Rose's Choice
May. 13th, 2008 09:48 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rynneA couple days ago I made a post about why I think S4 will end with the Doctor and Rose together, from the Doctor's side of things. (Spoilers for 4x06 in that post.) Now watch me ramble about why I think it will end that way from the Rose side of things, plus all the narrative clues I saw. Spoilers for 4x06 in this post as well, and speculation for the finale.
First of all, I could almost see Rose choosing to be Defender of the Earth in Pete's World. Throughout S1, culminating in Parting of the Ways, she learned how to make tough decisions, and S2 is about her really growing into her own, starting from The Christmas Invasion when she faces down the Sycorax and going through how often it's her who ends up figuring things out and saving people, growing more like the Doctor. Also, she has an established pattern of being willing to sacrifice herself for the good of the world/universe. So I could almost see Rose being self-sacrificing enough at the end of S4 to decide to go back to Pete's World and keep being their Defender of the Earth. Almost.
But there are several things that make it more difficult for me to believe that choice. First is that, while she is self-sacrificing, that's always when they're in the midst of danger. In World War III, she tells the Doctor to go through with his plan, despite the danger to her, because they all certainly would not have survived (Rose and the Doctor too) if the Slitheen had gotten the nuclear launch codes. In Dalek, Rose tells the Doctor not to open the bulkhead, sacrificing herself, because she figures she wouldn't survive either way, but if they keep the bulkhead closed, at least she'll be the last person the Dalek can kill. In the Idiot's Lantern, where she looks at the TV rather than go with the Doctor, who's yelling for her to come with him, and then goes to confront Magpie, it was a risk, but she had a chance of ending up perfectly fine, as well as the chance to have her face sucked off. And in Doomsday, when she lets go of the magnaclamp to grab the lever, it's the same thing--it was risky, but it wasn't guaranteed that she and the Doctor wouldn't end up together and perfectly fine at the end of it. Yeah, she saved the world and ended up separated from the Doctor, but she didn't do it knowing that would happen. (Which is not to say that she wouldn't, but she's never been faced with that choice, so we don't quite know.)
Another reason I would have difficulty believing her choosing Pete's World over the Doctor is that she's pretty much always prioritized the Doctor above everything else. She chooses him over Mickey in Rose, him over her mother in World War III, him over Adam in The Long Game, him over Jack in The Doctor Dances, him over Mickey again in Boom Town, and him over everyone in Parting of the Ways. In Girl in the Fireplace, she chooses to comfort him despite whatever hurt feelings she might have, and in The Satan Pit, she chooses to stay on a dying planet with him over leaving him behind.
Even when she saves the world, it's often presented as her doing it for him. I wrote a bunch about this one in the Rose section of my essay on Parting of the Ways, but because of the things she says as Bad Wolf, I think it's pretty obvious she did it for him, rather than to save Earth and the universe from the Daleks. When he tells her that she's going to burn, she says, "I want you safe. My Doctor. Protected from the false god", implying that she's all right with sacrificing herself, if it's for him. Then she says, "The Time War ends", rather than anything about Earth/the universe being saved from the Daleks. The Time War was something that hurt him, and in ending it, she wants to heal at least some of his pain.
Same thing for Doomsday. When she comes back, she says, "I made my choice and I'm never gonna leave you." If she'd said something like, "There are two levers and one you; you can't do this on your own", I'd more easily believe any choice in S4 to leave him to defend Pete's World. But that's not what she's thinking. She'll save the world, yeah, because that's what they do, but the main attraction for her is being able to do it with him.
She makes that choice again, later in Doomsday. On Bad Wolf Bay, she assumes that he's there to take her back, and that's what she wants. She's already working for alt!Torchwood at that point; that's what prompts the "Defender of the Earth" title. But she's willing to give that up to be with him again, and she's devastated when she can't. She'll save the world and defend the Earth and all that, because she is good at that, and willing, but she would still rather be with him. The very last thing she says to him is "I love you".
