Initial thoughts...
My husband, my housemate, and I were glued to the screen in near silence for an hour. We all enjoyed it... a lot, but we were rather contemplative and soft-spoken once it ended as we gave our initial thoughts.
There is so much to talk about in this episode. For now, I'm just going to focus on the endings for Rose and Donna. I'll express thoughts on Mickey, Martha, Jack, and Sarah Jane later...
I forsee a lot of my friends list being very angry with what happened with Rose, and I can understand why. I'm a bit mixed on it, personally. Very sad that she's not with the Doctor as we've all known and loved (or hated, depending on your opinion on Ten) for the past three years. Sure, it's a bit cold for him to leave her in that parallel world with her mum, hurrying back to the TARDIS. And that annoys me a bit, thinking about it.
But you know what? At the same time, I'm also okay with it because it continues to remind us that the Doctor isn't human. In that bit, he was as alien as ever. While yes, he does love Rose - and asks whether his saying the words "I love you" honestly need to be said, his counterpart can say the words, can understand the human need to have them said - or can say something similarly romantic - that makes her kiss him. The Doctor, as a Time Lord, cannot have that domestic life. His life of running, of being afraid to look back because of the destruction in his wake - that's just the reality of Doctor Who since the series started back in 1963.
Yet at the same time, he's able to offer a part of himself to Rose - tying back into that heated conversation outside the cafe in School Reunion, that echoed on the beach in Doomsday. This part of himself can have that life that he could never have - living his life, day after day. Being able to age, not having to watch his companion wither and die as he remains constant (in theory... this is the Doctor we're talking about, who goes through lifespans faster than your average human through carelessness... *grin*) It's honestly the highest of trust he puts in Rose to take this part of himself - himself with all of the anger and rage from the Time War - and allow her to use that compassion and acceptance that helped him find himself again in S1-S2 toward this new version of himself. He admits that Rose made him better, and that the new version of him needs her - which is very him.
This, to me, makes it okay. It really does.
It's probably because I'm someone who doesn't need the Doctor and Rose to be together romantically in canon. I can have fun with them in fanfic, and then place them back on the shelf. But that kind of trust and respect - to me, that's honestly a much stronger, deeper love.
I'm okay. Sad to see Rose go, but at the same time I see her as having such a strong, fantastic purpose - keeping that other world safe, defending the Earth and saving the Doctor all over again? Yeah.
I'm happy. I'm okay with that.
Donna's ending, on the other hand, I find much more disturbing and sad. I adored Donna, and I knew she wasn't coming back next series. Maybe that made the blow a bit easier to take. But oh, how disturbing the idea that her best qualities - the motivated woman who was driven to find the Doctor, to celebrate the joy of traveling with him, even as she cried and asked in knee-jerk responses to be taken home because she realized it wasn't all joy and light out in the universe...
The literal destruction of everything wonderful about Donna, leaving the vapid, gossipy, tabloid-loving woman behind? That kills me and angers me. I know it's meant to. It's a tragic loss for Donna, and as Wilf said... she was better with the Doctor, and I don't mean because she gained Time Lord thoughts. She came into her own while traveling with the Doctor. We watched a companion who received horrified responses when it was announced she'd be joining the cast full time. So many people turned around, admitting they were pleasantly surprised about her. And even though I was excited about the Tennant-Tate pairing, having loved TRB and the Red Nose Day timing between them... I was also surprised at how moving Tate was as Donna during her emotional bits.
I loved having a companion who wasn't the picture-perfect early 20's girl. Really did. Loved having someone who was stuck at that middle age crossroads, not knowing what to do with her life - and yet she manages to find herself through traveling in space and time.
The fact that she is remembered on so many worlds (both seen on screen and in book and possible future radio adventures) makes me feel better while I mourn her.
So this time, my sadness is much more for Donna than Rose here. Rose is okay - she still has her family, she'll continue fighting and surviving and being the tough, stubborn woman she's been.
Donna has lost everything. To me, much more tragic. As my husband said "Honestly, it would have been better that she died." Living without the knowledge of who you actually are? Horrific.
Still - a great episode. One I know I will watch over and over again. And in time, I'll probably develop a lot more thoughts about it as I get all of the other nuances in it.
