S2 EP11: Fear Her

Although one of the episodes I enjoyed least, Fear Her’s redeeming quality is the fact that Rose Tyler, ultimately, emerges as a worthy companion. Although faced with a challenge fit for the Doctor, Rose has learned enough from her adventures.

Rose Tyler finally becomes capable of solving a mystery all by herself. The fact that she found the Isolus and singlehandedly convinced Chloe’s mother to help, showed character growth. Rose Tyler started out as a scared teenager, nineteen years old. But now, she is a twenty and more fully alive than she ever thought possible.

Another interesting element in Fear Her was the revelation that the Doctor had been a father. In some other galaxy, in a different time, and before the Time War, the Doctor had somehow managed to become a father. He had a family, a wife, and children – or just one child, we can’t be sure. The revelation took my completely by surprise because I must reconcile the fact that even Time Lords must have desired some kind of normal, quiet life. The audiences are jolted back to the objective reality wherein the Doctor is the last of his kind, never capable of leading a life like he had back on Gallifrey.

Speaking of Gallifrey, more recent episodes have actually shown some images of that far-flung place. Thank God for photoshop:

And, because this particular episode was particularly efficient in directing our thoughts towards the Time Lords, here’s a glimpse of what they used to look like:

Chloe Webber’s situation is directly juxtaposed with the Doctor’s experiences, his own loneliness, because he too must deal with a more permanent form of separation and loss. The episode effectively reminded its audience that the Doctor, no matter how many people or aliens or sub humans he saves, will never be able to save his own planet, or his own people. Despite being capable of many, countless, noble deeds, despite surviving, he can do nothing to save his family.

Even Rose seems taken aback. We have previously known the Doctor in a limited capacity but this new bit of information leads our curiosity to different avenues. We wonder about the Time Lord culture, if there was such a thing as a monogamous, permanent relationship. Who were the authorities that permitted or sanctioned such unions? We also wonder, again, almost painfully, regarding the Doctor’s former life. Was he a soldier? He said that he fought on the frontline.

I thought that Fear Her wasn’t particularly gripping. Its plot was a little too convoluted and convenient to be believable. I wasn’t drawn to the child, I wasn’t particularly impressed with the historical event that they visited, and the monster – in this case, the Isolus – wasn’t frightening at all. I felt that the domestic drama between Chloe, her mother, and her deceased father, wasn’t too strong or very well wrought to be effective. I felt that the concept was not well thought-out given the success of previous episodes.

Season 2 Episode 7: The Idiot’s Lantern

The fifties setting, the black-and-white TV woman, the vanishing cars, the faceless people…this episode felt very Twilight Zone-ish to me, very old school eerie, I suppose. The episode is also reminiscent of The Empty Child in its strangeness, particularly because the victims in both episodes have basically been made uniformly unsettling through an alteration of the face. The Empty Child had the gask-masked zombies, while this episode has faceless TV viewers. Also, we have the TV woman in this episode constantly shouting out ‘Hungry! Feed me!’ whereas in The Empty Child we had ‘Are you my mummy?’ Both episodes used these phrases repetitively, which I think contributed to the overall eeriness of both episodes.

I do love the first half of this episode, particularly the lighthearted moments between Rose and the Doctor, as well as their visit to the Conolly residence. Rose was really funny in that scene – it really reminded me of how young she was supposed to be. She was like a child who was pretending to be an adult by following the Doctor’s lead. And just as any child would, she overdoes it. The Doctor wanted to give Mr. Conolly a bit of schooling for being so disrespectful to his wife, and when Rose realized that she, too, can boss around Mr. Conolly, she takes advantage of it. She clearly enjoyed bossing around Mr. Conolly for sure.

Rose also tries her hand at doing some investigating of her own. You could tell that over time she’s picked up on how the Doctor gets information out of people. When she was talking to Magpie, it might as well have been the Doctor doing the negotiating. Unlike in The Christmas Invasion where Rose merely stole the Doctor’s words, this time she’s really gotten the hang of how to talk like the Doctor. Rose’s only fault is that, unlike the Doctor, she has no way of escaping a negotiation that’s gone wrong. Because of this, Rose also falls victim to The Wire.

When the Doctor finally sees the faceless Rose, he is at first silenced and then utterly outraged. This scene really shows how much the Doctor cares for Rose. Whenever Rose is put in danger, it always seems to trigger something violent inside the Doctor. It motivates him and gets him going. In a way, this makes the Doctor somewhat similar to Mr. Conolly, in the sense that both men go to great lengths in order to protect the people who mean the most to them. In Mr. Conolly’s case, it’s his family, in the Doctor’s case, it’s Rose.

