Doctor Who reviews – Series 1, Episode 13 – "The Parting of the Ways"
I may never love again.
I was told and warned going into this that this show was sad. I was OK with that. I knew how to deal with sad. And when I watched "Father's Day," I thought to myself, OK, this is what the world meant when it said that Doctor Who was sad.
THIS IS WHAT IT MEANT.
THIS EPISODE.
…and oh, God, probably all the finales after it, am I right? I just hope Moffat doesn't feed off heartbreak like this when he becomes showrunner. (Even though I kinda do. Either way, don't tell me).
"The Parting of the Ways" is a wonderful episode, high in explosive sci-fi, incredible acting, excitement, great twists, and a whole lot of heartbreak. Let's just say I spent quite a while actually sobbing on the sofa while watching this. And the Jammie Dodgers I opened up to enjoy while watching went quite forgotten. I don't even know where to start.
Well, I suppose a good place would be the beginning – the rescue of Rose. I'm really glad the episode didn't focus on the rescue and spend the whole time treating Rose like a damsel in distress. Aside from the fact that that would have become horribly boring and misogynistic, it would have been kind of unoriginal too. And I'll admit I was braced for that. But no, Davies gave me a pleasant surprise by writing off the rescue in the first five minutes of showtime. Some people may think this scene was rushed, but I liked it. I mean, of course the Doctor just casually made the TARDIS materialise around Rose and give her a hug and leave it at that.
Only, of course, it's not that simple. He then steps out to face the Daleks, and after we establish that the TARDIS has force fields and Christopher Eccleston treats us to his atrocious French (not that mine's any better), we get the episode's first spine-chilling moment.
The Doctor: Do you know what they call me in the ancient legends of the Dalek Homeworld? The Oncoming Storm. You might've removed all your emotions but I reckon right down deep in your DNA, there's one little spark left, and that's fear. Doesn't it just burn when you face me?
Jesus, mates. That's… dark.
So the Daleks survived the Time War through the Dalek Emperor (of course) who's basically become something of a god amongst the Daleks. I don't really know much about science so I don't know what to make of the plausibility of the details of the Emperor's methods, but they sound convincing enough to me – at least within the realm of sci-fi. Certainly I like the idea that the Daleks have just been spending their time waiting there, on their ship, in the dark, slowly going mad, and the concept of merging their DNA with humans is neat too. I mean, if you're looking for hardcore sci-fi, nerds, look no further. The reactions of the Doctor of course are what make the scene, and Eccleston's disgust combined with horror, fear, and anger, all blended under a guise of mocking is palpable.
I also like the fact that he basically flips off the Emperor as he goes back to the TARDIS. Sure, it's to prepare the people stuck on Satellite Five for the Dalek attack, but the way he treats his exit is delightful as always.
The tears basically started for me as soon as Jack said his goodbye to Rose and the Doctor. It was a short little scene but a fairly beautifully-done one, because it has such a helpless feeling to it. I mean, Jack literally saying, "I guess this is goodbye?" Jack, one of the most faithful characters in the show? I was worried that was the last we'd see of him ever, and while he does have plenty more screen time, it's not with Rose and the Doctor. If anything his kissing of both Rose and the Doctor guaranteed the fact that he was going to die.
Also, that kiss was hot. I mean, Doctor and Rose forever, but the kiss between the boys made me happy inside. Hey, I can have a guilty pleasure can't I?
It's about now that we the audience realise how incredibly bleak the situation is. Everything feels so hopeless, and it starts with Jack's goodbye and sad recruitment of volunteers to fight the Daleks. We've always been quick to assume that the Doctor will be able to get out of any situation, because, well he's the Doctor. But what if he doesn't? What if he can't? This is a finale episode, and the fact of the matter is that maybe he won't survive. I think this is why the Doctor's "ability" to "die" and be replaced by someone else makes for such good tension. Aside from being a clever way of keeping the show fresh, it adds more hopelessness: isn't it technically a failure? The Doctor we've gotten so used to will be taken from us, and there's the chance we might lose our beloved companions as well.
Then, of course, it's on to Gutting Scene Number Two, as the Doctor, realising the hopelessness of the situation, decides to trick Rose into going back home. He knows that he will die. It's impossible for him to prepare the Delta Wave in time, and Jack and all his volunteers will never really be able to hold off the Daleks. The Doctor knows that, and I believe Jack knew it too. But he still sees the chance of saving one person, Rose.
His sudden outburst of 'Rose Tyler, you're a genius!' is suspicious and I suppose I knew he was doing something without truly believing it – but I thought he was trying to inspire hope in Rose or something, because he couldn't bear to see her so down, too. I would have been satisfied with that, but instead, he tricks her into going back home. He leaves the TARDIS behind, his only chance of survival or escape, for Rose's sake. And if that's not heartbreaking (or should I say heartsbreaking?) enough, then there's his holographic message to her, recorded at a far more innocent time, just in case:
The Doctor: This is important. If this message is activated, then it can only mean one thing. We must be in danger, and I mean fatal. I'm dead, or about to die any second with no chance of escape. And that's okay. Hope it's a good death. But I promised to look after you, and that's what I'm doing. The TARDIS is taking you home. And I bet you're fussing and moaning now, typical. But hold on and just listen a bit more. The TARDIS can never return for me. Emergency Programme One means I'm facing an enemy that should never get their hands on this machine. So this is what you should do: let the TARDIS die. Just let this old box gather dust. No one can open it. No one will even notice it. Let it become a strange little thing standing on a street corner. And over the years, the world will move on and the box will be buried. And if you wanna remember me, then you can do one thing, that's all, one thing. Have a good life. Do that for me, Rose. Have a fantastic life.
