Doctor Who 4×02: The Fires of Pompeii

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This was better than last week. In fact, this is one of the best episodes of new Who ever. I seriously feel privileged to be a fan of something that is SO DAMN GOOD.

Where to start?

This episode weaves together references to pretty much EVERY AWESOME THING that's been established in new Who so far. It's full of direct callbacks to previous episodes and indirect thematic parallels; it's like they're digging up everything they've done right so far and now taking it FURTHER.

What makes this episode really great is that it raises more questions than it answers. It examines that old question, do the ends justify the means? Donna's human perspective emphasizes the lives of individuals; the Doctor sees the big picture, the importance of preserving history. They're both right and they're both wrong, and they learn from each other. This episode shows both sides and it doesn't have an easy answer.

I'd venture to guess that "The Fires of Pompeii" will turn out to be a microcosm of the season as a whole: it starts out funny then quickly gets dark; the Doctor and Donna challenge each other, learn from each other, and come together as partners; they face a difficult ethical choice that involves self-sacrifice; the choice parallels the Time War (and perhaps the Time War itself will be an issue this season); maybe we'll even have more alternate time-lines echoing back. (As always, I'm unspoiled; PLEASE DON'T SPOIL ME.)

Let's get into the details...

* The opening seems like fluff until you rewatch it; then you realize that it actually does touch upon the major issues of the episode. Donna realizes that everyone around them is dead, and it's played as a joke ("Well, don't go telling them that!") but soon we'll face their actual deaths which are not at all funny. Donna wants to know how the TARDIS translates, and keeps pushing until she gets answers; the Doctor says "You have to think of difficult questions, don't you?" Her silly questions about Latin foreshadow her very serious questions about whether it's okay to let Pompeii burn.

I suspect this will mirror series four; that when we go back and rewatch "Partners in Crime" after the series ends, we'll see a whole lot lot of very dark foreshadowing in what seems like a light episode. (It's also similar to how, in "Partners in Crime," the Doctor and Donna missing each other is played as comedy, but it's a parallel with the tragedy of the Doctor and Rose missing each other.)

* I love how inquisitive Donna is. She wants to know how everything works, she wants to know why they can't save everyone, and she doesn't stop asking until she's satisfied with the answers. She's a true challenge to the Doctor, not because she yells at him, but because her stubborn and curious nature forces him to face the difficult questions with which he'd rather not deal.

* Donna has been mirrored with the Doctor in both episodes. Here, she uses the Doctor's catchphrases ("This is fantastic!" and "I'm sorry. I'm really sorry.") and of course later she joins the Doctor in pushing the button which parallels his choice to destroy Gallifrey. I take this as emphasis of their status as partners and equals.

* Donna reminds me so much of series one Rose, particularly in the way she relates to the Doctor. She challenges him (see Rose in "Dalek"), she forces him to see the human perspective (like Rose kept reminding him of Mickey and Gwyneth), and she helps him deal with his trauma and reconnect with other people. Look how happy he is when they step out into "Rome"; he gets such joy from sharing the experience with her.

* How does the Doctor end up in these insane situations? Either the TARDIS has some kind of sense that he's going to be needed in the places she takes him, or else she's secretly trying to get him killed. :P

* The human villains in this episode (Lucius, the priestesses) are shallowly drawn, but it's hard to mind, what with so much else going on. The interesting moral dilemma is with the heroes, and there isn't time to do much with the villains. I do like that they're not just cackling supervillain evil; they're slightly more interesting True Believers, doing what they think is right, believing that the ends justify the means.

* As soon as the Doctor realizes they're in Pompeii, he just wants to get the hell out of there. He knows he can't fix it, and he just so doesn't want to deal with it. It's very Doctor, running away from things that hurt.

* "You told me not to tell you." Man, I love how he reacts to the force of Donna's personality. This is the first time the companion is the more dominant figure in the relationship.

* The Doctor really needs a remote control to bring the TARDIS to him whenever it gets lost. (Of course, that would ruin half the plots of the series.)

* I like the family, anachronisms and all. It's nice that we're drawn into the episode, and into seeing the human cost of the destruction, via this very relatable human family. I particularly like the rebellious son--jealous of his sister but protective as soon as she's in danger. And I love how he and the daughter are reversed at the end; he gets inspired by the Doctor to become a doctor, and she gets inspired by Donna to become a bit of a rebel. The father is fine, and it's nice to see the Doctor relating to some male characters for once. I don't like the mother, though; yet another nagging, misguided mom who puts social status above her daughter's best interests. (*sigh* RTD, your issues are showing.)

