Doctor Who and Torchwood: Death and the Doctor...

[fajrdrako]

I was musing over the notion of thematic progressions in Doctor Who and Torchwood. In series one, I see an ongoing theme of the Doctor coming to terms with life after the Time War - coming to terms with it (and himself) only after making the decision to die rather than kill in "Parting of the Ways". In series two, the theme is that of his love of Rose, and his pain when she was lost. Series three - it's too early to tell exactly what the theme is yet, but it may well be his coming to terms with the loss of Rose through his relationship with Martha, in a life-goes-on and happiness-returns sort of way. We shall see.

Love and death have been major themes in all seasons - okay, yes, in Doctor Who as well as most of what's out there in television, movies, comics, literature, opera, songs, and your average neighbourhood gossip. Hardly unique. But interesting, which is why it's such a strong common theme.

It was interesting that the Doctor, after being uncommonly suicidal in "Evolution of the Daleks", embracing and inviting death on three or four occasions, seems more grounded in "The Lazarus Experiment". Just as in "The Parting of the Ways", he seemed to have pulled himself together after his decision to die rather than to kill the Daleks and the humans. Then after "Evolution of the Daleks" and its death-wish scenes, the Doctor seems more willing and able to accept Martha (in his life, and as a companion) in "The Lazarus Experiment".

The psychological factor and the regeneration in "The Parting of the Ways" - to what extent did they come together?

It was an interesting conversation in "The Lazarus Experiment", when the Doctor talked about death as being part of what makes us human, and Lazarus argued that it's fear of death that makes us human.¹ Taken as a whole in Doctor Who and Torchwood, overcoming the fear of death is a major step - not just acceptance of risk and danger, but active self-sacrifice. Our Jack sees 1941 Jack as a hero because he is about to die; Jack redeemed himself with the Doctor by being willing to die with the bomb to save others in "The Doctor Dances" - which he was prepared to do on the Doctor's command. Jack deliberately sacrifices his life in both "The Parting of the Ways" and "End of Days". The Doctor and Jack both are well aware of the difficulties of long life, referred to as a curse. But I think both would agree, if pushed to it, that it is not so much a curse as burden which it is their duty to take up, carrying on for the sake of others. Even when that's not really their choice.

In these shows, there is no alternative to life and death: no afterlife and no third alternative. Being 'alive' is a value judgement as well as a condition: some characters are more 'alive' than others, as if life is an energy-substance filling them up. This life-energy can be shared (as Jack did with Carys), or used, as the Doctor did in regeneration, or taken as Rose (presumably) did by taking it from the Time Vortex in such quantity that she briefly became a god, almost burning out by the force of her light.

This has nothing to do with time - the Doctor says "some people live more in twenty years than others do in eighty". I was reminded of the famous quote from Neil Gaiman's Death², when the dead baby asked "Is that all I get?" and Death replied, "You got what anybody gets - a lifetime."

So it's quality of life that counts, not quantity.

Many of the villains want to prolong their lives at the expense of others - the Daleks in "Evolution of the Daleks" and Lazarus in "The Lazarus Experiment" have essentially same goals: self-preservation at any cost.

Conversely, Rose's act in "The Parting of the Ways" was another version of sacrificing herself to save the Doctor, Jack, and humanity - and I would speculate that, thematically speaking, if her intent had been to save herself, it would not have worked, and she would have died. The willingness to take risk for others becomes a self-preserving act because it strengthens the life force.

Similarly, if Jack had expected to, or wanted to, survive his fight with Abaddon, he would not have been able to defeat him. In the end it was Gwen's life force that revived him, an example of energy-sharing through a simple affectionate kiss - if any kiss can be said to be simple.<sup>3

1</sup> Just as the Diagoras Dalek argued that it was hatred and aggression that made us human. The Doctor didn't exactly agree there, either.

² In sandman #8, "The Sound of Her Wings".

³ I would speculate that the affection is an important a part of the process as the physical kiss. Of course this plays too with the interesting emotional bond between Jack and Gwen, though personally I'd have found the reviving kiss much more dramatic if it had been from Ianto.