Everything she does points towards wanting to stay with the Doctor, even if it means leaving her family and saving the world with alt!Torchwood. If she chooses Pete's World at the end of S4, it'll be a complete turnaround from where her character was when last we saw her. I suppose, if she makes it pretty clear in the time she has on screen prior to the end of the finale that her priorities have changed, it'll be somewhat more believable. But I still won't be able to believe it completely, because the changes her character went through to get to that point would have happened off screen. That would be just extremely lazy storytelling. It could still happen, but I would lose a lot of respect for this show. And if, over the course of those few episode she has, she goes from wanting to stay with the Doctor to choosing Pete's World, I'll be frustrated that apparently all the build-up for her choosing the Doctor means nothing.
Especially since I do see a lot of narrative clues pointing towards Rose staying. Not necessarily in chronological order. :p
First of all, there's the fact that the relationship between the Doctor and Rose was structured as a love story. Whatever you think of Doctor/Rose as it happened on screen, when the producers (RTD and Julie Gardner), writers (Steven Moffat and RTD), actors (CE, BP, DT, and JB), and composers (Murray Gold) call it a love story, then that's what it was intended to be.
Just because it's a love story doesn't guarantee it a happy ending, of course. There are a great many classic examples of love stories that end in tragedy. But the thing is, the Doctor and Rose have already had their tragedy. That's Doomsday. But since Rose is coming back, I think it makes far more sense to end it on a high note, bringing the relationship full circle, than ending it on another low note.
There's also the question of why structure it as a love story in the first place if Rose isn't going to choose love? If Rose had been like all the other companions, and saw the Doctor as a great friend, mentor, with maybe an unrequited crush on him, then it would make sense for her to leave and get on with her own life, like Martha did. Instead she fell in love with him, and he fell in love with her, and they love traveling together. Since this is something that has never happened before on this show, why do it like that now if they're not going to do something different with Rose, like let her stay?
There are even more clues. Look at the extremely protracted narrative build-up that her return is getting. Sarah Jane, Jack, and Martha's returns had no or limited build-up outside of trailers and the media (Jack's build-up coming from how he was left behind, and Martha's from giving the Doctor her phone). But Rose? First, we're constantly reminded of her in S3, from the Christmas special that ends on her name to the Master commenting in the S3 finale that the Doctor used to have companions who could swallow the Time Vortex, a clear reference to Rose. Now in S4, we've seen her in this universe twice, plus several more references. I assume that her return has something to do with the plot of the S4 finale, which is some reason for all the narrative build-up, but not enough. Jack's return had something to do with the plot for the S3 finale (namely, precipitating and enabling it), and the show didn't even give him a fraction of the narrative build-up it's given Rose. Why, if not a build-up to her staying?
The Doctor hasn't moved on from her, and the audience hasn't been allowed to either. In S3, she's the name that keeps him fighting, and hers is the only name he remembers and writes in his journal when he becomes human, calling her "perfect Rose". In Utopia, he finally acknowledges that she's trapped, which implies that if he and Rose had their way, they'd still be together. And he and Martha never quite connected--the infatuation that enabled her to become something like his disciple in Last of the Time Lords served a dual purpose, also preventing them from really connecting. She was never willing to hear about Rose, which made it a whole lot harder for him to move on. Why make their relationship like that, unless the writers didn't want him able to move on? Why want him unable to move on, unless they want him still happy to travel with Rose again, should he get that opportunity? And why make him keep wanting to have Rose back, if they're just going to take her away again in the end?
Even in S4, with a companion he connects with and who helps him heal, we get indications that Rose is not that far from his mind. There's "still lost" in Partners in Crime, and people who have lost things usually want them found. There's "Volcano Day", a reference to the beginning of The Doctor Dances, which, while it's more a Jack reference, still happened when he was with Rose. There's talking about the events of The Impossible Planet/The Satan Pit in Planet of the Ood, and there's the absolutely brilliant "Are you my mummy?" line in The Poison Sky, which again, are references to his time with Rose. And it might be just me, but in The Doctor's Daughter, when he told Donna that he'd been a dad, I was reminded of the last time he'd told someone that--Rose. Not to mention that Jenny was a perky, enthusiastic, eager, gymnastics-using blonde...just like Rose. Despite that the Doctor's getting better this season, it doesn't seem so far like he's over Rose, and again, why have him want Rose back if she's not going to stay?
