THE TIMEPETALS VISUAL GUIDE (Part 2.2/?): WHATāS IN A GAZE? (TEN)
Welcome to the Tenth Doctorās portion of chapter 2 ā if youāve read part 2.1 you know what this is all about, so letās dive right in! (Again, these are selected scenes.)
The Doctorās admiration for Rose is, like in his previous incarnation, scattered throughout the season. Likewise, Rose is starting to admire this new Doctor quite quickly, illustrating once again her incredible ability to adapt. We start with the Christmas Special:
Christmas Special: A Christmas Invasion
Just look at how he gazes at Rose when she gets her own paper crown! It's like she's hung the stars from the sky ā at this moment the Doctor probably feels like she did. Later, when they're outside, and they finally communicate to each other that, yes, they still want to be around one another very much:
Christmas Special: A Christmas Invasion
This would definetely also fit into the joy category, but I included it here because, to me, it also conveys the Doctor's admiration of Rose's adaptability and acceptance, and Rose's admiration of this new, yet old Doctor who still wants to travel with her.
And travel with her he wants, as you can see in these stills below:
Christmas Special: A Christmas Invasion
The way he looks at her when she's not looking needs to be studied. This is pure awe and admiration, right here! This continues in episode 1 of season 2:
Season 2, ep. 1: New Earth
Look at him checking Rose out while saying "all pink and yellow." If you have doubts about this being a checking-you-out-cause-I've-an-excuse-because-Iām-talking-about-your-appearance-look, this is the Doctor's reaction to being snogged by (Cassandra!)Rose:
Season 2, ep. 1: New Earth
Completely and utterly dazed, and certainly not opposed to have some more. We can fully assume that this is a genuine reaction since, at this point, the Doctor didn't clock something wrong with "Rose" yet.
Poor Time Lord got his impressive brain fried by the pink and yellow human, lmao. Not like Rose is any better, though:
Season 2, ep. 1: New Earth
You clearly see here how she's dazed at first because of Cassandra leaving her mind, so she's still out of it, for the first few seconds of being back.
With that in mind, she's clearly just admiring the Doctor before greeting him, happy to be back.
(I'd imagine the only thoughts in her brain for these few seconds were: Oh, the Doctor's face. Up close. Nice. Pretty. Lovely.) I can't with these two, I swear!
The very next episode, the Doctor looks at Rose like this when she gets knighted by Queen Victoria:
Season 2, ep. 2: Tooth and Claw
His eyes are literally bursting with pride and admiration! The very same look can be found in episodes 8 and 9:
Season 2, ep. 8: The Impossible Planet (top); ep. 9: The Satan Pit (bottom)
Again with the admiring looks, simply because Rose is existing and doing Rose-things, such as trying to rib people. You can tell he thinks it's absolutely adorable the way she tries to tease Toby ("What's your job? Chief...dramatist?", top row).
Or just being there, by his side ("Oh, the stuff of legend", bottom row).
Then, there's this kind of admiring:
Season 2, ep. 11: Fear Her
The Doctor's clearly into Rose being smart and noticing things he doesn't ā such as Chloe being weird and Trish seemingly being afraid of her own daughter.
Rose immediately clocks his flirty behaviour (not that it's hard to miss, I mean-) and responds in kind.
Fear Her is easily the flirtiest and touchiest (only second to perhaps Tooth and Claw) episode in the entire season. It actually makes me feel bittersweet how lighthearted the Doctor is, here (but more about that, later in this post).
Though, the Doctor is also just really helpless when it comes to Rose, whether she's being smart, flirty, adorable or sweet:
Season 2, ep. 5: Age of Steel
Like here, in episode 5 where it takes him all of three seconds to fold under her pleading grin. It's like he can't help himself, so sweet!
Now, we skip a bit to season 4 because I can't leave out Tentoo, obviously. I present you Rose looking at the Meta-Crisis-Doctor:
Season 4, ep. 13: Journey's End
It's almost like she finally realised there are two Doctors running around, decided to take a closer look, and, well.
Like I pointed out, earlier, this season's Doctor and Rose were like the most joyous and content people I've seen, in New Who. Especially the Doctor is never seen this open and content again.[1]
Here are my receipts, so to speak, starting with New Earth:
Season 2, ep. 1: New Earth
This is them shortly before their first trip, after the Doctor's regeneration. You can literally see the pure joy and excitement in their eyes. See, the brilliant thing about the Doctor and Rose was their unapologetic and genuine fun together.
The Doctor (re-)discovered the joy of travelling and exploring with Rose, and Rose, in turn, found her own joy and fulfillment in their way of life. Both of them love doing this, together with the other one at their side:
Season 2, ep. 1: New Earth
You can see it in their smiley faces, but especially the Doctor's eyes are just swimming in delight. Notice the way he looks at (Cassandra!)Rose shortly before she kissed him (right still) and, later, when she's finally being back to herself (bottom left). He's so glad and so happy.
