1x02 "The End of the World" discussion post

[_thirty2flavors]

So the rewatch marches on with 1x02, "The End of the World". As always, don't feel limited to answering just these questions or all of these questions; they're here to kickstart discussion but they're not compulsory.

Comments

[fauxkaren]

1. End of the World marks Rose Tyler's first real trip in the TARDIS, and her first time-travel outing. How do you think she did? What did you think of Rose in this episode? What about her sudden realization that she'd gone off into danger with a complete stranger and yet her decision at the end of the episode to stay with him (after chips)?
I think her reaction is completely understandable and tbh, I think it's more interesting and original than if she'd just been 100% gung-ho about it. Rose is pretty overwhelmed by the strangeness of it all. I mean, she’s not scared, but it’s still weird and different a bit much to deal with. And then her planet is burning in front of her. And now that she’s stop to think, she’s realizing that she just kind of ran off with this stranger and now she’s millions of years from home and surrounded by all this strange things and it’s really overwhelming. But then by the end of the episode, I think she's decided to stick around because she's had some time to adjust and because she doesn't want the Doctor to be alone.

I also love that we get to see Rose's compassion in this episode. Her interaction with Ruffalo is sweet, but I also love that Rose (despite her earlier disdain) takes pity on Cassandra and asks the Doctor to help her.

2. Likewise, we also see the relationship between the Doctor and Rose start to evolve, and they start butting heads. What did you think about the argument about where he comes from, and its resolution? Do you like the dynamic starting to form?
I LOVE the fight that Rose and the Doctor have while they're on the observation platform. She’s kind of wigging out. The Doctor gets defensive. Rose demands more information and the Doctor is determined to live in the here and now and not tell her all about his past. Like the acting here is superb and the blocking is fantastic in this scene, all conveying the tension and the distance between them. But then Rose cracks a bit of a joke and the Doctor softens and powers up her cell phone and they’re able to joke around with each other.

I’m also a big fan of the quiet moment that the Doctor and Rose have after it is all over when Rose is watching the Earth burn and thinking about the weight of it all, and then the Doctor takes her hand and tells her to come with him. He takes her back to her present day Earth to reassure her that her planet still exists in the past, and then he tells Rose about the Time War. Earlier he was closed off and refused to talk about who he was, but now he's ready to open up

Rose is there for the Doctor, listening to him talk about what he’s been through and reassuring him that he has her now. And then she’s so Rose. She wants chips. She’s not going to dwell on the death of planets or the end of species. She just wants something normal, like chips. And the Doctor appreciates that about her. There’s just something so warm and alive about Rose, I think. She keeps him in the present and reminds him that there’s still good stuff happening.

3. After some vague references in Rose, the Time War plot that stretches throughout the first four and a half seasons of New Who really gets kickstarted here. The episode ends with Rose and the viewer finding out the Doctor is ~the last of the Time Lords~. What did you think of that when you first saw this episode? Has your opinion changed at all? If you were new to Doctor Who, did it intrigue you? If you were a fan of the Classic series, did you like this change?
Tbh, I just figured that it was always part of the Doctor Who mythology. It wasn't until months later when I was talking to my uncle who is a Doctor Who fan from back in the day that I even found out that it was a change. lol. Like Jabe says something to the effect of “Perhaps a man only enjoys travel when there’s nothing else left.” And I just assumed that was always built into the show.

GUESS NOT.

[fauxkaren]

4. In terms of plot, what did you think of it? Funny? Too simplistic and campy? What about Cassandra as a villain, especially knowing what will become of her in series 2? What about the way the Doctor deals with her?
Cassandra is campy, but she's fun. And also, I think that it touches on a little bit of the question of what it means to be human. I mean, genetically she's human. She was born on Earth. But, she doesn't really seem quite human, does she? And then this is in context of the fact that this episode features Rose dealing with being surrounded by alien things and feeling out of place. Idk. I don't think the show answers these questions and I don't think it tries to. But it is something to think about.

Also, I honestly think that the reason that the Doctor was so harsh with her (letting her die right then instead of making her go to trail or whatever) is because Jabe died as a result of Cassandra's actions and I think the Doctor was angry.

