Ten's character arc, again
May. 12th, 2008 12:55 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rynneBecause I'm not ready to go to bed yet, despite how late it's getting...
In this post I made prior to the premiere of S4, I made a few predictions based on what I thought Ten's character arc was. I went into further depth after seeing some of the episodes, especially TSS/TPS. Basically, I think the Doctor's going to learn that he doesn't have to be the Lonely God, that he can have a life of his own even with all the power he has. And I think that part of having his own life involves dealing with his abandonment issues.
These pretty much have to be addressed, considering how they've been drawn to the forefront several times this season alone. The Doctor alone in the TARDIS in Partners in Crime, and his hesitancy in accepting Donna aboard. Donna's desire to leave in Planet of the Ood. That speech he gave her in The Sontaran Stratagem. Now there's The Doctor's Daughter, where he doesn't want to accept Jenny because he's sure he's going to lose her--and sure enough, he does. Even Donna saying she wants to travel with him "forever" feeds into it, first because the audience knows that Catherine Tate is only there for one season, and second because we know from Rose that forever is an illusion, whether he'll lose her naturally or have her ripped away from him unwillingly.
The Doctor is continually losing people he cares about. First, there's all the companions who have left him over the years. Then, there's the Time War. Then Rose is ripped away, Sarah Jane refuses to travel with him, Reinette and the Master die, Mickey, Jack, and Martha walk away, and now Jenny, who he was just beginning to accept and really want, dies as well, in a way extremely reminiscent of the Master's death, and she only returns to life when the Doctor's not aware of it.
About two years ago, I made a post about angst in fanfic, which can apply to canon just as easily. To quote myself:
"Angst is such an easy thing to drop the ball on; a trap that I see so many writers falling into is putting too much angst in a story without an appropriate pay-off. In happy ending angst, that's not to say that everything has to end up sunshine and roses, but even well-done hope of better things can be as good or better than directly portraying those better things. In sad ending angst, that doesn't mean that rocks fall and everyone dies. You just have to keep the ending in line with what you put the characters through.
So many people write gratuitous angst. Pouring suffering after suffering after suffering on a character desensitizes the reader. Maybe at the beginning of the story I'll feel sorry for the guy, and as the story--and the angst--goes on, I'll probably still hurt for him, but at some point it just becomes ridiculous. [Example] Something I think that writers really need to ask themselves is, "How will this event progress the story and/or this character's personal arc?" If you can't think of an answer, don't write the event. If you have an answer, but the progression can come just as easily in a non-angsty way, don't write the event, especially if you're already bordering on gratuitous angst."
After watching this episode, I think the angst is now on the verge of being gratuitous, and judging by some of the reaction posts I've seen, I'm not the only one who thinks so. But something I still think that is completely necessary in angst is an appropriate pay-off. Since the S4 finale is not the end of the show, we know that the Doctor is going to continue on, and since David Tennant is doing the 2009 specials (and I think has signed on for S5--is that confirmed?), we know there's not going to be a regeneration. That limits some of the ways that the angst can be payed off.
RTD has said that the finale is going to be heartbreaking, but he's also said that S4 is supposed to be lighter than S3. That is true in that the Doctor is better able to connect with his companion this time and they can be pretty funny together, and his responsibility is somewhat lessened (Donna helping push the lever in Fires of Pomepeii, Ood Sigma having things under control, Martha changing UNIT from within, Luke destroying the Sontarans)--otherwise, he continues to get hammered, in a way that he's never been before. Episode after episode emphasizes a few things: the Doctor's abandonment issues, his Lonely God issues, and his angst in general.
The Lonely God issues are being dealt with, I think, with the examples I mentioned in the paragraph above. I don't know if it's actually hit the Doctor yet what those examples mean, but they point towards other people stepping up and taking responsibility. Other people taking care of the universe. Other people showing they have power to take control of their own destinies. Other people showing that the Doctor doesn't need to make all the decisions, and all the sacrifices. The Doctor is learning, perhaps subconsciously at first, that there are people he can rely on, that he doesn't have to go it alone.