Comments

[neadods.livejournal.com]

In series two, the theme is that of his love of Rose, and his pain when she was lost

Except that S2 was also the only one with the direct "This will NOT last forever!" episodes School Reunion and GitF. "You're different" says the Doctor, before he brings her ex into the crew against her wishes and then toddles off to get his groove on in France. One of my great sadnesses is that those two episodes were back to back and then utterly forgotten; if they'd been stretched out - say GitF had been after Mickey left - then the message of "Everything Ends" (which is what I think S2 is about, personally) would have been that much stronger.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Except that S2 was also the only one with the direct "This will NOT last forever!"

"Everything Changes", as they said in Torchwood... I think this is a restatement of the love theme: the Doctor loves Rose even though he knows they can't stay together for long, it's part of the paradox of time, and he accepts that the pain is worth it. Love is tied to life and life is a state of impermanence. These two themes are not contradictory, they're complementary.

One of my great sadnesses is that those two episodes were back to back and then utterly forgotten

I would have liked to have heard Rose and the Doctor discuss what happened there, even if only briefly: did he never think of Reinette again? I wouldn't believe that. I do like it the way Rose never came to terms with her relationship with Mickey, never quite turned him down, never quite accepted him - leaving Mickey in romantic limbo because he didn't want to understand. Or perhaps he understood too well.

On the other hand, I think there are good reasons this was never explained in more explicit detail. We're still watching a show that is supposed to be suitable for, and comprehensible to, eight year olds.

[fandom-me.livejournal.com]

I agree with you, actually.

I don't think the theme in S2 was his love for Rose. I think it was an attempt at highlighting that the world, and humans, are fleeting things for him. And that Rose could want him but she couldn't ever really have them. I admit fully part of this is my knee jerk resistance to Doctor/Rose as anything more special than Five/Tegan or Two/Jamie, save she came just after the Time War and the loss of Gallifrey.

I truly, honestly, believe that we weren't seeing him responding to the loss of a person but rather him getting kicked back down *again* after just having barely gotten up again to begin with. I think if she'd appeared before the Time War, or a regeneration later, there wouldn't have been the same gut wrench of her loss, or intensity of her interaction with him. They'd have been much more typical Doctor/Companion. I also think that if she hadn't been wrenched away he would have eventually left her, or her him. Then, of course, the Doctor and Martha wouldn't have the same intensity.

It's only speculation, and I know it ruffles a lot of fandom feathers, and I'm honestly sorry for that, but I will never believe there is a thing there that has anything to do with Doctor/Rose instead of everything to do with Doctor/loss/need. It's not about Rose. It's never been about Rose. It's just about the Doctor trying to get back on his feet and get on with life and having his first hint of that yanked away from him by the things he sacrificed everything to get rid of. It's disappointment and bitterness and need and desperation.

Not love.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

I don't think the theme in S2 was his love for Rose. I think it was an attempt at highlighting that the world, and humans, are fleeting things for him.

I see this as the same theme. I guess it's where we put the emphasis!

I will never believe there is a thing there that has anything to do with Doctor/Rose instead of everything to do with Doctor/loss/need.

Fair enough - I don't see these as separate issues, either. But I think the stories were written as if it was about Rose. I also think that if it hadn't been Rose, it would have been someone else in her place.

It's disappointment and bitterness and need and desperation. Not love.

Oh, I see love, on several levels. But I am well aware that different fans see love differently and it becomes a sort of moot point. I tend to use the word widely.

At the same time - I think the bottom line is that, by any definition most people would use, the Doctor did love Rose, wisely or unwisely, and it was all part of his post-war trauma, disappointment and bitterness, hope and need and so on.

Mind you, I also believe the Doctor loved Jack at least as much as he loved Rose, and now Martha too. I tend to see the love themes as wide and inclusive.

[fandom-me.livejournal.com]

I *knew* you were going to jump on that and that I should have elaborated as soon as I hit post. *G*

I think he loved her, but I guess for me it's that he loved the ideal more than the woman? I think he loved Jack, I think he does or will love Martha. I just don't, really, swallow them as a viable pairing. I'm trying to explain here, but it might take a bit as I'm still working out the rationalization of an instinctive response myself.

The Doctor and Jack having sex doesn't bother me in the least. That's not because of the Doctor, it's because of Jack. Jack's sexuality is a huge part of who he is. Sex with Jack is everything from a con to communication to an expression of deep feeling to as casual as a handshake. It's a very deeply rooted part of him. Jack flirts with the Doctor and it's teasing and casual and give and take and open and out there and easy, for both of them. Jack obviously loves the Doctor, has faith in the Doctor, DIES for the Doctor, but there's not a lot of *weight*, there's no sense of desperation and clinging and need from either one of them when we see them in Doctor Who. They're just two guys, they're playing, they're both fairly well adjusted and okay there.

