The Afterlife...Humperdinck

[rabid1st]

More about DW S4...episode 13...one day I will stop posting these...but today is not that day...This one is about Pete's World!

Also there are four pictures from the finale...not so dial up friendly and, of course, spoilers...apparently you can't use two cuts in one post...sorry if I spoiled anyone accidentally.

"The valient child who will die in battle...so very, very soon."

Doomsday comes and Rose says, "My name is Rose Tyler and this is the story of how I died."

The Doctor tells her..."You're dead. Officially."

"My wife died." "Her husband died. Good match."

Queen Victoria gives a lovely little speech about how we must wait for word from the other side once our loved one's leave us.

Jackie Tyler says it would be wonderful if the dead could return but the Doctor says "I think it would be horrific."

And everyone who is anyone in Pete's World...is dead. We saw Jackie die. We saw Pete die. We saw Rickey die...not quite Mickey...and Mickey does come back. We know that his old Gran died before we meet her.

And it dawns on me...that Pete's World is the Doctor Who afterlife.

It is where the dead go. And we don't want them to come back...because life in our universe is so very hard...and they have found peace. Or most of them have...Rose hasn't, as yet. This ending we have is like Orpheus...in a way...Rose tries to come back from the land of the dead...and is firmly returned to it.

But there is someone else who we saw die. Ten dies. He dies...at the end of The Stolen Earth. He says it is too late to save him. He starts to regenerate...that is Time Lord death. You don't come back from that. Sure you go on...in the memory of the next Doctor. You can loop around on occasion. And you become part of the next man. But you don't go on AS the Doctor after you die.

Another really good reason for 10, not 11*, to be in the afterlife is that 10 is the one who died. He hijacked the body. The same way the Valeyard was going to hijack Six's body maybe. Ten broke the cardinal rule of Doctor Who. The Doctor regenerates and changes into a new man and we say goodbye to the old Doctor and accept the new one. The new Doctor has all the memories of the old one...he thinks the same way...but he's refreshed and rejuvenated.

Ah...but...the question is presented...by the few people still listening to me...:wink:

Is RTD clever enough to have planned all this? Or is he simply telling a nifty story with big flashy special effects? Did he cobble JE together at the last minute...to have a real good send off...with all his peeps there...and the earth being towed around...but then decide that he could help with the long break and pen a few more episodes?

It seems he was clever enough to plan to have Billie back all along...and to have her lie to the public for two years. Was this ending the reason? Did he think...Rose just won't stay in the other universe alone...so...I should bring her back so I can send her away more permanently? Or one day I will make two Doctors and one of them will be human and go off with Rose, but I won't ever make Rose want a human Doctor? Or I need to make a clone of the Doctor for my story to work...so...let's bring Rose back for an entire season so I can get rid of the spare Doctor?

I am trying to wrap my mind around the thought process.

Let's bring back Donna...to have a season about...duplication and cloning and such...so Rose can be retired with a human clone of the Doctor and everyone is happy. Only let's make sure nobody really looks happy. Let's introduce Donna by having the Doctor afraid to let her onboard...because he nearly ruined Martha's life...but then Donna can be special...save everyone...and then go back to being as she was. Perfect. Hmmm? It is still not working for me. As you can see.

But 10 being dead now, 10 being the one who should go, that works for me. It wasn't a complete death...it was rather like Rose's, Jackie's and Pete's...there's still a spare. And there's an afterlife waiting for Ten over in Pete's World. That is something we've never seen with the Doctor. He never gets to the final resting place. Usually, he folds into himself. But 10 has been crying out for the normal life...for so long...wouldn't it be heaven to him...to rest...to be with Rose? Isn't that why he tries to give it to 11? Because he doesn't believe he deserves a place in Heaven...not when he's so dark and lost?

Rassilon knew what the First Doctor said...what Ten said later, "Immortality is a curse, not a blessing." To go on and on...losing all that you love...is the curse of the Time Lords...it drives them all mad. Or, in the case of Rassilon, into permanent isolation. It is time for the Doctor to "die" and be reborn...from Donna Noble. A little bit human...a man with a planet and a family and some hope for his future. Not someone who is predestined to always end up alone. He should give 11 the body and take the path into eternity...living a life, day-to-day, the one adventure he has never had.

So...about those pictures...they are making my point that RTD has all this planned out.

This is what tired of life looks like...



This is what love looks like...



And this is what comfort looks like...




And this is none of those things...




*Yes, I'm going to call 10.2 that now...11...because that's who he is. He's the proper Doctor...with a little bit of Donna thrown in. And maybe he would kill Davros...or the wasp...to really save people. Maybe he wouldn't let so many innocent people die. Maybe we need a better Doctor for our universe...one who understands Harriet Jones...and Martha Jones, too.

Comments

[astitchintime-9.livejournal.com]

Dalek Caan says "one will still die" as everyone boards the TARDIS, and -- assuming that he doesn't include himself (in the third person) in the statement (do we know what happened to him?) -- who really dies? [Donna? That point is still being debated.] Certainly, your theory ties to that statement -- in that 10.2 (not quite 11 yet, I think) later gets left in Pete's World/Afterlife/Ten's Heaven.

But really, I think that you've articulated the awful/wonderfulness of Pete's World.

And yes, the wrong Doctor is there now: it was the obsolete model that should have been retired. 10.2's first exit from the TARDIS, post-regeneration, was accompanied (emphasized?) by the same blinding TARDIS backglow that heralded Ten's revival in TCI. That visual cue is a very important reminder in a season finale packed with flashbacks!

