The question for the Doctor this episode is put to him by the Dalek Emperor: Coward or Killer? Have I mentioned how much I love moral quandaries? Should he kill a planet of humans in the process of forever wiping out the Daleks? Or should he allow them to live just long enough to be killed by and experimentally used to create more Daleks?
Not a choice I'd like to make, but I love seeing the Doctor wrestle with it.
Oh, and also? I'd forgotten how creepy it is, the new race of Daleks being spawned from one survivor of the Time War who kidnapped human refugees and unwanteds to tear apart and create a new race of Daleks. *shiver* Does that mean all the Daleks in New Who are technically human/Dalek hybrids? Even though they say the idea is blasphemous (therefore showing their humanity).
Luckily, we get Deux Ex Rose! AND I LOVE IT.
Okay, so the scene where the Doctor tricks Rose into entering the TARDIS, then runs out and sends her back to Earth on a one-way ticket? All the emotions. I get why he did it, and this is one of the things I love about the Doctor that other people seem to hate. Yes, he takes away human agency. But in the narrative, that's not construed as a good thing! Rose's agency rises to the occasion, but I'm talking about the Doctor here. I love that he is flawed and selfish, that he thinks he can control other people's deaths and lives. It makes him very interesting. Of course, in this instance, Rose fights back....later, Donna won't be so lucky.
And let's mention Jack here, yeah? Poor Jack. The Doctor sends Rose to safety, then is like, "Okay, go die by the Dalek's hands, Jack!" Jack knows it, knows he's second best, and he trusts the Doctor anyway. But later the TARDIS leaves without him, and he's all alone! My poor baby! Left to start your own TV show. But I love his unconditional love and trust. Because after all of that, and the Doctor will continue to shun him and ignore him, Jack runs after him and joins in the fight and adventure.
Now Rose. Oh, Rose! I over-empathize with you, I know. You were a girl living an ordinary monotonous life, and then the Doctor came and you had adventures and were a hero and you helped people. Then in a moment of selfish sacrifice, the Doctor condemns you back to a life of monotony. And what do you say? The best speech ever, natch.
"But it was... it was a better life. And I -- I don't mean all the traveling and... seeing aliens and spaceships and things -- that don't matter. The Doctor showed me a better way of living your life. You know, he showed you too. That you don't just give up. You don't just let things happen. You make a stand. You say no. You have the guts to do what's right when everyone else just runs away, and I just can't --"
Then like the boss she is, she tears apart the TARDIS, stares into its heart, returns to the Doctor 200,000 years in the future, and turns the Daleks to dust. BAMF.
Everything comes with a price, though, and Time Lord knowledge is not meant to be in human's heads. Although how wonderful, for one moment, that Rose understands the turmoil and information overload that constantly flows through the Doctor's mind. In that understanding, Nine utters the cheesiest, most wonderful line, "You need a Doctor," and kisses her. He takes the Time Vortex into himself, thereby starting the regeneration process.
Ten is my favorite Doctor. He's emotional, funny, and gosh darn cute. But it's true what they say on tumblr: you never forget your first Doctor. And now, at the parting of the ways, I am very sad to see Nine go. His snark, his rage, his goofy grin--I love Nine. I'm so glad Netflix is basically a TARDIS and I can go back in time and rewatch his season as many times as I want.
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