Doctor Who Finale--Journey's End (Spoilers)

[sheryden]

Okay, we all know that RTD isn't known for his gift of follow through, but come on.

The Regeneration: Okay, I'll be honest. Tennant is staying, so I'm willing to overlook the convenient and entirely anticlimactic lameness of his quasi-regeneration. Yes, I'm that easy. I can now point and laugh and say, "I told you so" the town criers on the various DW boards who called those of us who said Tennant was staying delusional. They could have given Ten a Scottish accent as a side effect, though, just for diversity.

Team Torchwood: First of all, TOSH ROCKS!!! I totally did not see that coming, and that one little bit made me decidedly less Hulk Smash about the rest of the episode. And how cool was it that Ianto knew about Tosh's project? Still, after that, Ianto and Gwen were relegated to the subplot basement. I reckon they had some coffee and talked about guys. But we'll never know, because they didn't show it. I did like that we got to see their ride home when the TARDIS pulled the earth back to its proper place in space. They looked so gleeful, and if CCTV picked up the bit with Ianto spooning the railing, Jack will probably watch it over and over again.

Sarah Jane, Mickey, and Jackie: Sarah Jane rocked this episode. I loved that she told Mickey and Jackie what they needed to do, and they did it. That woman shows some brass. I love that they balanced the seasoned Companion with the worried mother. And Jack saluting her? WIN! Was it me, or did he look like he wanted to make out with her when she showed him the warp star? :D

Jack/Donna: Okay, I'm a Jack/Ianto shipper, so I have to point this out. When Donna came onto Jack and told him he could hug her? HE TOTALLY DIDN'T!!! In the old days, he would have jumped at the chance. But now? He is so exclusive with Ianto.

Martha: Wow, she was really underused, in my opinion. She spent most of the episode trouncing around in Germany with the Osterhagen Key, and the most meaningful interaction she had was with a melodramatic German woman who pointed a gun at her to show the viewers The Terrible and Earth-Shattering Danger held by the Key. At least she got to help fly the TARDIS. But we'll talk about that later. She also really looks cute in that UNIT outfit.

Jack: Oh, Jack. First of all, YES. WE GET THAT HE IS IMMORTAL! Stop using this stupid plot device. I can't even take it seriously anymore. You have to wonder what John Barrowman thinks when he picks up script after script and finds out he's being killed off again. And the worst of it was that Rose never got to find out why he didn't die. That could have been a great conversation.

Davros: Of course, when would they have had time for such a chat, considering that Davros chewed up a large portion of the show with his incessant cackling and revealing his Evil Plan. I wanted to see someone chuck him down in the whole they stuck Donna and the TARDIS in. His yammering took up so much time that could have been used for other stuff. He was a caricature, not a proper villain, and it was a disappointment. I did think it was cool that he recognized Sarah Jane, though.

Jack Again: Right, now about Jack and the incinerator. How the flying fuck did his clothes survive? Of course, they also survived 1000 or so years underground without looking more than a little dusty, too. Are his clothes immortal now? Aside from the insult to my sense of logic, I'm thinking this could have been a good Unexpected Naked Jack opportunity, and they wasted it.

TARDIS, Donna, and Unexpected Naked Doctor: Oh noes! They tried to kill the TARDIS (and Donna by default). This was a really nice moment, though, partially because of the Real!Doctor's reaction. It was beautifully done. Now, as far as the meta-whatever regeneration, I was a little underwhelmed. I loved the banter between Blue!Doc and Donna, and I loved that Donna gained some Time Lady mojo. But at the same time, it really was contrived and took away from everything else. In short, Doctor!Donna was win, but the methodology for making it happen was meh. Still, Unexpected Naked Doctor.

Jack/Mickey Banter: Mickey Mouse and Captain Cheesecake FTW! I loved Mickey's reaction to Jack's very amorous hug. Apparently, all these years hanging with Jake Simmonds hasn't gotten him used to teh homoeroticism. If he does join Torchwood, he's in for some fun. Especially if Gwen decides to play a great prank and send him to the hothouse to find Jack and Ianto.

Preachy Davros: Oh, for crying out loud. Let's shame the Doctor and show him that his companions are big meanies would die or kill to keep the universe from being enslaved. The montage was okay. It would have had a bit more emotional impact for me if they'd shown Adric and some others from the past, but that's me. But still, we get the moral message. Killing in War = Bad. There's always another way. Thanks for the PSA.

Doctor!Donna: Like I said, she was brilliant. But I'll get back to her in a CAPSLOCK RAGE kind of way in a moment.

Defeat of the Daleks: Doctor!Donna pwns, so yay. Spinning Daleks, lol. "Help me! Help me!" But then Genocidal Blue!Doc had to go and be naughty.

Quote of the Night: Jack: "I can't tell you what I'm thinking right now."

Dalek Caan Betrays the Daleks: Ugh. More exposition! Now we don't have to just listen to Davros drone on, we also have to listen to Caan.

