#rory deserved better than amy tbh

[mattiebluebird]

My controversial DW opinion is that I don't care for Rose (or Amy). Sorry

[radio-ghost-cooks]

I made a silly lil thingy that im gonna uhm share (this is whoniverse btw)

who's your absolute all-time favourite character?

who's the character you relate to the most?

who's the character you don't like the most?

who's the character who could've had so much more? (+reason they couldn't)

favourite ship with each of these characters (if you're a multishipper like me, you can put multiple, don't worry)

i'm so sorry it took this long but it was marinating in the back of my brain this entire time. had to really Thinkᵀᴹ

favorite all-time character: ELEVEN!!!!!!!

character i relate to the most: Rory. we're both somewhat pushed to the side, and i just vibe with him immensely

character i dislike: sorry but it has to be River. honestly its probably just me projecting bc i have a friend who used to one-up me all the time like how River keeps one-upping the Doctor and it made me feel pretty worthless sometimes (they stopped tho!! we're all good now).

character who could have had SO MUCH MORE: can I say Nine? he should have had another season fr :[ but nooooooo British people just HAD to be dicks abt his accent.

favorite ship with each: tbh i'm kind of an ace!Eleven guy, but if i have to pick one i'd say Eleven/Amy/Rory. star loves star's Ponds sm :]

River... imo she works better with Twelve than Eleven so ig i'd say TwelveRiver

and NineJack goes SO FUCKING HARD LET THE BOYS KISS MORE THEY DESERVE IT

[zalrb]

I wasn’t sure where you were at so I did not want to spoil River being Amy and Rory and the TARDIS’s daughter; that’s what I meant by tying her to the Ponds.

Like, she’s a great character! She’s fun and her interactions with 11 are fun! That’s what pisses me off about Moffat. You are capable of creating such a dynamic character as River, and rather than making the Ponds people, you try to use her to give them personality? Ridiculous.

Sorry, I just feel like River deserves so much better than Amy and Rory.

I agree. I wasn't exactly pleased by the reveal that she was their daughter, I was just like ... oh. I wish she was just her own character tbh.

[emo--chanel]

op is right watching doctor who these days is like

unfortunately there won't be a jeff goldblum at the end for us though lmao

so, i'm watching flux, and i'm liking it. i feel like the stakes are high and this is all leading up to something big, which is exciting. but alongside this feeling, i can't help but miss the quieter moments of the show - ones where the characters just sit around and talk. they don't even have to talk. they can just share and take up space. be people.

for example, it strikes me that we still haven't seen dan eat food. he didn't have anything to eat in the first episode, and then he got thrown into the action and they haven't had a second of downtime since - to just... exist.

this is what i mean:

everything in flux is just going So Fast. the stakes are So High and everything is so immediate. i can think of a few examples of these scenes from flux (Bel and the Cyberman, the satsumas scene, Yaz with her sister, the Doctor being a teacher, Dan with his parents (thank god)) but they're the exception to the rule, like oases in a desert sandstorm or islands in a stormy sea, and without these moments, i get... burnt out. can they just hold hands for a sec-

[iamdeltas]

Who for the meme?

the first character i ever fell in love with: Nine. I started from s1 and immediately loved the Ninth Doctor. He's still one of my favorite Doctors, honestly.

a character that i used to love/like, but now do not: I'm actually not sure? Maybe 11. I liked him well enough on my first watch but now looking back I've soured a bit on him. 10 is a close runner up though I still like him, but not as much.

a ship that i used to love/like, but now do not: Not sure. There aren't a lot of ships I like or love in the first place. I would say TenRose but I never liked TenRose so.... *shrug*

my ultimate favorite character™: Donna Noble, my beloved! Deserved better!

prettiest character: There are a lot of pretty characters! Think I'll go with Martha Jones though. She's very pretty.

my most hated character: Simm!Master is a rat bastard and not in a good way. Fuck that blond prick.

my OTP: Ehh... probably Doctor/Master? Though does it count if I don't care if they ever Officially in canon get together because it's so much fun watching their trashfire canon relationship?

my NOTP: I don't think I have one? Maybe romantic ships for characters I only brotp, but IDK if those count as NOTPs or not.

favorite episode: It's really hard for me to pick an overall favorite. Maybe I'll just say "Hell Bent."

saddest death: This is a hard one because I'm realizing that as many tragic companion departures as there have been, most of them weren't actual deaths. So that narrows it down a lot. It's probably between the Doctor's many regenerations and Amy's and Rory's deaths and. I think that's it? And regenerations at the moments are always sad to me but looking back never feel quite as sad. So I'm just gonna go with Amy's death.

favorite season: Series 4 because Donna and Ten are the dream team. Until the end.

least favorite season: Series 6. Fuck series 6.

character that everyone else in the fandom loves, but i hate: I already mentioned Simm!Master so I think it'd kind of be cheating to say him again. So uh. Because I love swatting at the hornet's nest so much... Rose. I found her annoying as fuck especially during series 2 and it was so baffling to me to find out that a large part of why people hated Martha so much was because they felt that she "paled in comparison to Rose" because uh, to me, Martha was a huge breath of fresh air and was ten million times better than Rose, holy shit!

my ‘you’re piece of trash, but you’re still a fave’ fave: Dhawan!Master, lol. Love that purple bitch man.

my ‘beautiful cinnamon roll who deserves better than this’ fave: DONNA. NOBLE.

my ‘this ship is wrong, nasty, and makes me want to cleanse my soul, but i still love it’ ship: *shrug* Probs Doctor/Master is the closest to this tbh lmao

my ‘they’re kind of cute, and i lowkey ship them, but i’m not too invested’ ship: uhhh, I can't really think of anything that fits? I don't tend to ship much in general in the first place. Trying to think of ships that make me go, "Well, they're okay, I guess," and all I'm thinking of are Martha/Mickey.

[literatigifs]

That's pretty much what it is, tbh. And again, I'm not saying Jess had to yell at Rory in order for his point to come across, but fans who hate him trying to devalue his role in 6x08 all because of just one line that they don't like is ridiculous when it practically goes against the writing itself that made it clear. Also, if L*gan was the one who said it, and gave Rory the final push she needed in order to get back to Yale, you just know his fans would be using it as some honorable badge to prove that "Logan really does know Rory, he said so himself and she didn't deny it!". And you especially know that they'd sooner even argue that L*gan knows Rory better than Lorelai does, but since it's Jess who says this line, they keep complaining about it. So all this outrage over Jess saying that and asking her why she's living her life like this is pointless to me since a lot of the time, it's just L*gan fans continuously whining about Jess coming off as the better guy in that episode and trying to list some very serious reason as to why he actually wasn't the better guy, as if any excuse could erase how L*gan was a complete ass in 6x08 and practically tried to rile up Jess by his attempts at demeaning him in front of Rory. Not to mention him also yelling at Rory for absolutely no reason besides feeling completely defensive over one line she says that wasn't even meant as a jab towards him. Rory never tries to tell L*gan how to live his own life or even blames him for her not going back to Yale, but he somehow comes to this conclusion all on his own and then proceeds to yell at her in a public place before leaving her behind.

