aria: ([doctor who] saxon is your man)
valinor spider party ([personal profile] aria) wrote2009-11-16 10:04 pm

and they will obey me

A day late, but! Waters of Mars:

I was spoiled for pretty much 100% of this episode, and I cannot tell whether that made it more or less rubbish. I think perhaps I shouldn't have spoiled myself? Because I was already expecting the water monsters and the running about on a space station to be the usual fare -- one-off characters die! I really don't care about them or their ~exploration of the stars~ so I mostly entertain myself guessing who's going to live, only I was even spoiled for that -- and I went in with essentially the right expectations for the first forty-five minutes.

The last fifteen, though, I wish I hadn't known about, because unspoiled I'd probably be writhing around in glee right now. As is I am just feeling a bit tingly. Because, um, we already knew I am knee-weakening-easy for the Doctor going all Oncoming Storm surrounded by fire and disaster, and al;kfdjd. I wish he'd been less shouty for "The laws of Time are mine, and they will obey me," because that is a line I want to COVER IN CHOCOLATE AND SAVOR, but it's almost entirely made up for by Adelaide's protest that the Doctor shouldn't do this, and his quiet measured "Tough," in response.

I love that Adelaide called him on his all-knowing I-get-to-decide bullshit, which of course he's done before -- in small ways, with little people, which she also calls him on. (Hey, Doctor, a lot of your companions have been Pretty Fucking Important -- but of course it is because of your magical glowy self!) I -- I think maybe I can forgive a lot of Ten's massive amounts of self-congratulatory hubris because, hey, it's being acknowledged as hubris! I would venture that maybe he needs uninformed humans to play devil's advocate for him so he can choose the right thing, only then I flash back to the drowning of the Racnoss in Runaway Bride and ... no, this has been a problem for a while. Actually, this episode's ending reminded me (perhaps intentionally?) of Runaway Bride; Donna was a lot more freaked out than impressed, same as Adelaide & co here, which brings me to ...

My massive soon-to-be-dashed hopes for the finale! Clearly Donna and Wilf need to set the Doctor right. SOMEHOW. Meanwhile HOLY SHIT THERE IS LUCY SAXON. LUUUUUCY. I did not realize how much I loved her until I started feeling HUGELY RIDICULOUSLY EXCITED ABOUT THAT SHOT OF HER. I am less hugely ridiculously excited about the Master, because I've had time to get used to the idea that he'll be in the finale, and now I'm just hoping [a] that the Doctor will die in the Master's arms, for which I will forgive this show EVERYTHING EVER and will of course not actually happen, and [b] that the weird badly-done skull effect was a strange hallucination brought on by the Master's bad dye job, and will not appear in the finale at all. Because I am shallow.

Really, though, Ten-dying-in-the-Master's-arms aside, I am really hoping the Master is really there and not a hallucination. In a pocket universe -- which I MAY WRITE BETWEEN NOW AND CHRISTMAS, OH GOD NOOOO -- the Master will end up saving the universe from the Doctor. Somehow. More realistically I would be hugely content with the Master being fascinated by the Doctor's sudden flirtation with going off the deep end, and encourage the hell out of it. I can reasonably hope for that, right?

The cloister bell fills me with such trepidation! Doctor, where are you off to?? I AM A BIT EXCITED ABOUT CHRISTMAS, GUYS.

[personal profile] feverbeats 2009-11-17 03:30 am (UTC)(link)
"The laws of Time are mine, and they will obey me,"
Oh holy shit, seriously? SERIOUSLY? :DDDDDDDD AAAAAAH.

[personal profile] feverbeats 2009-11-17 03:37 am (UTC)(link)
Ahaha, ilu. I'm going to wait till break, I think. I should work on junk tomorrow afternoon. :(

(Anonymous) 2009-11-17 04:41 am (UTC)(link)
Heya, I'm vocal_bard from over on Livejournal. And can I just take a moment to say: Now that you've said it, if the Doctor *doesn't* die in the Master's arms, I will be completely inconsolable. Also, and I can't stress this enough, PUHLEASE write that pocket universe! Pretty please with jelly babies on top?

filia_belialis: (Default)

[personal profile] filia_belialis 2009-11-17 05:02 am (UTC)(link)
Please please please please write the pocket universe (either of the possibilities you mentioned), because that, like virtually everything else you said, was EXACTLY what I was thinking while watching this episode! But I know that Christmas will probably reverse all this, and will be full of hamfisted moments where the Doctor realizes that he's become like the Master, oh noes! and teach him to feel good and chipper again. At least, that is what I'm telling myself so I won't be painfully disappointed.

