And because I'm still spazzing over 'Turn Left'
The Good (aside from the fact that the whole thing was kind of a riff on Father's Day, which isn't really a bad thing 'cos it was done so well.)
1. Oh DONNA. How I love thee and I don't even need to count the ways. Mouthy, obstreperous, courageous, terrified, selfish, selfless, funny, optimistic, bitter. Even in a world where 'The Runaway Bride' never happened, even in a world where she's so ostensibly an 'everywoman' you can totally see her suitability as a companion. If 'Midnight' was all about the evil that men do, 'Turn Left' was about the individual's ability to make a difference. Donna might not be able to change the world by shouting, but godammit, she's going to try. And whether or not her shouting is induced through selfish fear at her increasingly narrowing life and lack of control or through the realization that soldiers deporting Rocco and Co. to 'labour camps' is not a good thing, it doesn't matter. Donna's in a position of powerlessness throughout the episode, and her only weapon is her voice. It might be ineffectual, it might not be spurred on by the best of motives, but whichever way you cut it, she's not going gently into the night. And I totally love her for that alone. Although the close runner up is her brilliant reaction to entering the TARDIS...
- and again, Catherine Tate is just magnificent. And I will thump anyone who says otherwise. The stand-out scene is of course the one in the circle of mirrors, but the moment when Donna realizes that 'there's no war. there's just this...', that her remaining life could be lived out in the kitchen of a crowded house, jobless and downtrodden is beautifully realized. And much as I liked Billie Piper's take on Rose this time around (as opposed to much of Season 2), Catherine just wiped the floor with her in the acting stakes. (To be fair, Catherine wiped the floor with pretty much everybody, but again, the difference between a very confident actress and one who might be still finding her feet seemed rather pronounced this episode.)
2. Sylvia and Wilf - should have their own little Mike Leighesque film - both were subtly fleshed out in ways that brought them (if a bit late in the game) up to Jackie Tyler territory. I loved Wilf's antlers at Christmas, (plus Bernard Cribbins' distinctive speech patterns really make the character) and sturdy reaction to the nightmare situation and Sylvia's increasing hopelessness, from remembering dead acquaintances to agreeing that her daughter is a disappointment - which was heartbreaking but rang true.
3. Rose. Interesting. Very, very interesting. I know there's been griping about Rose's accent having changed - that didn't bother me that much given that it's supposed to be a few years later/the character's changed substantially etc. In fact, she's changed so much, she's almost an entirely different character... my personal canon is holding out for the hopes that the changes are due to some sort of 'Bad Wolf' residue altering her personality entirely and making her into the finale's Big Bad Wolf instead. (My canon is based entirely upon Rose's line about 'Thought it was just the Doctor we needed. But it's not, it's both of you..' Who's 'we' and what do they need Donna and the Doctor for? Is it just Alt!timeline Rose and Unit needing them to help save all the universes/worlds etc? Or is something else being set up?...)
Can't decide if the line about the Doctor having' Great hair. Some really great hair.' rang true to the character or whether it was intended as a cheeky little metacomment - either way it was cute.
4. And the last scene: Second meetings and coincidences and bindings (did anyone else think of the biodamper from The Runaway Bride?); the shock of being surrounded by writing all saying 'Bad Wolf' - the power of names again. (And why wouldn't Rose tell Donna her name? Does the 'Rose Tyler' that we know and love still exist, or is she solely the Bad Wolf? All grist to my tottering theory mill.); the TARDIS all taken over and glowing red - shades of the Paradox Machine, yes? And what was that bell at the end? And what's with the focus on names, identities, and power?
And the Not-So-Good can be summed up in one line: Rusty really, really needs to have a think about the subtexts that are coming up in his writing of non-British/non-white characters - pretty much the only false notes of the show for me.
So many questions, so many hare-brained theories...roll on next Saturday!