RTD cut a bit out of Wilf's and Ten's dialogue on the Hesperus that puts the "this is my reward" bit at the end in context. From the shooting script:
WILF: But you said... you were told, he will knock four times. And then you die. That's him, isn't it, The Master? The noise in his head? The Master is going to kill you.
THE DOCTOR: Yeah.
WILF: Then kill him first.
(cut dialogue begins)
WILF (CONT'D) Don't you deserve it?
THE DOCTOR: Ohh yeah. Isn't that the truth? Got it in one! I deserve it, absolutely! I so deserve to live. Everything I've done, the lives I've saved, the people, the planets, every single star in the sky. So where is it, then? Just once. Where's the reward?
WILF: Then take it.
(cut dialogue ends)
THE DOCTOR: And that's how the Master started.
It's revealing how this bit got cut, because yikes, what a thing for the Doctor to admit to Wilf, that he deserves a reward for what he's done. I think it proves your idea that the Time Lord Victorious was always quietly ticking throughout TEoT.
jackaholic's meta about Ten's final moments is spot-on with how I see it, too. It was clear by PotD that Ten was just going through the motions.
no subject
WILF: But you said... you were told, he will knock four times. And then you die. That's him, isn't it, The Master? The noise in his head? The Master is going to kill you.
THE DOCTOR: Yeah.
WILF: Then kill him first.
(cut dialogue begins)
WILF (CONT'D) Don't you deserve it?
THE DOCTOR: Ohh yeah. Isn't that the truth? Got it in one! I deserve it, absolutely! I so deserve to live. Everything I've done, the lives I've saved, the people, the planets,
every single star in the sky. So where is it, then? Just once. Where's the reward?
WILF: Then take it.
(cut dialogue ends)
THE DOCTOR: And that's how the Master started.
It's revealing how this bit got cut, because yikes, what a thing for the Doctor to admit to Wilf, that he deserves a reward for what he's done. I think it proves your idea that the Time Lord Victorious was always quietly ticking throughout TEoT.