The Doctor/Rose hangs me up. In fact (and irrationally) it actively squicks me. Their interaction is always tense, always loaded, is always heavy. That's not really the problem, by itself, but what it represents to me *is* a hurdle to a 'relationship' (sexual or romantic) that I just can not leap. They need each other *too* much. It doesn't feel like they see people in one another, but that they're symbols. The Doctor is Rose's 'bigger universe', the one that showed her the stars and put stars in her eyes and that losing him means going back to working in a shop and eating chips. That Rose is play and newness and innocence and wonder in the universe again, that she's making that TARDIS his HOME again, after the Time War and that having her means he didn't lose EVERYTHING. And while those are both lovely and beautiful and romantic and true - It doesn't feel (to me) like they're seeing who they *are* through that, and that to me is the utimate hinderance.

The Doctor can't love Rose because he's in love with what Rose represents, and Rose can't love the Doctor if she's already in love with the ideal of the Doctor.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

I *knew* you were going to jump on that and that I should have elaborated as soon as I hit post.

Oh dear! How predictable I must be!

I just don't, really, swallow them as a viable pairing.

Rose and the Doctor, you mean? What do you mean by 'viable'?

I have a handicap in that I don't like Billie Piper's looks. It took me a long time to get beyond that. The bottom line is that I think Russell T. Davies and the writers, as the show is written, meant us to believe that the Doctor loved Rose.

Sex with Jack is everything from a con to communication to an expression of deep feeling to as casual as a handshake. It's a very deeply rooted part of him.

Yup, granted, all of that. For him it's a basic tool of interaction, from any level - from simple flirtation to a serious ongoing affair.

I do think there is a lot of weight to Jack's feelings for the Doctor - I think knowing him (and then losing him) overturned Jack's life and psyche and he's still dealing with the psychological fallout. Or at least, he was, up to the end of "End of Days". We won't know more until the story continues. And again, this is the same theme, visited in another way - the link between love and loss.

Their interaction is always tense, always loaded, is always heavy.

I'm not sure I understand what you mean. Heavy in what way?

They need each other *too* much.

Hmm. Interesting. I think I would say then that the love may not be entirely a good thing for either of them, but that it's still love.

while those are both lovely and beautiful and romantic and true - It doesn't feel (to me) like they're seeing who they *are* through that, and that to me is the utimate hinderance.

You may be right but I don't see that clearly shown in the show. It's certainly a possible alternate interpretation, but I'm not sure why you see it that way.

In any case, postulating that what you say is what the writers and producers intended, then series two is still the story of that relationship - the story of the Doctor loving what Rose represents to him, not really a different theme from the Doctor loving Rose, at least when it comes to her impact on him.

[fandom-me.livejournal.com]

Amusingly the quote that came up with my email notification was: "To love an ideal is to love a little more than one should."

I just don't, really, swallow them as a viable pairing.
I mean 'emotionally healthy' I think, though I'm not sure that's either. Codependent is as close as I come and that's not right either. He wanted her with him. He was concerned about her well being. I don't think he ever really knew her or tried to know her. Mostly, he needed her to get on with life and get back to the life he'd had and loved before he lost it all. Who she was wasn't important, and that -t o me- makes it pretty non-viable. It's not Doctor/Rose, it's Doctor/Companion that happened along at X time.

I have a handicap in that I don't like Billie Piper's looks
Sadly, I thought she was really adorable and gorgeous for Season one. I'd be happy if I was able to ship them, even for the pretty. Unfortunately, I can't.

The bottom line is that I think Russell T. Davies and the writers, as the show is written, meant us to believe that the Doctor loved Rose.

I really don't necessarily think I even agree with you on the basis that we're supposed to see a romantic relationship between Rose and The Doctor, and even if we are I don't believe authorial intent really has much to do with, well to be frank, anything. If my time in fandom has taught me nothing it is that once you put your work out there for the public they can do what they want with it. If you mean it to be there and didn't manage to convey it to them, then it's just not there. Ergo - Doctor/Rose just isn't there for me, regardless of what RTD might have intended. Now, obviously this may change more as more canon comes out, but at the moment. It's not there for me, I'm not entirely sure it was meant to be and even if it was it doesn't impact what I see in the show.