Andandand there is so much I want to squee about, from amazing lines to his descent into madness and hubris to his subsequent realization of (and flight from) this, to how incredibly HOLLOW that "ooh snow!" enthusiasm is now, and augh. I need someone to flail at in person.

I'm surprisingly ok with skull!Master, because a) it is a nod to Crispy, and b) I like to think that part of the reason they did it was the same reason they aged the Doctor in Series 3--to cut down on the incredible slash potential for the sake of the child audience.
carrieann: Cardiff, Wales (welsh words)

[personal profile] carrieann 2009-11-17 04:43 pm (UTC)(link)
omg, Aria, I was actually scared of Ten at the very end. I nearly yelled at the screen "YOU'RE ACTING LIKE THE MASTER STOP TALKING LIKE THAT" (at least I yelled it in my head.)

All I knew about this episode was that they were the first people on Mars, and the water was very very bad, but that's it. Oh, and that Ood Sigma showed up at the end. And I'm so glad. If I had known the end of the episode, that probably would have taken the awesomeness out of it.

FINALE. DONNA. OMG DONNA DONNA DONNA. (guess which companion's my favorite? XD )

(Anonymous) 2009-11-17 04:58 pm (UTC)(link)
Yes you need to write that fic! I am simultaneously excited/terrified for Christmas, because it could be so so amazing and fulfil all of my hopes and dreams (*cough* Doctor dying in the Master's arms *cough*), but it probably won't.

I'm now somewhat saner than last night (haha, sorry about that!)and got to flail at Amelia after she saw it, and it's good to read your thoughts on it. Yay!

(Anonymous) 2009-11-17 04:59 pm (UTC)(link)
Sorry, didn't realize that it would anonymousise me on dreamwidth. This is Emma, in case you hadn't figured that out! =)

(Anonymous) 2009-11-19 06:46 am (UTC)(link)
I've seen people log in via LJ some how buuuut I have no clue so I'm anon it seems. NOT THAT IT REALLY MATTERS. *is a flyby person who was rereading Season Five for the umpteenth time then decided to see if the author was up to anything*

That all completely aside, I'm looking hugely forward to the Christmas specials, the Master's hoodie aside (the hoodie bothers me more than the blond hair lol). Daaamn... it would be awesome if Ten died in the Master's arms XD Though I kinda doubt it. But still, I can wish a little.

Also, I've totally thought before about the Master having to save the universe from the Doctor before (although I'm too lazy to make it happen, sigh) - which is clearly easier to do now that the Doctor has canonly gone off his rocker. Ahahahaha.

Yes. Enough from the flyby anon~
nextian: From below, a woman and a flock of birds. (who: diagnosis unflattering)

[personal profile] nextian 2010-01-11 06:35 am (UTC)(link)
SO I just got to THE LAST FIFTEEN MINUTES with my brother of this episode and was forced to stop watching. Aria. Aria. What the fuck is with this episode. The station was blown up by a nuke. Remember nukes? They don't leave BODIES? They leave SHADOWS? It wouldn't be a big deal if he saved them by taking them away from the station AS LONG AS HE DIDN'T DO WHAT HE APPARENTLY DOES BECAUSE HE'S SUCH A FUCKING IDIOT I CAN'T HANDLE IT KAJSDKLAJSKDJSKLDJKLJLSDKJKLJ

ARIA DO YOU THINK ELI WILL LET ME HAVE HIM WATCH THE LAST FIFTEEN MINUTES ON HIS OWN

BECAUSE AWESOME AS THEY ARE, I'M AFRAID I MIGHT PUNCH THE COMPUTER SCREEN TRYING TO PUNCH TEN