Ianto and Luke Not Meeting the Doctor: The ONE thing I wanted (other than a happy ending for Donna and a K-9 sighting) was for the Ianto and Luke to properly meet the Doctor. Oh, sure Gwen got to chat with him, but Ianto, who was standing right there only got to pop his head into the corner of the screen. Would it have killed Jack to say, "And that's Ianto Jones." No, there had to be fussing over Gwen, because RTD loves to fuss over his female leads. We didn't even get a quick thirty-second explanation of how Sarah Jane came to have a son. FAIL. Oh, and RTD, I thought you said Gwen and Gwyneth weren't related!

K-9: One thing I wanted, I actually got!!! Yes, I grew up watching this little tin dog, and dammit, I wanted to see him with the rest of the Companions! (Did anyone notice the underwhelmed look on Mickey's face, lol?) Good dog!

The Doctor and his Companions Fly the TARDIS in Unison: I've probably watched this scene eight times, and I cry and cheer every time. This is the scene that keeps the episode from just being meh. The Doctor looked enraptured at the true companionship and unity of flying the TARDIS with the people he loves. *weeps* And the whole sequence--the Companions in the TARDIS, the earth being dragged through space, the individuals who had up to this point been trapped in the subplot basement enjoying the ride home (though Francine didn't look too excited)--was just brilliant.

Donna Finally Gets Her Hug: Even if she had to pitch Sarah Jane across the room to get it. :P

Jack Gets Grounded From His Teleporter: Poor Jack. The Doctor took his teleporter away again. :( I love Jack's grin when he's with the Doctor. He acts like such an incorrigible little boy. I'd love to see Ianto and Gwen actually see Jack interact with the Doctor.

Martha and Mickey: So, as I'm sure a lot of us expected, they seem to be heading toward Torchwood membership. I posted a question about them joining the team in the poll I'm linking to at the bottom of this post, but I'm still not sure how I feel. I love both of them, but I'm not sure I want them to join the team permanently. To be honest, I'd kind of like the threesome to be on their own for a while. Granted, they could use the expertise, but both Martha and Mickey are pretty well known characters, and I can just see Ianto getting shoved into the background in order to build up Martha and Mickey as members. In terms of character development, I really want to see how Jack, Ianto, and Gwen (with Rhys and the other regulars in the background) interact as a team before we bring in new people. I still maintain that Jack and Martha are BFF, though.

Bad Wolf Bay Redux: I love that Jackie's first reaction is "Well dammit, now I have to call Pete out here to schlep us back home. He'll have to bring the baby." And Jackie pulling Blue!Doc's chain with the whole name bit? Yay!

Now for the stuff that pissed me off.

I'm kind of a closet Ten/Rose shipper. I'm not one of those ZOMGYAY! types, but I liked their chemistry back in the day, and I was looking forward to some closure. This? This wasn't it. To me, it looked like Ten was trying to pass off some stalker girlfriend who wouldn't leave him alone. Let's look at the scene:

Rose: I went through a lot to find you. You're not dumping me off now.

Ten: Oh, see, I need you to look after my kid brother. He's a little messed in the head.

Rose: Yeah, okay. But it's you I want.

Ten: Well, he's a lot like me. He's cute like me.

Blue!Doc: Yeah, we could be boyfriend and girlfriend!

Rose: Okay, he's cute, and he likes me. But you're the guy I love. Do you love me?

Ten: *hems and hauls*

Blue!Doc: I love you, but I'll only whisper it, because I can't say mushy things in front of millions of TV viewers.

Rose: GOOD ENOUGH! *glomps him*

Meanwhile, Ten and Donna sneak off, leaving Rose bewildered and Blue!Doc looking reaaaally awkward and unsure of his chances.

What the hell was that?!?!?! Was that supposed to satisfy anyone?

Donna: CAPSLOCK RAGE INITIATED!!! WHAT THE FLYING FUCK DID THEY HAVE TO DO THAT FOR? DONNA DESERVED BETTER!!!!! A WHOLE SEASON OF CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT GONE! AND DONNA IS NOW TRAPPED BACK IN HER NO-SELF-ESTEEM LADEN EXISTENCE!!! Couldn't they at least have shown us something hopeful? Like a job or a hot guy? And what is this, "You can't tell her anything" crap? Did the Doctor forward this message to Jack, Martha, and Sarah Jane? What if they run into her on the street and say, "Hey, what are you doing back on Earth?" FAIL FAIL FAIL!!!!! I know Catherine Tate was leaving the show, but I would almost rather they had killed her off with dignity instead of stripping her of her memories and breaking Wilf's heart! Wilf broke my heart in his last scenes!!!! *sobs uncontrollably* At least her mother finally appreciates her.

WE GOT A HAPPY ENDING FOR RIVER SONG! WE GOT A HAPPY ENDING FOR THE OOD! BUT DONNA? NO, WE GET A MEMORY WIPE AND A YEAR OF CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT DISREGARDED. THIS IS NOT CLOSURE!

Also, did anyone really want to see Blue!Doc or Doctor!Donna become the Master? I'm still not convinced one of them won't...

Whoever they get as a Companion will have some big shoes to fill, because Donna was (and is) fantastic.

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