The Doctor's Daughter brings up the issue of family--specifically, the Doctor's family. Jenny (with help from Donna) pretty much forced him to acknowledge her as family of a sort, by calling him Dad and constantly comparing the two of them and modeling herself on his behavior. She wanted to travel with him, and he ended up wanting that as well. But the show said otherwise, and the Doctor lost the opportunity that Jenny represented.
The Doctor's desire for a family, renewed in this episode, ties into his abandonment issues. In practice, not all families are like this, but the ideal family are people who stand by each other, support each other, and do it for the entirety of each individual family member's life. They represent stability, something the Doctor wants, and is well aware of wanting. That's part of the impact of Family of Blood--the Family destroyed his ability to make a family with Joan, and in retaliation, he chains them to immortality separated from each other. He's very well aware that the cruelest thing he could do was separate this family.
He knows how cruel this separation is because he's experienced it himself, first with the destruction of Gallifrey, and then with the loss of Rose and her family, the family who welcomed him in and made him a part of them.
The Doctor's Lonely God issues are being dealt with. I think the abandonment issues will also have to be dealt with, or else they're gratuitous angst. The Lonely God issues can be settled, at least partially, with the Companionpalooza at the end of S4, since all the companions are capable people the Doctor can rely on to sort things out in his stead, showing that he doesn't have to take care of everything himself. The Companionpalooza can also help with the abandonment issues, teaching the Doctor that he does have friends who will support him and come back, but I don't think that will be the main solution. Donna is only staying for one season, so she can't give him any forever, and Jack, Martha, and Sarah Jane have their own lives to lead (and Jack and Sarah Jane at least have their own shows to prove it!). Basically, the Companionpalooza will show him that he does have friends to support him, but since they won't stay with him, he's still second-best. He's no one's first choice. He's still being left.
Except for Rose. (And Donna, judging by her wanting forever, but we know she's only there for one season, so something has to happen to stop that.) Rose wanted forever with him, Rose was ripped away from him unwillingly, and Rose is coming back. So are Jackie and Mickey, the rest of the Doctor's adopted family.
In my last post on Ten's character arc, I said:
"RTD said that Rose's return was planned. But what ultimate purpose would her return serve? I know there are people who just want Rose and the Doctor to have closure, to be able to part on much better terms than Doomsday, but how would that serve the Doctor's character arc? Just last season, he was able to part on good terms with two companions, Jack and Martha, not to mention the dozens of companions before them. This is nothing new for him. So what purpose could Rose's return serve if they're not going to do something different with her? Mickey and Jackie, the rest of the Doctor's adopted family, are also coming back--why, if they're just going to leave him alone again? RTD keeps saying that Doctor Who is about hope, but I see no hope in Rose, Mickey, and Jackie coming back just to leave again so soon, and more importantly, I don't see the point."
And moreover, I do see a point to Rose staying: her choosing to stay, and being able to follow up on that choice, will help mitigate his abandonment issues. I think they go too deep to ever really go away, but she can really help. Her choosing to stay would also, I think, be an appropriate pay-off to all the angst, as well as all the narrative build-up her return is getting.
One thing that I am always aware of as I watch this show is that it's fiction. This seems like such an obvious thing, but I think the implications escape some people--effectively, that fiction has to make sense. In real life, someone might have abandonment issues and just keep getting worse and worse without any real improvement, but I can't imagine that happening to the title character, the protagonist, of a TV show that's entirely fiction. Characters have to grow, and angst has to peak. I can't imagine a successful story where those things don't happen, where a character is completely static and angst just continues spiralling downward with no end in sight. Drama is interesting, but if there's no break, it gets boring.
The Doctor has to learn, he has to grow, and he has to change. The Doctor's Daughter shows him reluctant to make connections because of the inevitability of losing them, so I think he needs to learn that he won't necessarily lose them. I do think the Companionpalooza will help, but that it's Rose who will be the biggest agent of change.
Okay, now it's really late and I'm sleepy, so if this doesn't quite make sense, I blame it on that. :p G'night.
