{"id":199,"date":"2011-03-07T13:00:21","date_gmt":"2011-03-07T21:00:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/?p=199"},"modified":"2011-03-07T13:04:15","modified_gmt":"2011-03-07T21:04:15","slug":"mark-watches-doctor-who-s04e13-journeys-end","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/2011\/03\/mark-watches-doctor-who-s04e13-journeys-end\/","title":{"rendered":"Mark Watches ‘Doctor Who’: S04E13 – Journey’s End"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the thirteenth episode of the fourth series of Doctor Who<\/em>, we learn what happens when the Doctor regenerates and then THIS IS SERIOUSLY TOO SAD FOR ME. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to watch Doctor Who<\/em>.<\/p>\n

I have a lot of thoughts. And I just wrote over 4,500 words for Mark Reads, so buckle in, my friends. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s going to be a lengthy ride.<\/p>\n

I spoke pretty candidly in my review for the finale of series two about my attachment to Rose and how I was able to relate to her struggle in my own way. I wanted to provide a bit of additional context before I heaped my praise on Donna because I didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t want it to seem like I was emotionally cheating on Rose.<\/p>\n

Straight up, Donna Noble has been my favorite companion of the Doctor. I still like the previous two companions quite a bit, but so much of Donna\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s character has grown on me, from her sense of humor, to the way she interacts with the Doctor, to the rather brilliant, unthanked way that she has forced the Doctor to confront what he has become over the years.<\/p>\n

In an entirely different way than Rose, however, I found myself feeling a sense of affinity for the character created by this show. One of my only complaints about this series finale is that by jamming so many plots and characters into the story, I felt that there wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t enough time spent on Donna as there could have been, especially after what she did over the course of the fourth season.<\/p>\n

Donna was developed not only as a foil to the Doctor but as an exploration on self-esteem. We all knew<\/em> that Donna was important to the story, that she had done wonderful, courageous things for the entire universe, and yet she still referred to herself as a temp. As the<\/em> temp. As someone who was disposable and forgettable and worthless in her own eyes. (I think \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Turn Left\u00e2\u20ac\u009d had a great deal of this self-introspection as well.)<\/p>\n

Self-esteem has always played a large part in my identity. I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have any stories to tell and I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m not really sure I want to right now. But, if you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve gleaned anything from what I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve shared with the world, you know I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve had some\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6difficult moments in my past. A lot of what Mark Reads and Mark Watches has done for me is to give me an outlet for my experience and my voice and it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s allowed me to come to terms with a lot of what I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve gone through. One of the harder things to talk about, through all of it, is self-esteem and self-worth. I think for a lot of people (and please correct me if I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m overstepping myself here) it becomes increasingly complicated to discuss self-esteem because other people, especially those who haven\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t experienced bouts of really awful self doubt, are quick to immediately erase the sensation. They want to tell you that what you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re feeling is wrong, that you are not the best judge of your character or situation, and that everything will be ok. Funny thing about it is that it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s generally done with the greatest intentions, as a way to cheer a person up. And I get that. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve probably done it myself in the past.<\/p>\n

To hear that sensation and feeling vocalized on television was a bizarre thing for me. As Donna continued to insist that she wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t worth it, despite that we knew<\/em> it, I did feel as if I could step into the same situation and nothing would be unfamiliar about it. Ok, well, clearly I am not fighting Daleks to destroy a Reality Bomb.<\/em> But you get the point. (PS: That is a terrible name for a bomb, FYI.)<\/p>\n

I think that Donna is a wonderful character and may always be my favorite one from this entire show, and it hurt so much to see her in pain in this episode because I knew there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d always be a part of me that could relate to her. I have to come to the realization myself that I have done good things and that I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m a person who deserves to enjoy who he is, that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s perfectly ok to take care of yourself and feel proud of yourself and to celebrate my accomplishments. That is not what I was raised with, and despite that I fought it so hard (and still do), most days it is hard to escape that voice in my head that echoes what my parents used to tell me, that I am worthless and pointless and useless, that I was a mistake from the beginning.<\/p>\n

