. As he had a right to be.
I also agree with the point about him not having to convince anyone it's okay. Since he was alone he could react the way he wanted to without having to worry about someone else's reaction.
As for how Eleven will react, I have no idea. I think it will depend on the situation and the events leading up to the regeneration.
Ten didn't have anyone to convince that regeneration was okay (except the audience, who had already been through it with at least Nine, so RTD didn't feel like he had anyone to convince), so he was able to act... much more upset, and therefore... though much more upset.
This is a GREAT point - I've never thought of that before, but you're absolutely right!
What I find a little confusing about Ten is that he very much considers himself to be the same person as Five, and even as late as The Next Doctor, he seemed reasonably okay with mortality (Tell me I don't trip over a brick is not bad, considering).The entire "Ten is afraid of dying" arc was shoehorned in pretty badly, IMO. He spends s3 quasi-suicidal, spends s4 in a downward spiral of instability and trauma-induced dysfunction, doesn't do well alone, vacillates wildly between self-justification and outright self-hatred... and then someone spits a prophecy at him and suddenly fear of death is his Character Issue for his last season? We never even get an incident that could spark this or tie it back to his personality
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This. So much this. I completely agree that he has a right to be upset about dying. True, he's not dying the way we think of it, but in a sense, Ten IS dying. He knows that his new regeneration will change him. He'll still be the Doctor and a Time Lord, but he'll also be different. His mannerisms, likes and dislikes, and (to a smaller degree) his personality will change. He wasn't ready to let go yet, and he was upset. As he had a right to be.
I also agree with the point about him not having to convince anyone it's okay. Since he was alone he could react the way he wanted to without having to worry about someone else's reaction.
As for how Eleven will react, I have no idea. I think it will depend on the situation and the events leading up to the regeneration.
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This is a GREAT point - I've never thought of that before, but you're absolutely right!
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