Then there's all the Bad Wolf references. They're not as numerous as they were in S1, of course, but they haven't stopped. Bad Wolf Bay, the poster in Gridlock, the poster of a wolf in Partners in Crime, the graffiti of a wolf in the alley by the TARDIS in The Sontaran Stratagem/The Poison Sky--Bad Wolf is still appearing, even after the main Bad Wolf storyline is over. And remember what Bad Wolf was--an indication that Rose could get back to the Doctor, because that's where she wanted to be.
In S1, the main detractors to Rose traveling with the Doctor are Mickey and Jackie. But in Parting of the Ways, and then through S2, they both come to accept her love for him, and encourage their relationship. First there's Parting of the Ways, but then in Age of Steel, Mickey, after trying to be part of their group, ends his time on the TARDIS saying to Rose "it's just you and him now". And Jackie, even in Army of Ghosts, was reluctant to accept that this was Rose's life now, which is what adds impact to the end of Doomsday, when she listens to Rose's dream about the Doctor, believes her, and helps her get to Norway while she's probably thinking that this will mean she loses Rose forever, if the Doctor takes her back. Jackie has always clung to Rose, and here she completely accepts that Rose's choice is the Doctor. I think this is a narrative clue because it'd be an easy excuse for Rose to choose Pete's World, that her family is there and needs her. Her family accepting her choice to be with the Doctor at the end of Doomsday, and helping her get there, means I don't think that excuse would be viable. More than that, the relationship's most vehement detractors could have continued being against it, which could be an indication for an unhappy ending, but instead they accept it. And because of this, I think that if Rose was debating choosing Pete's World out of a sense of obligation, and Mickey and Jackie heard about it, they would encourage her to choose the Doctor, because they know that's what she really wants.
Then there's the message that Sarah Jane gives her in School Reunion. Martha and Donna's messages from previous companions encouraged them to look beyond the Doctor, telling them that he's not necessarily good for them. But what message does Rose get? Some things are worth getting your heart broken for. Reinette echoes it--the Doctor is worth the monsters. Rose is actively encouraged to choose the Doctor.
I mentioned this earlier in the post, but again, the very last thing we have heard Rose say is her telling the Doctor "I love you". She's in tears and telling him she loves him, devastated that she can't be with him. If her last words were something like "I'll have a fantastic life, for you", I'd more easily believe her doing just that, enough to move on and choose Pete's World rather than him, but that's not what we get. Instead, her last words are avowals of love.
There are also the Christmas special songs. I talk more about those here, but I think those songs, especially The Stowaway, are more indications that the season will end with the Doctor and Rose together.
I want Rose to come back. A lot. Not just because I ship Doctor/Rose and I want them together again, though that's a big part of it. But something I've always liked is that Rose has chosen love, and it's never presented as the wrong choice. Yes, defending the Earth is important, but one reason I love this show is the respect it shows for love--all kinds of love, not just romantic. I want Rose to choose love, because love is an awesome thing to choose. And the best thing about it is, by going with the Doctor, she can have love and still defend the universe.
First of all, I could almost see Rose choosing to be Defender of the Earth in Pete's World. Throughout S1, culminating in Parting of the Ways, she learned how to make tough decisions, and S2 is about her really growing into her own, starting from The Christmas Invasion when she faces down the Sycorax and going through how often it's her who ends up figuring things out and saving people, growing more like the Doctor. Also, she has an established pattern of being willing to sacrifice herself for the good of the world/universe. So I could almost see Rose being self-sacrificing enough at the end of S4 to decide to go back to Pete's World and keep being their Defender of the Earth. Almost.
