The Human-Time Lord Paradox that Only the Doctor Could Pull Off
My all-time favorite episodes of Doctor Who are Season 3, Episodes 8-9. Hands down. On all levels.
I'd like to expound on that by live-tweeting these two episodes. Wait. Not live-tweeting. Annotating? That sounds much less sexy than live-tweets. Oh, well.
Also, there's something about Teresa of Avila's Interior Castle, but I will have to expound on that later. When I'm a partial bit more sober. Don't the Brits spell it 'sobre'?
Martha's just this big fucking badass. Literally the savior of the world! Not even joking. And here's ten reasons why:"Mr. Smith, I think you should escort your lady friend to safety, don't you?" Appealing to his very human love to a human that isn't her to save his life. OUCH "Oh, the little maid is full of fire!" "And you can shut up!""Scared and holding a gun is a good combination. Do you want to risk it" Mistress of no-fucks-given awesomeness."Do it, Mr. Smith, I mean you!"Don't just stand there. Move! God, you're rubbish as a human." Because he was kinda rubbish as a Time Lord, too. Poor scrappy kid who never really fit in.The human doctor is a man of war. The very thing the doctor is running from. His former self.AFTER THE VILLAGE DANCE: And Joan enters into his world so easily. That world of secrets and layers and runs in the dark holding hands. How quickly she falls for a good man.And THIS is why Martha is such a tragic figure. When it was just her and Rose, she could "chalk it up" to the fact that she was human. Holy smokes! That would make a great blog post! "The origin of the phrase!" Love it.And...how UNFAIR that Joan gets shown a mere copy of the world that Martha's loved and enjoyed for so long! (9.42)But Joan is SO perceptive! It's like Martha can't help but be impressed by how perfect they would be together. And THAT'S what makes her truly tragic. It's not just that he chose another over Martha, but the universe chose another over Martha."It's like he's left the kettle on, like he knows he has something to get back to, but he can't remember what.""It's just him."That difference in cadence perfectly criss crosses their experiences with the doctor. In the first few phases of love, there's so much to say. So much to explore. Like new lovers when naked for the first time. But Martha represents that everyday love. The one that sticks to your ribs and puts meat on your bones. Hair on your chest and all that. And her simple answer is, 'It's just him.'And THEN, they throw in the race card and leave it there as motherfucking salt in the wound.And THIS FUCKING KID who is at the lowest end of the totem pole and gets no respect is the one who gets closest to knowing who the Doctor really is.'Cause he can read minds and shit!And the here's the fucking Doctor enjoying his role as a male in a patriarchal society.ABOUT BAINES: My husband: "Is he fucked?"
19.14: I love how Martha says hello to the TARDIS like she's an old friend...
...and then follow it up with that cockamamie nonsense about machines. Damn that rational brain!
19:52: That formulaic vehicle for exposition.
21:11: The TARDIS has to provide the Doctor with a backstory because an imagination is something beyond the doctor's biology. The inability to deceive is etched into his very soul. And that's why he was brave enough to decimate both races in one sitting.
27:02 Of course the TARDIS is looking out for the soul of her beautiful idiot when she sends him to be a teacher at a military school, especially given his own past as the rough child of war. She gives him Latimer, maybe they had a psychic connection, as a living embodiment of his reasons there is no such thing as a just and proper war. And just to show the depths of tragedy to which this episode will reach, the Doctor denies his own peace-loving ways to make himself as human as possible. Because we can be kinda the worst.
But maybe women's sexy wiles can root out the Doctor where a child could not. Seriously, she manages to be everything the Doctor ever needed. She's just like the TARDIS. Maybe she felt a psychic connection to Joan and trusted her to take care of her Beloved Doctor. The pain of widowhood. Because isn't he just as widowed to be the last of his species? The TARDIS is basically saying, 'This is the most equivalent human experience to match your own pain. And I'm going to make you fall in love with yourself."
28:56: and Joan finds herself confronting the one thing she hates so that she can move on.
30:09: "Everyday life can provide honor and valour and let's hope that from now own this country can find its heroes in smaller places. In the most ordinary of deeds." As he proceeds to commit a supernaturally heroic deed and chalk it up to luck. Because that's the Doctor. No matter how much he wishes he could take pleasure in those ordinary deeds, he is always called upon to do the extraordinary.
And it's while riding that high that he can break out of the biological shyness that the chameleon arc gave him and pursue his own desires.
And then he can't help but be drawn to the other alien life on the planet, and in that moment, a sliver if his old life slips through his psyche in one valiant word, "Gallifrey."
And then he does the most intimate thing he can think to do: draw his lover's likeness into his book of impossible dreams. That's like etching her into his very essence.
"We make such good wives." Followed up by this beautiful bit of dialogue:
"Widows aren't supposed to be beautiful. I think the world would rather we stopped. Is that fair? That we stop? "
"That's not fair at all." This is him accepting himself. Forgiving himself. Telling himself that it's perfectly okay to run in your sorrow. To keep moving forward. Like he did with Rose, who he also lost. Because this show is a tragedy.
Poor Martha! "Wasn't on the list." Four, you. Don't lete abandon you. "That's no good. What about the stuff you didn't tell me? What about women? Oh, no, you didn't think of that. What the hell am I supposed to do then? You had to, didn't you? You had to go and fall in love with a human. And it wasn't me."
"Is there anything you're certain of?"
"Yes. Yes." TRAGIC!
"Cultural Differences" is Martha's motherfucking trigger, man. She's, like oh no, that is NOT happening. I'm not shedding my dignity for the sake of blending in. This bitch is DONE improvising!
"The thing is, you did have a fob watch." And Joan is coming right along with her! In the end, it's always two human women ganging up on the Time Lord.
Tim and Martha: I don't think I've ever heard of a psychic character connecting with a time traveler. It's an interesting dynamic to explore...
The liberation of Martha continues with, "Yeah, well think again, Mate." And it's such a delicious middle finger to the dominant white male rage of the time. Sorry, Melissa Villaseñor's Oscar-Worthy performance in 1917 has been on my mind since watching this again.
Martha convincing Joan that the Doctor is better than human is good practice for when she has to save he world. But it gets better than that! She has to try to convince the Doctor that he's better than human. She is given the gargantuan task of getting the Doctor to accept himself.
Martha holds up his sonic screwdriver and tells him to name it. She knows the power there is in a name. She learned it from the very man she's trying to save when he saved her and the Bard from an alien witch.
Jessica Hynes has this moment right before Joan gets a gun pointed at her head that is just a superb little bit if acting. When the Mother uncovers the Matron and the Doctor's connection, Joan's breath and shoulders hitch ever so slightly before she maintains composure. It just kills me.
"Run! Ah, this is super! We've been in hiding for too long! This is Sport!" Part of the reason this is one of my favorites is the fact that The Family is truly fucking terrifying. And they are akin to one of the most terrifying aspects of human nature: the Hunt.
