On Endings
Jul. 6th, 2008 09:39 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
laneroseWith spoilers like woah for Season 4 of Doctor Who, in particular Journey's End, beginning under the cut.
I can't remember where I heard it now, but watching Doctor Who Confidential reminded me of a saying: to be successful, an ending must be both surprising and inevitable. For me, I'm not sure if Journey's End does or doesn't make the cut. On the one hand, those of you who saw my theories (which may now go into a truly epic AU fanfic if I ever have that much time on my hands) will know that I was a bit surprised by how things went. The regeneration cop out that they pulled - and come on, we were all pretty sure it'd be a cop out - was one I'd struck down mentally as too obvious. Then again, I like my plots as twisty and convoluted as I can get them, which is why I usually need someone to remind me to keep it simple. ANYWAY, two minutes in it became clear that they weren't going to be hitting a huge rewind switch, which is probably better on the whole because I was rather fond of Martha and Donna, and I like that we got to keep both of their stories. Surprising somewhat, inevitable... not as much.
The DoctorDonna was both pure brilliance and pure wtf-ery, because wow fuzzy science but wow really neat tie up to that plotline. On the one hand, oh bejeebus how many companions do they need to alter the genetics of. On the other hand, Donna kicking ass is so much love. Actually, Donna in generally is so much love. She's just fabulous, really. Anyway, mostly surprising, and surprisingly rather inevitable. Cheers.
Davros and the Daleks seemed extremely one dimensional and almost cartoon-y as villains here. Also, no return of the Time Lords. Both surprising and sadly inevitable. ;_;
Jack, Mickey, Jackie, Sarah Jane, and Martha as destroyers was inevitable but not surprising. On the other hand, my inner fangirl glowed with glee at seeing them all on one set. You can tell from DW Confidential that they all get along really well together too (I can picture both how much fun they had and how much their crew was ready to kill them all) which probably is what gives them such excellent on screen chemistry, though I could have done without Donna shoving Sarah Jane when they were all hugging and such.
Also, Mickey and Martha for new members of Torchwood, y/y? They'll slot in neatly. Surprising in Mickey's case, inevitable in Martha's, wonderful on the whole because I wanted more of both characters.
Rose. Oh, Rose. She didn't really do much in this episode, did she? Got sort of captured and kind of stood around, and then got left on a beach with clone!Ten. The first time I watched it, I was really, really annoyed with her for asking the Doctor and clone!Doctor what they were going to say, and more annoyed for her not kissing proper Ten when he asked if it really needed saying because frankly, I feel convinced that the answer to that was No. What made Doctor/Rose - and I'll admit, I'm not much on Ten/Rose for all that I did buy into Nine/Rose - but what made Doctor/Rose work was that neither of them ever had to say it because both of them already knew how they felt, knew why it couldn't work out, and chose to be happy with what they could have of each other. For me, there was something gloriously beautiful about that which even the question ruined. Second time through it bothered me less that she asked, but I still find that ending to that arc unsatisfying. Also, someone needs to hug Ten. A lot. Not a surprising end, but probably inevitable as a way to remove Rose from the show completely (or at least semi-permanently in a way that threw a bone to the die-hard shippers).
Speaking of not surprising but probably inevitable ends, Donna! At least she's not dead. But it still kind of sucked. Wilf, on the other hand, I am in complete love with in this episode - both surprising and inevitable he was.
So... yeah. I like that I was wrong about where the episode was going, because that made it more fun to watch... but I'm not sure that I really loved where it went, and I do regret the sort of wasted potentials. (Davros naming him Destroyer of Worlds? Please. I'd rather have the Time Lords giving the Doctor back his real name.) Next season'll be interesting, yeah?
ETA: And since I forgot to say it before: lack of Jack and Rose interaction made me sad. Really really sad. ;_;
I can't remember where I heard it now, but watching Doctor Who Confidential reminded me of a saying: to be successful, an ending must be both surprising and inevitable. For me, I'm not sure if Journey's End does or doesn't make the cut. On the one hand, those of you who saw my theories (which may now go into a truly epic AU fanfic if I ever have that much time on my hands) will know that I was a bit surprised by how things went. The regeneration cop out that they pulled - and come on, we were all pretty sure it'd be a cop out - was one I'd struck down mentally as too obvious. Then again, I like my plots as twisty and convoluted as I can get them, which is why I usually need someone to remind me to keep it simple. ANYWAY, two minutes in it became clear that they weren't going to be hitting a huge rewind switch, which is probably better on the whole because I was rather fond of Martha and Donna, and I like that we got to keep both of their stories. Surprising somewhat, inevitable... not as much.
The DoctorDonna was both pure brilliance and pure wtf-ery, because wow fuzzy science but wow really neat tie up to that plotline. On the one hand, oh bejeebus how many companions do they need to alter the genetics of. On the other hand, Donna kicking ass is so much love. Actually, Donna in generally is so much love. She's just fabulous, really. Anyway, mostly surprising, and surprisingly rather inevitable. Cheers.
Davros and the Daleks seemed extremely one dimensional and almost cartoon-y as villains here. Also, no return of the Time Lords. Both surprising and sadly inevitable. ;_;
Jack, Mickey, Jackie, Sarah Jane, and Martha as destroyers was inevitable but not surprising. On the other hand, my inner fangirl glowed with glee at seeing them all on one set. You can tell from DW Confidential that they all get along really well together too (I can picture both how much fun they had and how much their crew was ready to kill them all) which probably is what gives them such excellent on screen chemistry, though I could have done without Donna shoving Sarah Jane when they were all hugging and such.
Also, Mickey and Martha for new members of Torchwood, y/y? They'll slot in neatly. Surprising in Mickey's case, inevitable in Martha's, wonderful on the whole because I wanted more of both characters.
Rose. Oh, Rose. She didn't really do much in this episode, did she? Got sort of captured and kind of stood around, and then got left on a beach with clone!Ten. The first time I watched it, I was really, really annoyed with her for asking the Doctor and clone!Doctor what they were going to say, and more annoyed for her not kissing proper Ten when he asked if it really needed saying because frankly, I feel convinced that the answer to that was No. What made Doctor/Rose - and I'll admit, I'm not much on Ten/Rose for all that I did buy into Nine/Rose - but what made Doctor/Rose work was that neither of them ever had to say it because both of them already knew how they felt, knew why it couldn't work out, and chose to be happy with what they could have of each other. For me, there was something gloriously beautiful about that which even the question ruined. Second time through it bothered me less that she asked, but I still find that ending to that arc unsatisfying. Also, someone needs to hug Ten. A lot. Not a surprising end, but probably inevitable as a way to remove Rose from the show completely (or at least semi-permanently in a way that threw a bone to the die-hard shippers).
Speaking of not surprising but probably inevitable ends, Donna! At least she's not dead. But it still kind of sucked. Wilf, on the other hand, I am in complete love with in this episode - both surprising and inevitable he was.
So... yeah. I like that I was wrong about where the episode was going, because that made it more fun to watch... but I'm not sure that I really loved where it went, and I do regret the sort of wasted potentials. (Davros naming him Destroyer of Worlds? Please. I'd rather have the Time Lords giving the Doctor back his real name.) Next season'll be interesting, yeah?
ETA: And since I forgot to say it before: lack of Jack and Rose interaction made me sad. Really really sad. ;_;
