I mean, I'm going to be emotional no matter what about seeing David Tennant and Catherine Tate back on my screen as the Doctor and Donna Noble. To be frank, this episode didn't have to be that good to draw me in and make me sentimental! Let's see how it went.
Cons:
I think the little prologue thing where we get reminded on the history of Donna and the Doctor as characters was a little strange. I almost would have rather just had a "previously on" with Tennant doing voiceover or something. Especially since the Doctor later explains the whole "Donna took in the mind of a time lord and had to have her memory erased" bit, on screen, to another character.
While I overall want to praise the way pronouns and gender were quite casually discussed in this episode, I did think the fact that Rose was the one to speak up and basically say "did you just assume this alien's gender" was a little clunky. I wish the Meep had just corrected the Doctor outright instead of the one trans person in the room needing to intervene? That's the smallest of nitpicks, though.
Another slightly less small nitpick about the way gender was discussed in this? I really hated the "this is something a male-presenting Time Lord will never understand" line. Because isn't the point that the Doctor is male and female and neither and more? And the Doctor has just finished living as a female-presenting Time Lord, that's kind of the whole point, right? So shouldn't it more have been something about, like, Rose and the Doctor both having explored their gender in different ways, made them more aware of how to let go the parts of yourself that you don't want, and hold onto the ones that you do? Couldn't it have been a thing where the Doctor takes ownership of his presentation, like he realizes that subconsciously he wanted to revisit someone he used to be, for a while? And that that's okay? Instead it just felt like this clunky moment where Donna and her daughter got to be like "you don't get it because you're just a stupid man" and that felt so out of the spirit of what the message was meant to be. Also, why give up the meta-crisis? If it wasn't killing them anymore? Jeez.
I did think the dialogue was again a little clunky in the explanation for why Rose was able to take on part of the meta-crisis. Because at first I was 100% on board, the fact that Donna had a child meant that the thing that was too much for one human was passed down and shared between the two of them. That Donna's memories were there buried in Rose's mind, that she made toys based on the aliens they'd met over their adventures, and that she picked the name Rose in part because of Rose Tyler. That's a lot of fun and it makes sense within this wacky sci-fi universe. But I wasn't sure what the "we're binary" and "she's not" business was supposed to be about. Based on what they're literally saying in the scene, it sounds like the Doctor is the nonbinary one, is he not? And Rose is a young transwoman, she's not nonbinary, except in so far as she connects to that? I don't know, it was just sort of a weird explanation. I'm not mad at it like I'm sure stupid reactionary conservatives are going to be, I'm just literally unclear on what they were trying to communicate there.
Shaun seems like a very nice man but he didn't have a ton of time to develop. I felt like I had time to revisit this version of the Doctor and Donna as characters. And Sylvia, it was lovely to see her again, it was like no time had passed. Rose got a few good personality beats, as did another new character Shirley. But Shaun was just kind of there... and a nice guy. And that's fine, I just didn't find him as compelling as the rest of the episode.
Not sure about the new TARDIS design? It seems a little sterile to me. Maybe it'll grow on me.
Pros:
But despite some gripes, I honestly had a really, really good time. And I'm not surprised: having these characters back on screen warmed my heart so much!
Just... instantly the energy of having them on screen together, it was so good. The Doctor seeing Donna, trying to avoid getting sucked in, but everything starts happening so fast that he can't avoid it. The "Rose" "What?" "Rose" "What?" "ROSE" bit was so fucking funny and just the kind of fan service that I personally am after.
I also loved the psychic paper not having caught up to the Doctor's current gender presentation, that was a fun little gag. I appreciated just in general that Tennant played the Doctor like he was slipping into a comfortable and familiar set of clothes. I sort of worried that he'd go mugging about and camping it up too much, and there were a few more bombastic moments, but a lot of it was toned down in a way that I really appreciated. The scene with Shirley, the UNIT scientific advisor, was a good example of this. I loved how she just came up and knew who he was, and he oh-so-casually started chatting with her. Both of them playing it cool in a way that was satisfying to see. Shirley's meeting a legend that she's heard about for who knows how long, and the Doctor is reconnecting with UNIT after a long while. ("Waited your whole life?" / "You wish!")
