I see it somewhat differently - that Ten's character arc concerns the Doctor's failed attempt to become human, or at least to "pass" as human. That is a neurotic reaction to the overwhelming horror of what he had to do to end the Time War. He immerses himself in his relationship with Rose as a denial of his own identity as a Time Lord, until be the start of AoG he's virtually welcomed as a son-in-law by Jackie, but the relationship has a brittle quality that is ultimately unsustainable. After he loses Rose, I think it's signifiant that he first names Gallifrey in TRB - and Rusty gave huge prominence to the role of the companion as "someone to stop you." (Contrast this with Amy's role, which is far more to look after the Doctor when he 'doesn't know what he's doing').
I do think S3 and S4 were mostly about Ten becoming a very bad god. I've written meta on this myself, of course. Martha was magnificant when apart from Ten, but disastrous when she was with him (except in his human form) because her idealisation of him, and his knowledge that he could control her through it, began to awaken his most dangerous impulses. Donna was a healthy restraint but once he lost her he was a disaster waiting to happen. TWoM is very much a story of a good man pushed too far - the chasm in his identity opens up as the pressure piles on, and he becomes a monster, but I do believe that initially his motive was genuine compassion.
I think in the final two-parter Ten is redeemed, up to a point. He knows he is doomed once he has to rescue Wilf, and I think he's mightily pissed off that it's something so ordinary, but in a way it's the logical outcome of the story of Ten over-identifying with humanity - one human being is as important as the universe. (I know I put this far more eloquently in my own meta on the subject).
I also feel that everything in the specials needs to be seen through the distorting mirror of Rusty's Tennant worship and the fact that he found the chance of giving DT something to emote about was irresistable, even when it should have been resisted on aesthetic grounds.
Rusty's Doctor wasn't representative of the Doctor over the long haul - when it became clear that the franchise was viable long-term, he had to die. But, Rusty being the man he is, that was never going to happen quietly.
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I do think S3 and S4 were mostly about Ten becoming a very bad god. I've written meta on this myself, of course. Martha was magnificant when apart from Ten, but disastrous when she was with him (except in his human form) because her idealisation of him, and his knowledge that he could control her through it, began to awaken his most dangerous impulses. Donna was a healthy restraint but once he lost her he was a disaster waiting to happen. TWoM is very much a story of a good man pushed too far - the chasm in his identity opens up as the pressure piles on, and he becomes a monster, but I do believe that initially his motive was genuine compassion.
I think in the final two-parter Ten is redeemed, up to a point. He knows he is doomed once he has to rescue Wilf, and I think he's mightily pissed off that it's something so ordinary, but in a way it's the logical outcome of the story of Ten over-identifying with humanity - one human being is as important as the universe. (I know I put this far more eloquently in my own meta on the subject).
I also feel that everything in the specials needs to be seen through the distorting mirror of Rusty's Tennant worship and the fact that he found the chance of giving DT something to emote about was irresistable, even when it should have been resisted on aesthetic grounds.
Rusty's Doctor wasn't representative of the Doctor over the long haul - when it became clear that the franchise was viable long-term, he had to die. But, Rusty being the man he is, that was never going to happen quietly.