"The Name of the Doctor"
May. 19th, 2013 09:05 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lizbeeSo Clara has been reminding me of Mel, and then this made me think of "The Ultimate Foe", but not shite.
So, yes, I was reminded of "The Ultimate Foe" for some reason, with all the old Doctors, and Clara venturing into dangerous parts to save the Doctor, just as Mel did. (Sadly there were no digressions into random offices and the set of "Love Never Dies". WAIT, DID I SAY "SADLY"?) And then they mentioned the Valeyard, and I kind of felt like my joy was complete.
SO MANY FEELINGS.
One feeling is that it was kind of a mess, and not just because the compositing of old and new footage was pretty rough. But it was a good mess, in that the characterisation held up better than the plotting, and although I still don't feel like Clara has been consistently written over the half-season, at least now we can settle her mystery and move on.
Although I'm slightly disappointed that she's neither the Twelfth Doctor nor Scaroth, Last of the Jagaroth.
I'm very glad that no one died permanently, because I really love the Paternoster Gang. On the other hand, Neve McIntosh is brilliant, and I could watch her angsting over Jenny ALL DAY. And I'm glad Moffat found a way to incorporate a new Scotland joke. They've been a bit thin on the ground since Amy left.
People are saying this is the end of River's story? I don't see that myself. Chronology-wise, we last saw her in jail, and we've got a lot of years to cover between there and the library. And I don't think her projecting herself from the library removed herself from that existence -- it's more like emailing a copy of yourself as an attachment than printing out a hardcopy then deleting the original file. I think?
I was a bit eyerolly at Clara's whole "I was born to save the Doctor" thing, but then I realised I was being literal, ie, the number one mistake of fandom these days. ("But 'The Doctor's Wife' was all about the TARDIS!") Then the Doctor started talking about choosing your name and identity, and yup, that's what Clara chose to be, and this is her self-identification. She's an ordinary girl who became extraordinary, and that's like the ideal companion arc.
THEORY TIME! John Hurt is not the Valeyard, although I'm sure we're meant to think that he is, but the Eighth Doctor in his last years. People who we didn't see once in Clara's running and saving: Eight. People who have done terrible things for good reasons, ie, destroying Gallifrey: Eight. (Probably.) Unlike the Valeyard, who's mostly into evil in its most bureaucratic form.
ANYWAY, that was all quite good, but I hope we get better writing of Clara in the future.
So, yes, I was reminded of "The Ultimate Foe" for some reason, with all the old Doctors, and Clara venturing into dangerous parts to save the Doctor, just as Mel did. (Sadly there were no digressions into random offices and the set of "Love Never Dies". WAIT, DID I SAY "SADLY"?) And then they mentioned the Valeyard, and I kind of felt like my joy was complete.
SO MANY FEELINGS.
One feeling is that it was kind of a mess, and not just because the compositing of old and new footage was pretty rough. But it was a good mess, in that the characterisation held up better than the plotting, and although I still don't feel like Clara has been consistently written over the half-season, at least now we can settle her mystery and move on.
Although I'm slightly disappointed that she's neither the Twelfth Doctor nor Scaroth, Last of the Jagaroth.
I'm very glad that no one died permanently, because I really love the Paternoster Gang. On the other hand, Neve McIntosh is brilliant, and I could watch her angsting over Jenny ALL DAY. And I'm glad Moffat found a way to incorporate a new Scotland joke. They've been a bit thin on the ground since Amy left.
People are saying this is the end of River's story? I don't see that myself. Chronology-wise, we last saw her in jail, and we've got a lot of years to cover between there and the library. And I don't think her projecting herself from the library removed herself from that existence -- it's more like emailing a copy of yourself as an attachment than printing out a hardcopy then deleting the original file. I think?
I was a bit eyerolly at Clara's whole "I was born to save the Doctor" thing, but then I realised I was being literal, ie, the number one mistake of fandom these days. ("But 'The Doctor's Wife' was all about the TARDIS!") Then the Doctor started talking about choosing your name and identity, and yup, that's what Clara chose to be, and this is her self-identification. She's an ordinary girl who became extraordinary, and that's like the ideal companion arc.
THEORY TIME! John Hurt is not the Valeyard, although I'm sure we're meant to think that he is, but the Eighth Doctor in his last years. People who we didn't see once in Clara's running and saving: Eight. People who have done terrible things for good reasons, ie, destroying Gallifrey: Eight. (Probably.) Unlike the Valeyard, who's mostly into evil in its most bureaucratic form.
ANYWAY, that was all quite good, but I hope we get better writing of Clara in the future.
no subject
Date: 2013-05-19 11:39 pm (UTC)Ooh, interesting theory! Is Eight really the only one who doesn't show up?
no subject
Date: 2013-05-21 10:42 am (UTC)