Anyway, Amy Sherman-Palladino has a lot of issues when it comes to her own style of writing and character arcs, but one thing that I can at least appreciate about them is that there's zero double-meaning or hidden messages that are necessary for the viewer to think about more. Jess came back into Rory's life for a reason, and just because some people hate one line he said that he pretty much never mentioned again to Rory, doesn't erase the significance of what his presence and actions mean to Rory and her development later on in the series. And this isn't me saying Jess deserves some medal for Rory getting back on her feat, Rory did that and will do that all on her own. But he was the one that saw how she didn't love this lifestyle she came to have, and actually took the time to ask her what was going on with her.

[lloydshoulddyehishair]

hopes for s13 and brief review of s12?

okok ik s12 just aired but--- hear me out skjskyjs

i really liked this season, wouldn't say i loved it, but still liked it. we got a proper storyline unlike in s11 and some(?) character development, the soundtrack was good - which it also was in s11 - and i loved that they brought the master back.

yet i cant help but be quite annoyed about some things in this season.

the master:

like i said i loved that they brought the master back BUT how can we not have missy mentioned at least once. if this master is an incarnation after missy he for sure would have mentioned her at least once to spite the doctor and hurther even more by her having failed missy or something like that. and if he was an incarnation before missy i'm pretty sure that the doctor would have mentioned her at least once. it just feels like everything that missy hat going for her during s9/10 got thrown out of the window and i highkey do not like that.

i really hope that in s13 we will get some closure on that because i don't really believe we've seen the last of the master yet.

angst? things?

something that bothered me and a lot of others with the doctor in s11 was that it felt like the doctor lacked something the other new who doctors always had and that had just become part of the doctors character over the years.

i'm talking about the darkness, the anger, the sadness.

and i know we got some of that in s12 which i LIVED for btw because i am a huge sucker for angst. but (i'm going to use this word so much in this blog thingy skjs) we never really had an anger moment that made one go "oh damn" like we had with the previous doctors. i mean matt smith had one of those moments in his second episode.remember how he had this cold anger towards amy for pressing the forgot button about the starwhale situation because she didn't want the doctor to have to make a decision - so basically making the decision for him - and how he then screamed at everyone in fury. those are the kinds of moments im talking about and i feel like we haven't had one of those with the thirteenth doctor yet. (i love her anyways because i am basically whipped for her but still)

and i know many, many people like exactly that about her and say that it's refreshing to see a doctor that didn't embody those things and this is obviously just my opinion. i just feel like the doctor isn't really the doctor withthout some characteristics and that's one of them. (maybe its just me growing up with him always being like that that makes me miss it so much now)

and this is definitely not jodies fault because she's a great actress and more than capable of doing a scene like that - she just wasn't given the right material to work with.

the companions:

so this will be quite short because i only have two things to say

1. character development.

it's been two seasons and i'm still not quite sure what kind of people yaz, graham and ryan are and thats just-- not good.

i think they introduced too many characters at the same time and thats why they could barely pull of any character development. would've enjoyed it more if they did something like in s5 where amy travels alone with the doctor for half the season - we get an idea of who she is, ect - and then properly introduced rory.

2. HUGS

where are the good old hugs? thirteen deserves a hug and if she goes of the show without being higged at least twice i will RIOT and steal chris chibnalls identity to rewrite doctor who.

the only hug thirteen got was when she hugged najia khan. yaz' mum. like---

clara oswald would NOT have let this happened

y'all remember when i said i only had like two points about this? i was lying

rule 1

3. death

okay so if there is one hope i have for the next season that i want to happen more than any of the others it's

DO NOT KILL THE FAM OFF

not because i love them so much (i mean i do love them but--)

but because its getting quite boring at this point.

the last three companions have all been (more or less) killed off in some way. amy and rory being taken by the weeping angels and dying of old age, clara being killed by the raven thing, bill being converted into a cyberman.

don't even need a huge donna situation. maybe just have them go on their own, deciding it'd be better to stay home now, like martha did in the end of s3.

that'd be refreshing.

i'm exited for how theyll decide to let the fam go especially since there are rumors that tosin (ryan) and bradley (graham) will be leaving the series.

maybe have ryan realize that all of that traveling is too risky for him after all and that he wants to stay in sheffield and have graham stay with him because he wants to look out for his grandson.

i don't know what to do with yaz tbh because i doubt they'd keep her as a companion for three full seasons with that little character development, ect. maybe have her stay and then go mid-season? idk

regeneration:

i think we all know its coming. the doctor is probably going to regenerate at the end of s13 or around the christmas/new years special. and while i'm not ready to let her go yet because i feel like they could do so much more with her character and i just lover her so much, i don't think they'll make her stay for four seasons. the longest run any doctor had was three seasons so thats why i'm assuming she's going in s13. (i dont fucking want her to go i cant - - - - -)

so if they make her regenerate i hope that they'll do two things:

have her have a memorable speech, doesn't have to be as deep and heart clenching as the one 12 had (i'm still crying about it) but maybe something along the lines of 10 would be nice. but just beacuse i love angst.

the other thing i'm hoping for is that she won't regenerate into a man just yet. not because i want to push some fEmInIsT aGeNdA but because i feel like there are many things that can still be explored with a female doctor - ESPECIALLY HISTORY WISE. yeah we got some of that during the with trials (was that the episodes title? not sure) in season 11 but 1 episode out of 372802275110 (ok i just smashed the numbers on my keyboard but still). have her explore some more of the struggles women in the past had to go and sometimes still go through.

jack:

let me tell y'all something

if they just brought jack back for those 5 minutes in s12 where he didn't even directly interwct with the doc and won't bring him back in s13 i WILL throw hands.

i need a thirteen and jack reunion with jack hugging thirteen tight and lifting her up from the ground and spinning them around while she's still in the air in his arms, grinning like a freaking retard beCAUSE I AM SOFT LIKE THAT

i'll probably do a blog about the things that i really liked about s12, because i feel like it seems like i hated s12 which i really didn't just kinda sad and disappointed (ex. the jack situation) about some things

[billie-pipers]

Top 5 Doctor Who characters? 😊

How dare you make me choose between all of my children? The sheer audacity bro... so I hate numbering them because they're all equal to me. No cap but I guess if I had to..

5. Rory Williams

His capability of taking care of the braincell by himself still astounds me to this day. Roasted so many characters with god tier logic. The will on this man. Wow, Amy and him really said bisexual rights! His ending,,, meh. We could do better Moffat.

4. Bill Potts

A pure beam of sunshine. I fell in love at first sight. That smile! That curiosity! That strength! Bitch I'm deceased. Bill really deserved the universe and I will never forgive Moffat for only giving her one (1) season. ✨

3. Nine

Absolutely fantastic. Christopher Eccleston deserves more credit for making his role as the Doctor so dark, funny, and sassy. My favorite doctor. A baby. Can he be a right ass?? Yeah but that mfer repented for his mistakes and I just love him. I just- I cry,, okay. WE WERE ROBBED OKAY.

