Doctor Who 4x13 - "Journey's End" - running commentary, quick reactions

[timepiececlock]

DOCTOR:*GLOWY HAND POINTING TO GLOWY HAND*
DOCTOR: "Now, where were we?"
...Wow, that was anticlimactic. I don't know whether to be disappointed or to be delighted that it was SUCH an audience tease. I mean, that was so blatant of a tease that I feel more admiration than annoyance. ::tentative applause:: Good on you, show. Way to make 'em want it then yank out the rug in short time. Record time for a DW fix-it, actually. Very in keeping with the spirit of the season.

JACKIE: "Jackie Tyler, Rose's mom. Now where the hell is my daughter?"
OH JACKIE I HAVE MISSED YOU AND YOUR JACKIENESS. Does this mean we will finally get Jackie Tyler + Captain Jack scenery?

DOCTOR: "I didn't need to change, why would I? Look at me. So I..."
Hmmm... does this mean, in the longer canon sense, that the Doctor is gaining more control over his regeneration process? I'm told that Romana had more control over hers whereas the Doctor usually regenerated because of trauma and thus could rarely control the process. But if he can now (assisted by the hand), then what does that mean for the character? Though I suppose if his damage was minimal enough that a partial fix-it was possible then a full replacement would be unnecessary.

AWWW HUGS. HUGS AND MORE HUGS. Damn though, that kills the "twinning" theory with the duplicate hand. I rather liked that speculation.

DONNA: "You can hug me if you want."
JACK: "Heheh."
DONNA: "No really, you can hug me."
OMG, is Donna the first person Jack ISN'T going to hit on?

ROSE: "Basically we've been building this travel machine...this dimension canon so I could...Well, so I could..."
DOCTOR: "What..."
ROSE: *sheepish* "Well...So I could come back."
DOCTOR: *smirks* Hehhmm.
ROSE: "Shut up." *smiling*
DOCTOR: "You want me so bad."
ROSE: "Oh get over it."
DOCTOR: "You waaaaaaant me la la la la."
ROSE: *jumps him*

I love the teasing of this exchange. The Doctor looks ridiculously pleased with himself, like he just got a great surprise that should not have been a surprise at all. Yeah, he chooses his companions well. And he's forgotten just how awesome and determined Rose is. Didn't he learn from season 1 and Bad Wolf? No one puts Rose Tyler in a corner, not even him, and not the multiverse either.

DONNA: "But why me? What have I ever done?" Aside from her insecurity, Donna has a lot in common with Rose in season 1. But she's taken longer than Rose did to accept the idea that she could be special, or become special.

Donna's heartbeat... oh wow, she really IS a Time Lady, isn't she?

DALEK: "The last child of Gallifrey is powerless." But he's not, is he? He's not the last child.

DR. HAND: *glows*
RASHAKA: *SQUEES*

DONNA: "It's you."
DOCTOR: "Oh yes."
DONNA: "You're naked."
DOCTOR: "Oh yes."
RASHAKA: You were twinned!
DOCTOR: "Oh yes."

Handholding! Oh, I waited for the handporn. Yes, I did. So... the question is now: what is Donna's connection to the golden Time Lord energy? How did she know? I think the hand syphoned off energy from her, because she's a Time Lady, and in a way created a twin Doctor from Donna's energy and the Doctor's own energy. Does that mean he has part of Donna in him? Also, did he use up one of his lives or not? I'm going to guess not, given that this is a franchise.

JACK: "Then feel this!" Oh Jack, you are a bright little thing, aren't you?

DONNA: "Lop a bit off, grown another one? You're like worms!" Heheheehee.

DOCTOR: "I grew...out of you. Still, it could be worse."
DONNA: "Hey, watch it Space Man!"
DOCTOR: "Watch it Earth Girl!"

DOCTOR: "I've got one heart." Wow, rabid1st really WAS right with her speculation.

DONNA: "Like you're human?"
DOCTOR: "Oh that's disgusting."
DONNA: "Oi!"
DOCTOR: "Oi!"

They're really going with the family and "children" thing this season, aren't they? Children of Adipose. The Bee Alien was someone's son. The Doctor's daughter Jenny. Donna's children in the library dreamscape. The children of Davros vs. the children of Time. And now this Doctor that is part made from Donna.