I am not. And even if I have to consciously tell myself this, day after day, it was really empowering to watch the same realization on screen with Donna Noble. Sometimes, you have to do this yourself. That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s perfectly ok.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Journey\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s End\u00e2\u20ac\u009d is not without it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s problems. Reality Bomb? Really? Ok, that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s pretty small. Rose\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s end? ONE OF THE CREEPIEST THINGS I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122VE EVER SEEN. Hey, did you miss me, Rose? How about you spend eternity in a parallel universe with a human copy of myself? <\/em>Holy god, that is so, so, so, so uncomfortable. RIGHT?<\/p>\n

But even right from the beginning, this episode is SO TERRIBLY EXCITING. I would never have expected the Doctor to regenerate as himself by using that severed hand that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s been sitting around for years, and the creation of another<\/em> Doctor was even more shocking. TWO OF THE SAME DOCTOR. Oh my god, in what world is having two David Tennants not the most amazing thing ever?<\/p>\n

We also get the return of Mickey (HHHNNNNGGGG) and Jackie, and it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s when I started to feel there was some sort of a reason for this sort of convergence. Why were all of these people come together at this exact moment? There had to be one beyond the need for Davies to show off.<\/p>\n

As all of these people revealed their secret weapons, I thought I had it figured out. Was this Davies\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s statement about loyalty, about how the companions of the Doctor were so inspired by them that they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d willing to risk anything to save him? Would Sarah Jane, Mickey, Jack, and Jackie destroy themselves via a Warpstar? Would Martha use the Osterhagen Key to DESTROY ALL OF PLANET EARTH? Holy god that key<\/strong><\/em>.<\/p>\n

It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s eerie how much the scenes with Davros and the Doctor feel like an impromptu trial, that the Doctor\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s companions were a parade of witnesses against him, and for me, it is all the more uncomfortable than any Reality Bomb or Dalek. Has the Doctor really<\/em> inspired that level of violence, that willingness to destroy, in the people he has traveled with? Even if that question is left unanswered, what is answered is the fact that so many people really have<\/em> died because of the Doctor.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153The man who keeps running, never looking back because he dare not\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6out of shame! This is my final victory, Doctor; I have shown you yourself.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Davies is not a perfect writer and he can be wildly inconsistent. But when he attempts to make grand statements about humanity, or at least the humanity of his characters, he routinely knocks it straight out of the park. He needed<\/em> this. The Doctor needed be told about his actions and most especially the ramifications of them.<\/p>\n

This realization affects the entire end of this episode, from the moment the TARDIS shows up to the final moments with Wilfred. Despite that this episode is transfixing, exciting, and fairly depressing, when Donna arrives, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a very brief moment of watching Catherine Tate and David Tennant prove exactly how much talent they have.\u00c2\u00a0 It is funny to see them imitate the more ridiculous tendencies of each others\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 character, but it was also sad to me, because I knew that soon, Catherine Tate would be gone from the mythology of this show. But before that happened, we get to see her become a Time Lord. (Well, at least partly so.) It was one of the most enjoyable things I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve seen this show do, and I watched her zip about the Crucible<\/em> with a giant smile plastered on my face.<\/p>\n

But that joy did not last long. As Davros was defeated, the Crucible<\/em> self-destructed, and the Doctor\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s companions scattered about time and space, I knew I had to deal with the inevitable. Donna was now half Time Lord. It couldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t last.<\/p>\n

If \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Doomsday\u00e2\u20ac\u009d was emotionally difficult to watch, then the end of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Journey\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s End\u00e2\u20ac\u009d is downright unbearable. Donna Noble changed the entire universe, saved everything and everyone, and protected reality itself<\/em>. But the knowledge of this won\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t matter. Being part Time Lord is killing Donna, and I watched in terror, tears in my eyes, as the Doctor placed his hands on Donna\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s temples as she begged him to stop, and took away her memories.<\/p>\n

Donna Noble will never remember that she saved the world. She will never remember her travels with the Doctor and she will never remember that she mattered<\/em>. If that is not the definition of tragedy, then I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know what is.<\/p>\n

THOUGHTS<\/strong><\/p>\n