ladyofleithian (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
ladyofleithian) wrote2013-03-09 09:06 pm
ladyofleithian) wrote2013-03-09 09:06 pm
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All right, just got back from watching THE DOCTOR'S DAUGHTER and THE UNICORN AND THE WASP...
Brilliant episodes, but Jesus Christ, quite the exercise in Mood Whiplash. First you've got the matter of a pretty damn dramatic story, and then you get a lighter one...still, considering some of the upcoming episodes, perhaps a bit of lightness (using the term loosely as there was still some disturbing content there) was needed.
THE DOCTOR'S DAUGHTER...I didn't think I would like Jenny as much as I do now, but...well, I do. She was a very likable character, and I liked the writer (the same guy who did THE LAZARUS EXPERIMENT, in case you're wondering. :) sort of playing her as kind of naive, but also incredibly perceptive, pointing out some truths about the Doctor he wouldn't want to acknowledge himself. I also liked Donna befriending her, and calling out the Doctor for treating her...less than kindly, shall we say. And I liked the Doctor talking about the fact that he was once a father to Donna. I'm thinking that he didn't reveal it to Donna (a sort of "you talk too much but you don't say anything", in Donna's words) was because...well, there's some things that you don't always feel comfortable revealing to others; in the Doctor's case, because the wound's still very much there. The burden of possibly killing his children and grandchildren in the Time War. And I think for him, it might be hard to look at Jenny because...well, she seems to be everything he's not. More like his previous incarnation, at least, than anything else. Willing to kill, willing to take lives...that and the Doctor's been up close and personal with killing. He's had to kill before. Sometimes he's done worse than kill. And I doubt it's a stretch to think that it weighs heavily on his conscience. I think he doesn't want to accept Jenny because...well, she's a walking reminder of things that have plagued him. That and his own personal Time Lord sense of "this shouldn't be possible. This shouldn't exist." (See also his reasons he left Captain Jack behind as revealed in "Utopia")
And yet at the same time, after a while, he starts to be open to the matter of accepting Jenny on the TARDIS. And once they reach the Source and shatter it, creating new life, everything seems to be going fine. The opposing sides are putting down their weapons, and then...General Cobb can't resist one last shot at the opposing side.
There really isn't any reason for Cobb's hatred of the Hath (the opposing side in question), but I guess sometimes in real life...there really isn't any reason for someone's hatred of a certain sect, a certain gender, a certain race, etc. And I think that Cobb was so convinced of the righteousness of his side also that it didn't matter what happened as long as he took one of the Hath with him.
But who steps in front of that bullet? Who stops Cobb? Jenny, of course. Well, General Quaritch (I just thought the name was appropriate considering the circumstances, except even Quaritch had his redeeming qualities and a certain belief in the righteousness of his cause * . There's no defending Cobb in the slightest), your hate for the Hath has cost the life ** of an innocent young woman who wanted no more than to help stop the violence. How can you possibly defend that?
I also liked the Doctor's reaction to what happened. Especially his basically begging Jenny not to die on him, and Jenny's (seemingly) last words about a beautiful new world. I will admit...it's one of those moments that broke my heart and warmed it at the same time. And later, when the Doctor rejects the idea of shooting Cobb and his speech afterwards, about building a new society of human and Hath off "the man who never would". I think it helps because he sounds so distraught over what happened -- after all, Cobb gunned down his *daughter* *** just to get revenge against the Hath -- and yet so determined, so passionate to not let a war like the one between the Hath and the humans happen again.
I also loved, earlier, before Jenny's shot, the Doctor confiding in Donna about how the loss of his children hasn't really healed, and it might not ever heal again (basically) and Donna saying that she thinks he's wrong. Just...oh, Donna. <3 If there was ever a way to make "you're wrong" sound heartwarming, Donna's found it right there. I think it's made even more poignant considering...well, when Donna found the Doctor, he was broken. Martha's helped in a few places, but he's not entirely healed. And stuff like the Master choosing to die in his arms just to spite him...I think after everything that's happened to him, the Doctor deserves some happiness. Just once. And it really makes what happens to Jenny all the more heartbreaking, even if she's not quite dead. And when she does end up sort-of regenerating (she doesn't change shape)...well, it's a very sweet, lovely, hopeful ending, especially when she goes off to see the stars like her father.
