Series 4 Finale
Huh. That was a hell of a thing.
Thanks to a wonderfully generous friend of mine, I am now caught up with Series Four. I pulled a marathon of episodes 10-13 (not having a job does have its occasional upside) this morning. I love my geek friends. SO MUCH.
What I liked:
Thanks to a wonderfully generous friend of mine, I am now caught up with Series Four. I pulled a marathon of episodes 10-13 (not having a job does have its occasional upside) this morning. I love my geek friends. SO MUCH.
What I liked:
- Harriet Jones!!!11!! "I stand by my decision." YES! Everything about her was awesome. Thank you, RTD, for giving Harriet her dignity back. Not, mind you, that I ever thought she'd lost it to begin with. I agreed with her on Christmas Day three years ago, and it broke my heart to see so much of fandom condemning her for it. This time, TOTAL WIN.
- Mickey!!! "And that's enough hugging." He just screamed Action Hero. Too bad he didn't get more to do.
- Sarah Jane and K-9. SJ was a bit more frantic than I generally like seeing her these days, but wonderful all the same.
- Davros is a TOTAL DERANGED PSYCHO GENIUS. I mean, REALLY. Blowing up the entire universe so there's nothing left but Daleks?! And the way he shrieked and laughed about it?! Seamlessly in character (despite the absence of Terry Malloy *shakes fist*) and absolutely magnificent. Probably the best he's ever been on-screen after Genesis of the Daleks. Did he realize, I wonder, that if he succeeded he'd also be condemning the Daleks to extinction? Was his reality bomb only targeting living beings? If not, where would the Daleks get resources to keep going? Maybe it was intended to be a spectacular, self-destructive suicide-to-end-all-suicides? Knowing Davros, I think it probably was. Though I could be superimposing some of Heath Ledger's Joker onto him. Which does work. Cut from the same chaotic cloth, those two. AWESOME.
- All the companions working together to fly the TARDIS! Just...ahhhhh. Wonderful. Could've been nicer to Jackie about it, though. Something like: "And Jackie? Jackie...just keep doing what you're doing, thanks!" Still funny. Meanie.
- What was Rose's point in being there, exactly? Aside from underscoring the fact that the Doctor doesn't need her? Yes, she helped Donna and all that, but for as much build-up as there was...eh, not much of a bang, was it? Maybe just too many people in there having to do stuff. And I'm no Rose-basher. But that ending. "Bye, bye, Rose! Here's a complimentary Pseudo-Doctor for you, ready for shagging!" *shudder* She helps him save the universe, and he gives her...a boyfriend. C-R-E-E-P-Y. Though in a strange way, it was just what Rose probably needed. CREEPY.
- Donna, NOOOOOO!!! I cannot BELIEVE the Doctor's solution was to wipe her brain, to undo all the awesomeness that had happened to her. Rose survived the frelling TIME VORTEX in her head with no ill effects, but Donna couldn't handle something as comparatively miniscule as the Doctor's mind? What's that implying about Donna, eh? Eh?! Unfair, unfair, unfair! Wouldn't have been so unbearable if it wasn't for Wilfred's utterly heartbroken reaction to it. Damn that wonderful, cuddly-bear of a man! What's the point of Donna's adventure if she doesn't remember it? Loses all that character development and growth? There were two things I did not want to see in this finale, and Donna's death was one of them, but under these circumstances, I'd have rather had Donna decide to die than allow the Doctor to treat her like that. Maybe it was Davros' taunts about people dying for him getting to the Doctor, but that was just unspeakably cruel to Donna and her family.
- I love how, once again, humanity's Big Plan to save the Earth boils down to "Help us, Doctor, you're our only hope!" Better than Tinker!Doc of last year, but it still irks me. Though the Osterhagen key and SJ's Bomb-in-a-Bauble ameliorated the helplessness somewhat. Though maybe I'm being a bit unfair. If having your planet yanked across the universe and plugged into a giant Dalek Doomsday Device, leaving your only Earth-bound alternative to blow the planet into slag isn't call for desperate pleas toward the heavens, then what is? Seemed pretty blatant that the Doctor's solution consisted basically of himself, in triplicate, though!