In this post I made prior to the premiere of S4, I made a few predictions based on what I thought Ten's character arc was. I went into further depth after seeing some of the episodes, especially TSS/TPS. Basically, I think the Doctor's going to learn that he doesn't have to be the Lonely God, that he can have a life of his own even with all the power he has. And I think that part of having his own life involves dealing with his abandonment issues.
These pretty much have to be addressed, considering how they've been drawn to the forefront several times this season alone. The Doctor alone in the TARDIS in Partners in Crime, and his hesitancy in accepting Donna aboard. Donna's desire to leave in Planet of the Ood. That speech he gave her in The Sontaran Stratagem. Now there's The Doctor's Daughter, where he doesn't want to accept Jenny because he's sure he's going to lose her--and sure enough, he does. Even Donna saying she wants to travel with him "forever" feeds into it, first because the audience knows that Catherine Tate is only there for one season, and second because we know from Rose that forever is an illusion, whether he'll lose her naturally or have her ripped away from him unwillingly.
The Doctor is continually losing people he cares about. First, there's all the companions who have left him over the years. Then, there's the Time War. Then Rose is ripped away, Sarah Jane refuses to travel with him, Reinette and the Master die, Mickey, Jack, and Martha walk away, and now Jenny, who he was just beginning to accept and really want, dies as well, in a way extremely reminiscent of the Master's death, and she only returns to life when the Doctor's not aware of it.
About two years ago, I made a post about angst in fanfic, which can apply to canon just as easily. To quote myself:
"Angst is such an easy thing to drop the ball on; a trap that I see so many writers falling into is putting too much angst in a story without an appropriate pay-off. In happy ending angst, that's not to say that everything has to end up sunshine and roses, but even well-done hope of better things can be as good or better than directly portraying those better things. In sad ending angst, that doesn't mean that rocks fall and everyone dies. You just have to keep the ending in line with what you put the characters through.
So many people write gratuitous angst. Pouring suffering after suffering after suffering on a character desensitizes the reader. Maybe at the beginning of the story I'll feel sorry for the guy, and as the story--and the angst--goes on, I'll probably still hurt for him, but at some point it just becomes ridiculous. [Example] Something I think that writers really need to ask themselves is, "How will this event progress the story and/or this character's personal arc?" If you can't think of an answer, don't write the event. If you have an answer, but the progression can come just as easily in a non-angsty way, don't write the event, especially if you're already bordering on gratuitous angst."
After watching this episode, I think the angst is now on the verge of being gratuitous, and judging by some of the reaction posts I've seen, I'm not the only one who thinks so. But something I still think that is completely necessary in angst is an appropriate pay-off. Since the S4 finale is not the end of the show, we know that the Doctor is going to continue on, and since David Tennant is doing the 2009 specials (and I think has signed on for S5--is that confirmed?), we know there's not going to be a regeneration. That limits some of the ways that the angst can be payed off.
RTD has said that the finale is going to be heartbreaking, but he's also said that S4 is supposed to be lighter than S3. That is true in that the Doctor is better able to connect with his companion this time and they can be pretty funny together, and his responsibility is somewhat lessened (Donna helping push the lever in Fires of Pomepeii, Ood Sigma having things under control, Martha changing UNIT from within, Luke destroying the Sontarans)--otherwise, he continues to get hammered, in a way that he's never been before. Episode after episode emphasizes a few things: the Doctor's abandonment issues, his Lonely God issues, and his angst in general.
The Lonely God issues are being dealt with, I think, with the examples I mentioned in the paragraph above. I don't know if it's actually hit the Doctor yet what those examples mean, but they point towards other people stepping up and taking responsibility. Other people taking care of the universe. Other people showing they have power to take control of their own destinies. Other people showing that the Doctor doesn't need to make all the decisions, and all the sacrifices. The Doctor is learning, perhaps subconsciously at first, that there are people he can rely on, that he doesn't have to go it alone.
The Doctor's Daughter brings up the issue of family--specifically, the Doctor's family. Jenny (with help from Donna) pretty much forced him to acknowledge her as family of a sort, by calling him Dad and constantly comparing the two of them and modeling herself on his behavior. She wanted to travel with him, and he ended up wanting that as well. But the show said otherwise, and the Doctor lost the opportunity that Jenny represented.
