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Meta: Why Ten is like Wesley.
I have had what I can only describe as a backwards epiphany. And I’ve even managed to think up an metaphor for it...
The thing is, that for years I’ve been saying that Ten is *broken*, and damaged. (This is not exactly news, just look at ‘Handlebars’). But for me it was like a tune that I knew well. I fitted Ten beautifully, but I was sure I’d heard it somewhere before. I thought maybe it was Angel’s tune, and certainly there are similarities, but Angel’s tune fits Jack much better. I thought it might be Buffy’s, but that wasn’t quite it either, despite certain overlaps. And then yesterday, I suddenly realised what the words to that tune were, and - they were Wesley’s:
When you strip everything else away, the self thatWes Ten is left with is like glass; sharp, brittle. Damaged. Wes Ten has the potential to snap. More than potential, even.
Those are the words that have been in the back of my head whenever I’ve thought of Ten. And oh, it doesn’t end there...
The above description is taken from what might be the best Wesley meta ever, by![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
ascian3, in her review/analysis of Lineage. I’ll just cut and paste and let the words speak for themselves:
Here's the thing about Wesley: he's gorgeous when he's desperate. It's not until he lets himself go that he's really everything he could be (sharp, coldly efficient, deadly) and he doesn't let himself go until there's literally nothing left. We saw glimpses of it when he was interrogating the robot. He was threatening to blow up the building, himself included, and he meant every word of it. When you strip everything else away, the self that Wes is left with is like glass; sharp, brittle. Damaged. Wes has the potential to snap. More than potential, even - keeping a woman in your closet for the summer is not the action of a sane man. Most of the time he's not that guy, but he's been there. He can be.
[...]
Wes is capable of giving everything he is and has and believes in, under the right circumstances. It's horribly powerful and terribly dangerous, because under the right kind of pressure Wes can do things. Like lock a woman in his closet. Like blowing up the building, and himself with it. Like stealing a child from its father. His intentions are good but it hardly matters, because at the edge of his tolerance Wes would probably burn the world to reach them. He has all the power of utter desperation at his fingertips, and it's never very far away.
I could rewrite this thing word for word, just changing the specifics. Like, say, ‘locking up your enemies for eternity is not the action of a sane man’.
Really, just take a moment to compare Wesley and Justine, and Ten and The Family of Blood. Or... imagine that Ten had been able to keep the Master. (“I’ll take away your bucket.”) I do worry that maybe I've read too much dark!fic, but... "He never raised his voice. That was the worst thing. The fury of the Time Lord. [...] He still visits my little sister once a year every year." Oh Ten. You really were monumentally screwed up.
Anyway, the line that stands out is this (let me just change the name):
His intentions are good but it hardly matters, because at the edge of his tolerance Ten would probably burn the world to reach them.
If that isn’t one of the best descriptions of Waters of Mars ever, I don’t know what is. It's horribly powerful and terribly dangerous. And oh, it kept us spellbound...
But there’s more. Let’s talk about love for a minute. This is fromthe_royal_anna’s post on AHitW/Shells:
Of course Wes will help Illyria. I talked about this lots after Lineage, but he has this overriding need to save. And there’s always been this battle in him, because he longs to find something good, something pure, something beautiful to save, something that will lift him beyond himself. But how can he save what is better than him? He needs something less than him, something more broken than him, something that needs saving.
And there, in a nutshell, we have Rose and the Master. (And maybe the Master’s brokenness is one of the things that so attracts the Doctor? An eternal project...)
I shall now do a little show and tell, because this bit of dialogue is just too prefect not to play with. Plus, I think it’s important to note, with both Ten and Wes, that although they’re ready to put their life on the line (in rather unhealthy ways) if necessary, they’re not actually suicidal. They don’t want to die, and although the pain and loss often seems too much to bear, they still know that life is good (“And since I don't actually intend to die tonight, I won't accept a lie.”/“I don’t want to go.”). Like this, see:
(I'm sure I don't need to point out that I'm well aware that there are many differences between them too, such as the fact that Ten doesn't tend to shoot people in the face, to mention just one. My point is that they're broken in the same way.)