I also liked the discussion between Jenny and the Doctor about being a soldier (even though it's one of the things the Doctor wouldn't ever admit. He's been a soldier before, after all; I doubt he'd ever want to go back), and Donna discovering Jenny's two hearts. And Jenny and the Doctor's joy over her not killing Cobb, and earlier, her making her way through the traps (and Donna's reaction. XD). Also, Martha befriending that one Hath, and her healing the dislocated shoulder. And encouraging it to come up into the surface with her. And...well, all their friendship, really. Which makes the Hath's sacrifice to save Martha all the more heartrending.
I also loved Martha and Donna's friendship, especially Donna defending Martha in regards to being "collateral damage", and their having a laugh outside the TARDIS before...well, shit gets real. And Martha and Donna's conversation regarding traveling with the Doctor, especially Martha saying, basically, Donna might get tired of it someday. And Donna saying she'll stay with the Doctor "forever" (which...JesusChristouch. ;.;). And Martha's goodbye to the Doctor. Honestly, only bad thing about this story? When it ended. I didn't want it to end. :)
As for THE UNICORN AND THE WASP...brilliant fucking episode, seriously. <3 I loved the Doctor and Donna fanboying/fangirling over Agatha Christie, I loved the actress who played Agatha Christie in the episode; she was just brilliant. <3 If she was in a biopic about Agatha Christie...well, she'd be superb. :) I also loved the interaction between the Doctor and Donna in the episode; I swear they make an amazing team. :) Not to mention Donna herself got some great moments, like helping to solve the mystery, the "shock" (seriously, that was brilliant. XD). Also, her comforting Agatha Christie about her own failed marriage. And when she thinks up the idea of drowning the wasp in question (though it was also the matter of an Alas Poor Villain moment, especially when it spares Agatha in the end). And using a magnifying glass to scare off the wasp. And Donna's failed attempts to mimic 1920s speak...yeah, companions failing to fit into a certain time period will never not be funny. XD
But when you got through the humor (and there was plenty, like the Doctor's "Oh, that's just cheating." after the wasp gets away from him), really, the episode really had some genuinely unsettling moments. Things like the wasp's appearance -- I mean, Jesus Christ. 0.0. And when the wasp-in-human-form gets angry about thieves stealing from his church, and starts suddenly buzzing. And his rant back in the present about humans (yes, the wasp is an alien, or a Vespiform if one is to be more specific). I also kind of liked the whole locked-into-human-form-unless-under-great-stress thing (it's that sort of specificity I wish I could have in my writing), and the Vespiform's mother (let's say that a Vespiform in human form wanted to learn more about humans, seduced her, got her pregnant, later drowned in a monsoon with a special jewel that happened to be a telepathic device for their child left to his lover as something to remember him by, which absorbed the contents of the book his mother was reading into the Vespiform's head...and yeah, things pretty much go south as one would expect they would) trying to get to her son (which I can understand. I mean, she hasn't seen him in years). And Agatha Christie going to the lake if only to stop the wasp. And earlier, when she's using her wits to find the thief and the murderer. And the Doctor trying to appeal to the inner goodness of the Vespiform, even if it fails. And the ending itself...while kind of sad, it's also hopeful because it says that nothing is truly forgotten. There's still little things Agatha Christie remembers; they just ooze through the cracks. And I also loved earlier when the Doctor is reassuring Agatha Christie about how brilliant she is. Especially considering...well, some of Agatha's troubles, such as insecurity regarding her writing, struck very close to home for me. Honestly, it was a brilliant episode. Only thing I didn't like? When it ended.
