Initial thoughts...

[measi]

My husband, my housemate, and I were glued to the screen in near silence for an hour. We all enjoyed it... a lot, but we were rather contemplative and soft-spoken once it ended as we gave our initial thoughts.

Comments

[kalleah]

I am satisfied with the episode and I think I'm going to be more so once I've had some time to dwell on it and rewatch.

Blue!Ten is the Doctor. He thinks of himself as the Doctor; he has the Doctor's memories; he loves Rose. He isn't exactly the Doctor, but he is, in a way. He's also part Donna, and that's lovely, too.

As for Donna ... I think she would have chosen to die rather than lose her memories, but Ten didn't let her make that choice.

[measi]

Blue!Ten is the Doctor. He thinks of himself as the Doctor; he has the Doctor's memories; he loves Rose. He isn't exactly the Doctor, but he is, in a way. He's also part Donna, and that's lovely, too.

Exactly. It's honestly a beautiful way to end it, and shows how much the Doctor-point-one loves Rose - he entrusts her with himself, to save him and make him better all over again.

This time with slightly added Donna!fire. :)

As for Donna ... I think she would have chosen to die rather than lose her memories, but Ten didn't let her make that choice.

And again, I think that's the alienness of him. Did it even occur to him to let her have a choice? He moved far too quickly to allow the opportunity.

But was it him being selfish, thinking he was preventing her from dying like (as Davros reminded him) all of those people who sacrificed themselves for his cause?

The irony being that she still does, and he forces her to.

[chloris]

Sure, it's a bit cold for him to leave her in that parallel world with her mum, hurrying back to the TARDIS.

It *was* cold. He can't get out fast enough. But he knows that he's leaving her with himself, him 10.5, but still him. And this is a him who belongs with Rose, which he knows he doesn't.

The fact that she is remembered on so many worlds (both seen on screen and in book and possible future radio adventures) makes me feel better while I mourn her.

This does help. It also helps to remember that time in the Whoverse is a big timey wimey ball, so she's out there right now being awesome. I like that thought.

[goblynn]

I'm generally content with how it wrapped up--not perfectly content, mind you, but an overall satisfaction

[jedi_of_urth]

I'm upset with Rose's ending on some levels, but saddened by Donna's on just about all levels, there is no good in her ending, just...blankness. Actually it upset me a lot on the Doctor's behalf almost as much as Donna. He's had companions left without memory of him before, but this time he had to do it, he had to take away everything she was and all they were, and that...makes it even worse, and it's pretty bad to start with.

I'm probably going to wind up doing a lot of bitching about Rose's end, but Donna's (and the Doctor's) was what made me cry.

[ascendant_angel]

My initial thoughts over this are conflicting. As I've said it my journal I got everything I'd ever hoped for but yet also everything I'd ever feared.

Donna got to live, but at what cost? All her memories all she became. This saddens me a great deal.

Rose and the Doctor got to be together, but also not without cost, our Doctor is still alone, having to give up Rose again, and giving her up to his alt self that must be hard. I think he left so quick to make it easier on Rose she would have cried that bit harder if she had seen our original Doctor all broken up over the thought of leaving her again.

Like you said though I'm happy that she has a purpose of not only saving the wold but being entrusted by the Doctor to look after and heal his alt self. At least he knows she happy now.

It really was the best ending I could hope for the Doctor and Rose got to be together and Donna didn't die, but still I can't help but feel sad.

[measi]

You're supposed to feel sad, though. This episode doesn't have a neat and tidy ending, and honestly that's what's so great (and courageous) about it. It's not the neat and tidy ending. Honestly - it couldn't be. This is Doctor Who we're talking about.

Donna's ending bothers me. Disturbs me much deeper than Rose's does in every respect, because it is a death - without her physical form dying. I find that horrific.

But because I find it horrific, I consider the episode a success. It projected the emotions and the impact it wanted to.