"Are you asking me out on a date?"
Jul. 4th, 2007 12:00 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
andrasteWas home sick from work today, and finally worked up the nerve to watch the Doctor Who finale.
Mostly what I thought was: oh, thank god. Based on fandom's reaction I spent most of the finale terrified that something horrible was going to happen to my beloved Martha Jones.
And I don't think something horrible did happen to her. Her family needed her, and she realized the Doctor would never love her the way she wanted him to, so she left. This was a very sensible thing for her to do. She's invested a lot of time and emotional energy in this man - three months as a maid in 1913, an indeterminate amount of time in '60s London working in a shop, a year walking the world telling everyone to say his name - and she has not gotten very much back.
Now, arguably the Doctor is a moron for not loving her as much as she loved him. But people - even Time Lords - do not choose who they love or how they love them. I think he let her go without an argument because he knew it was the right thing for Martha. He's an idiot, but not that much of an idiot.
Fingers crossed we'll see my girl again.![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
selenak has a genius idea about her becoming the New Series Brigadier which I <3 to bits. Guest appearance on Torchwood, anyone?
As for the rest of the finale, I enjoyed it! Was bemused that the Doctor took his plan from The Care Bears Movie but I have to admit my inner five-year-old was chanting 'Doctor Doctor Doctor' there. I can certainly see why people found bits of it problematic from a race/gender point of view, but the ideologically questionable elements did not ruin my enjoyment.
(I own Sin City on DVD and consider it one of my favourite comic book adaptations. I feel this says a lot about my ability to embrace art with an ideology very, very different from my own. I understand that the mileage of others may vary.)
And, oh, the Doctor/Master stuff killed me. I think I will have to make a whole separate post about that another time, because I am too filled up with love to talk about it right now.
Mostly what I thought was: oh, thank god. Based on fandom's reaction I spent most of the finale terrified that something horrible was going to happen to my beloved Martha Jones.
And I don't think something horrible did happen to her. Her family needed her, and she realized the Doctor would never love her the way she wanted him to, so she left. This was a very sensible thing for her to do. She's invested a lot of time and emotional energy in this man - three months as a maid in 1913, an indeterminate amount of time in '60s London working in a shop, a year walking the world telling everyone to say his name - and she has not gotten very much back.
Now, arguably the Doctor is a moron for not loving her as much as she loved him. But people - even Time Lords - do not choose who they love or how they love them. I think he let her go without an argument because he knew it was the right thing for Martha. He's an idiot, but not that much of an idiot.
Fingers crossed we'll see my girl again.
selenak has a genius idea about her becoming the New Series Brigadier which I <3 to bits. Guest appearance on Torchwood, anyone?As for the rest of the finale, I enjoyed it! Was bemused that the Doctor took his plan from The Care Bears Movie but I have to admit my inner five-year-old was chanting 'Doctor Doctor Doctor' there. I can certainly see why people found bits of it problematic from a race/gender point of view, but the ideologically questionable elements did not ruin my enjoyment.
(I own Sin City on DVD and consider it one of my favourite comic book adaptations. I feel this says a lot about my ability to embrace art with an ideology very, very different from my own. I understand that the mileage of others may vary.)
And, oh, the Doctor/Master stuff killed me. I think I will have to make a whole separate post about that another time, because I am too filled up with love to talk about it right now.
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(no subject)
Date: 2007-07-03 02:23 pm (UTC)The BBC has already confirmed that Martha will be in series two of Torchwood (3 eps I think).
I quite loved the ep too and just haven't been reading too many reviews of it off my flist because I don't want my squee harshed too much.
(no subject)
Date: 2007-07-03 03:13 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2007-07-03 02:45 pm (UTC)Great imagry.
(no subject)
Date: 2007-07-03 03:14 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2007-07-03 03:14 pm (UTC)Yes. Thank you. I swear, I've been trying to tell people that, but there's a very romantic view of love and attraction in fandom, even in the angstiest, kinkiest corners.
In reality, sometimes things just don't work out between two people.
(no subject)
Date: 2007-07-03 03:35 pm (UTC)XD That episode's made for one's inner 5 year-old, I think. You know, the part that believes monsters will be vanquished if enough people (or grown-ups, as it were) believed in the right thing; that stories can be real; that you can get through terrible suffering and win in the end (see Martha's family enslaved but unbroken -- it's a YA fantasy trope); and, above all, that you'll be rewarded for doing good. Martha didn't get the Doctor, but she got to be the grown-up and she made the decision walk away, and that respect for herself is its own reward. It's power.
In other words, I still love the finale. ♥ So looking forward to Torchwood.
(no subject)
Date: 2007-07-03 05:01 pm (UTC)And so looking forward to yuour separate post about the Doctor/Master stuff. We are, of course, in total agreement about Martha (and the Doctor's reason for letting her go without an argument).
(no subject)
Date: 2007-07-03 05:51 pm (UTC)I do, too, and I embrace that, having very similar feelings. Mostly I'm not always political about my art, I think. And I really appreciate this post, since I made the mistake of reading too many from people who were watching a different show/with a different lens than I do....
(no subject)
Date: 2007-07-06 10:36 am (UTC)I think part of it is that I can't think of a single TV show I'm invested in that has not been boneheaded about race/gender issues at some point. If I gave up on every show that had something rage-inducing in it, I'd have nothing left to watch!
(Not that I've seen anyone advocating not watching Doctor Who because of this, or even saying that they'd stop watching themselves, but you know what I mean.)
And I really appreciate this post, since I made the mistake of reading too many from people who were watching a different show/with a different lens than I do...
I am staying away from the whole thing at the moment. Maybe I will feel happier engaging in finale discussion when we all have more distance from the whole thing.
(no subject)
Date: 2007-07-03 05:51 pm (UTC)Our local library was selling off old DVDs very chesp, and I bought Sin City, but I found that it was too sadistic for my taste.
(no subject)
Date: 2007-07-06 11:22 am (UTC)I'm really not sure what it says about me that I liked the part with the dogs ...
(no subject)
Date: 2007-07-03 08:03 pm (UTC)Yes. That.
In part, I can understand people's issues - the Rebecca/Rowena thing -but the Doctor's been all nutters about Rose for two seasons. He can't just put that on the shelf and fall in love with Martha because Martha's more awesome.
(no subject)
Date: 2007-07-06 10:24 am (UTC)Exactly! I mean, I had no trouble getting over Rose and embracing Martha, but I was Rose-neutral to begin with. The Doctor, um, not so much.