2. Martha Jones

I don't understand how some of y'all jumped on a hate bandwagon for her when it should have been for Ten. He did her dirty and I still don't forgive him for it tbh. My baby made it through a bunch of shit just to be dragged for the color of her skin and her attraction to an idiot. Disgostang. This woman really saved everyone through bravery and chose to leave a toxic dynamic when she realized she deserved more. Power moves 24/7. Whenever she spoke, I held my breath. A fucking legend. She really did that! I love her and anyone can fuck off if they even look in her direction. Protect her. Ted talk over.

1. Rose Tyler

Do I even have to say anything? A role model. Imperfectly human. At 19 she lived the life. She really said fuck domestics and let's just save the entire universe and eat chips. I hated when people started to use her as a symbol though. A tool to fix the Doctor. Because she's more than that. She's Rose Tyler. Kind, compassionate, reckless, and jeopardy friendly. She had flaws like pettiness and greed and who doesn't? It was human of her. It gave her depth. Forced her to grow. She's her own person. Fuck pedestals. And her ending was terrible. A total loss of character development. Sorry not sorry.

[musical-chick-13]

Doing this because I’m bored, an insomniac, and @i-am-adlocked said I could.

Rules: Pick 5 shows, then answer the following questions. Don’t cheat. Tag 10 (or how ever many) people.

1. Crazy Ex-Girlfriend

2. Game of Thrones

3. Doctor Who

4. Kill la Kill (in the interest of talking about things I don’t normally talk about)

5. The Five (ditto, also there’s literally nothing on this show and I need to tell people about it)

Who is your favorite character in 2?

CERSEI. LANNISTER. THE LOVE. OF MY LIFE.

Who is your least favorite character in 1?

...Nathaniel. (And here is the part where all the Crazy Ex-Girlfriend people who follow me will unfollow me.) Okay, okay, he’s my least favorite main character. Silas is obviously the Worst™ person on the show, hands down. I don’t even...necessarily dislike him? I just think fandom gives him a pass on too many things and I much rather would follow the other characters than him. I could have had more Jim songs. I could have had more subplots with Hector and Heather. I could have had more Audra or Maya. I could have had a stretch of time where I look through the tag and it’s not inundated with Rebecca/Nathaniel stuff when romantic pairings have never been the point of the show. I’m just salty.

What is your favorite episode of 4?

"Tell Me Why” aka episode 17. We get backstory! We get setup for the primary conflict! The other characters get to do so much!! WE GET THE BEST PLOT TWIST OF ALL TIME!!!!!

What is your favorite season of 5?

It only has one season, which, tbh, is all it needed. Everything was wrapped up perfectly, and all the parts of the overarching mystery fit together, and THE ENDING. I CRIED. THE ACTING IS SO GOOD, THE CHARACTERS ARE SO WONDERFULLY INTERESTING. EVERYONE GO WATCH THIS SERIES.

Who is your favorite couple in 3?

Ugggghhhh. Twelve/Missy 4ever. (Any Doctor/River combination works too.)

What is your favorite episode of 1?

Ooh. Ooh. That’s...wow, that’s so tough. Although I do so very much enjoy the “Sexy Revenge Movie” parody of “Josh’s Ex-Girlfriend Is Crazy,” (and the fact that it has “The End of the Movie,” my favorite song in the show), I think I’m going to have to go with “Josh Is Irrelevant.” It’s probably the biggest development milestone in Rebecca’s growth arc and, because of it’s accurate, straightforward, and poignant discussion of mental illness, is an episode that means a great deal to me. I never thought I’d get to see something like that on TV. Like...“A Diagnosis?” THE. MENTAL ILLNESS. EXPERIENCE. The whole “But what if I am my illness, OMG I’M CRAZY™” thing? FINALLY. SOMEONE. UNDERSTANDS. This was the first time I ever, ever watched a TV show and went, “Someone gets it, someone hears me, someone thinks that I am worth talking about and getting better.” And I can’t even begin to mention how important that was for me to see and how much that helped me.

What is your favorite episode in 5?

THE. FINALE. Such an emotional ending, such a wonderful wrap-up of everything. So utterly satisfying in every way. A perfect cap to a fantastically-crafted show.

What is your favorite season of 2?

I love all of them except season 5 (yes, even season 8, I’m That Person™). But I particularly, particularly loved season 3.

How long have you watched 1?

It was...I think a month or two after season one ended? One of my dance instructors mentioned it and I said, “Oh, that sounds interesting, I’ll see if it’s on Netflix.” I watched season 1 in two or three days. And the rest is history.

How did you become interested in 3?

My dad saw a commercial for it on PBS and said, “I’m going to start watching it.” I wanted to spend time with him, so I agreed to sit down and watch an episode. It was one of Amy and Rory’s first ones, and I became invested in the characters. So we just watched the whole thing soon after.

Who is your favorite actor in 4?

I absolutely adore Erica Mendez, who voices Ryuko in the English dub. But my heart forever belongs to Ryōka Yuzuki, who voices Satsuki in the original Japanese version.

Which do you prefer, 1, 2, or 5?

So, this is a difficult question. In terms of “consistent characterization, plot points that resolve in spectacular ways, everything I wanted from a show period, things that give me hope, things that are important to the general cultural consciousness, and things I would recommend to others as Art™” then Crazy Ex-Girlfriend. In terms of “things that I am actively involved in the fandom in, will be way too emotionally invested in until I die, and scream the loudest over” then Game of Thrones. Crazy Ex-Girlfriend is a better show. I’d go so far to say that, as a piece of art, it’s my favorite show. But GoT is probably the thing I have the biggest emotional connection to.

Which show have you seen more episodes of, 1 or 3?

Well, Doctor Who has more episodes. But I haven’t seen all of Classic Who and I have seen all of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend.

If you could become anyone from 4, who would you be?

Idk. Everyone’s lives kind of suck in this, so I wouldn’t really want to be any of them? I guess Ryuko. Because she’s kind and a badass and has two great best friends. She also knows how to fight with swords and rides a bike.

Pair two characters in 1 who would make an unlikely but strangely okay couple?

So CxGF actually did this by giving my Hector and Heather. Which I never thought would work, but THEY WERE SO GOOD. SO. GOOD. GUYS. Um...I also liked Jason and Mona, even though they never met. But they both deserve to be happy and were the only...functional people on the show.

Overall, which show has the better storyline, 3 or 5?

It depends on which season of Doctor Who you’re talking about. I’m more invested in Doctor Who as a whole because it was the first fandom I was ever really in. It got me into writing, cons, and, really, just using fiction to help process things in a non-self-destructive way. And the female characters got me through...a lot of tough shit. But The Five’s entire storyline was absolutely airtight. So...objectively it’s 5, but emotionally it’s 3.

Which has better theme music, 2 or 4?

UGH WHY DID I HAVE TO PICK ALL THE SHOWS WITH THE MOST ICONIC SOUNDTRACKS GoT. Nothing will ever compare to the opening theme. (Or “Light of the Seven.” Or “The Rains of Castamere.” Or Jaime and Cersei’s theme in “The Bells.”) But the Kill la Kill soundtrack kicks. ass.

tags for @equusgirl @sorrowsflower @lannistermartell and anyone else who wants to!

[unkillable-queers]

I was tagged by @obsessive-mess (thanks babe!)

Rules: Pick 5 shows, then answer the following questions. Don’t cheat. Tag some people.

