Doctor Who - 4bx03 - Waters of Mars

structure of waters of mars: landing, exploration period, whatever

middle turning point is adelaide telling her story about being touched by the stars (seeing the dalek but then it left without harming her) *as they figure out there's a malevolent alien in the water*

ten bites his tongue and stares in increasing horror at the disaster unfolding around him, feeling increasing emotional pressure as he forces himself to do nothing; meanwhile, adelaide capably directs her team through the proper procedures in this emergency (more or less. she's not written as 100% a great leader.)

adelaide catches on to his foreknowledge; ten tells adelaide about her legacy and that she has to die

listening to crew dying one by one finally breaks the doctor

he turns back and now HE is all manic energy to fix this, adelaide watching silently as he does what she judges to be something terrible, according to what he himself has said

she initiates base self-destruct anyway trying to override his wishes

he magics the tardis to them and rescues them

she initiates self self-destruct trying to correct history by shooting herself after the exchange
A: is there nothing you can't do?
Dr: not anymore.

(i've never been clear how this would actually fix anything, emotional-impact-on-adelaide's-progeny wise, but whatever. the important thing is: dark, DARK shit, that the only act of free will against the terrible demigod Ten is suicide)


THEN the episode concludes in the most criminal way --

ten is shocked at the gunshot

but instead of reacting in anger that she defied him he immediately asks if he's gone too far

some fucking phantom ood shows up to be like 'ooo this action is foretelling your death' which like, whatever

THIS RIGHT HERE would've been incredible: unrepentant lord of all time ten, and then end of time is about how you have to defeat the doctor

and it's the story where you kill him off