remindmeofthe | (no subject)

See, the problem with being forced to acknowledge and get angry over how explicitly problematic Doctor Who is becoming this series is that now I can't stop.

On the other hand, at least the Shining icon is extra appropriate this week.

Oh, look, the amazingly awesome woman of color didn't survive her appearance on the show. What a surprise. I don't know if the writer thought he was being funny by telegraphing her death with the Doctor's offer of taking her on as a companion, but he wasn't. Just to be clear. Also, as

erinpuff pointed out, having the woman of Asian origin's worst fear being berated by her father over her grades? Also not funny.

Bonus grossness: She was a Muslim who died because of the depth and sincerity of her faith. Really? Nobody looked at that and said, "Hey, that's a little awkward, maybe we could not do that"? Of course they didn't. Why do I have expectations?

In other news, Amy has clearly been replaced by a ganger again, this one of decidedly less sophistication. Fuck if I know how else to explain where her personality went or why the sole purpose of her existence in the last three episodes is to prop up the Doctor and Rory.

Or, apparently, to physically abuse Rory, as explicitly referenced for the sake of a punchline (if you'll pardon the pun, sorry) not once, but twice. Spousal abuse is hilarious when it's the woman beating the man! Because women should be weak and men should be strong! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA FUCK THIS SHOW SO MUCH GODDAMMIT.

I feel nothing about the Doctor taking them home. I feel no excitement at all about the impending finale that should provide resolution for the mysteries Moffat has been building for so long. I realized yesterday while looking at my amazing poster that I no longer care why the TARDIS blew up. I've never had such a sense of disillusionment with a show I've loved for years build up so quickly, but here it is. Moffat clearly has no plans to stop being gross, probably doesn't even know that he's being gross, and I'm just frustrated and exhausted by it. I should be dreading the fact that there are only two episodes left, but instead I'm relieved. Any more than two episodes and there would be a genuine danger of having my love for this show broken permanently.

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I didn't even see the room as a jab at him; to me it was just more gender fuckery (in this instance, I read it as resentment that his nerdiness precluded him from being "entitled" to female adoration).

I saw it as a combination of both, really, or rather--it's a stereotype presented up-front without comment, which means a bunch of offensive shit all tied up with a hot-pink ribbon. It's a stereotype that ultimately dehumanizes both nerdy guys and popular girls and reduces them to ugly caricatures, which is why I appreciated that it was eventually subverted or at least fleshed out.

But then I do have some faith in Moffat left, because I suspect the way this episode works is the same way the season works as a whole: set up a condition or relationship or character trait that is pretty disturbing when you look at it properly, start it out innocuous and let it fly under the radar, let it build and play it straight until the audience starts to notice and worry, then bring it crashing down in flames. He's already doing it explicitly with Eleven's hubris and namedropping tendencies, the gears are setting in motion for his tendency to handpick companions who need him and adore him and don't question him in the ways that hurt (and to be standoffish with companions who don't fit that mold), and I dearly hope that "Time can be rewritten" is next up on the chopping block. That, and some consequences for his lack of attention to the baby-Melody situation.

And the fact that these are all slightly-mutated holdovers from RTD era or plot gimmicks that could potentially cheapen the narrative make me hopeful that he is building them up so that he can put an end to them. A nice, satisfying, slap-banging sense of closure complete with fireworks show, the kind I expected after Waters of Mars and didn't get.

Yeah, I do like the direction Moffat is taking in a meta sense. He's a good storyteller, even if his stories don't always hold together under close examination, because he knows how to appeal to instinct and emotion and push the "FUCK YEAH" button.

I really wish I could believe that the overwhelming "woman as object" theme in this season was part of that, especially in regards to Amy. If it all did turn out to be a buildup to some kind of explosive subversion, I would fall in love with this show all over again. But the thing is, I'm a Moffat veteran. I knew him first as the creator of Coupling, which was one of my favorite shows for a long time. In retrospect, though, I'm realizing how much that show hangs on and revels in gender stereotypes, to the point where I don't think I should ever watch it again if I want to hold on to any of my love for it. Moffat sucks at gender issues and I am not at all convinced that he even realizes how creepy Amy's story arc this season has been, or how shatteringly depressing it is to reveal that an amazing woman like River Song (who has done so many things that are usually reserved for male characters) quite literally exists because of and predicates her entire life on the Doctor.

I think we'll see some good stuff from him on the themes you talked about, but I don't think he'll expand that to include the gender issues. If anything, I anticipate his making them worse.