I do think there is a lot of weight to Jack's feelings for the Doctor

Absolutely and I agree with that but Jack didn't NEED the Doctor, and his interactions with the Doctor up to that point weren't weighted the same was as the Doctor's interactions with Rose. I'll be surprised if that changes with Jack's return, but it's definitely a case of waiting and seeing.

I'm not sure I understand what you mean. Heavy in what way?
The need thing. It never felt like "I want you" to me, but always "I have to have you" or "I need you" and "I can't loose you" and not in a pretty way for me but in an ugly, embarrassing, uncomfortable one.

hat the love may not be entirely a good thing for either of them, but that it's still love.
I think it depends a lot on your definition of love and what it is. I'm sure the guy who stalked me loved me a lot, but it doesn't make it less creepy. And yes, the love thing is almost impossible to define. Had a sentimental attatchement to her - yes. Loved her more than anyone? No. In love with/had a sterotypical romantic relationship with her - I can't buy it. I've tried. I want to. My fandom experience would be more enjoyable if I could. I can't.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

I thought she was really adorable and gorgeous for Season one. I'd be happy if I was able to ship them, even for the pretty.

So we're exctly the opposite in this! I had trouble with their looks, but none particularly with the pairing. That being said, I think my favourite part of their shared story was the ending of "Doomsday" when they lost each other.

I agree with that but Jack didn't NEED the Doctor

I think he did - and that he had him for the period he needed him, i.e., the soul-saving transition from con man to hero. The weight of the relationship may not have been great from the Doctor's point of view, or as the story went, but I think it was very weighted indeed if you see it from Jack's point of view. I could cite evidence - for instance, that Jack lives and works in an office decorated with memorabilia of the Doctor - but it's a subtle point, and not one I think Jack is likely to talk about to anyone. It will be interesting to see how things are when he's interacting with Ten.

It never felt like "I want you" to me, but always "I have to have you" or "I need you" and "I can't loose you" and not in a pretty way for me but in an ugly, embarrassing, uncomfortable one.

Right. I just don't see any of that.

[fandom-me.livejournal.com]

Yep, we're just looking at it from different perspectives. It happens sometimes. One of two things is probably at the root - I've seen the Doctor with LOTS of companions at this point and I'm thrown by the difference with Rose, or various elements in my background make me see more of a power difference between them than I can handle and I knee jerk. I'm guessing it's the later since honestly most of fandom's with you.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

since honestly most of fandom's with you.

I find myself sort of in the middle - I liked the Doctor/Rose relationship, but I was delighted when it ended, and I like Doctor/Jack and Doctor/Martha better. So I really have no complaints about anything - Martha's around, and Jack will soon be turning up. Life is good.

Anyway, I find myself out of synch with many fans, in that many are either clinging too hard to Rose's memory, or they actively disliked her. Leaving me to think "enough, already!" or "hey, give the poor girl a break".

[fandom-me.livejournal.com]

That I totally get. I don't ship the Doctor and Rose, but dammit I *liked* her. I really wish they'd stop with the bashing. She was exactly what she was meant to be, and she was beautiful and awesome and amazing at it.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Yes, and especially since Rose is gone - no need to bash her now, she's not part of the picture. Those who wanted her gone got their way. No need to belabour the point.

[neadods.livejournal.com]

I have a handicap in that I don't like Billie Piper's looks

She does have an unusual face. I think pretty but that's subjective, and she's definately not the usual standard of beauty.

Which, to head off on a tangent, is something I really appreciate out of New Who. Almost none of the hottie women fit the Hollywood standard, and it's fantastic that they're showing unusual (Billie), well-curved (Billie, Freema), tattooed (Freema), and older (Lis, Camille, the woman playing Martha's mother who I've forgotten) as sexy and comfortable in their sexuality.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Re Billie Piper:
I think pretty but that's subjective, and she's definately not the usual standard of beauty.

I like the way she is so expressive.

I agree absolutely about the quality of the women in Doctor Who, compared to most women on television, and the classic Hollywood standards - where women look so fashionable that they all look alike. The women in Doctor Who (and Torchwood too) are all individuals, with a range of looks and styles, and that is just so wonderful to see.

Explains why I love them all so much!

Adjoa Andoh is the actres who plays Francine Jones. I think she's great.

[neadods.livejournal.com]

They need each other *too* much.