1. Schitt’s Creek

2. Sex Education

3. Anne With an E

4. Doctor Who

5. Brooklyn Nine-Nine

Who is your favorite character in 2?

Overall, Aimee. Or Adam/Maeve in Season 2

Who is your favorite character in 1?

David or Alexis 

What is your favorite episode of 4?

There are way too many to choose from but I love The Power of Three (7x04). This may be controversial bc I know a ton of people hate this episode but as a hardcore Amy/Rory shipper this episode does something to me. Also 11 was my first Doctor so any of his episodes are my favorite tbh. 

What is your favorite season of 5?

Season 5 for a lot of reasons including Rosa’s coming out storyline (I cry every time) and JAKE AND AMY GETTING MARRIED 

Who is your favorite couple in 3?

Anne and Gilbert. no contest. 

Who is your favorite couple in 2?

Adam and Eric (specifically in season 2)

What is your favorite episode of 1?

UGH Open Mic (4x06) or Meet the Parents (5x11) bc I have such a soft spot for David and Patrick’s relationship and they both made me Big Cry

What is your favorite episode of 5?

The Box (5x14) bc it was just so well-written and Sterling K. Brown deserves every award or Beach House (2x12) but honestly nearly every episode of this show could be my favorite it’s god-tier how good B99 is. 

What is your favorite season of 2?

Season 2 probably, just because of the character development (Adam my bisexual king!!!) and the overabundance of queer teenage characters (including an ace character which I’ve genuinely never seen before canonically in a show). The Breakfast Club episode and Maeve’s storyline making her more likable (at least for me) and “Eric Effiong! I have something to say to you. Will you hold my hand?” and literally everything related to Adam’s character development like I already mentioned bc my sweet bisexual baby deserves so much love. 

How long have you watched 1?

Since last January I think. I watched a bunch of it (I think it was a full season or more??) with @stupidgaywizard on a wild marathon snow day last year and have been a loyal fan ever since. I even got my parents on board and my mom bought the most recent season on amazon so I can watch the episodes the day after they air without using sketchy streaming websites

How did you become interested in 3?

Tumblr. So many people I follow watched the show and were reblogging about it so I thought fuck it and took the plunge. I had also just watched 20th Century Women and wanted more Lucas Jade Zumann content that sweet baby boy

Who is your favorite actor in 4?

Right now it’s Jodie Whittaker bc of course it is, but overall probably Alex Kingston bc River Song is def my favorite companion and she’s a brilliant actress

Which do you prefer, 1, 2, or 5?

Schitt’s Creek probably. Or Brooklyn Nine-Nine. I think of these three Sex Education would definitely come in third 

Which show have you seen more episodes of, 1 or 3?

Schitt’s Creek just because it has more episodes than Anne With an E (I’ve seen every available episode of both shows)

If you could be anyone from 4, who would you be?

I could not do her justice but River Song probably. Could I just like live in her brain as she lives her life (and not make any of my own decisions?) bc in that case I’m on board

Would a crossover between 3 and 4 work?

Honestly yeah, just because Doctor Who can literally crossover with any show. It would be fun to see Thirteen and Anne become friends and Gilbert just being so confused

Pair two characters in 1. Who would make an unlikely but strangely okay couple?

Twyla and Alexis? I would love to see more queer lady representation on this show and these two have such a genuine friendship that it turning to romance wouldn’t be too out of the blue tbh

Overall, which show has the better storyline, 3 or 5?

Brooklyn Nine-Nine definitely. It’s been able to explore a lot more (and more interesting/complex) themes through its characters’ storylines than Anne With an E and I personally have a better connection to the show as a whole (tbh Anne got real annoying by the end of season 3)

Which has better theme music, 2 or 4?

Sex Education doesn’t have theme music and Doctor Who’s theme song is one of the most iconic of all time so... there’s a clear winner here. (now I have the DW theme song stuck in my head shit)

I tag @phantomofthemusicals @let-goletgod @a-grain-of-salt @pomrania @satanists-disapproved and @atticusandalice (if you want to!!)

[annakie]

It took three and a half months, but I’ve finished my Doctor Who Rewatch.

It’s time to talk about seasons 10, 11, overall wrapup thoughts and some best/worst lists.  Very long post below.

I started doing this back at the end of August as more of a joke when I was going back and cleaning the terrible cringe stuff off the first few months of my blog, then ended up taking that project from when I started the blog in May, 2011 until late 2016.  I realized that I had too much going on IRL right now to revisit my life at the end of 2016 when things took a sharp turn the wrong way, so I haven’t picked that back up again.  I still might at some point.

After the start of the nostalgia tour I:

Cried about Doomsday

Still hated the Manhattan episodes but renewed my love for one of my favorite characters of all time.

Reflected about Martha Jones and being an overly-zealous defender of a fictional character

Cried a lot over meeting and losing River Song in the span of an hour and a half.

Made my way through Season 4 and found myself still mostly loving the show.

Finished Season 4 and was starting to tire of Ten but knew I had more content to get through.

Didn’t post again til I was done with Amy and Rory.  Loved Amy, Rory and River even more, especially Rory.

Watched an episode I remembered I didn’t like just because of the guest actors.  Only marginally helped the episode.

Disliked the second half of season 7 even more than I used to.  Felt meh about Clara.

Warmed to Clara more in seasons 8 and 9.  Still, was ready to see her go.  Loved Twelve, though the first half of season 8 continued to be rough.  Adored the Husbands of River Song for the 6th+ time.

 Took a brief moment to love Bill.

Full disclosure on the rewatch: I skipped most of Fear Her except the first and last few minutes, and actually haven’t gotten back to Waters of Mars or the one 11 Christmas Special with the kids who’s father dies.  I may or may not pick those up in the next week or two.

So tonight I finished rewatching all of Thirteen’s episodes and wanted to talk a bit more about Bill, and then a lot about Thirteen, and some general thoughts about the whole rewatch.

Bill Potts is too good for this world.  I remembered loving her during her season but was blown away on the rewatch with how much I loved her, and almost all of her season.  Her energy, her story, her smile, it’s infectious.  It’s infuriating that so many people didn’t watch Bill because wow she deserved a lot more attention that I feel like she got, and also I feel like the show itself turned a real corner that season.  Season 9, yes, definitely better than 8 and 7.5.  But It’s like Moffat or the writers in general kinda grocked into several important things and made the show more progressive and less cringe?  

There wasn’t an episode I thought was bad, even the more filler episodes like the one in space with the air being a commodity was tense and fun.  I’m not sure I’d skip a single episode.

And then Bill, I think, ends up getting an even shittier deal than Martha in her season.  Left alone for ten years in a shithole mopping up floors, only to be turned into a cyberman and get left extremely traumatized, and sacrifice herself.  A very good story.  A very sad and frustrating ending.  Except that she does get to “transform” and travel the universe with Heather.

Maybe she did eventually go back home and finish living her life from not long after she left in the TARDIS the last time -- it’s entirely possible.  The Memory-Bill in Twice Upon a Time (the Twelve & One crossover) remembered traveling with Heather, which means her memory was taken from some point AFTER.  So maybe she got to be an ethereal being for a long time, and then eventually went home to Earth.  Or maybe she’s still out there traveling the stars with Heather.  Either way, she deserves a good life, and a good ending, even if we never know the true ending.

