#i'm just. auughghghhgh I love to experience a story so long and see the origins of the same beats the show retraces in different ways

[wykart]

The last ten minutes of 'The Massacre' wrecked me oh my god. The emotional roller coaster.

First you get Steven going off at the Doctor (and I'm still not clear on what the Doctor was doing for that entire episode?? I guess the Abbot genuinely just looked like him but I don't really believe that...), calling him out like no one else has since Barbara back in the Edge of Destruction, I'd say, which was the Doctor's first major turning point as a character.

After the horror of the Daleks' Master Plan, now this, and the Doctor appearing to show no remorse (even though we know he does), Steven has had enough. He leaves, and the Doctor's alone! He's so sad about it he even manages to get Ian's name right when reminiscing. He would never tell any of them that he cared outright, but he does, deeply (and I maintain that he knew there was no danger of the Dalek ship killing Ian and Barbara when they returned to Earth, he was just trying to convince them to stay). He even contemplates returning to Gallifrey! And then of course the TARDIS drops him off in the perfect place to have Dodo run inside, who the Doctor remarks looks just like Susan, so he just...takes off with her inside. I thought that his adoption of Vicki was blatant but this is even more explicit, because he doesn't even ask her lol.

This man is hanging on by a fucking thread and we're on season 3. It does seem he's beginning to face his extremely inconsistent and rarely-followed rule of non-interference though (not that he's going to develop consistency in the matter any time soon, or ever), which is quite interesting, more so knowing where he will end up in a few seasons' time. I also find interesting the way he justifies his own brand of meddling compared to that of the Monk (which is premeditated and with intention, rather than reactive - dare I say it: vain, arrogant, and sentimental...) It's so good, because in all the centuries bringing the Doctor from this moment into the present day, he's still stuck in the same loop, the same patterns of both loss and realisation. I love it.

#i'm just. auughghghhgh I love to experience a story so long and see the origins of the same beats the show retraces in different ways #doctor who #classic who #first doctor #steven taylor