Will the tears never stop?
Eccleston's delivery of this monologue, with a grim determination but incredible tenderness, is just incredible.
It's around now that my two main qualms with the episode come into play: one, I did think that all the scenes of the passengers fighting the Daleks felt sort of unnecessary, especially the woman screaming, "YOU LIED TO US THE BULLETS DON'T WORK!" Just like the excess of shots of dead soldiers in "Dalek," this scene worked once but afterwards it felt like overkill, the only exception being Jack's death scene.
Second, Rose's monologue in the chippie. Rose's scenes at home were mostly well-done because they showed just how desperate Rose feels. She can't forget where the Doctor is right now, and she can't very well just sit there and go back to working in the shop. Mickey and Jackie were surprisingly insensitive, and while that was hard to watch, it made me want to slap them both – and I like Jackie. I cringed especially at Jackie's "meh, well, it's two hundred thousand years in the future so who cares?" But what's far worse in Rose's general rudeness. Good acting from Billie, and I understand how Rose feels, but in the end I wanted to slap her too, especially when she said that she had nothing to stay at home for.
I mean. Wow, Rose. Wow.
But that's more or less it. If possible, things get even more bleak, as it turns out the Doctor knows the Delta Wave won't just kill the Daleks – it'll kill the people too. It's a great parallel to his actions in the Time War. What's worse is that the Doctor knew it all along, but he'd been willing to pay that price to have his own victory over the Daleks – even if it meant his death, too. He didn't care, and ironically it took the Emperor's mocking to remind him of his skewed morality. \
Dalek Emperor: What are you, Doctor, killer or coward?
The Doctor: Coward. Any day.
Jack's death is pretty gutting. I'd guessed he might die, of course, but it was a good death. His grim but mocking "I kind of figured that" is a powerful last line. What I think might be sadder still is his final fate. Rose brings him back to life as the Bad Wolf Entity, but she doesn't realise it, and so he gets abandoned there, probably amongst all the bodies, all alone on the Game Station. I got hopeful when he ran towards the TARDIS, and cried out in horror (practically) when it unknowingly faded away without him. Goodbye, Captain Jack. I'll miss you.
Of course what makes this episode, this finale, this season, so brilliant, is the great reveal. Rose is Bad Wolf. Through some clever time travel and loops, she sent the words back into her own timeline to send herself the message that saving the Doctor was possible. She absorbed the time vortex from the TARDIS into herself to do so, and while maybe it's a little over-the-top, it also totally works. The god imagery was meant to be intentional after all, shown to us as the Doctor shouts to her that she can't control life and death. She can see all of time and space, she has become a goddess in her own right. The entire speech is amazing but too long to quote. Seeing her saving the day single-handedly is also a refreshing change.
But even then she couldn't completely save her Doctor.
The Doctor's change is heartbreaking all-round, the way he tries to explain to Rose in his last moments what is going to happen. He tries to distract her, comfort her, make her laugh…
And then there were THESE LAST WORDS:
The Doctor: Rose, before I go I just wanna say you were fantastic. Absolutely fantastic. And you know what? So was I.
And then I couldn't even bring myself to care how cheap the special effect of the Doctor exploding into the golden light, quite like a phoenix was, because my heart was completely and utterly broken. The Doctor transforms into a very different-looking man, Barty Crouch Junior aka David Tennant, and at first his first words are enough to make me sceptical as to whether or not he's my beloved Doctor, but then he breaks into this wide, daft grin with the word "Barcelona", and I found myself smiling amid my tears just a little bit.
Goodbye, Ninth Doctor. You will be greatly missed. I'm so very sorry to see you go, because you were absolutely fantastic.
THOUGHTS AND QUOTES
'Do not blaspheme! DO NOT BLASPHEME!'
The idea of the Delta Wave is actually quite clever now that I reflect on it. I was too emotional to really reflect on it while watching, but I do quite like it.
Why did we never learn the Indian lady's name?
'Never doubted him. Never will.' THIS IS WHY I LOVE JACK.
I'm also pretty crushed about Lynda-with-a-y. I liked Lynda.
'I think you need a doctor.' Somehow, Chris Eccleston pulls this line off.
THE KISS. IT FINALLY HAPPENED. MY SHIPPY HEART CAN HARDLY TAKE IT.
'I sang a song and the Daleks ran away.'
Even though I'm an emotional wreck right now, I am optimistic about having David Tennant as the Doctor, not least because I'm an enormous David Tennant fan and have seen him in nearly everything he's done. One of my favourite roles of his is in his breakthrough role of Campbell in the miniseries Takin' Over the Asylum, and I urge any of you who might be fans of his to go see it as it's all on YouTube. I do love Tennant, and I happen to be highly attracted to him. But still. He's not Nine. And he doesn't have the right ears.
Um… *amid violent sniffles* that theme song tho?
Just one last thing – I WILL be posting a complete 'Series 1 report card' after this so stay tuned. After that I will begin posting my reviews for Series 2 starting with some predictions and the Christmas Special.