the last of the timelords...
I'm going to link this now that this episode has aired. I could've linked it before hand because it's not spoilers so much as it is speculation and culling together and pointing out important parts of recent and past canon history of Doctor Who, but it's brilliant and a wonderful read and you should really really read it. Specifically the re: Jack bit, because wow. So called that one, huh?
Okay first of all, let me get it out of the way. I hated the beginning. Well. Not so much hated as was bored by. I spent a good portion of the first two-thirds of this episode going "yes yes, get on with it, blah blah." I don't know, the Gollum-Doctor, the unDoctor-ness of the Doctor, I guess that was it. I just thought it was... I don't know. Lacking somewhat. I wasn't riveted like I was to both Utopia and Sound of Drums.
However, none of that matters because that which did grab me grabbed me more than almost anything has in maybe any show ever, so. Forgiven, Russell T Davies.
Side notes before I get to the big thing:
- John Simms was brilliant in this, don't let my blahness of the first 2/3rds make you think I didn't like him. I did. He was brilliant, and funny and mad, and I'm really going to miss him. I wish they'd stretched this out a bit more, just so I could see more of Simms as the Master and his interaction (his so so so superslashy interaction) with the Doctor.
- David Tennant was also good in the first two-thirds, but I think I just missed his face and his energy. I have much much much more to say about David and John, but that's the Big Thing, so, in a minute.
- JACK IS THE FACE OF BOE! OH MY GOD!!! Okay, honestly, I read the speculation that said Jack could be the face of boe, and like... I got it. I understood why it would work, a little, but mostly I just dismissed the idea. No way, I thought. Uh uh. That's ridiculous... although... NO. I was very resistant about it. And even when Jack revealed it I was resistent, but then I started thinking about it. First of all, it does make a lot of sense. Second of all, the romantic in me is "oh, and the Doctor loved him even without knowing he was jack" and it also is all "oh, Jack never told the Doctor who he was because it would fuck up the timeline, and oh god, how hard that would've been." And then it said "oh my god, the Doctor was there for Boe's death! That's so... epic and grand!!!" So I dunno. I'm starting to embrace it. The reveal scene was funny too. LOL. "No. NO! Can't be!... NO!!!"
I mean, look at this scene:
"He's been waiting for you all these years." GAH. That is so gorgeous, with the thought that that's Jack in there. I mean, it was beautiful and touching anyway, cuz I love the Face all by himself, but... with knowing that that's Jack? It just kind of breaks my heart even more.
BTW: I am writing the scene wherein the Doctor runs into the Face of Boe after knowing that it's Jack. I wrote down dialogue during my lunch break even.
- Martha was kickass in two places... 1) Explaining to the Master why he was fucked... I grinned so hardcore when she started laughing as he was monologueing about how grand he was, and 2) her story about her mate that was in love with the bloke that didn't see her, and how she always said get out, and she was leaving because that's what she was doing... Getting out. I thought "oh, Martha, yes." Because I don't want to see Martha go, I LIKE Martha, but she deserves better than to sit there pining hopelessly away after a Doctor that will never love her, not the way she wants him to.
- The Titanic. HEE. I like that both the second and the third season end with the Doctor going "What... what? ... WHAT?!" Oh, Christmas, why aren't you here yet?
And finally, the big thing:
Oh Doctor. Oh. Oh. Oh, DOCTOR. When he cried? Oh. It hurt me, so bad. SO bad. I've not seen enough of the old episodes to verify this, but we've never seen him cry like that. We saw him shed a tear for Rose, and we saw him horrified and scared, and at the same time hopeful, at the end of Utopia, but this was gutwrenching, all of my people are gone, I am responsible for the death of everyone from my home planet, my sisters, my brothers, my family, my everyone, gone gone gone. Sobbing. Oh, Doctor. My heart fucking BROKE.
I mean, here this is the Master, this evil evil, crazy fucked up thing, and even him... he dies, and that means the Doctor is totally and utterly and completely alone. And he'd thought that to begin with, yes, but then he'd learned he was wrong, and he was hopeful, for just a second. Just a little while, that maybe... maybe he wasn't utterly alone in the world any more. That there was someone else of his kind out there, that maybe he could help him, maybe he could change the Master, get him to see the beauty in life instead of the filth, and it was ripped from his hands.
And I gotta say, that whole "holding the person that's just died and screaming" thing is a very fine line kind of thing, and I've seen it on numerous shows, but somehow Russell T. Davies shows are the only ones that pull it off. I've never seen it done quite so good as Gwen did on Torchwood or as the Doctor did just then. How you just feel their pain with them, as opposed to laughing at the lameness of the overdone scream of NO! when they hold their dead comrade/lover/etc.
And maybe part of that is because the line wasn't no, it was just a gut wrenching sob. Maybe that's why.
Also, the song that plays when the Master dies is utterly gorgeous, and somewhat reminiscent, to me, of the goodbye to Rose song in Doomsday. It's the same guitar riff, but sped up, from what I can tell.
On a completely different level I have two more things to say about that particular scene:
1. The slash in it was lovely, "dying in your arms" and the Doctor pleading with him to regenerate.. just rife with sexuality for some reason. Somehow David and John just really really came across as once upon a time lovers ripped apart by circumstance and psychoses in that scene and it made it so much more brilliant.
2. Ow, John. Did you notice that his hands were cuffed behind his back when David was holding him and rocking him back and forth that whole time? Oh my god, that couldn't have been comfortable in any way. LOL. I know, I know, I'm surprised I could think about that too while I was watching through my tears, but on the fourth viewing I noticed it. Poor John.