And finally, I shall return once more toascian3’s post. These are her final words:
Wes needs to learn how to stop clutching so desperately to the people around him. If he could just breathe a little, just learn to let go without letting go, he'd be okay.
And... hello Eleven! :)
ETA: One more thing. Fromyhlee's review of TGiQ:
"I can't believe I forgot how Denisof as Wesley can stand there and exude pain. It's like a superpower."
I rest my case.
The thing is, that for years I’ve been saying that Ten is *broken*, and damaged. (This is not exactly news, just look at ‘Handlebars’). But for me it was like a tune that I knew well. I fitted Ten beautifully, but I was sure I’d heard it somewhere before. I thought maybe it was Angel’s tune, and certainly there are similarities, but Angel’s tune fits Jack much better. I thought it might be Buffy’s, but that wasn’t quite it either, despite certain overlaps. And then yesterday, I suddenly realised what the words to that tune were, and - they were Wesley’s:
When you strip everything else away, the self that
Those are the words that have been in the back of my head whenever I’ve thought of Ten. And oh, it doesn’t end there...
The above description is taken from what might be the best Wesley meta ever, by
ascian3, in her review/analysis of Lineage. I’ll just cut and paste and let the words speak for themselves:Here's the thing about Wesley: he's gorgeous when he's desperate. It's not until he lets himself go that he's really everything he could be (sharp, coldly efficient, deadly) and he doesn't let himself go until there's literally nothing left. We saw glimpses of it when he was interrogating the robot. He was threatening to blow up the building, himself included, and he meant every word of it. When you strip everything else away, the self that Wes is left with is like glass; sharp, brittle. Damaged. Wes has the potential to snap. More than potential, even - keeping a woman in your closet for the summer is not the action of a sane man. Most of the time he's not that guy, but he's been there. He can be.
[...]
Wes is capable of giving everything he is and has and believes in, under the right circumstances. It's horribly powerful and terribly dangerous, because under the right kind of pressure Wes can do things. Like lock a woman in his closet. Like blowing up the building, and himself with it. Like stealing a child from its father. His intentions are good but it hardly matters, because at the edge of his tolerance Wes would probably burn the world to reach them. He has all the power of utter desperation at his fingertips, and it's never very far away.
I could rewrite this thing word for word, just changing the specifics. Like, say, ‘locking up your enemies for eternity is not the action of a sane man’.
Really, just take a moment to compare Wesley and Justine, and Ten and The Family of Blood. Or... imagine that Ten had been able to keep the Master. (“I’ll take away your bucket.”) I do worry that maybe I've read too much dark!fic, but... "He never raised his voice. That was the worst thing. The fury of the Time Lord. [...] He still visits my little sister once a year every year." Oh Ten. You really were monumentally screwed up.
Anyway, the line that stands out is this (let me just change the name):
His intentions are good but it hardly matters, because at the edge of his tolerance Ten would probably burn the world to reach them.
If that isn’t one of the best descriptions of Waters of Mars ever, I don’t know what is. It's horribly powerful and terribly dangerous. And oh, it kept us spellbound...
But there’s more. Let’s talk about love for a minute. This is from
the_royal_anna’s post on AHitW/Shells:Of course Wes will help Illyria. I talked about this lots after Lineage, but he has this overriding need to save. And there’s always been this battle in him, because he longs to find something good, something pure, something beautiful to save, something that will lift him beyond himself. But how can he save what is better than him? He needs something less than him, something more broken than him, something that needs saving.
And there, in a nutshell, we have Rose and the Master. (And maybe the Master’s brokenness is one of the things that so attracts the Doctor? An eternal project...)
I shall now do a little show and tell, because this bit of dialogue is just too prefect not to play with. Plus, I think it’s important to note, with both Ten and Wes, that although they’re ready to put their life on the line (in rather unhealthy ways) if necessary, they’re not actually suicidal. They don’t want to die, and although the pain and loss often seems too much to bear, they still know that life is good (“And since I don't actually intend to die tonight, I won't accept a lie.”/“I don’t want to go.”). Like this, see:
(I'm sure I don't need to point out that I'm well aware that there are many differences between them too, such as the fact that Ten doesn't tend to shoot people in the face, to mention just one. My point is that they're broken in the same way.)
