Epilogue: Doctor Who thoughts
An essay on the Doctor's relationship with Rose
I was thinking about 1x13 this morning and reflecting on the series and I thought back to squintyt4e's somewhat [I think that might be generous! ;)]negative reaction to the implied "Doctor in love with Rose" scenario in 1x10 (squintyt4e wrote: "The Doctor crazy in love with Rose. Wonderous! I can't wait until they start showing them out for dates and oh joy, the end of the season kissing scene outside the TARDIS as the sun goes down...."
The Doctor we've seen through RTD's re-imagination of Doctor Who has been a different sort from the past. No more quirky Doctor costumes (hats, scarves, cricket outfits, blah blah), wobbly sets, and slower pace. Instead we have high production values that are in keeping with what a 21st century audience expects from it's SF, a Doctor that dresses like a normal bloke in jumper and leather jacket, and a fast-paced series with stand-alone eps intermingled with 2 parters, huge character development, and a series-long arc.
We also got a Doctor who is in love with his Companion, Rose Tyler. This, according to Stephen Moffat in Doctor Who Confidential 10: Weird Science: "obviously and quite overtly, really, the subtext of this show is that the Doctor is hopelessly in love with Rose." This is a huge deviation from the past, where Companions were just that--companions, along for the ride. They were often strays, chance travelers on a wild journey. Often in jeopardy, sometimes quite clever, sometimes quite cool, sometimes quite whiny, but nothing more than good pals.(I have no recollection of the Paul McGann film, so dunno what happened there).
So from a character context, why does this enormous shift in Doctor Who mythology take place? Why do we see for the first time a Doctor who is in love? Why does this make sense for the character?
What I realized this morning is frightfully simple, so simple that it's probably been said before by others, and probably will seem very self-evident once I've said. You might think, well, duh!
The destruction of Gallifrey is why the Doctor is in love with Rose.
This is a huge part of the Doctor's character arc through the entire season: this Doctor has lost his homeworld and his entire people, throughout all of time. Gone, forever, and at his hand. He was there, he watched it happen. He thought and hoped that it was worth it if it meant an end to the Time War, and an end to their great enemy, the Daleks. An end to destruction by a nearly unbeatable nemesis through time and the universe. The destruction of Gallifrey was to save the world.
So now we see him, a man apart more than ever before, utterly alone in the universe. He is capable of seeing all things that were and that are and that will be in the universe. And he's apparently just regenerated when we see him in the beginning of Rose, so he's getting used to a whole new self. This is going to lead to a bit of vulnerability even with someone with "such a big brain" as the Doctor, and in a crisis he runs smack-dab into Rose. At first I don't think he had the best impression of her, but obviously that changes dramatically by the end of the episode when she not only saves his life but saves Earth. And not through dumb luck or chance but through an act of blind courage because as she says in 1x13, "You don't just give up. You don't just let things happen." If she had cowered there with Mickey, the world would have ended, the Doctor would have ended and that would have been the end of that.
Clearly, he's impressed and intrigued, and he invites her to join him. And he looks so disappointed when she turns him down at first! At first I think it was as un4scene has said, that he is attracted to her youth and innocence. He is an old soul, and he has just emerged from a terrible trauma that clearly haunts him, and having someone like Rose around is a joy to fill the gaping void. He wants to impress her. So he takes her beyond anything she could ever have imagined to the End of the World. However, I don't think he realized how this might affect her--having to see her world destroyed, at the end of its time. I think it's in this episode that he begins to fall for her, that his affection for her blindsides even his crusty old soul. And of course this snowballs throughout the series with critical moments in WWIII and Dalek.
But then comes Father's Day, and the Doctor is so angry at her for breaking the rules, for changing history ("stupid ape"), that he threatens to leave her. And Rose says something very important for us: "I know how sad you are!" (paraphrased) She knows how important she is to him even if she doesn't realize that he's in love with her. She knows he won't leave her. Their bond isn't the traditional "in love" that we are accustomed to: it's something else, something stronger and deeper built on profound trust as well as affection and camaraderie. But nonetheless it is love, and not the friendly kind either.
In the PotW, he sends her back in the TARDIS partly because he promised Jackie to try to keep her safe, and also because I don't think he could face having her shining light quenched in a dark future, because of him.It was what fueled him in PotW: knowing that she would be safe, that she wouldn't be part of his legacy of death and destruction. He obviously had thought about and prepared for this scenario by creating the hologram message. Clearly he also had an inkling of the effect his death might have on her...
In the end, it's Rose who takes the brave, blind chance, not knowing what will happen, but in a desperate attempt to help the man who has cared for her and who she has cared for in return. Like the first episode, she saves the world. But she also saves the Doctor: "I want you safe. My doctor." There is speculation that it is the TARDIS speaking through Rose at the end, but I don't think so. If the TARDIS had wanted to save the Doctor, it could have done. But it took the will of Rose to unite with the Time Vortex, to channel that awesome power and come back for the Doctor. Oh, and save the world, too. ;)
Which leads to their kiss.
squintyt4e tells me that "I will admit that I rolled my eyes during the big kiss, but realized it was for the transfer of the vortex (and to give the folks what they wanted) and came to terms with it." He also tells me that "the doctor has done things before and transferred energy, etc. without needing to smooch."
Yes, true, the kiss was not necessary to save Rose's life. But it was necessary for the Doctor's character arc. I think he knew what might happen if he tried to absorb the energy of the Time Vortex. That would be the end. So here it comes, last chance. If they'd had more time, we might have seen their relationship evolve differently, we might have seen a kiss or not (RTD has apparently stated that if we saw a kiss, the show would be over. Clearly, he meant what he said!LOL), but for certain their relationship would have grown. We never have the chance to see that further growth, we only have this final moment between them: a kiss followed by the tenderness of laying Rose down on the floor and stroking her face. And in that gesture we see everything unspoken, everything longed for and unsaid, all the affection that has developed over thirteen episodes. We see Love. And at the end, Rose knows it. She knows how much he cares for her, how much he enjoyed her.
If you've read this far, I can only apologize for the length! I sort of rambled off, I think, and I'm not even sure I captured all my thoughts. Please let me know what you think--agree, disagree, but of course tell me why! :)