So many things happened in the final episode of this season of Doctor Who. I can't even begin to touch on all of them, and frankly, I'm going to have to watch it again to catch everything. I just want to point out some quick things I noticed, and then give a theory about the 50th anniversary special.
River Song: Her timeline has always been confusing. We never find out why she seems to live backwards from the Doctor, and we have yet to experience the time where she first meets him (last time he meets her?). The implication is that she is dead, where she died in the library and David Tennant's Doctor saved her memories into the library computer. But why would she be dead here? Something's missing. I think that Moffatt has written himself into a bit of a corner with River.
Clara - the Impossible Girl: Good explanation as to why the Doctor met Clara on two other occasions. In fact, he has probably met her on thousands of other occasions because of her leap into the Doctor's timeline. It was a bit unsatisfying, though, in that I felt as though something really fascinating was going to happen with just those two instances (Dalek-Clara and Governess-Clara), but they just turned out to be two points on the timeline. I liked how she was trying to make a souffle again, though. I'm hoping that now that this mystery is solved, we can really start to know this Clara, the real Clara, and see how their relationship progresses.
The Doctor: Matt Smith keeps getting better and better. His range is far greater than just a gangly, goofy clown. These last couple of episodes have been sort of a coming out party for Smith, as his dual-personality chess match in the Cyberman episode, and his fear and tears over Trenzalore were spot on. And now the word is out that he has already signed on for season 8 of the show. So, those who thought the 50th would mean a regeneration: nyah, nyah, nyahhh.
CGI of the other Doctors: Loved it. Wish there had been more. I have to go back and see if I can see Paul McGann's Doctor. I didn't notice him, so I think I probably missed him. I really loved where Clara told the first Doctor to steal the other Tardis because he would have more fun in it. Fantastic. And to see the Tardis in its real shape (booooring) was great, too, because we understand how brilliant it was for the creators of the show to have made it a police box. Wouldn't it have been dull if it was just a tube? So much better as that beautiful blue box.
Theory for John Hurt: OK. Here's where I put my neck on the line. When they introduced John Hurt at the end as "The Doctor", people had to be going, "What? Huh?" But Matt's Doctor said that he didn't deserve the name; that he had brought shame to it. So, my theory is this:
This is the true 9th Doctor. Paul McGann was #8, and the Time War took place sometime between the point where McGann became the Doctor and Eccleston arrived to meet Rose. We know that during the Time War, the Daleks and the Time Lords were "destroyed", and that the Doctor bears the blame for that. He's constantly aware of that mark on his life, and is always distressed about it.
Somehow, McGann's Doctor either gets involved in the Time War and dies and regenerates, or dies before the Time Wars start. John Hurt's Doctor is the one responsible for the ultimate destruction of the two races, and that's the reason he doesn't deserve to be the Doctor or carry that name. He was responsible for genocide on a grand scale. So while Matt's Doctor doesn't acknowledge Hurt's Doctor due to the sins he committed, he is, nonetheless, one of the Doctor's regenerations. This changes the numbering of the Doctor's, and may have some meaning in the future, as in the old series we understood that the number of regenerations was limited to 13. That isn't set in stone, though, as the Master has now regenerated more than 13 times. Still, the numbering would go like this:
Paul McGann 8, John Hurt 9, Christopher Eccleston 10, David Tennant 11, Matt Smith 12.
What do you think? Buying this, or do you have another theory? Let me know!
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2 comments:
I'm pretty sure the first time River met the Doctor was in Let's Kill Hitler. Well, technically, I guess it was when she was a little girl in a space suit. I think they are not moving exactly backwards, just sort of generally toward that moment when he no longer recognizes her. Because the first time she meets him is definitely not the last time he meets her.
I read an article that pretty much said exactly your theory about John Hurt, so...you're probably right.
When you start talking about first time / last time, things get confusing. First time he met her was the last time she met him, etc.
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