I can't speak for butterfly but what I think she's getting at is the show moving away from the romance aspect. Martha was the ramp down from having so much focus on that sort of relationship. That Rose's relationship with the Doctor was unique even if Rose herself wasn't necessarily.
Martha may have just been there to prove that Rose is The One, as contrast. Or she may have been there to "ramp down from having so much focus on that sort of relationship." But it doesn't make any sense for her to be there to do both at the same time. If the point is, "He was in love with Rose and not Martha," then the unrequited stuff makes sense. If the point is, "Let's not focus on that sort of relationship," then it doesn't.
I think you're confusing "loved differently" with "loved more." Do I think that the "in love" aspect will stand unique for years to come? Yes. Do I think that makes other companions less? No. Martha thought it did, but that's another point.
It's not me confusing them -- it's the series. Had we actually SEEN the Doctor really bond with Martha and enjoy her, then maybe it wouldn't mean other companions are diminished. But S3 utterly failed to show us that. Given the fact that Rusty went out of his way to give us a really intelligent, beautiful, courageous character, the Doctor's offhanded treatment of her reads as the Doctor saying, "Not Rose = not interested." It's possible that the Doctor will realize what an ass he's been next season, in which case Rusty is just drawing out the character growth, which speaks to your point:
Showed us the chance for the Doctor to have a life partner and in a romantic relationship; changed him by showing him that he *could* have that and that he wanted it with her. But that's character growth which in my book is a good thing.
My problem is that I didn't see character growth. If anything, I saw the Doctor grow bitter and walled off, and not just with Martha. His response to Jack is cold and flat as well. But I think what gets my goat most is the notion that there's "in love" that's qualitatively different than other forms of love. That's just -- well, let's say that's a naive view for a guy who's been around a millenium. It's...reductive. Again, who knows. Maybe we're meant to wonder why the hell he would do that, and next season we'll find out that he HAS grown because of his relationship with Martha.
And her being the "one and only" that he falls in love with does not ruin the premise. I'm not entirely sure I see how it would.
It would because it implies a greater level of importance, attachment, caring, concern, involvement, affection, etc. etc. for this companion over all others, from the Doctor's POV. It taps into the pervasive cultural notion of that annoying Disney version of love (I'm sorry to keep bringing Disney into it, but it's exactly what I mean -- romantic love that is exclusive, eternal, fated, unchallenged, etc etc.) It boxes the character in and trivializes the range of all his other experiences.
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Martha may have just been there to prove that Rose is The One, as contrast. Or she may have been there to "ramp down from having so much focus on that sort of relationship." But it doesn't make any sense for her to be there to do both at the same time. If the point is, "He was in love with Rose and not Martha," then the unrequited stuff makes sense. If the point is, "Let's not focus on that sort of relationship," then it doesn't.
I think you're confusing "loved differently" with "loved more." Do I think that the "in love" aspect will stand unique for years to come? Yes. Do I think that makes other companions less? No. Martha thought it did, but that's another point.
It's not me confusing them -- it's the series. Had we actually SEEN the Doctor really bond with Martha and enjoy her, then maybe it wouldn't mean other companions are diminished. But S3 utterly failed to show us that. Given the fact that Rusty went out of his way to give us a really intelligent, beautiful, courageous character, the Doctor's offhanded treatment of her reads as the Doctor saying, "Not Rose = not interested." It's possible that the Doctor will realize what an ass he's been next season, in which case Rusty is just drawing out the character growth, which speaks to your point:
Showed us the chance for the Doctor to have a life partner and in a romantic relationship; changed him by showing him that he *could* have that and that he wanted it with her. But that's character growth which in my book is a good thing.
My problem is that I didn't see character growth. If anything, I saw the Doctor grow bitter and walled off, and not just with Martha. His response to Jack is cold and flat as well. But I think what gets my goat most is the notion that there's "in love" that's qualitatively different than other forms of love. That's just -- well, let's say that's a naive view for a guy who's been around a millenium. It's...reductive. Again, who knows. Maybe we're meant to wonder why the hell he would do that, and next season we'll find out that he HAS grown because of his relationship with Martha.
And her being the "one and only" that he falls in love with does not ruin the premise. I'm not entirely sure I see how it would.
It would because it implies a greater level of importance, attachment, caring, concern, involvement, affection, etc. etc. for this companion over all others, from the Doctor's POV. It taps into the pervasive cultural notion of that annoying Disney version of love (I'm sorry to keep bringing Disney into it, but it's exactly what I mean -- romantic love that is exclusive, eternal, fated, unchallenged, etc etc.) It boxes the character in and trivializes the range of all his other experiences.