With Mr. Conolly, however, his desire to protect his family has been overshadowed by his desire to protect himself. Just like his son, Tommy, pointed out, he was becoming the very thing that he fought against. Tommy reveals that his father is actually a war veteran, and this explains the authoritarian manner with which he runs his household. In this respect, Mr. Conolly reminds me of the Ninth Doctor, especially in the Dalek episode, where the Dalek informs the Doctor that he would’ve probably been a good Dalek. That particular scene showed the Doctor as someone who was turning into the very thing that he hated. Moreover, just like Mr. Conolly, the Ninth Doctor is also a war veteran fresh from the miseries of war. In defense of Mr. Conolly, therefore, being in the war must’ve really messed with his head, in the same way that Time War has marked the Doctor with a certain ruthlessness that is brought out when he is provoked. Nevertheless, this did not excuse Mr. Conolly from maltreating his mother-in-law, his wife and their son. To some extent he absolutely deserved to be thrown out of his own home, but I really liked how the ending still gave the man some hope in the form of his forgiving son. Because of her own experiences, Rose understood that family will always be family, and that Tommy’s father, no matter how cruel he may have been, still deserves a second chance from his family.

 

 

 

 

 

S02E03 – School Reunion

Ever since the revival of the Doctor Who series, this is the first episode to feature a reunion of past Doctor Who characters with the present one, making the series stay true to itself being narrative such that there’s a level of continuity between episodes, even if it meant the episodes way back in the past. Sarah Jane Smith and K-9 were the two companions that the Doctor got reunited with in this episode. A different side of the Doctor was portrayed in certain portions of the episode, wherein his normally easy-go-luck demeanor was substituted with a sentimental outlook when he explained to Rose the fact that he doesn’t get attached to his companions was for the simple reason that he cannot bear the pain of seeing people die as he continues to be timeless. I liked how the series started to progress in increasing the characterization of the various characters, giving them a deeper dimension.

It was quite obvious that this episode wanted to point out problems with regards to bureaucracy, but this time in the school setting, whereas the administrators seemingly were up to no good even if their administration was the one responsible in “making” the students smarter than usual. It was in fact for personal gain (world domination) that the administrators (Krillitane aliens) were doing this.

Furthermore, it can surmised that abuse could be clearly seen in the way how the administrators treat the students. Dehumanization was yet another issue tackled in this episode, whereas the students were treated as if they were only expendable computer processors, good only for the purpose of breaking the Skasis Paradigm and no more. The students were even portrayed as if they were mindless tools used for computational power in breaking the Skasis Paradigm. Not only that, the point that Mickey was compared to the robot K-9 was outright hilarious but at the same time dehumanizing a well, as the human character gets reduced down into becoming like a robot.

In addition, another important thing to point out here was the concept of the Skasis Paradigm and what breaking its code entailed. By breaking the Skasis Paradigm, the Krillitanes would gain the ability to become gods literally. When they offered this to the Doctor, it seemed tempting that he would finally be able to reform the universe and dictate a favorable outcome for the Time War, however he declined. It can be seen in this part that the Doctor was in no way seeking to be a god in his constant travels and meddling with history, but rather he simply goes with how the wind takes him.

Finally at the last part of the episode, despite the Doctor offering Sarah Jane Smith another chance in joining him as his companion, she declined, giving the idea that Sarah Jane Smith has finally found closure in a chapter of her life that involved the Doctor. The Doctor does still show compassion and love however for his companions despite him leaving them behind every now and then, as it seemed that he made sure K-9 would be there beside Sarah Jane Smith to keep her company as the Doctor couldn’t.

S02E02 – Tooth and Claw

Again, another episode in the second season seems to have been patterned out according to a parallel episode in the first season. This episode looks familiarly the same with the episode “The Unquiet Dead” with remarkable uniqueness as well. Both episodes looked were patterned out such that both storylines were about superstitions, folklore and fantasy and sought to tell history in a different light. “Tooth and Claw” had a storyline that revolved around the folklore of the werewolf, whereas just like the parallel episode, rubbish science was used in order to justify their existence.

