*Spoilers.*
I’ve said before, in no uncertain terms, that I’m not a fan of the Tenth Doctor’s two-part finale, and I stand by that. This story is way, way too much, and all it really served to do on first watch was make me more than ready to say goodbye to Ten as a Doctor and Russell T. Davies as a showrunner. So, I guess, kudos for easing the transition?
So, plot. How ‘bout just OMG Such a Huge Deal!!!! That about sums it up. The Master is back, by trademark handwavy Master means, and he’s sooooo much crazier than he was in series 3 (it makes me feel bad for poor John Simm, who’s forced to consume way more scenery than can be healthy for any human stomach.) The Tenth Doctor, accompanied by the sweetly awesome Wilf and carrying tons of baggage in the form of prophecies about his coming death, sets out to stop the Master’s inevitably-evil plan, which gets tied into the Biggest Thing that Ever Happened Ever later in part two.
First, the story is far too conscious that it’s a regeneration episode. It’s bad enough that the show drops hints and anvils in the preceding episodes, but it just gluts itself on it here. It seems like the Doctor and Wilf are constantly having teary conversations about how he’s going to die, and the foreknowledge makes the Doctor act really intense and all-over-the-place. It’s like there’s no room for him to just be the Doctor because he’s so preoccupied with the fact that he’s in the middle of his last story. (And can I say once more, I’m against having any prophecies in a time-travel show? This bugs me in episodes like “The Wedding of River Song,” too—why are these people prophesying about what’s going to happen when someone can just hop forward in time and see for themselves?) Also, it doesn’t escape my notice that, when one RTD Doctor regenerated into another, it was all, “It’s still me, Rose!” but here, when RTD’s about to pass the showrunner reins to someone else, the tune changes. Now, the dialogue is all but literally, “Whoever this new interloper is, kids, he’s not me, and really, when you think about it, it’s kind of like he killed me, so whatever you do, don’t love him!” Feeling possessive, are we?
I’ve already complained about the Doctor’s tantrum when he realizes the circumstances of his regeneration, so I won’t get into it again here. I’ll simply reiterate, if you’re going to save someone, just save them; don’t be a jerk about it. And Doctor: you can regenerate, he can’t, so maybe stop raging about how unfair it is. Seriously, this was the point where I started saying, “Just regenerate already!” As for the Doctor’s long Farewell Tour, each of the segments are nice on their own (especially Rose’s,) but the drawn-out exit doesn’t really appeal to me. After Nine’s brief, beautiful departure, this one seems to go on forever.
But, because I’m not a completely grouchy Whovian, let’s talk about what I do like. I enjoy the Doctor’s dynamic with Wilf, who always gets to me, and I love that Wilf finally has his own full-blown adventure. Though, like I said, the full-throttle manic Master stuff is just horrendously over-the-top, Simm does his best to make up for it in the Master’s rare subdued scenes. The fraught relationship between the Doctor and the Master has a couple of genuinely good scenes here, and, given half a chance, Tennant and Simm bring it together like nobody’s business. And finally, at the very end, that first minute of Eleven, funny and hyperactive and wonderful, is like a breath of fresh air after the overwrought two-and-a-bit hours that came before it. His almost-delighted smile as he remembers that he’s crashing is just so blame endearing, and I love it.
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