Doctor Who: Fear Her

[butterfly]

First off, it's way too hot in Oregon right now.

Second, I really enjoyed this episode (The Girl in the Fireplace retains its title as the only New Who episode that I haven't liked). The Doctor and Rose were so incredibly adorable. And we got to see Rose being wonderful and competent without the Doctor, but the Doctor still got to help, and he's still managing to cram a whole lot of happiness into the smallish amount of time that they have. Also, they were so flirty in this episode. That 'are you deducting' scene was just... wow. And he assumed that she was calling him a 'beautiful boy' and was put out that she was talking to the cat! Adorable.

And, of course, even without the whole 'we know that Billie won't be there in S3' thing, the Doctor knows that the natural human lifespan is a whole lot shorter than his is (see: School Reunion). He wants to enjoy having Rose in his life while he can, because she'll die or leave (or he'll regenerate and things will change again). They have a finite amount of time together, so I don't understand why they shouldn't enjoy every moment that they can.

Of course, I was feeling this way back in Tooth and Claw when I was baffled that people found Rose and the Doctor smug and annoying (there are moments when they can be either/both of these things, but I have found them, by far, to be balanced by their moments of helpfulness and kindness and compassion). Up until they were separated, they had no clue that people were being held prisoner or that anyone might have died. For them, there was no reason to think that it was anything but a lark, because they don't know that this is one of their 'eventful enough to be filmed' adventures (but it always frustrates me when the audience expects the characters to know what's happening when they aren't on-screen).

Comments

[doyle_sb4.livejournal.com]

Up until they were separated, they had no clue that people were being held prisoner or that anyone might have died.

Not that I can speak for the fandom at large, of course, but it's after that that people are complaining about, as far as I know. When they're in the library, having just seen several people eaten by the wolf, and it turns on a dime to be "w00t! we saw a werewolf!" And considering the Queen later banishes them for it, I think we're meant to be taken aback at how much of a lark this is to them.

Rose was really good in Fear Her, though.

[butterfly.livejournal.com]

I saw people complain about how they were acting at the very beginning of the episode. Not everyone who disliked how they behaved in the episode also were annoyed at the beginning, but enough people did that I was kinda all 'huh'.

I can see how people would take the behavior in the library badly, especially if they aren't used to seeing humor used as a mood-breaker, which is definitely how it struck me (the look on her face before they hug is what does it for me -- she looks scared and overwhelmed and very glad to be seeing the Doctor).

[butterfly.livejournal.com]

But, of course, all that stuff I said about how Rose's expression looked -- all that interpretation can be so subjective. So, yeah. We see what we expect, myself definitely included.