But there are several things that make it more difficult for me to believe that choice. First is that, while she is self-sacrificing, that's always when they're in the midst of danger. In World War III, she tells the Doctor to go through with his plan, despite the danger to her, because they all certainly would not have survived (Rose and the Doctor too) if the Slitheen had gotten the nuclear launch codes. In Dalek, Rose tells the Doctor not to open the bulkhead, sacrificing herself, because she figures she wouldn't survive either way, but if they keep the bulkhead closed, at least she'll be the last person the Dalek can kill. In the Idiot's Lantern, where she looks at the TV rather than go with the Doctor, who's yelling for her to come with him, and then goes to confront Magpie, it was a risk, but she had a chance of ending up perfectly fine, as well as the chance to have her face sucked off. And in Doomsday, when she lets go of the magnaclamp to grab the lever, it's the same thing--it was risky, but it wasn't guaranteed that she and the Doctor wouldn't end up together and perfectly fine at the end of it. Yeah, she saved the world and ended up separated from the Doctor, but she didn't do it knowing that would happen. (Which is not to say that she wouldn't, but she's never been faced with that choice, so we don't quite know.)
Another reason I would have difficulty believing her choosing Pete's World over the Doctor is that she's pretty much always prioritized the Doctor above everything else. She chooses him over Mickey in Rose, him over her mother in World War III, him over Adam in The Long Game, him over Jack in The Doctor Dances, him over Mickey again in Boom Town, and him over everyone in Parting of the Ways. In Girl in the Fireplace, she chooses to comfort him despite whatever hurt feelings she might have, and in The Satan Pit, she chooses to stay on a dying planet with him over leaving him behind.
Even when she saves the world, it's often presented as her doing it for him. I wrote a bunch about this one in the Rose section of my essay on Parting of the Ways, but because of the things she says as Bad Wolf, I think it's pretty obvious she did it for him, rather than to save Earth and the universe from the Daleks. When he tells her that she's going to burn, she says, "I want you safe. My Doctor. Protected from the false god", implying that she's all right with sacrificing herself, if it's for him. Then she says, "The Time War ends", rather than anything about Earth/the universe being saved from the Daleks. The Time War was something that hurt him, and in ending it, she wants to heal at least some of his pain.
Same thing for Doomsday. When she comes back, she says, "I made my choice and I'm never gonna leave you." If she'd said something like, "There are two levers and one you; you can't do this on your own", I'd more easily believe any choice in S4 to leave him to defend Pete's World. But that's not what she's thinking. She'll save the world, yeah, because that's what they do, but the main attraction for her is being able to do it with him.
She makes that choice again, later in Doomsday. On Bad Wolf Bay, she assumes that he's there to take her back, and that's what she wants. She's already working for alt!Torchwood at that point; that's what prompts the "Defender of the Earth" title. But she's willing to give that up to be with him again, and she's devastated when she can't. She'll save the world and defend the Earth and all that, because she is good at that, and willing, but she would still rather be with him. The very last thing she says to him is "I love you".
Everything she does points towards wanting to stay with the Doctor, even if it means leaving her family and saving the world with alt!Torchwood. If she chooses Pete's World at the end of S4, it'll be a complete turnaround from where her character was when last we saw her. I suppose, if she makes it pretty clear in the time she has on screen prior to the end of the finale that her priorities have changed, it'll be somewhat more believable. But I still won't be able to believe it completely, because the changes her character went through to get to that point would have happened off screen. That would be just extremely lazy storytelling. It could still happen, but I would lose a lot of respect for this show. And if, over the course of those few episode she has, she goes from wanting to stay with the Doctor to choosing Pete's World, I'll be frustrated that apparently all the build-up for her choosing the Doctor means nothing.
Especially since I do see a lot of narrative clues pointing towards Rose staying. Not necessarily in chronological order. :p
First of all, there's the fact that the relationship between the Doctor and Rose was structured as a love story. Whatever you think of Doctor/Rose as it happened on screen, when the producers (RTD and Julie Gardner), writers (Steven Moffat and RTD), actors (CE, BP, DT, and JB), and composers (Murray Gold) call it a love story, then that's what it was intended to be.
