Haven't seen a discussion post for the new special, so I'll get the ball rolling. Thoughts, insights, bits you loved... let it all out.
this post was submitted on 26 Nov 2023
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I really enjoyed the episode for what it was. It served as a decent introduction for the Disney+ crowd without being too convoluted. Which given this was a continuation of a 15 year old plot thread was handled about as well as it could be.
My biggest complaint was how integrated Rose was into the resolution to the metacrisis. I am not trans and don't pretend to know even a fraction of the struggles they face in our society. The normalisation of Rose throughout the episode and an acknowledgement of how even very well meaning family work to be inclusive felt very natural. However, I did not like how her being trans seemed to have been caused by the metacrisis. It felt like it flew in the face of the normalisation. The reading in the episode is Rose is only trans because of that timelord DNA influence. It felt wrong to reduce her character to being nothing more than a quirk of fate rather than just who she is naturally.
I'd have preferred a 'Lets all hold hands and the family shares the burden' hand waving than what we got. Rose deserved more than what we got and certainly more screen time. It was quite weird the rest of the family didn't go see Wilf. I get they were setting up episode 2, but in the context of the moment it felt really out of character for MumDonna.
To those confused about how Donna and Rose were able to 'Let it go' now rather than back then, Frozen wasn't released until 4 years later so it musn't have occurred to the Doctor... In all seriousness, I'd point to the scene from The Day of the Doctor where Clara opens the unlocked door for the 'clever' Doctors. Sometimes he'll look for the best solution without realising a simple one is in front of him.
The new TARDIS interior was gorgeous, harkens back to the Hartnell console room. I loved the first thing 13 did was start running around. So much room to practise running haha.
All in all, a solid.episode with some flaws. I really liked the new style and you could feel that new budget while still having a Dr. Who charm aliens that looked like they'd been handmade. I'd put it around a 7.5/8 out of 10. Good foundation, interested to see if it is built on. It definitely makes me excited for Ncuti's run.
I didn't get that at all from the episode. Where are you getting that from?
Rose is trans because that's who she is. The metacrisis was a part of her up until she and Donna released it - which they couldn't do while Donna was still psychic locked. And afterward she was basically the same, only without that metacrisis energy, which didn't change who she was, it only had subtle subliminal influences that manifested in her stuffed creatures and maybe nudged her in tiny ways, but didn't overtake her.
I get that reading of it, but I think her "I finally feel like me" line after releasing the meta-crisis was more an acknowledgment of finally being able to let go of the 10th doctor's maleness, not that the meta-crisis made her trans.