Twelve -- I love him.  Again, he had a really rough start but Capaldi is an amazing actor and he owned the role. I don’t think it’s actually possible to rank my favorite doctors from the new Who era, they’re all different, all great.  And Missy -- such an amazing villain.  Paired with Simms-Master was so, extremely fun, but even on her own, I think she’s now my favorite incarnation of The Master.  (I’ve only seen a few episodes of Old-Who with Delgado, and I really love Delgado’s Master as well.)  

Nardole was also a fun addition to the season.  I know technically he was considered a full companion and enjoyed him when he was there, but tbh, to me it was all about Bill.

But hey, when Twelve left, it was a good time for him to go -- I really think three seasons is the sweet spot for length of a Doctor.  I was so ready for Thirteen and The Fam.

I remembered loving Thirteen when her episodes were airing and, I was right to.  Jodie Whittaker is so good -- I never doubt for a second that she’s The Doctor.  The show one again feels very different with a new doctor / companions / showrunner.  I honestly loved the lack of Doctor-Angst in the season.  Thirteen is so much more brightness and sunshine and I think it was a good way to swing the Doctor after Twelve.  I also liked that there were a few comments about changing genders, a little bit of frustration from noticing how people treated her differently, but it was neither an earthshattering thing that made EVERYTHING DIFFERENT nor was it a non-event.  I really think they handled it well.

I will say that I think some of the critics were right, that the season itself could have used a bit more of an arc.  Not a heavy arc, like seasons five and six had, but a bit more than Tim Shaw showing up in the first and last episodes of the season.  It looks like next season is going to have that.

The arc that was there though really came from Graham and Ryan’s grief about Grace and their relationship growing.  Honestly, I remember when we learned that one of the new companions was going to be a 60-ish year old dude I wasn’t looking forward to that at all, but honestly, I love Graham.  He’s an actual good guy, he loves deeply, he’s allowed to show his emotions, he handles things WELL.  He’s not perfect but also I felt like they wrote his character so well, he wasn’t an arrogant guy expecting everyone to follow his orders, he cares deeply for Ryan and even had some great scenes with Yaz.  

Ryan and Yaz are both also just so fantastic.  I loved getting to spend time with Yaz’s family both current and past.  I actually learned a little history in the episode that took place in Pakistan (and loved having a benevolent alien storyline there, love that episode so much).  I also loved that they allowed Ryan to show grief and sadness, and vulnerability too.  

I was definitely feeling the 13/Yaz vibes on the rewatch, and although I wouldn’t say I’d be upset if they did end up doing a Ryan/Yaz storyline, I also wouldn’t be upset if they didn’t do any romance storylines at all.  I didn’t miss it this season, and 13/Yaz seemed more likely than anything.

I also loved that they took on racism in a couple of big ways this series.  I felt like the only big swing-and-miss episode was Ker-Blam! where they were so close to really hammering down a good message in the episode and then it felt like Jeff Bezos himself came in and rewrote the last 10 minutes.

TBH there were a couple of episodes that I had COMPLETELY forgotten about, especially the one with Chris North and the big spiders.  Like while I was watching it I had a vague memory of seeing it before, but not up until then.  I’d also forgotten about the New Year’s episode last year with Ryan’s dad.  I only remembered to watch it because after the final episode I was like “Wait, wasn’t Ryan’s dad supposed to be in this season?” and so I went to hunt for the episode.

SO... that’s it.  I was actually a little shocked last night when I finished up the New Year’s episode and realized... I was DONE.  I made it back through eleven seasons and... it was worth it.  

Some final thoughts... and I’m just picking a few things out here off the top of my head, I wasn’t keeping a list all the way through so I’m sure I’m going to think of other things after hitting Post, but here we go.

---------

COMPANION RANKINGS: God Tier: Martha Jones

Faves: Bill Potts, Rory Williams, River Song

I love you so much: Donna Noble, Amy Pond, The Fam (All together!), Jack Harkness, Mickey Smith, Wilfred Mott

Very very Good: Rose Tyler, Nardole

I Still Like You: Clara Oswald

---------

FAVE SEASON: I mean, it’s still gonna be Martha’s season with an honorable mention of the second half of 4.

If you take Martha Jones out of the equation, it’d probably be either 6 through 7.0, or Bill’s season.

LEAST FAVORITE:  The second half of 7, for sure, and the first half of 8 is kinda rough.  It’d be easy to say season 1, as well, but I don’t think that’s entirely fair, as I think the age of the show really shows there and there was a lot of getting-on-their feet they had to do.  There’s still a lot of good there, you just have to look for it harder.

---------

Favorite Specials: 

The Husbands of River Song, #1 favorite no question

The Day of the Doctor a close second. 

Honorable mention to the Night of The Doctor for the canonical return of Eight.  Seriously, the first time I saw that it may have been the single most joyous moment of New Who for me.

Least Favorite:

I mean, I haven’t rewatched two of them yet since I remember not liking them.  

Also Voyage of the Damned was just even worse than I remembered it.

I Cried The Hardest:

Amy and Rory’s leaving in The Angels Take Manhattan

River’s death in the Library

The end of Doomsday

Danny’s death

The end of Vincent and the Doctor

Prem’s death in Demons of the Punjab, maybe the only single-episode character death that hit me that hard.

Happiest Tears: 

Martha leaves the Doctor

The group in the TARDIS towing Earth home in Journey’s End

Twelve and River get 24 years together

Ryan calls Graham “Grandad”

Jackie and Alt-Pete meet/”reunite”

Heather shows up and... “saves” Bill, they go off on adventures.

Best Twists: 

John Simms Return at the end of season ten.  

YANA is the Master

Oswin is actually a Dalek

Heaven is run by Missy, and the Cybermen. (Damn I really love twists concerning the Master don’t I?)

Bill discovers she IS a Cyberman

Loudest cheers: 

Mickey showing up in Doomsday

Martha laughs at the Master

Rory’s speech at the beginning of A Good Man Goes to War

The Doctor punches a racist who insulted Bill

Best dramatic moments: 

Jack and the Doctor talk about Rose in Utopia

Twelve takes several billion years to punch through a wall

Just This Once, Everybody Lives!

Turn Left

The Doctor says goodbye Idris in The Doctor’s Wife

Missy and the Master’s mutually assured destruction.

Biggest Laughs for a good reason: 

The entire poison scene in the Unicorn and the Wasp

Basically everything about the Doctor attempting to be normal in The Lodger.

Right, putting Hitler in the Cupboard.

Doctor, when I’m on a date, do not put the Pope in my bedroom.

Biggest Cringe: 

Penis-head half-human Dalek

Concrete blowjobs

Anytime a lady slapped/hit a guy not in self-defense

Old goblin Ten / Jesus Ten in Last of the Time Lords

Most of The End of Time part 1

Eleven forces a kiss on Jenny in The Crimson Horror (THAT deserved the slap.)

There’s a lot of things I could point out in season 1 but I’m grading season 1 on a curve.