The episode doesn't let us excuse the destruction by looking at it through the lens of history. We keep seeing its effect on real living people. I like the line that of course they wouldn't just leave--look at San Francisco. We can't laugh at the silly Pompeiians, living in the shadow of the volcano, when we're forced to see the same thing in ourselves.

* So the Doctor had a thing with Sibyl? And she put the TARDIS in her prophecies? And he yells at the priestesses that they're doing wrong by her? In an incredibly crowded episode, I'm... not sure what to make of this. Is it... foreshadowing something? Paralleling something? Just there because it sounds cool?

* The priestesses don't want the Doctor and Donna to interfere. "If the disciples of the blue box defy this prophecy, their blood will run across the temple floor." Is this just a typical villain threat, or is this a prophecy that we may see play out later? I feel that the Doctor and Donna interfering here is going to have repercussions beyond this episode.

* "I am Spartacus!" "And so am I!" OMG flashbacks to Mr. Popadiuk's ninth grade history class! (He considered "showing old movies" to be a viable alternate to actually teaching.)

* The Doctor's expressions when Donna tries to talk the family into leaving town so remind me of "Tooth and Claw" when Rose tries to get Queen Victoria to say "We are not amused." Here he's less amused and more embarrassed and uncomfortable, but either they're purposely drawing a parallel or David Tennant's reusing some acting tricks.

* And then the daughter shows up with "They're laughing at us. Those two, they use words like tricksters, they're mocking us." Wow. That's uncomfortable. It's like "Tooth and Claw" again, if someone from the time had spoken up and called them on their attitude. (Not that I think they were doing anything wrong.)

* "I don't know what sort of kids you've been flying around with in outer space, but you're not telling me to shut up." I love Donna's strength of will. And this is also kind of a meta comment on how her relationship with the Doctor compares to that of the previous companions. (I think Rose would've convinced him to go back, but it would've been distorted by the romantic undertone, and would've been more about him doing it for her than because he believed she was right. He would have ignored Martha--he always refused to engage with her emotions. With Donna, there's no romantic distortion; when he listens to her it's because he's genuinely affected by her argument, with no baggage between them to get in the way of the real issue.)

* Donna tells the Doctor that the destruction of Pompeii is his fault "right now," because he has the power to stop it and chooses not to. Is he responsible for what happens by his own inaction? Does power always imply responsibility? Does being the last Time Lord, thus the only being with this kind of power, mean that the Doctor is responsible for the entire universe? No wonder he struggles with the burden. This is one of the questions that recurs throughout new Who, and I love the angle that they're addressing it from here.

* The prophecy scene is awesome. Like the episode (and possibly like the season) it starts off funny and then gets dark and intense as the prophets trade increasingly eerie predictions. "She is returning." (Rose! Interesting that it's not "She will return.") "There is something on your back." (OMG WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? THAT IS SERIOUSLY THE SCARIEST THING I'VE HEARD IN NEW WHO SO FAR.)

* "Your real name is hidden. It burns in the stars, in the cascade of Medusa herself." OMG they referenced "The Girl in the Fireplace" and "Last of the Time Lords" in one line! James Moran, I want to hug you. And what does this mean? Will we learn more about the dark secret behind the Doctor's name? What's the Medusa Cascade? The Master has a line about the Doctor sealing a rift there, and there's the Cardiff rift (indirect result of the Time War) and now this Pompeii rift (result of whatever is causing planets to disappear). WHAT'S GOING ON?

* No one can predict the volcano. Turns out that's because it isn't a volcano, and it's the Doctor who causes the eruption. I'm fascinated by this idea of alternate potential futures, of the Doctor's actions changing history. It makes everything seem so unstable; who knows what could be wiped out, including things we've already seen. I'd be really surprised if this idea doesn't come into play again later in the series.

* On top of everything else, there's some weird gender stuff going on here. Lucius mocking the accuracy of female prophets; Evelina not having a choice in her own destiny; Donna ridiculing Lucius's sexist attitudes and encouraging Evelina to stand up for herself (which she does in the end when she trades places with her brother and becomes the family rebel). It's kind of shoehorned in, but nice that when they go to a really sexist time, they try to call out the gender issues.

Donna bonding with Evelina reminds me of Rose with Gwyneth and Martha with Chantho. Standard companion stuff, I suppose.

* The Doctor tastes the dust. It's not quite licking, but it's close! :)

* The Doctor cajoles the son by pulling a coin from behind his ear. He really is a trickster here, isn't he? This episode does a good job of making the Doctor seem other; alien, godlike, trickster, stranger.