Just because it's a love story doesn't guarantee it a happy ending, of course. There are a great many classic examples of love stories that end in tragedy. But the thing is, the Doctor and Rose have already had their tragedy. That's Doomsday. But since Rose is coming back, I think it makes far more sense to end it on a high note, bringing the relationship full circle, than ending it on another low note.
There's also the question of why structure it as a love story in the first place if Rose isn't going to choose love? If Rose had been like all the other companions, and saw the Doctor as a great friend, mentor, with maybe an unrequited crush on him, then it would make sense for her to leave and get on with her own life, like Martha did. Instead she fell in love with him, and he fell in love with her, and they love traveling together. Since this is something that has never happened before on this show, why do it like that now if they're not going to do something different with Rose, like let her stay?
There are even more clues. Look at the extremely protracted narrative build-up that her return is getting. Sarah Jane, Jack, and Martha's returns had no or limited build-up outside of trailers and the media (Jack's build-up coming from how he was left behind, and Martha's from giving the Doctor her phone). But Rose? First, we're constantly reminded of her in S3, from the Christmas special that ends on her name to the Master commenting in the S3 finale that the Doctor used to have companions who could swallow the Time Vortex, a clear reference to Rose. Now in S4, we've seen her in this universe twice, plus several more references. I assume that her return has something to do with the plot of the S4 finale, which is some reason for all the narrative build-up, but not enough. Jack's return had something to do with the plot for the S3 finale (namely, precipitating and enabling it), and the show didn't even give him a fraction of the narrative build-up it's given Rose. Why, if not a build-up to her staying?
The Doctor hasn't moved on from her, and the audience hasn't been allowed to either. In S3, she's the name that keeps him fighting, and hers is the only name he remembers and writes in his journal when he becomes human, calling her "perfect Rose". In Utopia, he finally acknowledges that she's trapped, which implies that if he and Rose had their way, they'd still be together. And he and Martha never quite connected--the infatuation that enabled her to become something like his disciple in Last of the Time Lords served a dual purpose, also preventing them from really connecting. She was never willing to hear about Rose, which made it a whole lot harder for him to move on. Why make their relationship like that, unless the writers didn't want him able to move on? Why want him unable to move on, unless they want him still happy to travel with Rose again, should he get that opportunity? And why make him keep wanting to have Rose back, if they're just going to take her away again in the end?
Even in S4, with a companion he connects with and who helps him heal, we get indications that Rose is not that far from his mind. There's "still lost" in Partners in Crime, and people who have lost things usually want them found. There's "Volcano Day", a reference to the beginning of The Doctor Dances, which, while it's more a Jack reference, still happened when he was with Rose. There's talking about the events of The Impossible Planet/The Satan Pit in Planet of the Ood, and there's the absolutely brilliant "Are you my mummy?" line in The Poison Sky, which again, are references to his time with Rose. And it might be just me, but in The Doctor's Daughter, when he told Donna that he'd been a dad, I was reminded of the last time he'd told someone that--Rose. Not to mention that Jenny was a perky, enthusiastic, eager, gymnastics-using blonde...just like Rose. Despite that the Doctor's getting better this season, it doesn't seem so far like he's over Rose, and again, why have him want Rose back if she's not going to stay?
Then there's all the Bad Wolf references. They're not as numerous as they were in S1, of course, but they haven't stopped. Bad Wolf Bay, the poster in Gridlock, the poster of a wolf in Partners in Crime, the graffiti of a wolf in the alley by the TARDIS in The Sontaran Stratagem/The Poison Sky--Bad Wolf is still appearing, even after the main Bad Wolf storyline is over. And remember what Bad Wolf was--an indication that Rose could get back to the Doctor, because that's where she wanted to be.