I found it rather peculiar the monks that came from a monastery were portrayed as the villains in this episode. It was weird how monks were used as the villains since it was kind of a far fetch idea to associate the british empire with kung-fu capable monks. Moreover, the idea of violent kung-fu fighting monks maybe considered to be a rather common misconception, as the lifestyle that monks are supposed to follow is that of non-violence.

It was funny how mistletoe was the simple solution to keeping the werewolf beast / alien from harming the person. And how convenient it seemed that they were trapped in a relatively large library and were able to find the correct book just in time to find out how to defeat the beast / alien. It seemed that the villains were the ones mistaken, as they have thought that they have trapped the queen in the manor, while all along the manor was built as a trap for the werewolf just as the queen holds the key to defeating the werewolf.

It was quite odd though how the alien had to shift from one human body to another in order to survive, as if it were a menacing parasite rather than a chaotic beast. I also wonder though how the moon affected the way the beast transforms into its true form from its human formation. Does this happen in all kinds of moon or does this just specifically happen to earth’s moon?

An important thing to note about this episode was the level of dehumanization that the series keeps in its episodes, such as this one. It seemed that for the past few episodes, inhumanity seemed to be a common theme that keeps getting tackled, and how it affects the human psyche as well as society. Just as this one, the inhumanity manifested in the form of the werewolf shows how instinct becomes the prime ruler for the human decision rather than rational.

Though inhumanity was presented in this episode, it may seem that compassion and humanness was balanced out through the Doctor, whereas the Doctor (even though he is alien in nature) turns out to be the one more human the humans themselves. It was through his decision to purge the lycan-infected human of his curse even though it entailed killing him, as for the Doctor, his philosophy may seem that “life in imprisonment is not a life worth living at all.”

An interesting input in this episode is the establishment of the Torchwood Institute, as it seemed that this theme may come important in succeeding episodes as it was the second time in the season that the name was mentioned.

S02E01 – New Earth

This episode may be considered to be a parallelism to the first season’s second episode (though counted as episode one, this episode in essence is the second episode in the second season). In fact, it may be even considered to be follow up to that episode (“The End of the World”). The storyline seemed to follow in the events few years after “The End of the World.”

By the fact that the humanoids tried to re-converge as a specie, it can be seen that human solidarity still lurked within the human psyche despite the differences that the humanoids have already attained due to various cross-breeding with different alien species. Life in new earth in fact seemed quite prosperous, to a point that even seemingly incurable diseases were in fact getting cured. The Doctor was summoned to the hospital for another reason however, as the Face of Boe was seeking him. The Face of Boe called him “the lonely god,” pointing out theological implications whereas the Doctor does indeed resemble or at least try portraying god.

Cassandra was also revealed to be still alive in this episode whereas she still lived as her old self, just the other half remaining however (this was portrayed in a way that Rose mentioned that she’s talking through her ass). When Cassandra tried to overtake Rose’s body through the use of a psychograft machine, she was able assume her body. Given that Cassandra and Rose were distinctively different in characterization, it was at this moment skill of the actress portraying Rose (Billie Piper) was tested, whether she could handle versatility in her role. In my opinion, Billie Piper was magnificent in changing her characterization, making the new Rose seem like a wholly different character despite having the same body (in fact, it looked as if her accent and mannerisms were completely different).

When it was revealed that the hospital was able to cure the incurable disease by artificially growing humans in order to use them as test subjects to discover a cure for all the diseases manually and forcibly inflicted upon them. The nurse’s excuse for the methodology was in order to meet the continuing increase of influx of patients seeking medical care. However, the negative consequences of such atrocity were highlighted in the episode to show the real inhumanity behind it even if the rationale was dire. This issue calls out for proper bioethics and medical practice in the field of medicine. No matter what the circumstance, bioethics must not be compromised, else we all fall into a disarray of morality with no longer respecting the value of life.

The Face of Boe eventually got cured and was no longer dying. The message that he was supposed to give out to the Doctor was postponed to “another meeting,” suggesting that in the near future of the series, the Face of Boe will most likely present a very important role in the Doctor’s travels.

In the last part of the episode, there was proper closure to Cassandra’s storyline, as her character was about to past away, the series was able to give back to her the sense of humanity that she once had back when she still had her body.

2-4 THE GIRL IN THE FIREPLACE:By my Favorite Writer

I have always loved works of Stefen Moffat since the first series. He basically cures the sickness of Davies when it comes to plots going out of control. Moffat’s plots were always coherent, consistent and best of all, they are told in a way that is very unique to him. I was talking with my mates in class about the last episode and it has easily become one of the favorites of our circle. His works often share similar themes but always gives something new to the table. I love how he tends to mix fiction and nonfiction by putting the characters in an actual historical context. I beleive this makes the viewers closer to the story because it is set in something that we actually know about. Like his series 1 work set in the world war and now, set in medieval times at which Reinette, a famous character of history, was living in.