* From what I remember in some interviews and such.
** Granted, she gets better -- and thank you, Steven Moffat -- but still...
*** Even the fact it was semi-accidental doesn't really make things better.
So yeah, overall? Amazing stories. Definitely recommended. :)
THE DOCTOR'S DAUGHTER...I didn't think I would like Jenny as much as I do now, but...well, I do. She was a very likable character, and I liked the writer (the same guy who did THE LAZARUS EXPERIMENT, in case you're wondering. :) sort of playing her as kind of naive, but also incredibly perceptive, pointing out some truths about the Doctor he wouldn't want to acknowledge himself. I also liked Donna befriending her, and calling out the Doctor for treating her...less than kindly, shall we say. And I liked the Doctor talking about the fact that he was once a father to Donna. I'm thinking that he didn't reveal it to Donna (a sort of "you talk too much but you don't say anything", in Donna's words) was because...well, there's some things that you don't always feel comfortable revealing to others; in the Doctor's case, because the wound's still very much there. The burden of possibly killing his children and grandchildren in the Time War. And I think for him, it might be hard to look at Jenny because...well, she seems to be everything he's not. More like his previous incarnation, at least, than anything else. Willing to kill, willing to take lives...that and the Doctor's been up close and personal with killing. He's had to kill before. Sometimes he's done worse than kill. And I doubt it's a stretch to think that it weighs heavily on his conscience. I think he doesn't want to accept Jenny because...well, she's a walking reminder of things that have plagued him. That and his own personal Time Lord sense of "this shouldn't be possible. This shouldn't exist." (See also his reasons he left Captain Jack behind as revealed in "Utopia")
And yet at the same time, after a while, he starts to be open to the matter of accepting Jenny on the TARDIS. And once they reach the Source and shatter it, creating new life, everything seems to be going fine. The opposing sides are putting down their weapons, and then...General Cobb can't resist one last shot at the opposing side.
There really isn't any reason for Cobb's hatred of the Hath (the opposing side in question), but I guess sometimes in real life...there really isn't any reason for someone's hatred of a certain sect, a certain gender, a certain race, etc. And I think that Cobb was so convinced of the righteousness of his side also that it didn't matter what happened as long as he took one of the Hath with him.
But who steps in front of that bullet? Who stops Cobb? Jenny, of course. Well, General Quaritch (I just thought the name was appropriate considering the circumstances, except even Quaritch had his redeeming qualities and a certain belief in the righteousness of his cause * . There's no defending Cobb in the slightest), your hate for the Hath has cost the life ** of an innocent young woman who wanted no more than to help stop the violence. How can you possibly defend that?
I also liked the Doctor's reaction to what happened. Especially his basically begging Jenny not to die on him, and Jenny's (seemingly) last words about a beautiful new world. I will admit...it's one of those moments that broke my heart and warmed it at the same time. And later, when the Doctor rejects the idea of shooting Cobb and his speech afterwards, about building a new society of human and Hath off "the man who never would". I think it helps because he sounds so distraught over what happened -- after all, Cobb gunned down his *daughter* *** just to get revenge against the Hath -- and yet so determined, so passionate to not let a war like the one between the Hath and the humans happen again.
I also loved, earlier, before Jenny's shot, the Doctor confiding in Donna about how the loss of his children hasn't really healed, and it might not ever heal again (basically) and Donna saying that she thinks he's wrong. Just...oh, Donna. <3 If there was ever a way to make "you're wrong" sound heartwarming, Donna's found it right there. I think it's made even more poignant considering...well, when Donna found the Doctor, he was broken. Martha's helped in a few places, but he's not entirely healed. And stuff like the Master choosing to die in his arms just to spite him...I think after everything that's happened to him, the Doctor deserves some happiness. Just once. And it really makes what happens to Jenny all the more heartbreaking, even if she's not quite dead. And when she does end up sort-of regenerating (she doesn't change shape)...well, it's a very sweet, lovely, hopeful ending, especially when she goes off to see the stars like her father.