Off to watch the Confidential. And then probably the episode again at least a couple times before bed. :)
There is so much to talk about in this episode. For now, I'm just going to focus on the endings for Rose and Donna. I'll express thoughts on Mickey, Martha, Jack, and Sarah Jane later...
I forsee a lot of my friends list being very angry with what happened with Rose, and I can understand why. I'm a bit mixed on it, personally. Very sad that she's not with the Doctor as we've all known and loved (or hated, depending on your opinion on Ten) for the past three years. Sure, it's a bit cold for him to leave her in that parallel world with her mum, hurrying back to the TARDIS. And that annoys me a bit, thinking about it.
But you know what? At the same time, I'm also okay with it because it continues to remind us that the Doctor isn't human. In that bit, he was as alien as ever. While yes, he does love Rose - and asks whether his saying the words "I love you" honestly need to be said, his counterpart can say the words, can understand the human need to have them said - or can say something similarly romantic - that makes her kiss him. The Doctor, as a Time Lord, cannot have that domestic life. His life of running, of being afraid to look back because of the destruction in his wake - that's just the reality of Doctor Who since the series started back in 1963.
Yet at the same time, he's able to offer a part of himself to Rose - tying back into that heated conversation outside the cafe in School Reunion, that echoed on the beach in Doomsday. This part of himself can have that life that he could never have - living his life, day after day. Being able to age, not having to watch his companion wither and die as he remains constant (in theory... this is the Doctor we're talking about, who goes through lifespans faster than your average human through carelessness... *grin*) It's honestly the highest of trust he puts in Rose to take this part of himself - himself with all of the anger and rage from the Time War - and allow her to use that compassion and acceptance that helped him find himself again in S1-S2 toward this new version of himself. He admits that Rose made him better, and that the new version of him needs her - which is very him.
This, to me, makes it okay. It really does.
It's probably because I'm someone who doesn't need the Doctor and Rose to be together romantically in canon. I can have fun with them in fanfic, and then place them back on the shelf. But that kind of trust and respect - to me, that's honestly a much stronger, deeper love.
I'm okay. Sad to see Rose go, but at the same time I see her as having such a strong, fantastic purpose - keeping that other world safe, defending the Earth and saving the Doctor all over again? Yeah.
I'm happy. I'm okay with that.
Donna's ending, on the other hand, I find much more disturbing and sad. I adored Donna, and I knew she wasn't coming back next series. Maybe that made the blow a bit easier to take. But oh, how disturbing the idea that her best qualities - the motivated woman who was driven to find the Doctor, to celebrate the joy of traveling with him, even as she cried and asked in knee-jerk responses to be taken home because she realized it wasn't all joy and light out in the universe...
The literal destruction of everything wonderful about Donna, leaving the vapid, gossipy, tabloid-loving woman behind? That kills me and angers me. I know it's meant to. It's a tragic loss for Donna, and as Wilf said... she was better with the Doctor, and I don't mean because she gained Time Lord thoughts. She came into her own while traveling with the Doctor. We watched a companion who received horrified responses when it was announced she'd be joining the cast full time. So many people turned around, admitting they were pleasantly surprised about her. And even though I was excited about the Tennant-Tate pairing, having loved TRB and the Red Nose Day timing between them... I was also surprised at how moving Tate was as Donna during her emotional bits.
I loved having a companion who wasn't the picture-perfect early 20's girl. Really did. Loved having someone who was stuck at that middle age crossroads, not knowing what to do with her life - and yet she manages to find herself through traveling in space and time.
The fact that she is remembered on so many worlds (both seen on screen and in book and possible future radio adventures) makes me feel better while I mourn her.
So this time, my sadness is much more for Donna than Rose here. Rose is okay - she still has her family, she'll continue fighting and surviving and being the tough, stubborn woman she's been.
Donna has lost everything. To me, much more tragic. As my husband said "Honestly, it would have been better that she died." Living without the knowledge of who you actually are? Horrific.
Still - a great episode. One I know I will watch over and over again. And in time, I'll probably develop a lot more thoughts about it as I get all of the other nuances in it.
Off to watch the Confidential. And then probably the episode again at least a couple times before bed. :)