Doctor Who 3.13: Last of the Time Lords
Um, wow.
Wow.
That was an amazing episode :-)
The last thing that I was expecting was that "A Year Later" sign. I'd assumed that we'd pick up where we left off and the Master would be defeated before he could do any damage. Once I realised what was going on, I knew they'd have to find a way to reverse time so that none of it had happened, but I still didn't expect it.
I also completely fell for Martha when she was telling the professor about the gun in multiple parts that could kill a Time Lord. No, I don't know why I believed it either. I think it was the absolute conviction that she used when she was talking about it, even though the idea is pretty ridiculous, that convinced me.
Plus it's a plot that appears over and over in other shows and books. Heh. Rusty, you used our experience with great quests and weapons scattered through space against us! You lovely person, you :-)
The entire plot, the reason why they had to wait for a year, was brilliant. Using the Master's own telepathic control system against him was great and that moment when everyone was thinking about the Doctor, although a little hokey, really worked in the context of the show.
There are far too many things to squee about so I may have to do a second reaction post later in the week :-)
One thing that they did, that wasn't stated but worked because of its subtlety, was Lucy Saxon. The artfully covered bruises and look of barely suppressed terror was something that you had to watch for. Nobody talked about what the Master was doing to her, it was all in the visuals. Possibly out of all the people on that ship, she was the one with the most reason to hate the man.
When I first watched it, I assumed that she shot him because of what he had done to her, but now I'm not so sure. I am certain that he hasn't gone for good. He may have refused to regenerate when he was dying, but I'm wondering whether it was just that he refused to regenerate immediately. The Master will always find a way to get out of a situation. We know that Rusty accepts the movie as canon. In the movie, the Doctor doesn't regenerate immediately. In fact, it appears to be several hours later during which he is completely dead. It's not entirely out of the realms of possibility that the Master waited, planning to to regenerate after the Doctor had disposed of his body. I doubt that funeral pyre generated enough heat to completely vaporise the body, after all, and nothing in canon sets a limit on the damage a Time Lord body can suffer before being unable to regenerate.
The scene towards the end, with a female hand picking up the Master's ring, can be interpreted in two ways. My initial thought was that the Master has regenerated as a female. Again, nothing in canon says that's impossible.
I have seen some speculation, though, that it could have been Lucy's hand we saw. Perhaps they had an agreement that she'd shoot him if it looked like he was done for and go back for him later? We won't know until next season at the earliest, but I'm pretty convinced that the Master isn't gone and we'll be seeing him again.
Yay!
And the Master 'dying' in the Doctor's arms - priceless. Rusty, you couldn't have made that entire relationship more slashy if you'd tried. Damn you.
Another stroke of excellence was the use of the humans from Utopia. I'd assumed that that story was just intended as the backdrop to the Master's return. Making them a central part of the Master's plot tied that episode much more tightly into the season and, in some ways, made it even more horrific.
I've been ignoring all spoilers for weeks so I wasn't expecting to see Martha decide to stay with her parents. I'm pretty sure that she'll be back at some stage - otherwise why would she have given the Doctor her phone? - but I'm now wondering whether we're going to have another new companion next year. I've enjoyed Martha a lot, yet at the same time I'd be quite happy to have another new companion, too. If RTD can resist the temptation to have an unrequited love thing going on with the next one, instead letting the chemistry do whatever it does naturally, I think that I'll be much happier. The reason that I loved the relationship between Rose and the Doctor was because there was so much chemistry on screen and yet neither of them ever actually said anything. It was all in the subtext, which really worked for them.
If RTD is sensible, he'll try something completely different with a new companion. Next season could be very interesting :-)
Lastly (for now), who didn't go "Oh, my god!" at that very final scene? Titanic! Heeeee :-)))
Is it nearly Christmas yet?