This is the first episode where I actually, genuinely, came away not knowing what to think. I mean, I'd long ago given up on there being a breakdown really, or any follow-up to the hubris - maybe because it seems like what I sometimes think is "hubris" is actually just the Doctor and his chronic ego problem rubbing off on Rose. I mean, this is a man who will break his best friend's heart to save her life (not Rose, Ace), who'll spend a half a lifetime conniving how to destroy a planet, who will bring down kings and queens without a thought and be back to the TARDIS in time for tea. And that's not hubris - it's never been sold as such, not really - it's just the Doctor.
But I hadn't given up on a good exit for Rose, and I think she got a horrible one. Not because it wasn't a good episode, but because it completely trashed her character development. She learned nothing and only came away from the Doctor worse off, which is exactly how it shouldn't be. It should have been a choice - a hard one, but a choice - between the Doctor and her family, and her family should have won. Not screaming to stay with the Doctor until the last second she was ripped away, and then seeming very much like she might never get over him. Or he should have left her, or forced her to leave; but it should have been one of them, and it should have left her hurting, maybe, but wiser, and able to move on at some point. All I got from the end of this was pure despair and horror, with no hope at all. Which is, frankly, horrible.
And it leaves me with the opposite impression from The Parting Of The Ways. That episode was all about the healing power of love and how the Doctor is a positive force on almost everything around him, he's a reason to put up with the death. But this episode was about the destructive power of love. And the Doctor, as the ultimate in love, being the ultimate destructive force - because without him, there's no point and you're empty.
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But I hadn't given up on a good exit for Rose, and I think she got a horrible one. Not because it wasn't a good episode, but because it completely trashed her character development. She learned nothing and only came away from the Doctor worse off, which is exactly how it shouldn't be. It should have been a choice - a hard one, but a choice - between the Doctor and her family, and her family should have won. Not screaming to stay with the Doctor until the last second she was ripped away, and then seeming very much like she might never get over him. Or he should have left her, or forced her to leave; but it should have been one of them, and it should have left her hurting, maybe, but wiser, and able to move on at some point. All I got from the end of this was pure despair and horror, with no hope at all. Which is, frankly, horrible.
And it leaves me with the opposite impression from The Parting Of The Ways. That episode was all about the healing power of love and how the Doctor is a positive force on almost everything around him, he's a reason to put up with the death. But this episode was about the destructive power of love. And the Doctor, as the ultimate in love, being the ultimate destructive force - because without him, there's no point and you're empty.
God, how depressing a message is that?