And finally, I shall return once more to
ascian3’s post. These are her final words:Wes needs to learn how to stop clutching so desperately to the people around him. If he could just breathe a little, just learn to let go without letting go, he'd be okay.
And... hello Eleven! :)
ETA: One more thing. From
yhlee's review of TGiQ:"I can't believe I forgot how Denisof as Wesley can stand there and exude pain. It's like a superpower."
I rest my case.
no subject
What about their children? :)
Yes, I thought of that too, of what happens to TARDIS, and remembered 9th words about "it gathering dust in the corner". That would've been so sad. But human immortality is falling in love and having children, so their story with TARDIS could have continued.
And maybe at some point they would break out from that darned Universe. :) That, or Gallifrey coming back eventually and crossing back and forth resumed. Then TARDIS could've been passed on to some distant relative. :D
Anyway, TenToo/Rose is completely open to everything, and it's great. And yes, while Ten/Rose was doomed TenToo/Rose could work because Ten shanshued into a human. :)
And that's why I don't have an issue with Ten practically pushing TenToo and Rose together. He knew he should be the one to give her up.
Generally - he is a renegade. When there are wars being fought, these things tend to be forgotten...
So what about the Final Sanction then? :D Who forgot what, and who kept it together?
And isn't a crisis a proper test for what Timelords, or anyone, are made of, anyway?
Final Sanction was an insanity, flipping out on a massive scale. Exactly what that meta you mentioned meant, that Timelord falling apart could bring down the whole Galaxies.
Well, that's what happened in the end of Time War. Collective falling apart of most of the Timelords lead by Rassilon, which almost lead to the end of all creation.
Point proven. And the Doctor was the one to stop them. Twice. Second time as "unstable, out-of-control" Ten. Which I'm not saying he hasn't been, but this just puts things into perspective... And gives us a glimpse of the true Timelord nature. That is, having unlimited power, and using it without qualms.
Yeah, probably because I watched mostly RTD post-Time War series, I'm having a hard time seeing Timelords as wise, stable and benign beings, with the Doctor being an unstable renegade next to them.
I'm seeing what I'm being shown. Scary, unlimited power, meltdowns of Galactic proportions. Latimer's "fire and ice and rage". The Doctor is not like them, because he loves humans and humans can stop him. When he cuts off his human part, when he becomes a proper Timelord, that's when he is scary.
no subject
Not sure. They're bonded, so it'd be difficult. I'd still feel sorry for the TARDIS. (Beside TenToo & Rose would need to learn to settle. The Greatest Adventure Of All. To stop running.)
Anyway, TenToo/Rose is completely open to everything, and it's great. And yes, while Ten/Rose was doomed TenToo/Rose could work because Ten shanshued into a human. :) And that's why I don't have an issue with Ten practically pushing TenToo and Rose together. He knew he should be the one to give her up.
I have lots of fic I could rec. But I shall stop linking you to things. There's plenty of time!
Final Sanction was an insanity, flipping out on a massive scale. Exactly what that meta you mentioned meant, that Timelord falling apart could bring down the whole Galaxies.
Well, that's what happened in the end of Time War. Collective falling apart of most of the Timelords lead by Rassilon, which almost lead to the end of all creation.
End of Time is one of those times when EVERYTHING is turned into a Doctor-mirror. It works beautifully as a mirror, but as a story it's rather more wonky. The Doctor doesn't want to die. He will do almost anything to stay alive. So he gets not just the Master (whose main purpose has always been survival above all), but Rassilon himself as massive reflections, showing him just where that mindset will take him. In the story of the Time War from the perspective of Gallifrey it barely registers:
ANDROGAR: The High Council is in emergency session. They have plans of their own.
GENERAL: To hell with the High Council. Their plans have already failed. Gallifrey's still in the line of fire. So, he was there then?
All that *happens* is that Rassilon & co briefly appear on Earth and then end up where they were, but with the addition of a very angry & hungry Master. (Before DotD my pet theory was that the Master would EAT the Time War. *g*) The actual generals don't really pay attention to Rassilon, they know he's lost it. (A lovely example of the differences between RTD & Moffat's writing.)