In S1, the main detractors to Rose traveling with the Doctor are Mickey and Jackie. But in Parting of the Ways, and then through S2, they both come to accept her love for him, and encourage their relationship. First there's Parting of the Ways, but then in Age of Steel, Mickey, after trying to be part of their group, ends his time on the TARDIS saying to Rose "it's just you and him now". And Jackie, even in Army of Ghosts, was reluctant to accept that this was Rose's life now, which is what adds impact to the end of Doomsday, when she listens to Rose's dream about the Doctor, believes her, and helps her get to Norway while she's probably thinking that this will mean she loses Rose forever, if the Doctor takes her back. Jackie has always clung to Rose, and here she completely accepts that Rose's choice is the Doctor. I think this is a narrative clue because it'd be an easy excuse for Rose to choose Pete's World, that her family is there and needs her. Her family accepting her choice to be with the Doctor at the end of Doomsday, and helping her get there, means I don't think that excuse would be viable. More than that, the relationship's most vehement detractors could have continued being against it, which could be an indication for an unhappy ending, but instead they accept it. And because of this, I think that if Rose was debating choosing Pete's World out of a sense of obligation, and Mickey and Jackie heard about it, they would encourage her to choose the Doctor, because they know that's what she really wants.
Then there's the message that Sarah Jane gives her in School Reunion. Martha and Donna's messages from previous companions encouraged them to look beyond the Doctor, telling them that he's not necessarily good for them. But what message does Rose get? Some things are worth getting your heart broken for. Reinette echoes it--the Doctor is worth the monsters. Rose is actively encouraged to choose the Doctor.
I mentioned this earlier in the post, but again, the very last thing we have heard Rose say is her telling the Doctor "I love you". She's in tears and telling him she loves him, devastated that she can't be with him. If her last words were something like "I'll have a fantastic life, for you", I'd more easily believe her doing just that, enough to move on and choose Pete's World rather than him, but that's not what we get. Instead, her last words are avowals of love.
There are also the Christmas special songs. I talk more about those here, but I think those songs, especially The Stowaway, are more indications that the season will end with the Doctor and Rose together.
I want Rose to come back. A lot. Not just because I ship Doctor/Rose and I want them together again, though that's a big part of it. But something I've always liked is that Rose has chosen love, and it's never presented as the wrong choice. Yes, defending the Earth is important, but one reason I love this show is the respect it shows for love--all kinds of love, not just romantic. I want Rose to choose love, because love is an awesome thing to choose. And the best thing about it is, by going with the Doctor, she can have love and still defend the universe.
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no subject
Date: 2008-05-14 02:50 pm (UTC)That's exactly what scares me into thinking there's a possibility she might not stay. Because hello, offscreen character development? Last of the Time Lords! MARTHA! I was so mad about that, and still am. But they've always been more careful with Rose than with Martha, so I guess that's encouraging. ::crosses fingers::
no subject
Date: 2008-05-14 06:59 pm (UTC)With Rose, on the other hand, if they were to make her choose to leave, it would be a big departure from her established character, the way LotTL wasn't for Martha.
no subject
Date: 2008-05-15 02:50 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-05-14 05:50 pm (UTC)Definitely agreeing on the narrative laziness. While I keep trying to convince myself I could see her choosing that way, with what we know of her character it doesn't make sense.
And why make him keep wanting to have Rose back, if they're just going to take her away again in the end?
I just wish RTD didn't love to crush our souls quite as much as he does, that's the worry!
But yes to this post. I was her to choose love too, because it just makes sense. I just hope RTD doesn't choose mindlessly-torture-the-viewers a la Joss Whedon.
no subject
Date: 2008-05-14 07:19 pm (UTC)While I keep trying to convince myself I could see her choosing that way, with what we know of her character it doesn't make sense.
I started to do that, so that things wouldn't hurt so much if they don't turn out like I think they will, but I never could convince myself, and then I stopped trying.
I just wish RTD didn't love to crush our souls quite as much as he does, that's the worry!
