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Sunday, September 16, 2012

More Romance Thoughts, with help from the Doctor

*spoilers from Doctor Who, mostly first two seaons*
Okay, so if you follow my tumblr then you know that I have been watching a lot of Doctor Who lately. It is an awesome show and one thing that I have grown to love is the pairing 9th/10th Doctor/Rose.
Source (I think... You never know with the internet. But yeah, thanks to whoever made this!)
Okay, so major spoiler alert from the end of season two: What makes Doctor/Rose a great pairing is that they don't end up together. The show starts with Rose accompanying the Doctor on his journeys through time and space and along the way, they fall in love. And it's a beautiful, wholesome love because they never even really act on their feelings for each other--they're just there and it's obvious they would do anything for each other.
Then stuff happens and Rose is trapped where the Doctor can't come get her. They have to say goodbye for good. It's a beautiful story:
Source (Mostly likely. Like I said, you never know. Once again, thanks whoever made this!)
Yes, I know those who like happy endings are like "What, are you kidding me?" right now. And while I think some stories can work with a happy ending, sometimes, if you want your story to really stick with people, you gotta do something that will make them cry every now and then. The Doctor and Rose wouldn't really stick with me as much right now if they didn't have a sad ending. The fact that they want to be together and can't because of where she is... So heartbreaking! Whereas if they flew off into space and stayed together for the rest of Rose's life? Boring, and very forgettable.
That said, this tactic can backfire if you don't use it right. The writers of DW give the Doctor plenty of time to grieve Rose after she's gone. He doesn't find someone else right away--as far as I know, he doesn't find anyone else romantically for a season and a half or something like that. (River, right? I'm only on season/series 3.) They show the Doctor grieving Rose: Wondering what she would think about things if she was there, imagining/remembering himself dancing with her when a crowd of people are dancing, finding some of her stuff on board the TARDIS. (aka his space ship, for those not in the know.) He doesn't move on right away, and if you're going to do the sad route, you have to make sure you get the pacing right, or it makes the whole storyline for nothing. If the Doctor had a new love two episodes later, it would have cheapened his and Rose's love story, in my opinion. 
Oh, and if you're going to bring in a new love interest afterward, make sure they have personality. I don't want to spend the whole new romance thinking, using the Doctor as an example, "I hate this new person, bring back Rose."  That is the last thing you want your readers thinking, so please make sure the new person is as enjoyable and has as much chemistry as the old couple. Just make sure that they are different from the old couple. I don't know about everyone else, but I don't want a repeat of what I just saw, but with a new face.
Anyway, that's all, hope you found this helpful. :)

19 comments:

  1. Great post as always Allison! What you said about the new love interest being different from the last? I totally agree.

    Blah. You are making me want to watch Dr. Who. I'm a sucker for a good tragic love story.

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    1. You should watch. Doctor/Rose are very tragic!

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    2. And thanks for the compliment. ;D And yeah, the new person needs to be different from the last. :D Otherwise, why get rid of the old love interest, you know?

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  2. Yes, River shows up in season 5. I'm not sure exactly when they fall in love but I think it happens at some point in season 6. Before that, she's kind of an enigmatic character who has some kind of history with the Doctor but nobody knows what it is -- not even him.

    Loved this post. It was very good. I haven't even seen the Tenth Doctor's seasons but I have Rose/Ten feels anyway fairly often. xD I don't even know all that happened between them, but I know it's sad, and I love their story even though I've never experienced it.

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    1. Yeah, from what I've heard about River, she sounds kick-butt, so maybe I'll like her? We'll see, I'm going to try and keep an open mind about River/Doctor.

      Rose/Ten are amazing! But yes, also sad. *sniff*

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    2. Ha, yes, definitely kick-butt. I'm not sure what I think about them as a couple as I haven't seen them actually in love yet. But the fact that they're so similar seems to be a good indication, and I'm not extremely opposed to it.

      I do like River at least a tiny bit, but I'm more of a fan of Amy Pond, I think.

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    3. How far are you, in terms of watching it?

      I'm not that far yet, so I haven't met Amy yet. But tons of people seem to be having "THE PONDS ARE LEAVING, ARG!" agnst on tumblr, so I guess that's a good sign I'll like Amy/Rory.

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    4. Welp, I actually watched the whole 5th season and episode 1 of the sixth, but it ended up freaking me out a little too much so I'm taking a break from it right now.

      Ahaha, yeah, I SEE THE PONDS ANGST ON TUMBLR ALL THE TIME. You probably will. I love them, they're awesome. And even though I'm not current on watching it, I'm still really sad that they're leaving.