I definately agree that Rose made the Doctor a symbol of many things he wasn't - and conversely saddled Mickey as a symbol of many things *he* wasn't, such as undesirable. At 19, of course you want the mysterious man who sweeps you away, but by 30 the dependable, faithful guy who holds his own job and makes his own way suddenly gets a lot more attractive!

The Ninth Doctor wavered back and forth; he needed Rose as his symbol and good luck charm, but he also, I think, had a much better grasp on how dangerous his life could be, the distance between them, and the need to protect Rose from even herself. Ten I could never quite figure out, because he seems to have forgotten a lot of that - as well as forgotten his usual respect for the people of history (Victoria) and at least a passing notion that maybe the other OTHER survivor of Gallifrey might have a clue (laughing hysterically at the TARDIS' reluctance to stay on the Impossible Planet).

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

and conversely saddled Mickey as a symbol of many things *he* wasn't, such as undesirable.

But desirability is a very subjective concept, and it seemed to me that Rose - though she was always fond of Mickey - was going through a period of disillusionment with him as far back as the beginning of "Rose".

by 30 the dependable, faithful guy who holds his own job and makes his own way suddenly gets a lot more attractive!

I've always preferred the sweeper-away type, myself, so it's very easy for me to relate to Rose's preference for the Doctor. This being said, I love the whole comlex progression of those dual relationships through the show.

Do you think Rose will make a future with Mickey? I thought so at first, but on reflection, thought not.

he needed Rose as his symbol and good luck charm, but he also, I think, had a much better grasp on how dangerous his life could be, the distance between them, and the need to protect Rose from even herself.

Especially from himself, becuase he knew the danger he could lure her into without even trying, and he really didn't want to hurt her. He also (in series one) had problems bigger than the universe and it wouldn't be fair to make her share them.

Ten I could never quite figure out, because he seems to have forgotten a lot of that - as well as forgotten his usual respect for the people of history (Victoria)

I see a psychological progression there - and a cutting of ties. My interpretation is that in "The Parting of the Ways", by deciding not to save the universe from the Daleks at any cost, and to die at their hands, the Doctor experienced a transformation that was augmented by the regeneration which followed. In reaction to the pain he had undergone and survived, Ten became more reckless, more playful (in both a light-hearted and a dangerous way), and more willing to take emotional chances, such as to love Rose and encourage her in her inappropriate but unavoidable love for him.

Put another way: as Ten, the Doctor allows himself to be irresponsible, and not to think as much about the consequences of actions. But he is stil the Doctor, so he has to pick up the pieces when things go wrong, and fix things - including his own grief for Rose.

[neadods.livejournal.com]

was going through a period of disillusionment with him as far back as the beginning of "Rose".

I think they were making it very clear how bored she was in general - how primed to run away with a not-handsome stranger in an even stranger car.

I'm not sure what to predict for Rose and Mickey. She's got to get over her whole angst on the beach, and that is going to take quite some time. On the other hand, Mickey is one of the few who literally understands where she comes from, and he's been doing a little growing and (in her eyes) getting exciting too. That may help.

On the other hand, it's always been obvious that he loves her far, far more than she ever loved him. I don't see them as ever living happily ever after with each other, but I don't see them as ever being quite apart either.

as Ten, the Doctor allows himself to be irresponsible, and not to think as much about the consequences of actions

That made me utterly crazy, considering that the consequences of Mr. "No Second Chances!" came back to bite his and Rose's ass, not to mention hundreds, if not thousands, of collateral deaths.

But apparently this season is going to be his dealing with consequences, which is why I'm already liking it more. It brings back that touch of gravitas that I thought was so compelling about Nine's reign.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

think they were making it very clear how bored she was in general

Definitely - with her home, her life, her boyfriend, her home, everything.

She's got to get over her whole angst on the beach, and that is going to take quite some time.

Assuming she ever will entirely get over it.

On the other hand, it's always been obvious that he loves her far, far more than she ever loved him. I don't see them as ever living happily ever after with each other, but I don't see them as ever being quite apart either.

I agree with that. I think they will continue to support each other, but after the Doctor, I don't think she will ever love Mickey as he wants or deserves to be loved. And after his experiences and his own personal growth, Mickey won't be willing to accept a second-best status with her. So - I think they'll be dear friends, but not lovers.

But apparently this season is going to be his dealing with consequences, which is why I'm already liking it more.

I agree.

