Vox Nova At The Tele: Doctor Who, Journey’s End

Last updated on: July 7, 2008 at 10:01 am by Henry Karlson

Vox Nova At The Tele: Doctor Who, Journey’s End 2008-07-07T10:01:41-05:00 Henry Karlson

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Four years of Doctor Who. That is what Russell T Davies had planned. While things have moved on so that Doctor Who will continue beyond its fourth season ending, it is quite clear that the last episode was meant to wrap up most of the plot elements which developed for the past few years. And even if one can go on and point out all the plot holes, there is no denying the fact that Russell T. Davies has provided us an entertaining, and rather fun, conclusion to his era (I would give it an 8/10).

One of the great parts of the show is what we see happens to Donna. It’s also one of the saddest parts of the show (to date). Catherine Tate is exceptional, and if you have not seen the show and do not want to watch anything that will spoil it, then skip past the video below.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=_-B2_mxBzHQ

Journey’s End does all that one expects an episode with such a name to do. It ties up major plot elements, and serves as a possible conclusion to the Doctor Who story. Of course it isn’t the end, and there are loose ends which will allow the story to continue. But what started in Rose has now reached its inevitable conclusion. The past few years has given Doctor Who a new lease on life, and provided a new, over-arching plot line: the love between the Doctor and Rose, a love which is more star-crossed than that of Romeo and Juliet. This was the central story of the show since Davies began: even when Rose was not in it, her story was thrust before us to let us know it was not over. Until today. We have now been shown an ending which satisfies what Davies has started. If we see no more of Rose, we will be fine. Her story can be finished and the show could continue without this story affecting the series anymore (it doesn’t have to end; if Steven Moffat desires, there is room to add another chapter to it). The show is now set up so that Moffat can develop the series any way he wants. Well, almost anyway. There will be a few episodes to bridge the end of the Davies era with the Moffat era, and many things can still happen (I personally expect the return of the Time Lords and Gallifrey).

Now the episode itself has a little of everything, and it is what makes it a fun mess. It’s Davies’ version of The Five Doctors. Yet, here everything works much better. The plot sustains itself much better, and the various characters are given moments which suit both themselves and the plot as a whole much better than the 20th anniversary story. What really makes this story exceptional is that we get to see the Doctor’s soul, and this allows us to see how much he fails to meet his own objectives. It proves once and for all that the Doctor, however super-human he might be, is fallible. He strives to be a pacifist but cannot be one. He satisfies himself in the way he uses others. They become his weapons. He satisfies himself with an individualistic approach to what happens, believing he is not responsible for the actions of others, because he doesn’t force them to act. Yet he is shown that what happens is a result of his influence, and he can’t be held irresponsible for their choices. The sham he tries to put before himself is the same one we use to excuse ourselves from the evil around us. He is shown how delusional it actually is. He is responsible just as we are responsible for how we affect others around us. Even if what we make them do is for the greater good, even if we can argue that what is done is done in a just cause, we will always be tainted – and we can’t just argue it away. And it is this which allows the Doctor Who story to be more than itself, but to be one which makes us think and reconsider ourselves and our actions. Even if on an individual level we can argue we do what is required, we are more than an individual but a person, and it is on the personal level we must consider our actions, and we must never neglect the responsibility we owe others because of our contacts with them.

Henry Karlson

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