* Donna dresses in period costume! Companions don't do this nearly enough. Man, she really is reminding me of all the things that were awesome about Rose.

* "I love not knowing. Keeps me on my toes." Total Satan Pit moment.

* "Armless enough." *groans*

* I love how the Doctor deflects the mom's criticism. "You bring bad luck on this house!" "I thought your son was brilliant. Aren't you going to thank him?" Hee! Nice redirect there, Doctor.

* The Doctor is frantic to save the family from the pyrovile, yet he knows they'll die tomorrow anyway. Is it that they're right in front of him? That this is an alien threat and not a historical event?

* Donna disappears from beneath the Doctor's nose--another Runaway Bride echo. I love how she tries to shout down her kidnappers, and that she threatens them herself rather than threatening to sic the Doctor on them.

* "Just us girls." God, I love this show. And HE'S GOT A WATER GUN OMG I LOVE THIS SHOW SO MUCH. I had a dark Wes flashback when the Doctor shoots the water gun at the pyrovile when they're in the volcano. Only IT'S A WATER GUN. And Donna voices how awesome this is! Because Donna rules!

* "Species designation according to the universal ratification of the Shadow Proclamation" - what a mouthful! And... what? Is the Shadow Proclamation a document or a group?

* Pyrovillia--another lost planet, and why does everyone want to repopulate their species on earth? Sheesh.

* "I can see a choice. Someone must make a choice. The most terrible choice." I'm sure this is foreshadowing the course of the season.

* The Doctor explains that some things are fixed and some are in flux. But how does he know? He can't check with anyone--he has no checks and balances--what an incredible responsibility and burden. If he's wrong the whole universe suffers. (And this is why I love him--because under this incredible burden, he keeps moving forward and doing the best he can.)

* "That's how I see the universe. Every waking second, I can see what is, what was, what could be, what must not. That's the burden of the Time Lord, and I'm the only one left." Oh, Doctor. We see simultaneously how alien he is and yet how sympathetic his struggle is. I love the reminder that he's not just some guy with a magic box; his perspective really is alien. And the whole thing echoes this exchange from "The Parting of the Ways":

The Doctor: But this is wrong! You can’t control life and death...
Rose: But I can! The sun and the moon, the day and night… but why do they hurt?
The Doctor: The power’s gonna kill you and it’s my fault!
Rose: I see everything. All that is, all that was, all that ever could be...
The Doctor: But that’s what I see, all the time. And doesn’t it drive you mad?

And speaking of controlling life and death: in "The Parting of the Ways," the Doctor tells Rose that it's wrong. In "Voyage of the Damned," Mr. Copper tells the Doctor that he would be a monster if he could choose who lives and who dies. And yet in this episode, Donna pushes the Doctor into choosing who lives. Is it the right choice? For that family, it certainly is; he saved their whole world and now they treat him as a god (which has its own creepy undertones). Yet from another perspective, it makes him a monster. How come he chose them and not the neighbors next door? Just because their patriarch randomly happened to buy the TARDIS, they get to live while the rest of Pompeii burns? Are they just a token to make him and Donna feel better? Everyone else still died. Why not stop in the middle of town and fit as many people into the TARDIS as possible? How do you decide when to stop? The theme of series two was that everything has its time and everything dies. At what point are you arrogantly remaking the universe in your own image? What effect will this family have on history, and will it turn out to have been a mistake to save them? I don't think the answers are clear cut at all.

Even the coda can be seen in both a positive and negative light. On one hand, look how well the family is doing for themselves! Isn't it wonderful that the Doctor was at least able to save them? And yet... they are doing awfully well for themselves. The father's getting an important contract, they're making money, the son is becoming a Doctor. What impact will they have on history? What temporal instability will this cause? Honestly, this episode was so full of parallels with "Father's Day" that I half expected a reaper to pop up and gobble them down.

* Donna keeps asking him how many people will die, and the Doctor doesn't want to say it. Then he caves--he knows exactly how many die, it's clearly stewing underneath, and Donna drags it to the surface and makes him face it. This is what's so wonderful about her--that she forces him to to articulate what's going on his head, to face the issues he'd rather sublimate and hide from--and she's also there to help him deal with them.