DAVROS: "He did more than that. He saw Time. The infinite complexity..." Like Rose, then? Like the Doctor and the Master and all the Time Lords.

DOCTOR: "Testing of what?"
DAVROS: "The Reality Bomb."
DOCTOR: "You mean that thing that happens when a person is, say, for example, running toward their true love in full sprint and they get shot in the chest by a passing-by alien? That kind of reality bomb?"
DAVROS: "Cheeky."
ROSE: "You have no idea."
DOCTOR: "Cause, that kind of reality bomb is, well, very uncool. "
ROSE: "Time and place, Doctor."
DOCTOR: " 'M just saying. That kind of thing can really get a bloke down. You've got dreams, and expectations---"
ROSE: "I'll hug you later just please shut up!"

It's a good thing I looked up "apotheosis" when I was watching Babylon 5. ... I don't see what the good is in dissolving humans. There's far less complicated ways to kill us. Although... this looked strikingly similar to what Bad Wolf Rose did to the Daleks in "The Parting of the Ways".

DAVROS: "THE DESTRUCTION OF REALITY ITSELF!" Wouldn't it be more satisfying just to go around insulting everyone in alphabetical order? About the same amount of math is required, and you get that extra personal enjoyment out of it. Still... this Dalek goal of being the only life form... it's very Krikkit of them.

PEOPLE OF KRIKKIT DALEKS to THE UNIVERSE: "It'll have to go."

JACK: And that's Beefcake.
MICKEY: And that's enough hugging.
JACK: What? You don't love me anymore? But I thought I was your favorite. You said I was your favorite, back on that lonely night, on Frogstar World B, when you...
MICKEY: Raincheck?

DAVROS: "You take ordinary people and transform them into weapons." Yes, but that's only a half-truth. And a half-truth is just a lie that hasn't the guts to own up. Because the Doctor doesn't just make people "better" and he doesn't just make them "soldiers". He makes them more. Of everything.

DAVROS: "How many have died in your name?"
The tree woman! YES! I loved her! I'm glad they mentioned her, and these others too. Ooh, and the Hostess from "Midnight," though she was plenty soldiered up before the Doctor came... she was the first to suggest throwing the posessed woman outside and in the end she carried it out.

DALEK: "TRANSMAT ENGAGE!"
MARTHA: "Sonnofbuggerfuckundomesticateequine! You jerks, you cheated!"
DOCTOR: "That's what I said! I mean, breaking through the most potent time lock in the history of the UNIVERSE to get to the time war to rescue this asshole that no one really liked anyway and then turning into a prophet too? They totally cheated."
MARTHA: "Not helping."

DAVROS: "Destroy the weapon!" Well, I knew the gun wasn't going to work. When he first brought it out, I thought, "Wait? A gun? No, that's not right." And then when I saw Doctor2 running full out I knew it wouldn't work. Besides, why couldn't he shoot first from the door way? Why run up like a target? Obviously he doesn't understand the purpose of a projectile weapon anyway.

DONNA: "That button there?" We love ::heart:: Donna, yes we do. And you totally found yourself, didn't you? Ahh.. so you're not a Time Lady born, but became one? Good. That means your family is real, and you don't lose that connection.

I like that DOCTOR DONNA is basically exactly the same except that now her sass is real instead of bluff. Also, interesting that this makes another parallel between Donna and Rose: both taken on some aspect of the Time Lords, and use it to save the world. Also, I notice that Catherine Tate is talking like Ten, the same way David Tennant[Dr2] is talking like Donna.

Donna got his mind, and he got her heart? ::stares at slow buffering count:: Damn you, why won't you load faster? I keep having to pause in the middle of the climax!

ROSE: "So there's three of you? Three Doctors?"
JACK: "I can't tell you what I'm thinking right now."
MICKEY: "Carpool?"
JACK: "In a manner of speaking."

RASHAKA: "Oh Jack, must you shoot the glowy lazer gun from your penis area?"
JACK: "What d'you mean? Where else do glowy lazers shoot from?"

DONNA: "Just wait for the Doctor!"
BLUE DOCTOR: "I am the Doctor." YAY! A proper twinning, indeed. John Chricton sympathizes, somewhere out there beneath the pale moonlight.

If it was that easy to make them all explode, why didn't they do this earlier, in the Time War?