Favorite non-companion recurring characters: 

Danny Pink

Brian Williams

Jackie Tyler

Worst Villians: 

“Love And Monsters”

“Fear Her” 

The eye-crud sleep monster with Twelve

I kinda wanna say the Daleks are so overdone it’s hard to get excited about them anymore, though I did kinda like what they did in “Resolution” (13′s New Years episode last year.)

OK I honestly don’t know if I want to put “A sentient universe who is in the form of a large frog and just wants a BFF” in best or worst but I feel it belongs SOMEWHERE.

Best Villians:

Missy

Whatever the fuck that thing is in Midnight

House

Got a Raw Deal award:

Adam (Seriously, he was told nothing and did nothing wrong via what he’d been told?!

Donna

Bill (Seriously, TEN YEARS SCRUBBING FLOORS? only to not be saved by 2 hours and then turned into a cyberman and killed again?)

Most Bothersome Lack of Continuity:

The rules for meeting yourself / interfering in the past.

Uh so who was the Not-Danny astronaut in “Listen” anyway?

Most Improved on a Rewatch:

The Fires of Pompeii because... ten and twelve?  It used to be one of my least favorite eps of season 4.

the Daleks in Manahattan episodes I guess just because I liked them more this time though they’re still not great. 

Seeing all of River’s timeline in such a short period of time

Gotta say I enjoyed Planet of the Dead a normal amount when before I used to really dislike it.

Best Premiere of a Doctor:  The Eleventh Hour Roughest Premiere of a Doctor: Deep Breath, since I’m grading season 1 on a curve. Best Exit of a Doctor: Honestly?  I’m gonna give this one to Nine.  He sacrificed himself to save Rose, and he died too soon.  It seemed a fitting end, if too quick.

Roughest Exit of a Doctor: I’m going to go with Eleven here.  It came at the end of what I felt was the worst period of New Who.  The episode itself was... I kind of felt like it was overwraught and didn’t pack quite the same punch as the other three.  Say what you will about the “I Don’t Wanna Go” line with Ten and Twelve needing to be convinced to regenerate at all.  Matt Smith did the best with what he was given, but he wasn’t given much in the entire last run of his episodes after having some of the BEST episodes the previous two and a half seasons.

Best Premiere of a Major Companion: Honestly?  Still gotta go with The Eleventh Hour, for both Amy and Rory and the great way they were both set up and the mysteries of the season.

Worst Premiere of a Major Companion: If you don’t count Asylum of the Daleks (which I thought was great) as Clara’s premiere, then it was definitely Clara’s “The Bells of Saint John”.  No contest.  I don’t think ANY of the rest of them were done poorly, TBH.  I guess I’d have to go with “Rose”, because the Autons themselves are pretty meh and the plastic wasn’t great.

Best (Main) Exit of a Major Companion: This one is more difficult. Doomsday deserves a nod.  Martha Jones walked the world and ended on her own terms.  Journey’s End saw the end of an entire era of companions we loved.  River showed up and died on the same day, but her final appearance is one of my favorite episodes ever.  The Angles Take Manhattan was SO GOOD.  But The Doctor Falls was exciting and tense and tragic.  Hell, even Clara’s final episodes were great.

Honestly, this shouldn’t even be a question.  I can’t choose.  I can’t think of a single one I didn’t love.

Anyway, thanks for reading this, if you got this far!  Know what?  Doctor Who is still a great show, even if it’s not an obsession anymore.  I can see myself doing this rewatch again in a few years, and I’m super looking forward to the next season starting in a couple of weeks!

[fairytalespond]

doctor who, elite and rnm :DDD

aww so many!!! thank you lucie :D

doctor who:

my all-time ultimate fave character: the doctor, clara, amy, river and missy

a character I didn’t used to like but now do: the master

a character I used to like but now don’t: i love ten less than i used to but i still love him?

a character I’m indifferent about: donna

a character who deserved better: martha jones deserves the world

a ship I’ve never been able to get into: clara/danny (tbh i did like them at first but then i noped out later on?)

a ship I’ve never been able to get over: doctor/river, doctor/missy, doctor/clara and amy/rory

a cute, low-key ship: doctor/rose, bill/heather

an unpopular ship but I still enjoyed it: martha/thomas

a ship that was totally wrong and never should have happened: i didn’t like how martha/mickey got married out of the blue tbh

my favourite storyline/moment: this is like??? how can i pick i love so many things about this show???

a storyline that never should have been written: ten being shitty to martha

my first thoughts on the show: time travel? looks interesting???

my thoughts now: asdfghjklkjhgfdfghjk

elite:

my all-time ultimate fave character: i don’t have a Favourite tbh (i love several of them?? but any of that can change at any point asdfgh it is that kind of show)

a character I didn’t used to like but now do: guzmán, samuel, carla

a character I used to like but now don’t: none

a character I’m indifferent about: christian

a character who deserved better: omar

a ship I’ve never been able to get into: lu/valerio, lu/guzmán, ander/polo

a ship I’ve never been able to get over: ander/omar, carla/samuel

a cute, low-key ship: guzmán/nadia

an unpopular ship but I still enjoyed it: can’t think of any

a ship that was totally wrong and never should have happened: lu/valerio

my favourite storyline/moment: samu/carla was such a happy surprise

a storyline that never should have been written: eh there are so many lmao

my first thoughts on the show: i am gonna watch because they have a poly ship!!!!

my thoughts now: somehow this is one of my faves now?????

roswell new mexico:

my all-time ultimate fave character: max and kyle

a character I didn’t used to like but now do: michael

a character I used to like but now don’t: noah (the betrayal!!!!)

a character I’m indifferent about: isobel, alex

a character who deserved better: most of them sdfgjhgf but maria and rosa

a ship I’ve never been able to get into: i am not as into michael/alex as i thought i would be tbh

a ship I’ve never been able to get over: none

a cute, low-key ship: max/liz, max/kyle, michael/kyle, kyle/alex, kyle/liz, max/kyle/liz, michael/kyle/alex

an unpopular ship but I still enjoyed it: i don’t know the fandom enough to know what is or isn’t popular but probably max/jenna

a ship that was totally wrong and never should have happened: can’t think of any

my favourite storyline/moment: how do i answer this if i binged the show and everything is blurred together

a storyline that never should have been written: the whole possession storyline was... meh tbh

my first thoughts on the show: lucie loves it and it has a bi alien so i am gonna check it out

my thoughts now: when is s2???

[herrfivehead]

since you've been watching DW, how would you rank all the companions so far?

for reference to anyone who might see this, i've only gotten as far as clara, so...

donna is the actual greatest. yeah it's also nice to have a companion who isn't attracted to the doctor in any way, but the real reason i love her is her whole arc and how it fits into her background, people's expectations of her, and her own expectations of herself.

martha deserved more than one season tbh. she was knowledgeable, empathetic, and she's a fucking doctor herself, so...

i'm really liking clara so far, although i haven't gotten to season 8 yet. but her whole deal and her significance and ties to the doctor is interesting now that it's finally been explained.

i'd put amy and rory together--they're fine, they're both likable individually and as a couple, but their relationship was exhausting to keep up with. they definitely have a lot of significance in the timeline for obvious reasons but every companion does. i did NOT expect the way they left though, very out of nowhere.