* Donna is so mature. For all the screeching, when it comes to the big moral issues, she's fully equipped to face them as an adult. She accepts that their own lives will be lost (and how very "World War III" is that?) and helps the Doctor make the choice. And she makes it with him. She shares the burden and the responsibility. The most interesting thing in the commentary is writer James Moran suggesting that the Doctor might not have been able to do it if Donna hadn't been there. Apparently he doesn't just need someone to stop him; he needs someone to push him into making the difficult choice. Look at "The Parting of the Ways"--he can't sacrifice the earth to save the universe from the Daleks. This time there's no Rose ex machina to save him; he and Donna have to face the choice together. And, wow, what a parallel to the Time War--committing mass murder and believing that they'll sacrifice themselves in order to save the world/universe. The greater good--is it worth it?

And what a wonderful reversal--throughout the episode, Donna argues that they have to save Pompeii. And yet once she realizes the stakes, she helps the Doctor destroy it. And the Doctor, who's been arguing that history must be allowed to happen, can barely bring himself to push the button. This episode isn't just about the Doctor learning from Donna--she also learns from him. They're both seeing the other's perspective, which totally hearkens back to the Doctor and Rose--him showing her the big picture and her showing him the human perspective.

* This is a lot like "The End of the World," where Rose sees the destruction of Earth and empathizes with the Doctor's big issue about losing his planet. But "The Fires of Pompeii" takes it much further because Donna doesn't just gain an understanding of the Doctor's trauma; she actually shares it, by making the choice with him.

* "Save us, Doctor." And he walks past them, like he watches the Racnoss children drown. A stranger. And, like in "The Runaway Bride," Donna's there to make him see the individuals he misses as he focuses on the big picture. That scene is so disturbing and amazing--that if she hadn't been there, he'd have let them die. And, still, the question is open that maybe he should have. Anyone who dismisses this as a kids show--um, what??

* "Haven't I done enough?" Oh, Doctor. You and your guilt complex. But I love that Donna is there to help him deal with it. And no wonder it's so hard for him to face what he's done-the guilt really would make it impossible for him to act, and he knows that, since he's the last Time Lord, the universe is in his hands and he has the responsibility to keep going.

* Once inside the TARDIS, we see how much it hurts him to leave all those people to die. And yet he sublimates it, ignores it and moves on, as he always does, until Donna makes him face it and deal with it. "If I could go back and save them, then I would, but I can't. I can never go back. I can't. I just can't. I can't." That's not... logical rational reasoned argument in favor of preserving the universe. That is MAJOR PSYCHOLOGICAL ISSUES. (I love my emo Time Lord!) And... how does this relate to the Time War? Could he go back and change things? How risky would it be? Could he save someone in that case too?

We are so not finished here. I'd bet good money that all of the issues raised in this episode are going to come back as the series continues. (Similar to how "Tooth and Claw" and "The Shakespeare Code" set up recurring seasonal themes--Torchwood, the power of words, etc.)

* The Doctor reassures the family that Pompeii will be remembered. Cold comfort, as they watch all the death unfold in front of them, but I guess it means something.

* "You were right. Sometimes I need someone." OMG character growth! I knew it, that after the Christmas episode ended on "I travel alone," the series would be about the Doctor realizing that yes, he does need someone. I didn't think it would happen in the second episode, though, but I expect the theme will continue.

* The Doctor and Donna are both household gods at the end. And while we usually see the Doctor having a positive impact on those he encounters, here Donna is (at least) equally influential. Because of the Doctor, the son is becoming a doctor and the mother has learned to appreciate him; because of Donna, the daughter is learning to live her own life. And, oh yeah, they're all alive because of Donna.

I'm not bothered by the religious symbolism, and I'm a virulent raging atheist. It's just that religion is the closest human cultural approximation of what the Doctor is to us, and RTD is taking full advantage of the powerful cultural imagery that religion gives us TO TELL HIS CRAZY ATHEIST STORY.

* And amidst everything else: Latin jokes, Welsh jokes, allusions to old Who, Mary Poppins, god knows what else. How in the world did they cram all this into one episode? And make it work?

* Catherine Tate is amazing throughout. Her tears break my heart and remind me of Billie Piper's best moments; anyone who argues that she can't act after this must not be watching.

* What's with the commentary skipping stuff? How are you possibly supposed to watch it along with the episode? Please tell me they're not going to do this every week, because it's incredibly annoying when they're referring to things onscreen that won't happen for five minutes, and then when you fast-forward to catch up, they suddenly jump ahead another five minutes. >:(

That said, it was interesting enough; I enjoyed hearing James Moran's perspective.

* Overall conclusion: that was wonderful, and my only fear is that the rest of the season won't be able to live up to it.

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