I laso admire him for the creative aspect of his work. I am always left at an awe while watching his work, thinking about whether my hunch was correct or not. One similarity that I found in both series’ Moffat episodes was that the supposed antagonists turn out not to be antagonists at all but just machines that are doing as they are programmed but not aware of the consequences. there was also that air of mystery about why the clock men were going after the Lady. The clockmen always spoke of her coming of age and that she was the key but it was never really explained or found out, at least by the characters, why she was so special. After the last scene, there was that “Ahhhhhh, kaya pala.” moment after all the secrets were revealed. Right then and there, I was having the urge to rewind everything so that I could catch every single clue which pointed to the solution in the end.

This right here is genius writing. It is not enough to have all this crazy ideas on what to put on the show. But one should not forget that resolutions are important as wel. Moffat is a master at this  in my opinion. He makes use of brilliant foreshadowing and the use of metaphors to convey and at the same time hide the details if the plot. AND, I just so love how he painted the relationship of The Doctor, Rose and Mickey. They all love the other but another person has already clained the love of the one. The drama was just right – not too cheezy but not too bland. It just goes to show the skill of a true writer just like what we have in this episode.

S2 EP10: Love and Monsters

In my eyes, this episode featured many different surprises, least of which was the participation of Moaning Myrtle:

It’s refreshing to get the perspective of another human being, other than Rose. I find that the change of pace and the almost completely new characters provide wonderful new insights for Doctor Who while helping the audiences explore their relationship with Rose and the Doctor.

In Love and Monsters, we join Elton Pope and the other members of LINDA or the London Investigation’n’ Detective Agency trying to discover, understand, and live with the Doctor. I find it interesting that this particular episode dealt with what it meant to be a fan. Although Love and Monsters tackled the experience of a Doctor Who fan in particular, I found it also portrayed the fan in a generic sense, as well. The fact that LINDA was born from a gathering of like-minded people obsessed and talking about a similar, connecting factor in their lives, and the fact that each person seemed to embody a certain stereotype, occupying a particular niche and fulfilling a unique need for the group, described the primary ways fan communities begin to form, erupting from a shared desire to discover a shared fixation.

One of my favorite characters from the second series, Elton Pope shared his own experiences with different alien encounters in the last year or so. His backtrack is particular beneficial to audiences because we, as viewers, get a sense of how long Rose has been gone from home since the Ninth Doctor took her away travelling, after the shop dummies came to life.

I find that Ethan’s encounters with the Doctor, his fascination with him, was a wonderful way to connect with audiences suffering from a similar desire to get closer to their cult object – whether it be the Doctor himself, the Tardis, various aliens and antagonists in the series, or the fictional human beings. Aside from the fact that Ethan Pope, Mr. Skinner, Bliss, Ursual Blake, and the others were able to provide anchors and establish an emotional connection with the audience in all of forty-five minutes, they were also able to portray what it meant to be an Other in Doctor Who, to exist on the fringes, to exist away from the central action, to exist without the inside knowledge that Rose is privy to.

Whereas Rose is given something of an all-access pass to the Doctor’s adventures, our return to Earth and the connection Love and Monsters provides, is with characters that exist as we do. The episodes mirror our grappling and our own search for the Doctor, the way we produce cult objects, and the way that the Doctor exists and manifests in our lives – through cult objects.

When the Doctor finally encountered LINDA and Elton Pope’s life was changed completely, I found that the episode was also making a statement regarding what happens when we encounter objects of adoration:

Elton Pope: When you’re a kid, they tell you it’s all… grow up. Get a job. Get married. Get a house. Have a kid, and that’s it. But the truth is, the world is so much stranger than that. It’s so much darker. And so much madder. And so much better.
Elton Pope: Turns out I’ve had the most terrible things happen. And the most brilliant things. And sometimes, well, I can’t tell the difference. They’re all the same thing. They’re… they’re just me. You know, Stephen King said once, he said, “salvation and damnation are the same thing.” And I never knew what he meant. But I do now.