I mean rose is ok, only reason she's personally ranked last is because i like everyone else better

[deschanelswifts]

Do Gilmore Girls and parenthood for the meme!

YAAASSSS okay i was hoping someone would send gg and parenthood is such a great bonus yay thank you!!!!

5 things i would change about gilmore girls:

1. christopher and lorelai should have been done looonnng before season 7. preferably way back when he left lorelai after sherry got pregnant (which i am pretty sure i saw someone else say today too), but i’m so mad that lorelai didn’t drop his ass completely after the fiasco in wedding bell blues. i get being co-parents, at least while rory is in college. but they don’t need to be bffs and i just can’t believe lorelai forgave him for that bullshit so easily like it really pisses me off. and then…. slept with him? like two hours after she thought she and luke were over? what the hell? and then as if that’s not enough, she MARRIED him???? it’s not realistic that she was still holding onto this possibility of a long-lasting relationship with him after so long…. it’s just not?? she is smarter than that like even rory wasn’t holding out hope that he would eventually start showing up and being there for them lmao i could really go on and on about this for days so i’m going to quit because you get the picture

2. i love april so much and i love that luke has a daughter, like i am so here for that. but i really wish she hadn’t been used to tear luke and lorelai apart. that’s not fair to her character and it’s not fair to luke’s character either? because the luke we knew for the five and a half seasons prior to that told lorelai everything, he went to her with everything, even before they were dating. it was just really annoying, shitty writing on amy’s part. so i would keep april, but change the execution of that whole thing.

3. why the actual fuck is rory sleeping with logan in the revival? she missed her chance by not saying yes to his proposal in season 7?? and same with him, i don’t really understand why he is with his fiancée when he clearly wants to be with rory??? because the logan we saw at the end of season 7 was not living life under his family’s vice anymore, so what happened in the 9 years between the end of season 7 and the revival? why is he suddenly doing things the huntzberger way like when he says “that’s the dynastic plan” or whatever? logan what do u mean i thought you were done with that shit 9 years ago WHAT HAPPENED. amy really should have watched season 7 before she wrote the revival because there are so many questions i have 

4. WHY OH WHY DO LUKE AND LORELAI NOT HAVE ANY KIDS TOGETHER. ok you know what this is what i want: the two of them have a cute little boy who helps luke work on stuff around the house and the inn for his mommy and lorelai dresses him in flannel shirts so he can look like dad and he is a huge mommy’s boy but he loves to fish, learn how to cook, and basically do anything he can to be like his dad. and then i also really want them to have a little girl together because we deserve to see luke going to ballet recitals and have tea parties with his daughter ok WE DESERVE THESE THINGS

5. i love sutton foster and christian borle but the stars hollow musical really should not have been five years long or even exist at all like that time could have been spent on actual stories such as luke and lorelai being cute ok???

wow i forgot i have parenthood to do too omg ok here we go 5 things i would change about parenthood:

1. joel and julia’s separation n o p e they did not deserve that heartache especially julia :(((

2. i wish it wouldn’t have taken so long for hank and sarah to get back together i love them so much i want more time with them

3. i also just wish hank hadn’t left for minnesota in general that hurt me so bad omg and when he says i love you oh no and she loves him OH NO my poor baby

4. crosby sleeping with gabby? whY. jasmine’s reaction actually BROKE ME she was so hurt

5. tbh i wish sarah didn’t move in with mark ugh i just don’t like mark and sarah together lmao he is such a puppy and idk i just don’t see the chemistry like i do with sarah and hank. even before hank was on the show, i didn’t like mark with sarah so i was hoping they wouldn’t last and someone else would be introduced. and then as soon as i saw ray romano on there and i saw the chemistry he had with lauren i was like oh hell yeah this better be end game anD IT WAS

can u tell i’m very invested in sarah and hank

[amillionmillionvoices]

Hey! I just saw THORS again, and as always got really upset about River's speech. Even though I believe she knew for a long time the Doctor loved her, at that moment she was really lost in her relationship with him. I'll always ship Doctor/River, but I get SO angry with 11 for making her feel this way. Every time I watch their episodes I get upset with the way he talks/treats her. 11's failure with River upsets me so much, and idk if I can forgive him for that. Do you have any thoughts on that?

Hey Nonny! Sorry it’s taken me so long to reply to this. I have SO MANY FEELINGS on this topic it’s hard for me to put them in any kind of coherent order lol, so this is going to be a right old mess of feelings.

I think part of the problem is in the storytelling.  We honestly just didn’t see enough of 11 and River being happy. We got little references, especially in the minisodes, but overall it reads like River loves him more, and that’s crap. I think 11 did love her, in whatever way he knew how, but he’s also incredibly selfish.  He says as much in NOTD, “No, I thought it would hurt me. And I was right.” He prioritized his own pain over River’s, which is something that she has never, EVER done. She has always been willing to make huge sacrifices for him, and to see him not return that / to actively deny her importance in his life is, honestly, bullshit. And something I would very much like to slap him for. 

I appreciate the moments that he tries to apologize for his rotten behavior - like in TIA/DOTM, when he’s a dick to her (”Trust you? Seriously?”) he almost immediately tries to make up for it by flirting with her and actually trusting her with his plan.  Again in TATM, he apologies for her wrist by healing it. But I think part of the problem too is that he relies on River in a way he doesn’t rely on anyone else - he knows he can push her and push her and push her and she won’t break.  He knows he can hurt her, because she’ll always forgive him. And the fact that he takes advantage of that, instead of trying to be better, makes me incredibly angry with him. 11 takes the easy way out with River, every single time. 

And then after TATM, he apparently does it again, what with his broody stint in Victorian London, and then latching on to the first “mystery” that comes his way. Whatever happened between them after Amy and Rory left was apparently enough to make River fully believe that their relationship was a farce, and that he wouldn’t be there for her, and he didn’t love her.  And they were her parents and he was a selfish prick.  Again.

But I think the thing that bothers me the most is how he effectively undid all the progress they made on Darillium. By the time River goes to the Library, she’s confident in their relationship - you can see it in the way she talks to 10, the way she promises him that they have a future.  She actively sets that future in stone by telling him about it, because she believes it’s what they both want. And then for him to leave her in the Library for god knows how long, to ignore her presence, to make her second guess their entire relationship AGAIN, enough to say, “If you ever loved me...” like.  Fuck me. It gets me so fucking angry.

That said, I think there MUST have been times when they were deliriously happy.  For River to stay that long, to forgive him time and again, there must have been more moments like Calderon Beta and Jim the Fish and other adventures and moments where he wasn’t a massive shitstick. Which, I think is what makes THORS hurt even more? Because despite all those good times, what rang louder to River was the bad times.

THAT SAID (I told you this was going to be a mess lol) I think River also has very deep seated insecurities. I mean, trained from birth to kill someone, to live alone, to not love anyone or be loved by anyone in return, that has to fuck with your head. For her to actually believe the Doctor doesn’t love her, despite everything they’ve been through, is like... 90% his fault and a little bit her insecurities.  She believes that she’s unworthy of being loved by someone like him; she even says so, she sees him as a sunset, as a monolith, as something so much greater and better than herself. So when he pulls his emo schtick after Manhattan, it makes sense that she would start second guessing every moment of their relationship and come to the conclusion that he only humored her for her parents’ sake, or whatever rubbish was going through her head. She doesn’t seem him as capable of having ordinary, human feelings like “falling in love” and doesn’t understand how, if he ever did, it would be her he’d fall in love with. 