More examples of this here:
Season 2, ep. 2: Tooth and Claw (left); ep. 5: Age of Steel (right)
Season 2, ep. 9: The Satan Pit (top); ep. 11: Fear Her (middle); Season 4, ep. 12: The Stolen Earth(bottom)
The way the Doctor's eyes light up with happiness when Donna reminds him that all that chaos also means Rose is returning. Which leads me to their reunion:
Season 4, ep. 12: The Stolen Earth (top); ep. 13: Journey's End (bottom)
Do I even need to explain their utter joy and happiness about being together again, after such a long time apart? Like look at them in the bottom stills; these are two people who are finally at peace again. (oh, god, I'm gonna sob, they make me sick with their love fr)
COMPASSION & UNDERSTANDING
I've considered skipping this category in this chapter but there is one instance I wanted to include:
Season 4, ep. 13: Journey's End
This is when Davros goads the Doctor and plays into his guilt complex by showcasing his companions as weapons of his own making. Of course, the Doctor is hurt and feels massive amounts of guilt.
Rose immediately understands what this is about; what the Doctor is feeling and how much it weighs on him, and since she can't be there for him physically because of the barrier-trap-things, all she can do is stay put and watch. Her look of understanding and compassion really strikes me here.
WORRY (DEVASTATION) & SADNESS
We've reached the angsty section. I'll show some highlights here (since the 30 pictures per post limit is seriously hounding my arse) Let's start light with this scene in episode 7:
Season 2, ep. 7: The Idiot's Lantern
The shot on the right is one I like in particular, here, since it shows Roseās pleading face on the screen with the Doctorās worried expression reflected right beside her, in a very artistic way.
His eyes really show you the fear and worry, yet the steely determination to get Rose out of there.
Then, thereās this type of fear (amongst other things), in episode 3. The Doctor tells a lot with his eyes, here:
Season 2, ep. 3: School Reunion
Watching their conversation in front of the chip shop, it's abundandly clear how much the Doctor wants the oppostite to be true when he basically says Rose is mortal, and will, eventually, be lost to him (which is why I also think it would fit well in the yearning category).
You can literally see how much it saddens him in the way he's willing Rose to understand with the pleading and desperate look in his eyes. They speak volumes.
Since we're on the topic of loss, here are some stills from episode 13:
Season 2, ep. 13: Doomsday
I don't think I need to describe how much Rose's loss affected him and vice versa. Just some points I want to hightlight, though:
The way Rose is terrified because she's hurtling right towards her death (until Pete gets her), and even then, she's looking back at the Doctor.
While Rose has been crying as a way to deal with her raw devastation and grief, the Doctor is numb from it. This is how you know he's in so much pain that the only way to deal with it is to shut it out as best as he can.[2]
Later, during their goodbye, it's the same pattern. He looks like he's about to lose it and cry, but holds it together for Rose. Especially, when she tell's him what she's been up to (4th row, first two stills). Then, when Rose confesses her love to him, you can literally see the devastation and yearning behind his soft smile (4th row, last still).
The, when Rose is gone, and the numbness from the shock dissipates a bit, his flimsy composure cracks. And he cries. (And I'm tears, now, goodbye)
Similar to season 1, the Doctor and Rose continue to be masters of yearning in season 2. For example in episode 8 when they're talking about what they're going to do, now that the TARDIS is lost to them:
Season 2, ep. 8: The Impossible Planet
Rose suggests (only half-jokingly) to share a mortgage after they joke about the Doctor having to live like the rest of the universe.
The intense look in the middle still is his reaction as Rose says it. While not necessarily in the form of a "proper house with a door and carpets", you can tell he actually wants this ā a life with Rose. And it scares him a little.
They both realise a split second too late that they have maybe started to reveal a bit too much, hence their joke turning into a sort of flustered awkwardness. Because it got too real.
By the way, have you ever noticed the Doctor's more subtle glances? For example in episode 13 when Pete and Jackie meet, at Torchwood, there's a particularly interesting scene. I've only noticed this myself, during my rewatch:
Season 2, ep. 13: Doomsday
When Pete asks Jackie whether there had been anyone else, Jackie replies with: "There was never anyone else." The Doctor's eyes slid over to his left, precisely at that moment, where ā you guessed it ā Rose is standing, watching her parents.
Interestingly, the script states a look between Mickey and the Doctor, which doesn't really happen; they both sort of look down. Plus, in this shot, Mickey is leaning against the wall to the Doctor's right. His eyes are clearly sliding to his left. The shot of Rose is the one that immediately follows this, so it makes me think the editors knew what was up lol.
Keeping up with the topic of his feelings for Rose, here the scene in episode 9, when he's about to let himself fall into the Pit:
Season 2, ep. 9: The Satan Pit
The stills show the moments during his almost confession of his feelings. Thanks to the novelization that came out a few months (has it already been a few months? wow) we can say for certain that the sentence "Tell Rose..." would've ended with "I love her."
And you can see here, beautifully, how he psyches himself up to finally say it out loud, maybe even yearns to say it, until he chickens out with "Oh, she knows." Anticipation, fear, nerves, and resignation ā all this is coveyed through his eyes.