5. So... what the hell is going on in that scene with the giant fanblades anyway? Did the Doctor, like, magically slow down time for a second or did he just get really lucky?
I think the better question is; who designed a room with giant fanblades where the only way to get from one side of the room to the other is to walk through them? But to answer your question, I think he was just ~in tune~ with the universe or whatever

Other Thoughts: I'm never sure if the Doctor intentionally brought Rose to watch her planet burn so that she could better understand him or if it was a subconscious thing or if it was just a nice writerly device to bring up the Time War. Idk. But whatever the reason, the effect is the same. Rose IS able to understand a bit of what the Doctor might be feeling because it is disconcerting to watch her planet burn even if she can go back in time and see it thriving again while the Doctor can never do that.

LOL FACE OF BOE. HI, JACK!

I’m a fan of the “iPod” playing “Tainted Love”. It’s a cheap joke, but it’s still funny. Same goes for the traditional earth ballad being Britney Spears’s “Toxic”. I LOVE ME SOME BRITNEY SPEARS!

[_thirty2flavors]

Maybe the room with the fanblades was designed by the same guy who designed the ship in 42!

[fauxkaren]

I've never actually seen Galaxy Quest, but a friend of mine makes a Galaxy Quest joke EVERY TIME we watch this episode.

[_thirty2flavors]

LOL LOL I, TOO, JUST ASSUMED THIS HAD ALWAYS BEEN A THING and was pretty surprised when I learned it wasn't. I guess it makes sense in retrospect lol like -- his wound is pretty raw in s1/s2/s3 in a way you might expect it would not be if it was something that had been going on since 1963.

[anna_sg1]

I LOVE the fight that Rose and the Doctor have while they're on the observation platform. She’s kind of wigging out.

I absolutely loved that she freaked out over Doctor's ~simple explanation~ how the Tardis messed around in her brain so she can understand all the languages. That is exactly the thing I'd completely freak out about. XD

[fauxkaren]

Just like the Doctor didn't stop to consider that Mickey has a family and that kind of stuff in "Rose", he doesn't even consider that Rose might be a bit disturbed by the Tardis getting into her mind.

[_thirty2flavors]

One thing that always surprises me when I go back and rewatch series 1 is how ~alien Nine is. I don't really think of him that way, I guess because over the course of s1 he becomes less so and then turns into Ten, so the last impression you're left with is not the guy who was like "lol no1curr" about dead Mickey, but it does always surprise me in these early episodes.

[anna_sg1]

Nine's development was pretty amazing. Will never understand people skipping s1.

[_thirty2flavors]

Nine had like the most flawless arc ever. I think one of the reasons I've never really wished we had more time with Nine is because I feel so satisfied by what we did get.

[_thirty2flavors]

I would say that s1 and s2 are a lot more tied together than Classic Who and New Who, or even s1-s4 and s5-s6. Much as it wounds my soul I can get why someone might start New Who with s5, since it's basically a clean break and there's very little that carries over from the RTD era into the Moffat era. So if you're a new viewer, it's easy to get into it there and you're not really missing out on too much. Likewise I think you can start with s1 of New Who and it'll answer most of the questions you might have without having to refer to Classic Who.

But starting with s2 instead of s1 is weird to me, probably weirder than starting anywhere else in New Who (with the exception of maybe s6 -- that would be a seriously strange place to start). Rose, Mickey, Jackie and to a lesser extent (since he just regenerated) the Doctor all carry over from s1 to s2. S2 definitely makes the assumption that the people watching have seen s1 and are familiar with the characters, since it doesn't re-establish them. And I mean lol people's rationale for starting with s2 instead of s1 isn't usually much deeper than like -- "Eccleston is ugly" or "the special effects are bad", and it's not like the special effects in s2 were significantly better than s1.

[anna_sg1]

Completely agree with all you said.

Likewise I think you can start with s1 of New Who and it'll answer most of the questions you might have without having to refer to Classic Who.

I watched the Confidentials for s1 as well - as I watched the season. Those were/are awesome in helping to introduce this huge universe of things that happened before (bonus David Tennat as the narrator XD) - but even they are not ~crucial for understanding anything in New Who IMO.