I think another problem too is that she doesn’t see his love for her as love - she sees it as “sentimental” - “The Doctor is not stupid enough or sentimental enough / nothing is gained by you being a sentimental idiot” - as something that is damaging for him. ...which, honestly, is probably in part because that’s what he told her in TWORS, when she tried to show him he was loved and he told her she “embarrassed him” so... idk what to do with that except cry a lot.

TLDR - I think 11′s a big ass selfish fuck for the way he treats River. I think River can do better than him. I think 12 did his best to BE that better person, and they were very happy. I think not having closure (the Doctor visiting her in the Library/uploading himself to the Library) is bad writing. I think 11 loved her as much as he was capable, and showed it as much as he was capable, but River didn’t deserve the shit he put her through. I’m not sure I can forgive him either, tbh. But I still ship it something burning, so.  IDK what that says about me. 

[pilotheather]

aye, really starting to loathe the “yaz kills either graham/ryan whilst under the dalek influence” like-

1. first of all. hate this presumption that graham/ryan have to die. personally, im fine with companions dying - clara’s penultimate exit in face the raven was done beautifully, i think, and i will FOREVER resent them not leaving it like that. however with graham and ryan? literally, i just feel like... it’s so cheap. it offers nothing, babes! and it’s just infinitely LESS interesting than if you just kept them alive.

all the companions, in my opinions, still lack development. i do love them! i really am warming to them. but we’re two seasons in, and the fact of the matter remains they just... haven’t gelled too well with the show proper and they aren’t as fully realised as they should be by this point. and frankly, its not one singular problem moreso it’s an interwoven web of issues (hence it’s hard to really unpick that, without unravelling the whole mess) that have affected the show completely. the point is, despite being here so long, they just still feel so unexplored as people and a little unknown to us and idk!!! i think killing them, wouldn’t offer much in the way of anything interesting - other than, like i said, a very cheap way to instigate tragedy, and springboard some trauma-induced development for yaz&13 - because we aren’t really gaining more than we’re losing here, man.

clara’s exit in face the raven WORKED because it had been building up to it all season. i also dont like amy/rory’s exits (but that’s v potentially my own biases) but theoretically, i can see the vision for that- and the reason why that would be so tragic, is BECAUSE amy&rory are so fully formed at tht point that that loss hits. im not sayin graham&ryan dying would NOT be sad, but it’s... just too soon, still, for me. and when, narratively speaking, they’ve been setting up them thinking about leaving anyway? at least, ryan has? just doesn’t feel quite right at all and just like i said: a pointless attempt, at taking their exits, and doing weird tragedy shit with it for the sake of it.

especially when the ALTERNATIVE is they can stay on in the same way martha did: on earth, totally fine, and with the opportunity to reappear in later seasons. they can progress offscreen in ways that can be satisfying, in the way martha did. she moved on; she became someone different; and yet that change was still guided by what we had seen. same can be done with ryan and graham, finishing their stories and making them all the more satisfying.

2. piggybacking off of that. literally, this scenario of yaz killing them: what would that DO for yaz exactly? like.. what big payoff are u expecting from her? you’re just... horrifically traumatising her. and im wondering, like- where would that leave her in s13?  because she’s supposed to still be here, then, and supposedly travelling with the doctor. and again it just feels so damn cheap: because yaz really does still feel like she’s at the beginning of her story, despite being here for two years (and god am i a little mad abt that; it’s so, so sad that she really could be replaced with a cardboard cutout for most of s11). explore what we HAVE of her, first, before trying to go so damn dark with her. it’s not going to have the payoff you want. you have to work a bit more, to do something like that first. using some fucked up shit like that, just as a springboard for character development it just- it feels so damn lazy to me...  and again, i do not feasibly see how this could properly segue into s13 on that damn note. like the conse

3. and just... god in general. i just. okay again with chibbers and his writing. literally i dont want to sound so negative abt chibnall bc like SOME ppl really do just fucking attack . KILL. over every damn thing, without a breath and its like... okay babe. okay. and i mean, granted i can be a little like tht with moffat tbh - and so  i get ppl do get a little FERVENT when it comes to shit they dont like but- BUT MY POINT IS. i really dont hate-hate this era of who. s7 will still be my least favourite, even if i do still regard this all as bottom of the pile stuff- and that is frustrating, because it really does have potential! but anyway god. what was my fucking point. oh yeah. chibnall. if this was the case.... if this really did fucking happen. god no offence but fucking hell i do not trust chibnall to treat such a heavy scene well enough. not with the way s11 and s12 have been. and its just because... again this is all the WEB OF ISSUES with these seasons... but all of it just boils down to: every single script really needed a second or third pass over. ITS LIKE, things are kinda right, but its always jsut...wrong and its soi many things that just dont quite work and  instead all work in tandem to bring this ship down.

too many companions, leading to a bloated tardis; leading to none of them getting enough focus; leading to weaker characters whose dynamics with each other aren’t always hitting. there’s swathes of s12, where the doctor is just completely disconnected from the companions altogether. she just doesnt talk to them. and there’s a difference between her being detached, and her just.... LITERALLT FORGETTING THEY EXIST. i remember- was it ryan who disappears at one poimt, and she JUST DOESNT NOTICE? and then all of them disappear in fugitive? like its just so... the companion-docgtor relationship is so INTEGRAL to the whole show!!! it makes story beats less effective; not even that, the whole energy is brought down, because they just don’t TALK properly (and the dialogue... good god, is it stiff: and whilst i hated 11′s era of mutated LOL THAT’S SO RANDOM. THE HORSE IS NAMED SUSAN. BOWTIES FEZ FEZ HOW MANY MARKETABLE RANDOM SHIT CAN WE THROW AT THE PAAAGE it felt like characters were bouncing off each other... there’s now these long pauses, places where it should have been snappier, awkward remarks thrown in there and then) . it, again, bloats EVERYTHING bc half the time you have to just give stuff for these ppl to do and its like man, why! why ! its all so.... sloppy in a way that’s sad bc it was ALMOST right. things are ALMOST right here but it doesnt QUITE work and it needs pulling together into something neater, tighter.  AND GIVEN ALL OF THAT. i do not think, with the way he’s been handling things, this man would ever be capable of pulling off something as fucked up like that in a way that has any weight even disregarding the two above points

4 lastly. just fucking dont kill ryan man. c’mon. how many main, black characters have we had? hmm, let’s see. martha, mickey, danny, bill. we’re going at a 50% survival rate, with the other two facing pretty poor treatment in the writing room in general. no, im not letting it go: you cant literally refer to mickey, who was the first, like, leading black character on the show, as a fucking DOG repeatedly.  if you’re gonna decide to diversify the tardis, pay your dues; dont fucking axe him for what, again, really just feels like empty emotional tortureporn. ryan deserves better.