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http://rusty-halo.com/wordpress/?p=2635


I understand this season so much better now. It wasn't just gratuitous angst for the sake of angst; it was a build-up to the finale, to the Doctor leaving his friends behind.

"Voyage of the Damned" is a microcosm of the season. The Doctor watches people kill and/or die because they're following him: Morvin, Foon, Bannakaffalatta, Astrid. He can't stand that, so he resolves to travel alone, and leaves Mr. Copper behind.

And he would be traveling alone, but Donna shows up and won't take no for an answer. And, well, he's lonely and emotionally needy, so he can't turn her away. But he warns her that it's dangerous, that he's bad for people; he flat out tells her that he ruined half of Martha's life.

And that's the Doctor's problem. It's this terrible mix of arrogance and guilt and the instinct to protect others. All he sees is that he destroys people, but he doesn't see the good that he inspires in them. Yes, Martha had to walk the earth in horrible conditions for a year; yes, her family was tortured by the Master; but Martha became a hero. Martha saved the earth. Martha flat out tells him that she's better for the experience, but he doesn't listen. He doesn't respect her growth, doesn't respect that it's good that she's now got the ability to stand up for her own world. He just sees her becoming more like him, bearing more of the burden that he thinks should be his alone.

So Donna comes with him, and what happens? She shares his burdens. She helps push the button in Pompeii. She kills the wasp in "The Unicorn and the Wasp." And her life is constantly at risk: kidnapped by a cult, nearly killed by the Ood, sucked into a computer, and Wilf is nearly killed by ATMOS. She's even forced to kill herself in an alternate universe in order to get him back. The Doctor doesn't see how much better she became in that AU after she experienced suffering and faced challenges that gave her the opportunity to be a hero; he just feels the guilt that she had to die for him.

And look at everyone else. People are always dying around the Doctor, but it was worse than ever this season. I thought they were just doing it because David Tennant is pretty when he cries, but no, it's a set-up for the ending. Astrid, Ross, Luke, Jenny, River, the Hostess, AU!Donna, and Harriet Jones all die after following the Doctor. And he's arrogant enough to blame himself, without recognizing that these decisions to save others are their choices to make.

All he sees is that he destroys. And Davros certainly rubs it in, by telling him that he's a "destroyer of worlds" who turns ordinary humans into weapons. The Doctor doesn't argue; he just stands there and absorbs it. This is a guy who hates violence. Maybe he was cooler with it in old Who, but after the Time War, after destroying his own people, believing everyone he loved is dead because of him, he's got major issues. He does not want to accept that sometimes violence is necessary. Yeah, he does it--he kills the Racnoss and the Krillitanes and whoever else, when it's the only choice--but it's a struggle every single time.

And, see, it's obvious to us that he does what he has to do. Pompeii is the perfect example. Yes, it's horrible that he kills those thousands of people. But it's necessary. It's a choice between just those people, or the whole world (including those people anyway). It has to be done, but the Doctor is a guy who just can't stand to live in a universe where something so horrible is necessary.

That's why he bristles so much at UNIT, at Jack and Martha carrying guns, at Jenny the soldier, at anyone who salutes him. It's hardly even about them; it's him seeing a part of himself that he hates in them. Arrogance and guilt, that's like the Tenth Doctor's mantra.

So it all comes together in the finale. Because he has turned his friends into weapons. Martha's about to destroy the earth, to replicate his own genocide of his people on hers. Sarah Jane and Jack are going to blow them all up. And he sees his own self commit genocide again.

Of course it's justified. Of course they're heroes, doing what's necessary to save the universe. Of course they're better for knowing the Doctor--"Turn Left" proves that they'd all be heroes without him, but they'd also be dead a hell of a lot faster.

But he doesn't see it. He only sees the worst possible interpretation: he sees himself destroying them. They're bearing burdens that he sees as his alone; they're killing and dying for him.

Of course he sends Rose away. He loves her so much. That's why he wants her as far from him as possible; he doesn't want to destroy her. He doesn't want to watch her kill or die for him. And she would, eventually. The thing is, to her, it would be worth it, but he doesn't respect her choice. Because he loves her and wants her safe. It's disrespectful and wrong and yet understandable, born out of love and the desire to protect.

And Donna. Here is the thing that he does to Donna: he erases every trace of himself from her. He's such an arrogant ass. He doesn't understand how important it is that she's grown, that she's changed for the better, that she's become a hero, Donna Noble, Super!Temp, the most important woman in the universe. All he sees is that his influence has destroyed his best friend. He literally erases himself from her, the Time Lord part of him that got into her brain, as he also erases all her memories of him. He thinks she'll be better off without his bad influence. It's almost a redemptive act for him; he's wrecked everyone else's lives, but at least he can put Donna back the way she was, give her another chance to live, without bearing his burdens and dying for him.

So, you know, in trying to prevent his influence from destroying her? He destroys her.

I think it's absolutely the right story choice. Because the audience can see what the Doctor's missing, the positive aspect of his influence, how he inspires people to become heroes. But he can't see it, and he's wrong for not seeing it, and he makes horrible choices because of it.

And it doesn't take away from Donna's story. All that potential is still in her; "Turn Left" explicitly shows that in the right circumstances, she'd be a hero even without the Doctor. The mindwipe just emphasizes it more, because it reminds us of the difference between our Donna and early Donna, and asks us whether she'll be able to achieve her potential again via another path.

And yes, this does tie Donna's (and Rose's) story into the Doctor's. But that doesn't take away from their arcs, doesn't make their heroism or their tragedy any less. It's not female characters being distorted to serve a male character's story, because they don't get distorted. Their arcs are brilliant. It just means, as people always used to tell me when I whined about Spike/Logan/Methos not being at the center of the story, that the show is called Doctor Who, and in the end we're watching the story of the Doctor.

That said, it's such a freaking depressing story arc--he learns all the wrong lessons, fucks up his own life and that of his friends--that I'm a little heartsick, and less invested in the character as a result. It's sad and frustrating and right now I'd really prefer to think about whatever adventures Rose and human!Doctor are getting up to in the alt!verse.
Current Mood: thoughtful emoticon thoughtful

Originally published at rusty-halo.com. Please click here to comment.

rusty-halo.com

I blog about fannish things. Busy with work so don't update often. Mirrored at rusty-halo.com.

August 2018

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