Which goes back to my previous post on this, about the Doctor and angst. I know I'm getting desensitized, and I'm not the only one. The Doctor needs to have something that will make all that angst meaningful, and I think getting Rose back will be it.
no subject
Date: 2008-05-15 02:51 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-05-15 12:12 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-05-17 09:12 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-05-15 06:53 pm (UTC)All the things you said are so, so right!
I hope RTD will hear you... or listen to his own little shippy heart (lol)
"Not to mention that Jenny was a perky, enthusiastic, eager, gymnastics-using blonde...just like Rose. "
OOOhh, nice to see I'm not the only one who thought that. Jenny might be back for the finale. I'd like to see the Doctor's daughter meeting his precious Rose.
Jenny looks at Rose, at her blonde hair, her big brown eyes,... and smiles.
"Daddy! You didn't tell me I had a mommy!!!"
LOOOOLLLL!
no subject
Date: 2008-05-17 09:13 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-05-16 11:07 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-05-17 09:14 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-06-08 12:17 am (UTC)Ohh, I love this essay. An alternate possibility is that they are aiming for gratuitous angst and using the materials they have clumsily. I sooo hope not! But there have been signs - for example, while you quite rightly point out Rose's life-drive (yeah, be willing to lose it but not to sacrifice it or anyone else's when there's another option), VotD is a series of people chosing suicidal rescues one after the other. Probably about half of those people at least could have survived AND accomplished their goals if they'd tried. For all that VotD has the happy music of joy, it's actually a really dark episode, and that worries me.
That's another thing that scares me about the mid-season trailer - if Rose is actually 'hardened' and lost her idealism/value for life (ie that bystander), it's going to frighten me. Because - agreeing with your love paragraph below - that's not Rose, and she's seen some pretty awful things.
The thing is, I could see Rose losing her joie de vivre in Pete's World if it was actually terrible there; I could even see the qualities we like about her getting squashed - but in that case, coming back for her should be an opportunity for her to start tracking Ten's arc this season and learning to rejuvenate. I would hate to have them write a 'by the way, Rose's life turned out miserably and now she's going back to it! Cya!' angst.
But something I've always liked is that Rose has chosen love, and it's never presented as the wrong choice. Yes, defending the Earth is important, but one reason I love this show is the respect it shows for love--all kinds of love, not just romantic. I want Rose to choose love, because love is an awesome thing to choose. And the best thing about it is, by going with the Doctor, she can have love and still defend the universe.
What an awesome paragraph. :-) It's true.
Another narrative rule - best intentions never go astray? The Doctor in PotW is unable to instigate a genocide, giving Rose the chance to arrive in the nick of time to save him; Rose is unable to bring herself to give up, so she and her family save herself to save the others in the nick of time. The only one who really suffers is Jack, but that's not from good intentions but because the Doctor decided he was 'wrong'. I think the same principle operates in Doomsday...
OK, done ranting. Sorry!
no subject
Date: 2008-06-12 06:04 am (UTC)It's darkest right before the dawn? That's what I'm hoping, at least.
The thing is, I could see Rose losing her joie de vivre in Pete's World if it was actually terrible there
We even get some indications in RotC/AoS that it's not the happiest place. A curfew for the lower classes? Whisky only available on the black market--some kind of Prohibition, then? Then there's the President's joking comment about how Cybus industries bought out his government, and in the deleted scene with Jake filming the homeless people being taken away, there's the implication that there's no where he can take that video and be believed. This does not sound like a happy world.
but in that case, coming back for her should be an opportunity for her to start tracking Ten's arc this season and learning to rejuvenate. I would hate to have them write a 'by the way, Rose's life turned out miserably and now she's going back to it! Cya!' angst.
Yes, exactly. We've been told that Rose has been sad, and she certainly looked it in Partners in Crime. Why would she go back to that, except out of obligation--which is also sad? If she's grown harder over there, then, given the amount of time the show has already dedicated to her, it makes more sense to continue her character arc by letting her heal, than to just cut her off in a bad place.