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    5. Ha, yeah, it can be a little "What the heck?" at times. :P

      For me it's like "All this angst. WHO ARE THOSE PEOPLE?!" when it comes to the Ponds, LOL. :P Yeah, I'm sure I'll love them. :D It will be interesting to see a married couple tagging along with the Doctor, not just a girl who falls in love with him, like Rose or Martha.

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    6. Oh, and you have a tumblr? Mind giving me the link so I can follow you? :)

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    7. It can be. xD

      Haha, yes! They're awesome. I think the fact that they're married is what makes them so unique. It's awesome. Oh, did Martha fall in love with the Doctor? I had no idea. (I've watched this show from afar, you see. As a post on Tumblr once said, Tumblr is the way you can watch an entire show or movie without even watching that show or movie. xD I've been spoiled quite a bit.)

      YES. Love Tumblr. I'm sweetasthesky.tumblr.com.

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    8. Yeah, she does, I'm not done with that season, so I don't know how it turns out. So far, the Doctor is still too in love with Rose to notice Martha like that. Meh, Martha is boring, so I can't really say I pity her too much. :/ I just want to finish season three and move on to the Donna season. :P

      That is so true about being able to watch a show without watching it on tumblr! :P I get 80% of my DW spoilers from there, lol.

      Oh, I think I've already seen you on there! :P Now I feel stupid for not knowing it was you, lol.

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  3. Yay, another 10th/Rose fan!! All my Whovian friends don't like Rose. :(

    I cried when Rose left and no, he never really found someone else. Not until he regenerates anyway.

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    1. How do you not like Rose??? *Stares* Anyway, *high-fives* Ten/Rose are so CUTE! :D So are Nine/Rose, but whatever. :P Both those Doctors are awesome in that, if you mess with Rose, you're going down. ;)

      It didn't really hit me until after that episode, and I started hearing sad love songs on the radio and it made me all "WHY! Boo-hoo!"

      I'll look forward to when he regenerates, the Doctor needs someone to make him happy, and vice versa, he needs to make someone happy like he made Rose happy. :)

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    2. They think she whines too much. *rolls eyes* Oh, yes. The sad love songs. They're never ending. One of my favorites though to tie with them is "A Thousand Years" by Christina Perri.

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    3. Listened to that earlier today. Sad, but a good fit for them. :)

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  4. Holy cow, YES. I'm not even big on romance, but I loved both Ten and Rose, so their run together is my absolute favorite. And I agree--a bunch of people I know in real life don't get it, but I think tragedy, if it's done right, can be really beautiful. I also agree that part of what makes their story so memorable and special is that they *did* get separated. Tragedy just seems to stick with you longer than happy, fluffy stuff; maybe it's because it's more believable or close to real life, I don't know.

    That's part of why I love this show so much, though. The writers don't always make the easy choices. And you get so attached to the characters...

    By this point, I feel like I'm just echoing everything you've said, but I really liked that he didn't just move on past Rose. He spent a lot of time depressed (but trying to hide the pain in that typical Ten way, which just makes it that much sadder) about how he just lost the most important person in his life for a long time, which I felt was really realistic. And I loved that the writers made a point of specifically showing that and making Rose references.

    Sorry about this mammoth of a comment, but I have a tendency to ramble when Doctor Who's involved. (: One quote this reminded me of, from RTD: "That's when people truly take it into their hearts. They recognise it. That's all of us. Even if you're blubbing at the Doctor and Rose on Bad Wolf Bay in Doomsday, you're empathising, you're feeling it, and there's an echo of every loss you've ever had in that."

    Brilliant.

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    1. YES, YES, YES. For an alien, the Doctor is so HUMAN. I love that I just finished Evolution of the Daleks, and he's still in pain. Throwing out lines like "They survive while I lose everything." His people, his planet, his love. And the look on his face when Martha says there is someone for everyone. Ow. It's barely there and easy to miss, but it's clear he's still grieving. American shows just aren't as good. If the MC loses someone in an American show, the MC is over it in two episodes. Brits know how to do it!
      Tragedy is very close to the real world! I've lost touch with so many friends over the years-some losses weren't in my control and some people I just drifted apart from... But there is totally an echo of that in the Doctor and his companions. Because in the end, he loses them, just like we lose old friends.

      Oh, I totally don't mind the mammoth post, look at my mammoth reply! :P

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  5. i really love dr. who! it's such a good idea!! i mean, the story never ends!!

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