So, in conclusion: LOVE. Even though I was bored for the first 2/3rds, that last third was so utterly heartbreaking that it totally made up for it.
Okay first of all, let me get it out of the way. I hated the beginning. Well. Not so much hated as was bored by. I spent a good portion of the first two-thirds of this episode going "yes yes, get on with it, blah blah." I don't know, the Gollum-Doctor, the unDoctor-ness of the Doctor, I guess that was it. I just thought it was... I don't know. Lacking somewhat. I wasn't riveted like I was to both Utopia and Sound of Drums.
However, none of that matters because that which did grab me grabbed me more than almost anything has in maybe any show ever, so. Forgiven, Russell T Davies.
Side notes before I get to the big thing:
- John Simms was brilliant in this, don't let my blahness of the first 2/3rds make you think I didn't like him. I did. He was brilliant, and funny and mad, and I'm really going to miss him. I wish they'd stretched this out a bit more, just so I could see more of Simms as the Master and his interaction (his so so so superslashy interaction) with the Doctor.
- David Tennant was also good in the first two-thirds, but I think I just missed his face and his energy. I have much much much more to say about David and John, but that's the Big Thing, so, in a minute.
- JACK IS THE FACE OF BOE! OH MY GOD!!! Okay, honestly, I read the speculation that said Jack could be the face of boe, and like... I got it. I understood why it would work, a little, but mostly I just dismissed the idea. No way, I thought. Uh uh. That's ridiculous... although... NO. I was very resistant about it. And even when Jack revealed it I was resistent, but then I started thinking about it. First of all, it does make a lot of sense. Second of all, the romantic in me is "oh, and the Doctor loved him even without knowing he was jack" and it also is all "oh, Jack never told the Doctor who he was because it would fuck up the timeline, and oh god, how hard that would've been." And then it said "oh my god, the Doctor was there for Boe's death! That's so... epic and grand!!!" So I dunno. I'm starting to embrace it. The reveal scene was funny too. LOL. "No. NO! Can't be!... NO!!!"
I mean, look at this scene:
"He's been waiting for you all these years." GAH. That is so gorgeous, with the thought that that's Jack in there. I mean, it was beautiful and touching anyway, cuz I love the Face all by himself, but... with knowing that that's Jack? It just kind of breaks my heart even more.
BTW: I am writing the scene wherein the Doctor runs into the Face of Boe after knowing that it's Jack. I wrote down dialogue during my lunch break even.
- Martha was kickass in two places... 1) Explaining to the Master why he was fucked... I grinned so hardcore when she started laughing as he was monologueing about how grand he was, and 2) her story about her mate that was in love with the bloke that didn't see her, and how she always said get out, and she was leaving because that's what she was doing... Getting out. I thought "oh, Martha, yes." Because I don't want to see Martha go, I LIKE Martha, but she deserves better than to sit there pining hopelessly away after a Doctor that will never love her, not the way she wants him to.
- The Titanic. HEE. I like that both the second and the third season end with the Doctor going "What... what? ... WHAT?!" Oh, Christmas, why aren't you here yet?
And finally, the big thing:
Oh Doctor. Oh. Oh. Oh, DOCTOR. When he cried? Oh. It hurt me, so bad. SO bad. I've not seen enough of the old episodes to verify this, but we've never seen him cry like that. We saw him shed a tear for Rose, and we saw him horrified and scared, and at the same time hopeful, at the end of Utopia, but this was gutwrenching, all of my people are gone, I am responsible for the death of everyone from my home planet, my sisters, my brothers, my family, my everyone, gone gone gone. Sobbing. Oh, Doctor. My heart fucking BROKE.
I mean, here this is the Master, this evil evil, crazy fucked up thing, and even him... he dies, and that means the Doctor is totally and utterly and completely alone. And he'd thought that to begin with, yes, but then he'd learned he was wrong, and he was hopeful, for just a second. Just a little while, that maybe... maybe he wasn't utterly alone in the world any more. That there was someone else of his kind out there, that maybe he could help him, maybe he could change the Master, get him to see the beauty in life instead of the filth, and it was ripped from his hands.
And I gotta say, that whole "holding the person that's just died and screaming" thing is a very fine line kind of thing, and I've seen it on numerous shows, but somehow Russell T. Davies shows are the only ones that pull it off. I've never seen it done quite so good as Gwen did on Torchwood or as the Doctor did just then. How you just feel their pain with them, as opposed to laughing at the lameness of the overdone scream of NO! when they hold their dead comrade/lover/etc.
And maybe part of that is because the line wasn't no, it was just a gut wrenching sob. Maybe that's why.
Also, the song that plays when the Master dies is utterly gorgeous, and somewhat reminiscent, to me, of the goodbye to Rose song in Doomsday. It's the same guitar riff, but sped up, from what I can tell.
On a completely different level I have two more things to say about that particular scene:
1. The slash in it was lovely, "dying in your arms" and the Doctor pleading with him to regenerate.. just rife with sexuality for some reason. Somehow David and John just really really came across as once upon a time lovers ripped apart by circumstance and psychoses in that scene and it made it so much more brilliant.
2. Ow, John. Did you notice that his hands were cuffed behind his back when David was holding him and rocking him back and forth that whole time? Oh my god, that couldn't have been comfortable in any way. LOL. I know, I know, I'm surprised I could think about that too while I was watching through my tears, but on the fourth viewing I noticed it. Poor John.
So, in conclusion: LOVE. Even though I was bored for the first 2/3rds, that last third was so utterly heartbreaking that it totally made up for it.