Is the episode title still a spoiler?
Overall, very busy, but better than I was expecting by quite a way. It carried itself along on its own momentum pretty well. (Trying not to remember that I liked "Sound of Drums", too.)
Too tired for coherent thoughts, but here are some points!
Harriet Jones, kicking ass and taking names. She was right, and she always has been. Yay, Harriet. Yes, we know who you are.
Sarah Jane; I'm sorry Maria wasn't there, and the girlish giggle in response to Jack was a leetle much, but her acting was so good. I still would have killed to have seen her play the reunion with Christopher Eccleston. I know Tennant is a fanboy, and I did really enjoy their reunion, but I found it disruptive; Tennant played it as "oh, look, it's Sarah Jane from my telly" and not so much "my dear old friend, so much has happened since last we met."
Wilf, as always; facing death with a paint gun. You can see where Donna gets her "logic".
Donna, as always, but… Donna as Time Lady starts to gather credibility as we hear the "sound of drums". I want Donna to be human. I don't want her to be "magical". I want her to be that special because she's human and real. I'm okay with Wilf being a Time Lord, though.
Loved the CGI planets. Very pretty.
Martha and the TW team were there to move the plot along.
Rose. Hmmm. Not sure what I think yet. This Rose was so much more "Rose", I'm still thinking that perhaps Billie Piper isn't exactly playing Rose in "Turn Left". (If she was, the continuity break is noticeable.) I both liked and disliked that Rose could still be the petty, jealous little girl - liked, because she was recognizable; disliked because I would have thought that she'd have grown up a little. Still on the fence with this one, we'll have to see how it plays out.
This may have been David Tennant's best performance as the Doctor. He seemed a bit more restrained than usual. There was still eye-bugging and face-scrunching and an almost unintelligible mixture of mumbling and overenunciating, and he still has moments of wild overacting, but there were more quiet moments. They're such a relief. I can actually pay attention to the show when he's not jumping up and down for attention.
The big movie run toward each other? Kind of made me laugh (partially because David Tennant can't run for toffee). I figured someone would get hit, but it just didn't quite work for me as a romantic moment. I could see it with Nine and Rose, but Ten and Rose just do not give me the same feeling. It seems so...juvenile between them, it always has. I feel the age gap with them more, because it's really a power gap, and I feel like Ten is still investing in her as a symbol, as a reflection, not as a partner. Still uneasy about that relationship.
So, regeneration? Sigh. I certainly hope so. Not just for obvious reasons, but because anything they do to get out of it is going to be a cop-out, another big reset. Wanna bet the time pocket has something to do with it? What about that "key" that Martha is absolutely, positively not supposed to use but which was given to her with such an overload of "don't touch this" warnings and close-ups? The hand is bubbling, and so the rumour of two Tens seems terrifyingly possible.
If they do manage to pull a regeneration without it getting out, that would be a miracle by the BBC. And while I've heard rumours of David Morrissey, I'm not thrilled, but I'd take him over James Nesbitt any day. Nesbitt may be the one actor who'd irritate me more than Tennant, even though he's technically superior.
All in all, the best finale set-up they've had since S1. I don't think they'll be able to top it on the emotional front, but at this point, I'll be happy if it's just not too embarrassing!