Then he loses Rose. The scene in the Christmas Special where he meets Donna, and they're at her wedding reception is also noteworthy in my opinion:
Christmas Special: The Runaway Bride
The way he stares at the dancing couple and thinks back to Rose and himself is seriously tugging at my heart. Like, he looks so lost here and he just had their (first) goodbye, a few hours ago, tops. So, everything is still fresh and raw.
We skip, once again, to season 4. One of the clearest examples of the Doctor's yearning is shown in episode 11, when he realises just who Donna has met in the pocket universe:
Season 4, ep. 11: Turn Left
You can see the cautious suspicion, at first, that turns into weary hope and doubt. Then, Donna says "Bad Wolf" and his face quickly goes from shock and disbelief, to something I can only describe as a mix of agonizing hope, fear and desperate yearning.
It all ends bittersweet for the full-Time Lord Doctor, when they land in Norway, the second time:
Season 4, ep. 13: Journey's End
He can, yet cannot stay with Rose, after all. This is one of the instances where you can really feel the jealous type of yearning. At first, the Doctor explains to Rose why she has to stay with the Metacrisis-him.[4]
The pain in his eyes, the desire to stand on the other end of the beach, in a blue suit instead of a brown one, is literally etched into his face here, first when he talks to Rose (first row).
The second time when he watches Tentoo offer himself to Rose (second row). He's so torn between being happy that Rose can start over with a version of him that shares her lifespan, and in a resigned kind of pain that this is it.
Later, when Rose asks each of them to finish the sentence, the full-Time Lord Doctor deliberately refuses to say it, and watches Tentoo whisper the words in Rose's ear (third row). Here, you can really just see the pain and jealousy in his eyes.
And when Rose kisses Tentoo, he looks like he's barely holding it together. He wishes so much that it was him, that he can't bear watching them, for more than a few seconds; so, he turns his face away, and bolts.[5]
Tentoo is no better, even though he came to being, less than a few hours ago:
Season 4, ep. 13: Journey's End
Like, do you see the look on his face when he first offers to spend his life with Rose (top row)? He looks so cautiously hopeful, it's just...very sweet, yet heartbreaking.
The same look can be seen when he tells Rose he only has one heart. He's so careful not to show his hope too much, but he can't help but wish for Rose to choose him. I see the look in his eyes, and can't help but think the only thing going through in his mind, in that moment is propably something like "Please, choose me, please stay with me." (Help)
Finally, we see a bit more stoic pain and a bit of dejection when Rose is running as soon as she hears the TARDIS take off, after their kiss. I imagine he's feeling fearful too, since he's unsure whether or not Rose wants to be with him, at all.
Rose is also very torn during this whole scene (as is to be expected). Something that strikes me is the look of yearning on her face when she realises the Metacrisis-Doctor will grow old, same as her. She wants that, a life, not necessarily with "doors and carpets", but where neither has to leave the other because of old age.
At the same time, there's the full-Time Lord Doctor whom she loves very much (they're the same person, after all) and hoped to be with, finally, after all the hard years of seperation. Then, the realisation that this is it, and she'll see one of them never again. It has to be very painful and confusing to lose your love and, at the same time, gain a life with them. (I feel for my gal Rose, here!)
Of course, the only apt way to close this angsty chapter is with ten's bittersweet and painfully tragic final farewell tour, where he saves Rose to last:
Christmas Special: The End of Time (Part II)
His look, particularly when she says maybe it was time to go home, hits hard. Like, he wishes so hard he could go home but he canāt (one, because heās about to regenerate and cease to exist as this version of himself, and two, because Rose isnāt there, anymore).
Thereās this obvious bittersweet pain and longing in his eyes when he predicts "a great year" for Rose. (Again, help)
With this farewell, I conclude the second-ish chapter of my visual guide. Til next time!
[1] There are darker, serious moments, and they are definitely needed since they balance out the joy and light moments and give them more weight by contrast. (This is why I like early New Who. For all it's faults, the light moments truly shone because of the more serious scenes and vice versa.)
[2] Kudos, once again, to Tennant's and Piper's acting, cause you can literally see all of this in their eyes.
[3] You'll note that I have put the jealousy in brackets. This is simply because I had to largely leave it out, because of the sheer amount of material I'm working with, here lol.
[4] Let's be so for real, the "He just commited genocide and is dangerous" thing is the Doctor's bs attempt at sounding reasonable. His metacrisis-self is calling bullshit, so am I. Tentoo is no more dangerous than his full-Time Lord counterpart. This is the Doctor's way of trying to give up Rose for her sake, in the cleanest way he could come up with.
[5] Really, this is one of the most self-less acts the Doctor did. One of the most self-less things anyone can do, really. To put your own desire to be with your love aside, so they can have the best chance to be happy ā that's big.
I don't really understand some claims of the Doctor supposedly having Rose "carted off to the other universe to get rid of her." If that were true, he wouldn't have been so torn up with grief while doing it. The fact that he deliberately saved her as last on his farewell tour before regenerating cements that, more than anything ā except her happiness ā he wanted to be with Rose.
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