The Meep is so cute in such an obnoxious sort of way. I love the Doctor's incredulous "it's so cute", almost affronted by the reality of it. Because - same. And everyone saying "The Meep" in such a serious tone of voice was a constant comedic beat. Of course, the plot twist about The Meep being the bad guy and the scary insect aliens being good guys, was fairly predictable, but it still made me laugh! I think sometimes people forget that this is a family show, and it's got to have over the top ridiculous fun for the kids.
It's this wonderful tension throughout the episode, the fact that Donna doesn't remember the Doctor. There's this beat where he hands her the sonic screwdriver to hold for a second while he's working on pushing shields into place, and when she takes it there's this sense of automatic cooperation between them that feels innate to Donna. There's no dialogue, just an expression on her face, to communicate this. I love small moments like that!
I also really loved the through-line of Donna's mother and her worry that Donna will die when exposed to the larger truth about the universe around her. It's not that Sylvia is the perfect mother, there seems to be tension between them and moments where they don't always get everything right with one another. But her care for Donna, the lengths she'll go to, to keep her safe? Very moving for me. She's the one constantly on alert for Donna to start remembering, and the haunted look on her face towards the end when she said "she called him the Doctor", was honestly really powerful.
This is a small thing, but the techno-babble felt especially comedic and ridiculous in that good campy sci-fi fun way that Doctor Who is often so good at. "Brandish the gravity stanchions" / "Gravity stanchions brandished" had me laughing out loud. And "vindicate the cyberline", "inculcate the plexidrones" were some other good ones. I'm sure if I went back and watched again there would be another dozen I could chuckle at.
The fact that Donna has like... a mindwipe reinitiating sequence, like the freakin' Winter Soldier or something, is honestly so funny to me. But also, Tennant and Tate are good enough performers, and there's enough of a history and build-up with these characters, that his realization of what he has to do to save London still hits really hard. It's almost an echo of the sacrifice the Doctor made all those years ago to save Wilf. (Who, we find out, is still alive and living in a very posh nursing home. So that's fun!)
But it really worked well for me, the Doctor starting to break down, wondering why it had to be this! He's suffered so much, and he loves Donna so much, and he just wants her to be safe!
I was genuinely moved by Donna's death scene! There's something about the Doctor when the role is played really well, and the script is firing on all cylinders, where the fact of his impossibly long life is there, a pressure filling up the room, adding weight to every moment. The fact that the Doctor and Donna have this final exchange and the Doctor is able to quite calmly smile down at Donna as she dies in his arms... the part where he might have gotten this face back just to say goodbye, and Donna saying "good fun, though".... it was so sweet and simple, and then cut to the mind-controlled soldiers coming into the room as he cradles her dead body. They say they're here to kill him, and he says "do what you want." Amazing. Chills.
And then that bit at the end: "I really do remember, though. Every second with you. And I'm so glad you're back, because it killed me, Donna." I did in fact have all the feels.
A couple other moments that really made me smile: the Doctor realizing about Rose's name, that was quite lovely. And the bit where Donna's husband isn't even a little bit insecure at the thought of Donna going somewhere alone with the Doctor, because, come on: look at him. And Donna giving up her lottery winnings because she wanted to be kind and soft and helpful like the Doctor, even though she couldn't remember him? That fucks me up in the best way!
While I've critiqued a couple of awkward moments with the discussion of gender, I do also want to take a moment to praise what worked well. First, just meeting Rose and seeing her without being pre-introduced to the idea that Donna's daughter is trans. Then, that scene with Donna and Sylvia in the kitchen, where Sylvia accidentally says "he" and feels self-conscious about commenting on Rose's looks, even in a positive light, because she never did that back before she transitioned. That felt very real to me and like a good way to lightly address a real issue for the audience to maybe contemplate a bit.
So now we're off on another adventure, and we've got two more episodes to look forward to with the Doctor and Donna. I feel really grateful for a chance to hang out with them again. What other cameos from the past might we get to see?
8/10
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