Dalek Discussion Question: Development of the Doctor/Rose relationship so far

[goldy_dollar]

Thanks for all the great thoughts on Aliens of London/World War III! We'll be switching gears to Dalek over the next few days, which is a favourite of mine so I'm excited. :D

Here's a discussion question to get us started:

"What use are emotions if you will not save the woman you love?"What did you think of that line? Too soon? Was the Dalek just

Comments

[professor_spork]

Thing about it is, the Dalek has no reason to know that, from its encounters with the Doctor within the episode. Which leaves us with two interpretations: the Dalek knows how the Doctor operates, what a Companion is, so it would have said the same thing if he were traveling with anyone, from Martha to Jo and back again. Which would still... he still LOVES them, even if he's not *in love* with them.

And the other option is that it somehow gleaned that information when Rose touched it. Which means that Rose *believes* the Doctor loves her, whether or not it's true. I definitely subscribe to the theory that he fell for her first, so it's all just... very interesting.

[goldy_dollar]

PFFT GETTING STUCK ON SMALL PLOT DETAILS LIKE THAT. XD

And the other option is that it somehow gleaned that information when Rose touched it. Which means that Rose *believes* the Doctor loves her, whether or not it's true.

Ooh, I like this explanation.

[robshearman]

To be honest, that was what I always intended. That from its communion with Rose, the Dalek revealed something that she believed that would surprise them both. There was (as ever!) more dialogue originally to cover this, but to keep the story pace over multiple drafts it was whittled down to one line! (And probably wisely!)

[goldy_dollar]

Aww, thanks for dropping in, it's always a pleasure to hear from you. :) And I really appreciate the clarification (even if this means one less thing to geek out about in endless discussion loops, oh well). Annnnnd now you've gone and made me curious about what other dialogue bits got whittled down.

I'll try not to sound like a complete fangirl, but 'Dalek' really is one of my favourite episodes of the New Series. Thank you for writing it. :D

[lostlollipop]

What intrigues me most about that line is that the Dalek has a concept of what love is.

I do think the Doctor loves Rose at this point. I think he fell in love with her at the end of The End of the World, when he'd shown her the death of a planet and she asked for chips.

But I also think he realises in this episode how vulnerable that makes him, and I think that's the reason he takes Adam with them.

[goldy_dollar]

But I also think he realises in this episode how vulnerable that makes him, and I think that's the reason he takes Adam with them.

Yeah, he really does seem to go into major denial mode. It sort of cracks me up that his attitude towards Adam veers from "ISN'T HE GREAT" to "HA YOU SUCK."

[shinyopals]

I think the Dalek is just trying to be manipulative. Possibly it's gained a better understanding of human emotions through Rose, but it was able to manipulate her in the first place. So basically, it would fail the Dalek psych eval for whatever reason.

And IDK if I would say the Doctor both loves her and is aware of that at this point. I think he falls for her before she for him, but it takes him a little longer to realise that fact. Maybe the Dalek's challenging that is part of why he let Adam along: trying to distance himself. (Like he asked Mickey along just after "I could save the world but lose you".) But I think he's definitely aware by Dalek that there's something more to his relationship with Rose, even if he's not going to call it love or anything like that.

Rose, I think, is probably not thinking of it in those sort of terms. I don't think she really properly falls for him and realises it until, like Bad Wolf/TPotW. Way later than the Doctor, anyway. And as much as I like the idea of Rose having sex with who she wants, her

[stillbrainfried]

Okay, I've got the feeling my opinion won't be very popular here but that line always felt a bit wrong to me, even more so since I watched Genesis of the Daleks

[fauxkaren]

I definitely think that the Doctor fell in love with Rose first. I don't know if it is full on deeply and completely in love at this point, but he loves her and is jealous of Adam (and later Jack and earlier Mickey). Rose, however, I don't think falls for the Doctor (or at least she doesn't recognize her feelings for the Doctor) until The Parting of the Ways. I think she realizes her feelings after the Doctor has sent her back to Jackie. That's when she realizes that she loves him and she can't just leave him to die.