I was disappointed with the Alien. It wasn’t truly disgusting and it wasn’t completely interesting, for me, but it became more fascinating when I found out that it was based on a Colchester nine-year-old’s drawing:

S2 EP09: The Satan Pit

The Satan Pit features mad Oods telepathically controlled by something in the pit. This episode featured impressive dialogue but I was most taken with the Doctor’s unflagging faith in humanity that he used to motivate Rose and the crew into action.

One of my favorite twists – completely unprepared for – was when the Doctor found the Tardis.

In the face of probably the greatest mystery in the universe, the Doctor finds no explanation. He acceded that he didn’t know what he found in the pit. However, he doesn’t seem fazed by the mystery – he’s simply glad to be alive. Although the Doctor is possessed of a very healthy curiosity, he continues to recognize that there are things which are beyond him and his understanding, things he cannot know and, try as he might, things he will never understand. That’s something we human beings continue to grapple with; unlike the Doctor – unlike the Time Lords, maybe – the human race still harbors the propensity towards greed and vanity.

When the Doctor realizes that the humans are panicking, he urges Rose and the Crew to think their way through their problem. Maybe that’s the Doctor’s best talent: the capacity to believe in people when people, themselves, tend to give up.

The Doctor: Except that implies – in this big grand scheme of Gods and Devils – that she’s just a victim. But I’ve seen a lot of this universe. I’ve seen fake gods and bad gods and demi gods and would-be gods – out of all that – out of that whole pantheon – if I believe in one thing… just one thing… I believe in her.

What I want to understood was, if the captain can control air pockets, then couldn’t he have easily cut off the air supply wherever the Ood so that Rose and the Crew didn’t have to run through the base to send a potentially lethal psychic message?

Faced with an existing body of myths, a constellation of faiths and varied belief systems, the Doctor offers a compromise:

The Doctor: You get representations of the horned Beast right across the universe in myths and legends of a million worlds. Earth, Draconia, Vel Consadine, Daemos… The Kaled god of war, the same image, over and over again. Maybe, that idea came from somewhere. Bleeding through, a thought of every sentient mind…
Ida Scott: Originating from here?
The Doctor: Could be.
Ida Scott: But if this is the original, does that make it real? Does that make it the actual Devil?
The Doctor: Well, if that’s what you want to believe. Maybe that’s what the Devil is, in the end. An idea.

Rose, however, echoes more popular sentiments. Before the Beast – or whatever it was – spoke to her and the crew directly, she asked:

Rose: Tell me there’s no such thing. Doctor, tell me there’s no such thing

Rose’s concern is with a physical reality – a manifestation of an ultimate evil or the source of evil. However, with the existence of free will, there is ultimately room in the vast universe for evil – manifested by evil acts and evil people and evil choices.

S2 EP08: The Impossible Planet

The greatest scare I got from this episode was the possible loss of the Tardis:

One of the more disturbing episodes, I find that The Impossible Planet – much like Tooth and Claw — engages the supernatural by explaining it with as much science as Doctor Who can manage. Going significantly farther back than werewolves, The Impossible Planet tackles the source of all evil. One a remote and seemingly harmless, albeit mysterious, planet, Rose and the Doctor find themselves stranded with a group of scientists and researchers on a mission to discover the source of a gravitational field emanating from within ten miles of solid rock, to the planet’s core.

The Doctor is naturally enthralled with the idea of the human beings’ urge to discover, an almost insatiable curiosity:

Toby Zed: There was some form of civilization… they buried something. And now it’s reaching out, calling.
The Doctor: And you came.
Ida Scott: How could we not?
The Doctor: So, when it comes right down to it, why did you come here? Why did you do that? Why? I’ll tell you why: Because it was there! Brilliant! Excuse me, uh, Zack, wasn’t it?
Zachary Cross Flane: That’s me.
The Doctor: Just stand there, ’cause I’m gonna hug you… Is that all right?

However, in his usual fashion, he is quick to recognize his own genius, all the same:

The Doctor: I’d say you’re a genius, but I’m in the room.

I find that this episode’s most appealing element is its characters. Each of the space station’s crew hinted at some background: the captain Zachary Cross Flane with his performance anxiety, Mr. Jefferson and his unforgiving wife, Ida Scott the essential mother figure, and even Toby Zed, the underappreciated archaeologist.