Yeah, probably because I watched mostly RTD post-Time War series, I'm having a hard time seeing Timelords as wise, stable and benign beings, with the Doctor being an unstable renegade next to them.
Surely you're not claiming that Ten is stable? The man is bleeding all over everything. :D
I'm seeing what I'm being shown. Scary, unlimited power, meltdowns of Galactic proportions. Latimer's "fire and ice and rage". The Doctor is not like them, because he loves humans and humans can stop him. When he cuts off his human part, when he becomes a proper Timelord, that's when he is scary.
*waves hands* You're half right. I can't really explain *why* this is until you've seen Eleven. Mostly though, it's RTD's issues shining through... He always writes about monstrousness. I once (slightly tongue in cheek) tried to do 'RTD Who in 25 words'. This is what I wrote:
EVERYONE IS A MONSTER, EVEN THE DOCTOR. EXCEPT HE IS WONDERFUL, BECAUSE HE'S THE HERO. [error error does not compute and Bowie Base One explodes]
He's not monstrous because he's a Time Lord. Indeed, the Time Lords are painfully human in their desperation to survive at all costs. What the Doctor needs to do is make peace with who he is. <3
no subject
All that *happens* is that Rassilon & co briefly appear on Earth and then end up where they were, but with the addition of a very angry & hungry Master.
But didn't their plans failed because they were stopped and put back into Timelock? If their plans didn't fail, if they broke out for real, the creation would be destroyed and all wars would be over, heh.
That's why the General could dismiss them. Because they were stopped from using the Final Sanction, no?
The only difference btw DoD and EoT that I saw was that Timelock was accessible and not permanent. And didn't have all those nightmares trapped in it.
Surely you're not claiming that Ten is stable?
Nope, of course not.
And the mirrors of Rassilon and Master - yes, that worked. Not just mirrors for survival at all costs, but also mirrors of unlimited power, and of meltdowns on global scale.
What I'm saying is that not just those mirrors, but also Ten's (and Doctor in general) links to humanity, love for the entire universe (see his words to Master, "you can be beautiful" etc.), that's what made him to stop Rassilon, and, in the way of the mirrors, himself.
Human ties were key. Willfred being with him all the way (including four knocks), was key.
Hee, RTD in 25 words. :) Yep, I have my problems with him, for ex. he can be extremely preachy. And yes, hypocritical. As I have problems with Joss, too. But on the grand scale - well, what they did WAS on the grand scale. :)
no subject
That's why the General could dismiss them. Because they were stopped from using the Final Sanction, no?
I take the lines 'The High Council is in emergency session. They have plans of their own to mean that EoT and the Day of the Doctor are pretty much simultaneous? After all, the High Council was 'in session' - why would they be in session if their plan had failed? And in both camps (High Council, War Council), they're aware that the Doctor possesses The Moment. Presumably Rassilon realised that they were actually losing when Arcadia fell, and implemented his 'solution' offstage whilst the War Lords were still fighting to save the planet.
And the mirrors of Rassilon and Master - yes, that worked. Not just mirrors for survival at all costs, but also mirrors of unlimited power, and of meltdowns on global scale.
Totally. Poor melty Ten.
What I'm saying is that not just those mirrors, but also Ten's (and Doctor in general) links to humanity, love for the entire universe (see his words to Master, "you can be beautiful" etc.), that's what made him to stop Rassilon, and, in the way of the mirrors, himself.
Human ties were key. Willfred being with him all the way (including four knocks), was key.
I dealt with this whoooole thing in this post: Meta: Seeing EoT with new eyes (because RTD cut out THE MOST IMPORTANT PART!) which I think I linked to before? My basic thought: In EoT the Doctor isn't trying to save the world, he is trying to save himself - trying not to become the Master/Rassilon etc. His very self is at stake.
Hee, RTD in 25 words. :) Yep, I have my problems with him, for ex. he can be extremely preachy. And yes, hypocritical. As I have problems with Joss, too. But on the grand scale - well, what they did WAS on the grand scale. :)
Oh yes, grand scale. And it's funny, but I respect the hell out of RTD. (More so than Joss.) Even if I don't agree with him and think he got things wrong. But he is an honest writer.