This is not what I was supposed to be writing

[redbrickrose]

Ummm, I watched the new Dr Who episode. And this is in lieu of a reaction post, I guess. Random untitled ficlet, about 500 words.

Comments

[honorh]

To get the negative out of the way--argh, I hate Mary Sue! I hate her existence, and I hate that any woman on television who's attractive and shows any kind of capability or personality gets tarred with her brush. *Jack* is by far the worst Mary Sue that ever came on DW, but he's male, so he gets a pass. So would Lord Christian de Souza, probably, but we'll never know.

But that's another rant.

You nailed exactly why I think Christina would've been a bad choice for a companion. The Doctor needs someone who thrives on danger and adventure--anyone who doesn't would lose her head in an emergency, and that's the kind of liability he can't afford. However, he also needs someone to balance him out, to restrain him when he goes too far. Rose, Martha and Donna could do that; Christina wouldn't even see the danger he poses until it was too late. She's a thrill-seeker. While Rose, Martha and Donna also betrayed excitement at new and scary situations, that wasn't the whole reason they signed on. Christina and the Doctor share an awful lot of the same blind spots--and that's the last thing he needs. I think that made it easier for him to turn her away. So, excellent response.

[redbrickrose]

Oh, I agree with you about Mary Sue - and that the label is far overused. In Christina's case, I do think that it's intentional. She's supposed to be something of a cipher. She's a mirror of the Doctor's blind spots. That's why we don't know anything about her background except that she's Lady Christina de Souza, to highlight the ways she parallels him. But you're right - if it had been a male character, the Mary Sue label wouldn't be being used.

Thank you so much! Yeah, Rose, Donna and Martha were always having fun too, but they also knew when to stop, when too much was too much. For Christina, I think there's no such thing as "too much." I almost wanted him to take her; they'd be fun to watch together - but I think it also would have ended up being a fairly dark arc.