DAVROS: "I name you forever! You are the Destroyer of Worlds!" Well, that's a mean thing to say to an immortal. Hmm... BrownDoctor's natural reaction to huge megadeath is always "OH NOES!" but if these two had switched positions I honestly think the result would have been the same. I hope the show doesn't try to turn this into an "I wouldn't have done it!" thing because Ten in ANY form would so do it. And he can't really lie to himself, can he? Besides... the Doctor wasn't split, and it's not like there's half and half. The Doctor was duplicated, twinned, replicated. Regenerated from the same genetic code and same thoughts as Ten was... from Nine, from Eight, and so on. He's got only one heart and some of Donna in him, but I don't think Donna would pull the trigger as easily as Ten, so I doubt her influence did it.

DALEK CAAN: "ONE WILL STILL DIIIIEEEEE!"
EVERYONE ELSE: "Good god, are you still here?"

Gewn Cooper? Like, Gwen the psychic who gave her life in 1x03? BADASS. Is it the same actress, or just the same name?

The planet-dragging shaking thing is beyond ridiculous, but hey, it's DW not the Nova channel.

I love this full out reunion of companions. It's so fun, and I like that it wraps nicely with the theme of the Doctor's influence on people (good or bad) instead of feeling too cheesy. I think it's cute that BlueDoctor and Donna are watchin' from the side and smiling like a pair of siblings. Also, YAY EVERYONE IS HAPPY! For once. It's good to have my happy show back. I love angst but DW should make me happy after watching. It's my happy fun space time show.

Donna shoving Sarah Jane aside to glomp Jack is hilarious. I almost missed it, and Sara Jane's "whaaa?" expression is priceless.

SARAH JANE: "You act like such a lonely man. But look at you, you've got the biggest family on Earth."
That's because he's a woobie, Sarah Jane. Can't be helped. And, I'm pretty sure I've got more cousins than the number of people in the TARDIS. ::counts:: Yeah. I do. Sorry Doctor.

I'm really, really glad we got to see Mickey and Jackie saying goodbye. They could have cut that for time but they didn't, they kept it, and I appreciate it.

MICKEY: *walks past, gives a finger*
DOCTOR: "Hey! Where's the love dude?"
MICKEY: "Let's just get this over with, I'm too cool for these things."
DOCTOR: "Since when are you cool?"
MICKEY: "Since you made my girlfriend a superhero and she made me a superhero too. See, I'm a really amazingly together guy, now. I know where my towel is."
DOCTOR: "Where is it?"
MICKEY: "...In another dimension."
DOCTOR: "Oh yeah, you're a real frood."

MARTHA+JACK+MICKEY= ONE TRUE ACTION THREESOME!

Is he just going to leave Jackie & party on some random beach in Norway? I somehow doubt there's a car waiting for them.

ROSE: "UM WTF?" I am kind of agreeing with Rose here, it's rude to just dump her with a babysitting job.

BLUE DOCTOR: "You made me."
BROWN DOCTOR: "Exactly, you were born in battle, full of blood and anger and revenge."
RASHAKA: "Oh, I guess you really can be that sanctimonious. Also, I don't think it's quite the same level of damage here. For one, the Blue Doctor still had the prior benefits of Rose's Magical Healing Presence. Which is, again, much like Donna's."

BROWN DOCTOR: "Remind you of someone?" HAH! Confirmation, I believe, that Eight really did push The Button, and Nine was "born in battle." It's nice to have that clarified. Worth noting: Nine was a more compassionate Doctor than Ten, in the end, despite all his anger. He didn't pull the trigger, but Ten2 did.

BROWN DOCTOR: "You were born of anger and are reverting back to how I was three years ago! Except that you have all my memories of Rose and Martha and Donna making me a better person, so really you're not like Nine at all... except that you are! Because I say you must be! And you need to be fixed!"
RASHAKA: "What, like YOU wouldn't have done it? Oh please. Ring the other one, it has bells on."


ROSE: "But he's not you."
BROWN DOCTOR: "He needs you. That's very me."
RASHAKA: "I don't even know what to make of that statement."

ROSE: "But, no, it's still not right."
RASHAKA: "Go, Rose! Don't let him control this ending. Go girl! That's what you do!"