The Doctor's desire for a family, renewed in this episode, ties into his abandonment issues. In practice, not all families are like this, but the ideal family are people who stand by each other, support each other, and do it for the entirety of each individual family member's life. They represent stability, something the Doctor wants, and is well aware of wanting. That's part of the impact of Family of Blood--the Family destroyed his ability to make a family with Joan, and in retaliation, he chains them to immortality separated from each other. He's very well aware that the cruelest thing he could do was separate this family.
He knows how cruel this separation is because he's experienced it himself, first with the destruction of Gallifrey, and then with the loss of Rose and her family, the family who welcomed him in and made him a part of them.
The Doctor's Lonely God issues are being dealt with. I think the abandonment issues will also have to be dealt with, or else they're gratuitous angst. The Lonely God issues can be settled, at least partially, with the Companionpalooza at the end of S4, since all the companions are capable people the Doctor can rely on to sort things out in his stead, showing that he doesn't have to take care of everything himself. The Companionpalooza can also help with the abandonment issues, teaching the Doctor that he does have friends who will support him and come back, but I don't think that will be the main solution. Donna is only staying for one season, so she can't give him any forever, and Jack, Martha, and Sarah Jane have their own lives to lead (and Jack and Sarah Jane at least have their own shows to prove it!). Basically, the Companionpalooza will show him that he does have friends to support him, but since they won't stay with him, he's still second-best. He's no one's first choice. He's still being left.
Except for Rose. (And Donna, judging by her wanting forever, but we know she's only there for one season, so something has to happen to stop that.) Rose wanted forever with him, Rose was ripped away from him unwillingly, and Rose is coming back. So are Jackie and Mickey, the rest of the Doctor's adopted family.
In my last post on Ten's character arc, I said:
"RTD said that Rose's return was planned. But what ultimate purpose would her return serve? I know there are people who just want Rose and the Doctor to have closure, to be able to part on much better terms than Doomsday, but how would that serve the Doctor's character arc? Just last season, he was able to part on good terms with two companions, Jack and Martha, not to mention the dozens of companions before them. This is nothing new for him. So what purpose could Rose's return serve if they're not going to do something different with her? Mickey and Jackie, the rest of the Doctor's adopted family, are also coming back--why, if they're just going to leave him alone again? RTD keeps saying that Doctor Who is about hope, but I see no hope in Rose, Mickey, and Jackie coming back just to leave again so soon, and more importantly, I don't see the point."
And moreover, I do see a point to Rose staying: her choosing to stay, and being able to follow up on that choice, will help mitigate his abandonment issues. I think they go too deep to ever really go away, but she can really help. Her choosing to stay would also, I think, be an appropriate pay-off to all the angst, as well as all the narrative build-up her return is getting.
One thing that I am always aware of as I watch this show is that it's fiction. This seems like such an obvious thing, but I think the implications escape some people--effectively, that fiction has to make sense. In real life, someone might have abandonment issues and just keep getting worse and worse without any real improvement, but I can't imagine that happening to the title character, the protagonist, of a TV show that's entirely fiction. Characters have to grow, and angst has to peak. I can't imagine a successful story where those things don't happen, where a character is completely static and angst just continues spiralling downward with no end in sight. Drama is interesting, but if there's no break, it gets boring.
The Doctor has to learn, he has to grow, and he has to change. The Doctor's Daughter shows him reluctant to make connections because of the inevitability of losing them, so I think he needs to learn that he won't necessarily lose them. I do think the Companionpalooza will help, but that it's Rose who will be the biggest agent of change.
Okay, now it's really late and I'm sleepy, so if this doesn't quite make sense, I blame it on that. :p G'night.
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Date: 2008-05-14 05:37 am (UTC)And Doctor Who is my current obsession, so of course I'm going to tell you to watch it, but...you totally should! My OTP here is a het ship, but the show can get really slashy, if that's any incentive. ;)