He was being kind.
green_maia has a very interesting post here about enjoyment of abuse of power versus abuse of power rooted in despair. This is just me turning thoughts over in my head, so lots of rambling. ETA: Or you can just read my reply to her post, since that's like the whole of this post in two lines...
( The Doctor's actions in Family of Blood. )
( The Doctor's actions in Family of Blood. )
ETA: OK, am back.
*nods* Ten is complicated. It's all mixed up, always 'and' rather than 'either/or'.
I think this ties in with his humanity (and how Rusty writes him) - nothing is ever simple.
And it is just; not in a modern, humanitarian sense, but in an archaic 'an eye for an eye' way. It's the kind of punishment that is common in myths and fairytales. FoB always struck me as the episode where the ancient, non-human part of the Doctor's personality comes out most clearly. 'Evil' doesn't seem an adequate word.
Ooooh this. Like I wrote here: 'I think that when looking at the-Doctor-as-God it is a very old idea of Godhood we have to grapple with. The Doctor is like one of the deities from Mount Olympus, coming down ‘disguised as a human’ but with an outlook and agenda that is utterly his own.' His motivation might be informed by his humanity, but his general outlook is very Other. The Lonely God is a good moniker, but he's not *the* God, just *a* God, if that makes sense... (I'm flashing back to Rassilon now, telling humankind to kneel.) The Doctor - usually - chooses a different way, but he has the potential, the *right*. Going onto the topic of power, then the Master *is* his dark mirror - the Master is what he could become, and WoM shows the first step down that slipperly slope.
Mmmm, crunchy meta. :)
And you are ALWAYS welcome to spam my journal. :) Although I think you and Maia would probably get on well - she's fascinated by Rusty's Who, but doesn't care much for Moffat's...
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Absolutely.
Going onto the topic of power, then the Master *is* his dark mirror - the Master is what he could become, and WoM shows the first step down that slipperly slope.
In EoT, when Ten says to the Master, 'I wonder what I'd be, without you', for the longest time I didn't really understand what he meant by that. (Slashy subtext aside, obviously.) He needs someone to show him what not to be.
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*nods a lot* I think the point is continued in this part:
Wilf: [offering gun again]: Then kill him first.
Doctor [raising eyebrows]: And that’s how the Master started.
I think Ten, in particular, is painfully aware (especially post WoM) how easy it would be to become the Master. (Have you read Things You Don't Want in the Night, btw? Truly excellent!)
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