I was genuinely afraid during this episode because it tackled aspects of religion, particularly the devil, and even its loosely conceived science could barely find a place an aspect so elusive as the devil. At some point, it juxtaposed the Devil as the original sin, the temptation, the pain and loss and desire. Although I appreciate the poetry in this, I was initially disappointed with the execution. It took too many images from the Judeo-Christian tradition and conception of Evil’s physical form. Granted, it was effective. One of my problems, however, was trying to understand what the Beast wanted to do once it escaped. If it was the devil – or the source of the legends that communicate an evil force we call the Devil – then how can it be chained and physically detained when it manifests itself in different parts of the universe?

I was particularly drawn to the Ood, despite how ood they were, and despite the fact that they were mind-controlled by the Beast from the Pit. The Ood must be one of my favorite aliens – mostly because I watched future episodes featuring them, but I won’t spoil that here. I was surprised – and a little irritated – that the crew member designated to take care of Ethics also called them a basic slave race, basic cattle or herd race. I was right there with Rose when, appalled, she asked when humans started needing slaves.

The Doctor seemed to represent reason, logic, in the face of the superstition. As an outsider, he and Rose are capable of assessing the situation and questioning it, capable of looking at things from a more informed perspective, given his vast knowledge of the universe. I think he likes human beings’ curiosity because it mirrors his own; come what may, he hurls himself into situations full force, sometimes recklessly, for the sake of experience.

The Doctor: It looks like some sort of seal or… I’ve got a horrible feeling the word is trapdoor. Not a good word trapdoor. Never met a trapdoor I liked.
Zachary Cross Flane: Do you think it’ll open?
The Doctor: That’s what trapdoors tend to do.

S2 EP06: Age of Steel

This episode made me really proud of Mickey, who stands for everyone the Doctor leaves behind, and everyone each of his companions must let go of to travel with him.

Ever in the background, Mickey Smith seemingly always served as the gullible second fiddle to Rose Tyler. Past episodes served only to highlight his role as the comic relief, at his own expense. The fact that the Doctor labeled him “Mickey the Idiot” only further cements his role as a sidekick – as the Tin Dog, even.

The good thing is, every dog has his day. I was pleasantly surprised at how Mickey Smith rose to the occasion, when made to face his own insignificance in the face of Rose and the Doctor’s relationship. Although he has long since accepted the fact that Rose chose – and will always choose – the Doctor over him, he finds himself challenged to prove his mettle to someone ultimately more important: himself. In the previous episode, Mickey comes to terms with his ordinariness. Unlike Rose, Mickey takes the challenge quietly and he ruminates by himself. In this way, he reminded me of the Doctor: he’s more a man of action and he doesn’t mince words explaining his sudden desire to find his Gran and reestablish his identity away from Rose and the Doctor, in all other ways more a couple than he and Rose ever were.

Second in the two-part narrative, The Age of Steel featured an empowered Mickey. It took Mickey all of around twenty episodes to assert himself and realize his worth – or realize that he can do something to prove himself.

Rose Tyler: [through a walkie talkie] Mickey, where did you learn to fly that thing?
Mickey Smith: Playstation.

Mickey takes the lead and is crucial to their survival. It takes Mickey, an underrated computer savant with the ability to hack through firewalls, retrieve passwords and emergency codes, and ultimately help the Doctor stop Lumic’s plan of world domination. It seems that Mickey needed Cybermen – humanoids who have relinquished their ability to feel – in order to realize his true potential.

I find that Mickey’s decision to stay in the parallel universe was his defining moment that, ironically enough, made me realize how selfish Rose Tyler can be:

Rose: What if I need you?
Mickey: Well, you don’t

Mickey finally chose to become something more than Rose Tyler’s boyfriend, who promised to wait for her despite being left behind on Earth. The Doctor was right: ordinary people make a difference. For parallel Earth, Mickey became one of its protectors against Lumic’s Cybermen spread all over the world, along with Jake Simmonds.

At the end of it all, Mickey is more enthusiastic than ever. He realized that he can save the world – something the Doctor must have seen all along, given his confidence in humanity. My favorite scrap of dialogue featured Jake and Mickey set and ready to go on an adventure without the Doctor, but ultimately just as fulfilling and fascinating. The fact that it reeks of bromance is a plus:

Mickey Smith: Let’s go and liberate Paris.
Jake Simmonds: What, you and me? In a van?
Mickey Smith: Nothing wrong with a van. I once saved the universe with a big yellow truck.

I love how the Doctor championed the ordinary man, how much he believes in the power of the ordinary person – even an ordinary idiot – and is completely confident in Mickey. This faith in humanity is one of his more prominent traits inherited from his ninth incarnation.