BROWN DOCTOR: "Does it need saying?"
Oh David Tennant, you break my fucking heart. That's it, broken right there. This is like the happy but also really freaking sad ending. You'll still have to let her go, because why again? Oh, right, because the show must go on. But: "Yes, you ass, it does need saying."


*DOCTOR - ROSE - DOCTOR ON THE BEACH*
ROSE: "Why rush off? This has possibilities!"
RASHAKA: "This is whacked."

I'm not sure if it's good or bad, but it's certainly something. Also, props to DT for really working on the twistedness of the scene. And then there's the kissing, and he's run away, like he always does from the things he can't bear to witness.

Damn, the Doctor looks depressed. He kinda played the Bad Cop / Good Cop on the beach, didn't he? And he was the Bad Cop. To Rose. And now he's losing Donna (his second Healer) the same day. He's going to get all heartbroken again, all torn up inside.

So... I'm guessing that what happened with Donna is not the same as with Rose and the Tardis energy, because the Doctor can't take his regeneration energy out of Donna. The gold-coloring of both energies makes that somewhat confusing. He should have regenerated green or something. ...Damn, Catherine Tate is really a fantastic actress.

Oh shit, he is taking it back. You arrogant ass. Well, I'm just really glad that RTD didn't kill her. I was concerned.

DOCTOR: "If she remembers, just for a second, she'll burn up." So now she's a fobwatched Time Lord who isn't. Hm.

DOCTOR: "There are people out there, living in the light, and singing songs of Donna Noble." The Ood!

DOCTOR. IN THE RAIN.: "They've all got someone else."
RASHAKA: *snort* Rain anvil much?
WILFRED: "Hey, man. I'll be your friend. Take a sad song, and make it better."
DOCTOR: *sniffle* Do you want... come with me?
WILFRED: "I'll be your friend...from down here."
DOCTOR: "Right, of course. Naturally. As you should be. Sorry."
WILFRED: *AWKWARD*

And another season ends with the Doctor standing alone in the Tardis, depressed. He lost both his Healers this time: the woman he still loves and his best mate. Kind of a sad cap to this being the Doctor's relatively happy, angst-free season.

This ending is going to take some chewing over. I'll probably give a long discussion post about it later, or something. Or possibly two or three. I also have to watch the Confidential, tomorrow morning. I can say that I felt a little emotionally suckerpunched by having the beach scene and THEN the Donna scenes directly after. Especially since DT and Tate really play off each other well in the dramatic moments, and yank on your heartstrings. Not that my heartstrings weren't yanked when Blue Doctor leaned over and whispered in Rose's ear. Frankly, my heartstrings are a bit all over the place right now. I don't know if I'll ever have a single solid opinion about the way Dr/R was resolved, because there was a lot of a good and a lot of bad there, but almost all of it felt necessary. I guess that makes it a good scene? I just feel a bit emotionally drained.

Overall: A strong ending episode to a strong season! Sure to keep the fans chatting and arguing and debating for a long time.

Comments

[bailunrui.livejournal.com]

I absolutely love your commentary. :)

[rashaka.livejournal.com]

Thanks! Writing them really stretches out the viewing time, but it helps me keep my thoughts organized.

[mswyrr]

RASHAKA: "Oh, I guess you really can be that sanctimonious. Also, I don't think it's quite the same level of damage here. For one, the Blue Doctor still had the prior benefits of Rose's Magical Healing Presence. Which is, again, much like Donna's."

Also! BlueDoc only killed all the Daleks in the universe, he didn't kill his own species. And, really, I think that destroying Gallifrey is what really messed the Doctor up, not killing a bunch of homicidal pepperpots. Perhaps I underestimate his love for all forms of life, but... I doubt it.

Ten in any form would wipe out the Daleks every single time, because he's got that experience of the Time War. It's a couple earlier Doctors who'd really flinch at that, imo.

[rashaka.livejournal.com]

Wiping out all the Daleks, without harming other races? Even Nine would have done that. The reason Nine didn't flip the switch was that he'd also have to kill his favorite pet species, and he just couldn't cope with the genocide of TWO races again, especially the humans which are bystanders to the Time War.

[mswyrr]

I know I could do it without feeling a qualm; they're a species perfectly designed for survival, and perfectly designed for not creating empathy in most creatures capable of such a thing.

Fuck, there are probably Buddhist monks that would destroy the fuckers.