It brings back that touch of gravitas that I thought was so compelling about Nine's reign.

Yes, and adds another level of meaning to the action.

[neadods.livejournal.com]

Assuming she ever will entirely get over it.

The Rose in my head does, because the idea of being permanently broken by the Doctor instead of helped breaks my heart. People's worlds shatter around them all the time and they learn to rebuild - hell, in the universe she's in, there are a lot of people who lost their loved ones to the cybermen; there is probably an ongoing effort city/world-wide to heal from the massive loss.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

The Rose in my head does, because the idea of being permanently broken by the Doctor instead of helped breaks my heart.

Well, I wasn't thinking of her as being broken, so much as simply changed beyond what she was - she'll have a fantastic life, but never find another Doctor. And won't need to, either, since one Doctor is enough for a lifetime.

I'm not saying she'll never be able to love again, just that her knowledge of the Doctor will always be a life-defining experience.

[fandom-me.livejournal.com]

I hadn't consciously thought about Mickey, but I agree that you're right, she very much saddled him with being the symbolism of everything small, earth bound and ordinary.

I do agree that Nine wavered and I think he was aware that there was a distance between them and would always be. I think, though, that that may be part and parcel with her being his good luck charm and symbol of some things. Ditto the protection, from herself and from *him*. You can only get so close to an ideal and you really don't want to see people you love break, of course, but I think losing her would have been -w ell, more devestating for Nine than Ten. In part because of who she was of course, but mostly because of what she was To Him. Or something.

Ten confuses me a bit, too. I keep wanting to write Ten but I can't until I have a better grip on his motivations and behavior. He really does seem like he's lost a lot. That's not to say I don't like him, I do and as time goes on I like him more, but I don't quite get what happened and I can't explain it beyond 'Rough regeneration" and a sort of manic frenzy.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

she very much saddled him with being the symbolism of everything small, earth bound and ordinary.

Not just Rose's doing - from the beginning he was the antithesis of the Doctor in just about any way you could name. Reliable, safe and unsurprising rather than being unpredictable, dangerous and surprising. His idea of 'going out' was going to the pub (with a match on), not the end of the world.

I think losing her would have been - well, more devestating for Nine than Ten.

What an interesting comment. Yes. Nine didn't have the defenses. Ten could cope. Ten is coping.

I keep wanting to write Ten but I can't until I have a better grip on his motivations and behavior.

I found that I couldn't, and can't, write series 2 Ten at all. I have already written series 3 Ten, and had a whale of a time doing it, and want to do it again. Including writing him with Jack, but to do that, I'll have to see how the story transpires when they meet again.

I see series 2 Ten as dealing with a lot of overcompensation for his losses, desperately flailing about trying to find stability. I see him as having lost something significant in his sense of himself, and not so much rebuilding it, but finding exterior and ulterior distractions so as not to face his own sense of pain. And when he is brought to face it head on (as happens several times, often with Rose, once with Reinette) he handles it rather well.

That's my current working hypothesis, anyway.

It's a topic I love to discuss. Thank you for encouraging me!

[fandom-me.livejournal.com]

It's not just Rose's doing, no, absolutely not. It's part who Mickey is and part what Rose wanted. It's not a bad thing, but she was already (in Rose) looking for something beyond herself, wanting out, wanting away, wanting MORE. Mickey was content. That's a problem and that's always going to be a problem. He just happened to be the relationship that represented what she wanted to break away FROM.

I could actually probably write Season 3 Ten without too much issue. Season Two... You've hit it. The thing I can't write is the flailing. Or rather, that's what stops me writing him there.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

He just happened to be the relationship that represented what she wanted to break away FROM.

What I find most interesting in their relationship was that she couldn't let go of it any more than he could. She didn't dump him - and it would have been infinitely kinder if she could have. But the link was too strong, whatever it represented. So he was caught in her wake and it eventually transformed him to a point where he was able to let go and accept her love for the Doctor - even to the point of joking about it.

My problem (I think) with writing the series 2 Doctor is not to much the flailing - though it would be hard to get a handle on something concrete with all that chaos going on in his personality - it's the focus on Rose. Ten/Rose just doesn't interest me enough to spark my imagination and none of the other relationships quite match up to that theme, though I'd like to do something with Ten/Reinette (maybe from Rose's point of view? or the King's?) - well, there are possibilities there, but now I have series 3 Ten to play with, which I prefer.