The Doctor's True Loves...

[elisi]

I've been thinking about the Doctor and the love stories written for him (in New!Who), and how very, very, very differently RTD and Moffat approach this. And - just to point out that I'm not trying to say that one is better than the other - I'm going to borrow a quote from the_royal_anna and change some names:

If I started drawing a comparison of the Doctor/Rose and the Doctor/River relationships, I'd go on forever, but in all honesty, I don't know that there's anything to be gained by it. I don't know that we love in amounts. We love in ways.

A little demonstration of the immeasurable gulf between the two:





In most respects, they are as different as can be. Although they both stand up to Daleks like HBICs:

ROSE: 'cos if these are gonna be my last words, then you're gonna listen. I met the Emperor. And I took the Time Vortex and I poured it into his head and turned him into dust. Do you get that? The God of all Daleks... and I destroyed him.

DALEK: Records indicate you will show mercy. You are an associate of the Doctor's.
RIVER: I'm River Song. (aims gun) Check your records again.
DALEK: Mercy!


And, then there's the Doctor's view of them:





Rose is the Doctor's lodestone - he needs her innocence, her belief, her innate goodness, and it's no understatement to say that he wishes he could be Rose. Or, to quote onetwomany re. Wes and Fred, and changing some names again:

There's an innocence and vulnerability in Rose that the Doctor seems drawn to, even obsessed with. If he can be with her, protect her, win her love, then maybe he can preserve a part of himself that he fears he's losing (or has lost). The Doctor is looking to Rose to save him.

Oh Doctor...

Now when we get to River, we find someone who is much more like himself. He knows that he will one day 'trust her completely', but he's not there yet and I think he's curious about how he gets there. And yet - to borrow Anna's words again, re. Spike and Buffy:

Spike is one of the few people Buffy will ever hand control over to. There's always been that lovely irony where trust is concerned in their relationship – in a sense, Spike is the last person in the world Buffy would choose to put her trust in, but his physical strength makes him more trustworthy than anyone when she needs him to help out.

Substitute 'ability' for 'physical strength' or some such and you have a pretty good picture of Doctor/River at the moment.

Anyway, this whole train of thought came about via owlsie, who posted this (via The Telegraph):

“River’s had one too many. The Doctor’s getting lucky tonight”
— Matt Smith on Alex Kingston knocking over a glass of blackcurrent cordial that's meant to be wine

Because I realised that you could never ever ever have had the same thing with Ten and Rose...

Comments

[elisi]

Oh I'm not saying that they're exactly the same ('cause CLEARLY they're not), but I do think that the Doctor looks to Rose to 'save' him, in some way. The Doctor is less... screwed up that Wes, though, and his relationship with Rose a LOT less messed up - there is a sweetness to Doctor/Rose which isn't there with Wes/Fred in the same way.

[zanthinegirl.livejournal.com]

Oh, I think I see what you're going for. They both (Doctor, Wes) looked to Rose/ Fred for lost innocence. But I can't see Wes/Fred without seeing Lila dressed up with glasses and her hair in pigtails. And much as I love River she does have jusrt a little of that vibe...

Gah! "just"

[elisi]

*blink blink blink*

I, uh, have no words. Your brain is WEIRD. Plus, Rose was - from all I hear - a Romana stand-in...

No. Sorry. You're too weird. But then I don't ship Doctor/Rose in the way you do, so I can't see it through your eyes.

(Personally the Doctor/River reminds me mostly of Doctor/Master...)

ETA: Moffat talking about the Doctor and River:

"She can just erupt into the Doctor's life, and cause absolute screaming havoc," he enthuses, "which may continue or may not depending on who she is. But I like the fact there's someone out there who can yank his chain. The main thing that he finds sexy, I suppose, is someone who can put him in trouble, because he loves trouble. He thinks, "River has turned up, it's going to be bad - hooray! And I thought it was going to be a boring day.'"

I REALLY don't see what you see, sorry. I mean, I can't even begin to try to attempt to see what you see. :)