Skip to main content

The Doctor Dances pt2 S01E10

 1. Summed up in one sentence

The one in which you start out very scared and then end up crying like a little baby (or I do at least . . . .)

2. The Doctor 

The Doctor solves two mysteries in this episode, the first one being that the villain isn't actually a villain, but just some nanogenes that were actually trying to help people, but got a little confused. But the ultimate mystery he solves is why the child is looking for his mummy: because Nancy isn't the older sister to Jaimie, but his mother. She lied to everyone, including her own son to probably make life a little better for the both of them. 

But the Doctor helps her accept the truth, and urges her to tell the child that she is his mummy. When she does, and the nano bot things finally understand what to do to fix the child, the Doctor sends the nano bots to fix everyone else. I will talk more of this part in the last section, but the Doctor's excitement and tenderness when he's able to save everyone are overwhelming.

3. The Companions

In the previous episode, Captain Jack thinks he's quite the smooth criminal with all the angles figured out. What he realizes near the climax of this episode, however, is that his actions are what caused this mess to come about in the first place. You can see his "dancing through life" attitude start to crumble apart when the Doctor confirms that his actions will most likely cause the decimation of the entire human race. In the previous episode, Jack jokes that Pompeii is a lovely place to time travel to, but you gotta make sure to set your alarm clock for volcano day. The Doctor doesn't find this joke tasteful at all, and in the moment where Jack sensed the gravity of the situation, The Doctor throws his joke back in his face saying something like, "Is this a bit too close to volcano day for you?" Jack has just enough of a good heart to let that sink in and spur him to action to sacrifice himself so he can stop a German bomb from landing on everyone.

Of course the Doctor saves him at the end of the episode, and Jack thinks that he can cut in with Rose and the Doctor while they are dancing. But the Doctor asserts himself and claims the next dance with Rose. Jack's face is like, "Yeah, I know I deserve to be knocked a peg down, but I really don't like it."

4. The Villain

These episodes I think are quite rare, but when they happen, I find I can't control myself from bursting into tears: the episodes in which the perceived villain isn't actually a villain after all. In fact, they are trying to help. I can only think of one other time off the top of my head when that happens, but I won't name the episode just yet.

I really don't remember crying when I saw this episode for the first time. I do remember being deeply touched, but not shedding actual tears. 

This rewatch was a different story however. The part I am referring to is when Nancy approaches the boy and finally tells him that she is his mummy. The gas mask boy doesn't get it at first, but once Nancy kneels in front of him and embraces him, that's when the nano bots finally get it and start fixing the boy for real this time. 



This is me when that happens.


I don't know if it's because I'm a parent or what, but man. 

Man alive. 

5. The Score

8/10

I can't help but give episodes that make me cry a high score. What an unexpected, emotional, and freaking inspiring end to what started out to be one of the scariest Doctor Who episodes. 

It doesn't happen very often when a scary story has a touching ending. I can only think of one scary movie where that is the case, and that is Dragonfly. I honestly can't remember if it was a good movie, but I do remember it was some kind of creepy ghost story that ended with the protagonist realizing it's just his wife trying to tell him that she loves him and that she's okay. (if you really want to say something nice to the spouse you left behind, can't you find a way to say it in a less creepy way so we can avoid the confusion?)

Maybe it's not done often because it's difficult to execute? I don't really know, but this episode was really effective in that department if you ask me. Something about mixing the heightened emotions of fear and love, can be quite the one two punch. 

6. The Very Whoiest Moment

I knew what this moment was going to be long before I rewatched this episode, because it's my favorite moment of the Ninth Doctor for the entire season. 

It's how he reacted to the problem being solved: he was elated, hardly able to control his joy. Once he makes sure the nanogenes fix the others who were affected, he exclaims, "Everybody lives, Rose! Just this once, everybody lives!"


I find this part so potent because where there is the joy that everybody gets to live, there are equally intense and opposite moments of pure agony, when death runs its course in the Doctor's life. But it was not this day! He finally gets to see it all work out fine. 

What a lovely moment. I don't remember another time where the Doctor is this genuinely, manically happy.



Well there you go! We only have a few episodes left of the Ninth Doctor, which makes me sad. Let's enjoy it while it lasts!




Comments

Popular posts from this blog

I'll stick with you baby for a thousand years. Nothing's gonna touch you in these golden years.

By this time in our trip, our group has already seen Shakespeare's All's Well That Ends Well at the Globe . . . which was superb. Today, we got to take a tour of the theatre itself. Might be one of my favorite sight seeing things I have done. It's just that I have spent so many school years learning about this theatre and the time of Shakespeare. I feel like all I had learned didn't really stick until today. I was there. I was in the space where it all happened. It's true what my English professors say, that if you really want to major in English, your life wouldn't be fulfilled to you come to England. Everything I have learned just gels together all of a sudden. It's beautiful. A wonderful event in earth's history. A stunning creation wrought by humankind. For instance, I learned that the people who watch from the ground are called "groundlings." Makes sense. They were also called "penny stinkers" because they paid one penny to get i

In the spring I shed my skin and it blows away with the changing wind.

And so begins my Brighton Beach Memoirs. Most of our group took a day trip on Friday to Brighton. After taking the train out through gorgeous green country, we reached the coast. Can you see the ocean yet? How about now? And there it is. It was a tad chilly and pretty windy, but there was sun and ocean, so we were happy :) It was such a relief to be able to leave the rushed city of London and go to Brighton. We were able to take it slow and just relax. A pebble beach isn't nearly as comfortable as a sand beach, but it is something to look at. Here it is ladies and gentlemen. Legit fish and chips on the sea side of Brighton. It was good, except I didn't have nearly enough tartar sauce. This is a lovely pier that goes out a ways and has treat shops and a mini theme park. It's adorable! We then basked in the generous sunlight right beside King George's little vacation palace. Don't ask me which King George. I wasn't enough in the touristy mood to take note! Then c

Pirate skulls and bones, sticks and stones and weed and bombs. Running when we hit 'em, lethal poison through their system

London bridge is falling down, my fair lady. It's actually a very gorgeous site, the London Bridge. And it was a beautiful day :) Maybe not the most suitable weather for the Tower of London though. Just a bit down the street from where I am perched is the Tower of London. An unconquerable fortress of fear, manliness, and trepidation. And death of course :) This is the tower where the crown jewels are kept. They literally had them in a super-sized bank vault. Unfortunately, photos were strictly prohibited. But I will say this. There is a lot of purple. Makes sense, purple being the color for royalty. And they truly are bejeweled crowns! Nothing short of bling bling! This has all been standing here since the Norman Invasion . . . in 1066 AD! It's pretty old, as far as buildings go. As far as anything goes. And they had their own little settlement inside. Quoth the raven, nevermore. There are several ravens within the fortress just hanging out all creepy like. Apparently they hav