I also liked the discussion between Jenny and the Doctor about being a soldier (even though it's one of the things the Doctor wouldn't ever admit. He's been a soldier before, after all; I doubt he'd ever want to go back), and Donna discovering Jenny's two hearts. And Jenny and the Doctor's joy over her not killing Cobb, and earlier, her making her way through the traps (and Donna's reaction. XD). Also, Martha befriending that one Hath, and her healing the dislocated shoulder. And encouraging it to come up into the surface with her. And...well, all their friendship, really. Which makes the Hath's sacrifice to save Martha all the more heartrending.
I also loved Martha and Donna's friendship, especially Donna defending Martha in regards to being "collateral damage", and their having a laugh outside the TARDIS before...well, shit gets real. And Martha and Donna's conversation regarding traveling with the Doctor, especially Martha saying, basically, Donna might get tired of it someday. And Donna saying she'll stay with the Doctor "forever" (which...JesusChristouch. ;.;). And Martha's goodbye to the Doctor. Honestly, only bad thing about this story? When it ended. I didn't want it to end. :)
As for THE UNICORN AND THE WASP...brilliant fucking episode, seriously. <3 I loved the Doctor and Donna fanboying/fangirling over Agatha Christie, I loved the actress who played Agatha Christie in the episode; she was just brilliant. <3 If she was in a biopic about Agatha Christie...well, she'd be superb. :) I also loved the interaction between the Doctor and Donna in the episode; I swear they make an amazing team. :) Not to mention Donna herself got some great moments, like helping to solve the mystery, the "shock" (seriously, that was brilliant. XD). Also, her comforting Agatha Christie about her own failed marriage. And when she thinks up the idea of drowning the wasp in question (though it was also the matter of an Alas Poor Villain moment, especially when it spares Agatha in the end). And using a magnifying glass to scare off the wasp. And Donna's failed attempts to mimic 1920s speak...yeah, companions failing to fit into a certain time period will never not be funny. XD
But when you got through the humor (and there was plenty, like the Doctor's "Oh, that's just cheating." after the wasp gets away from him), really, the episode really had some genuinely unsettling moments. Things like the wasp's appearance -- I mean, Jesus Christ. 0.0. And when the wasp-in-human-form gets angry about thieves stealing from his church, and starts suddenly buzzing. And his rant back in the present about humans (yes, the wasp is an alien, or a Vespiform if one is to be more specific). I also kind of liked the whole locked-into-human-form-unless-under-great-stress thing (it's that sort of specificity I wish I could have in my writing), and the Vespiform's mother (let's say that a Vespiform in human form wanted to learn more about humans, seduced her, got her pregnant, later drowned in a monsoon with a special jewel that happened to be a telepathic device for their child left to his lover as something to remember him by, which absorbed the contents of the book his mother was reading into the Vespiform's head...and yeah, things pretty much go south as one would expect they would) trying to get to her son (which I can understand. I mean, she hasn't seen him in years). And Agatha Christie going to the lake if only to stop the wasp. And earlier, when she's using her wits to find the thief and the murderer. And the Doctor trying to appeal to the inner goodness of the Vespiform, even if it fails. And the ending itself...while kind of sad, it's also hopeful because it says that nothing is truly forgotten. There's still little things Agatha Christie remembers; they just ooze through the cracks. And I also loved earlier when the Doctor is reassuring Agatha Christie about how brilliant she is. Especially considering...well, some of Agatha's troubles, such as insecurity regarding her writing, struck very close to home for me. Honestly, it was a brilliant episode. Only thing I didn't like? When it ended.
* From what I remember in some interviews and such.
** Granted, she gets better -- and thank you, Steven Moffat -- but still...
*** Even the fact it was semi-accidental doesn't really make things better.
So yeah, overall? Amazing stories. Definitely recommended. :)
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