However, what I don't get is how a TimeLord's hand would regenerate into a Human's body? Pushing the point, wouldn't a human body in this situation look like, human-Donna, rather than Timelord-Ten? Furthermore, it took a spark to activate the timelord presence in Donna's mind; is it possible that another crisis could jump start a second heart 10.2? Bottom line: who says 10.2 is human? Face facts, they were totally wrong about Jenny's ability to regenerate!

I'm not finished with Donna yet!

P.S. - Love your screencaps!

[rabid1st.livejournal.com]

Well...what got me was this whole instantaneous biological metacrisis thing. They say there has never been one with a human before...because there "can't be." But that sort of assumes there has been one before...just not with a human. So...maybe 10.2 isn't that unique...in exisiting. He's only unique in that he exists with a human as part of the equation. The set up is sort of interesting...because 10.2 isn't really human. He's part human/part Time Lord.

He is the Doctor in his mind...but able to see what Donna is thinking...something 10 was never able to do. 10 always sort of missed the point...is still missing it. And if we look back at the Doctor...we see that he has always sort of missed the point about people. This is what makes him a horrible god. He doesn't really understand the people worshipping him. So Martha's crush gets overlooked...and Rose's love of her mum gets overestimated...and Donna is given a life she will abhor.

It is possible that another crisis could start a heart in 10.2. Or perhaps Donna could regenerate if she died. But the easiest thing is that 11 is now in a human body capable of holding a Time Lord mind. That means 10 could go...be with Rose and not lose any of himself. He wouldn't have to be John Smith. He would only have to admit that he hijacked 11's body and life and that was the wrong thing to do. I'm pretty sure they could switch.

I'm also wondering about Donna's ring. It is possible that even if Donna has died...if her ring survives...she is still inside it...because the ring winked...and it was on the hand that reached out to THE HAND. I just wonder how a time lord goes into an object...like a watch or a ring or a hand.

Rae
who was prompted by someone to write a story that featured the HAND becoming animated but not a full body...sort of like Thing in the Addam's Family. We could have Ten/Rose/HAND porn. OTT!

[rabid1st.livejournal.com]

The assumption is that Donna was slated to die and the Doctor got around the prophecy. But there is the metaphoric death of Pete's World. And now 10.2 is "dead" like Rose and Jackie. But Caan could well be talking about the Doctor...because the first time he says anything about dying in context...it is during the comment..."The Doctor and his precious children of time...and one of them will die." So...we are led to believe that one of them will die. Also, it is his most "faithful companion"...one would assume that is Rose or Donna. But also..it is loneliness and sorrow. If 10 goes on as he is going...he goes on in loneliness and sorrow. But if 10 dies...goes to Pete's World...than his song ends. The true song that the Ood were talking about..."Same old life...in the TARDIS."

When the Ood said his song was coming to an end...it was in response to the Doctor indicating the TARDIS and saying he had a song. When Rose asks him in Doomsday what he's going to do now...he says, "Oh, I've got a TARDIS...same old life." And Bad Wolf Rose said..."Everything dies. All things come to dust." That includes the Doctor...and the Face of Boe. People, to me, seem to limit all this prophecy too much. Maybe RTD limits it, too. But I think all of it fits with the idea of the Doctor changing into something new...and he HAS made that change...he's just one step away from making it a "new song." One little body swap away from having the Doctor having the life he longs to lead and us having the Doctor we deserve.

Rae

[princessblue791.livejournal.com]

If there isn't a resolution to all of this,its safe to say RTD is a terrible writer or started dropping acid half way through the last eppie. Pot maybe? Perhaps he sniffs household chemicals like the folks from my generation did for a while. (the 90s were weird) He could also enjoy tragic emo-love stories. Look at the fun the Torchwood gang has been through. Noone's happy there.

[princessblue791.livejournal.com]

Then again, he needs an audience for the specials. Rusty likes to pull tricks so anything's possible. I will say I'll lose respect for him as a writer if this is it.

[princessblue791.livejournal.com]

Another good show is Dexter. I hear CSI is ripping off their "killer-disgused-as-a-cop" idea. Good show Dexter. I haven't seen it in a while because I'm always doing news.

[rabid1st.livejournal.com]

I don't know...the Torchwood gang has happy times. Gwen and Rhys are married. Ianto and Jack seem to be doing okay. I don't think there was any future for Owen and Tosh in any case. That was a situation where neither person could reach out to the other. Tosh idolized Owen and Owen hated himself and that is hardly a recipe for true love.

Hence...Martha and the Doctor not working out. But that doesn't mean NOBODY can work out. I was actually quite proud of Torchwood for not killing Rhys...and having Gwen go ahead and marry him. I think his level of normal really adds to the show. And there is still heat between Gwen and Jack...so they lost nothing with the Rhys thing for me. I do sort of want Ianto to be one of those hidden soldiers...but only because I really want Ianto to be more interesting than he is.

For me...I feel that if the Doctor is dragged down...then there is no light and no puppies and no pony for anyone at Christmas. Because it will be like Doctor Who has become the Batman franchise...no longer a joke but not exactly a barrel of Saturday Fun-time either.

Rae

[princessblue791.livejournal.com]

Oh i agree.It maybe the very last special that the Doctors switch places. I keep thinking of Riversong telling him he wasn't the Doctor, but would be someday. Moffat likes to fuck with RTD by spilling the beans. I don't think he likes emo-Doctor. SO you're right on the money when you talk about the Doctors switching. 10.2 was exactly the Doctor Riversong talked about. Think about it.