Spoilery thoughts on "Absolution", the morning after

[eponymous_rose]

"Absolution" had some very good ideas buried away in there somewhere, but the primary problem was that we all sort of knew what was coming (well, right up until the ending). It took a lot of the potential impact out of the narration, and it could've done with more surprises. The first episode in particular seemed to be paced a bit on the slow side.

Interesting thought - C'rizz was all about "saving" people by killing them (over-simplification, hooray!). In the end, that's precisely what happened to his character: he was redeemed/absolved by being killed off. (In theory, at least. It still feels like there were some holes in the whole thing, but I'd need to listen to it again without having been awake for twenty-four hours to truly appreciate it.)

A bit of weak writing, here and there. "Do you think gravity can stop me, Doctor?" had me giggling at an inopportune moment. Messing around with the TARDIS was creepy, but seemed a bit unnecessary (but of course, it was implied that she was just being "melodramatic", which is exactly the sort of self-referential thingummy I enjoy). Overall, though, it seemed pretty competent. No big, shocking moments (apart from the ending, of course!) - it had a certain relentless energy.

Ah, yes. The ending.

That's the sort of thing I don't envy the writer/director/actors having to cope with. It's such a huge, lumbering shock!ending that's arguably so entirely out-of-character that it's in danger of becoming ridiculous. And they've got to sell it, to pull it off so that it seems completely believable.

(And it's not the first time they've had to deal with this in the Eighth Doctor's arc, either!)

I think they did a fairly good job with it - it definitely shocks and all that - but it did feel a bit like a random tangent. That is, of course, because the emotional core of the story was C'rizz - "Absolution" delivers exactly what it says on the tin and doesn't pull any punches where he's concerned. And this is perhaps at the cost of some interesting development of both Charley and the Doctor - the former spends most of the episode distraught and the latter spends it aloof before the whole shockingly, strangely cheerful thing.

Through the whole story, even when C'rizz is dying, there's this distance between him and the other two. (He threatens them (well, offers to "save" them), but doesn't actually wind up doing anything to them.) It's a physical distance, a mental distance, and it becomes a psychological one. There's a bit of foreshadowing of the ending there. (And think of the Doctor's little speech to Charley on the good things that happen by accident: "I met you by accident!" Foreshadowing again?)

I can appreciate that there's a bit of meta involved - I get the impression that, especially at the start, C'rizz was a wee bit unpopular for becoming the third wheel in the Doctor-Charley dynamic. And so the Doctor's whole "back to the way it was" slip-up maybe hits a bit close to home. But it felt gimmicky - there was no depth to it. Who can blame Charley for getting angry?

(Another little note - Charley really didn't have much to do in this story besides react, did she?)

Overall, I feel like I should've been more impressed with the ending than I was - I love that sort of thing, the portrayal of the Doctor as inexpressibly and sometimes cruelly alien - but it didn't seem to be properly set up. It was a bit of an emotional sucker-punch after such a buildup - and yes, that's partly what it's meant to be, but it didn't carry the same weight it should've. Maybe they could've emphasized (more than they did, anyway) that C'rizz was the Doctor's last tie to the Divergence universe, and to all the painful associations and memories associated with that. (Sort of like the Tenth Doctor avoiding Jack for being, temporally speaking, "wrong".) It seems like a more plausible explanation than the whole wanting-to-hang-out-with-Charley-undisturbed thing. A bit more melodrama, perhaps, would've emphasized the way the Doctor's really just trying to cling to the familiar now he's back in his own universe.

There were definitely moments of closeness between the Doctor and C'rizz in earlier audios ("Caerdroia" being a prime example) - it wasn't all antagonism or, worse, indifference. We need a better explanation for this sudden cavalier attitude - and I hope that's what the next audio will retcon supply.

Bit of a disappointing swansong for C'rizz, really, but I'm still looking forward (with, y'know, anxious anticipation) to "The Girl Who Never Was". It should have plenty of opportunities to tie up the emotional loose ends of this one - let's hope they take a few of these chances!

Comments

[amaresu]

Here via who_daily.

Just finished listening and I'm really hoping that the Doctor's cavalier attitude is explain due to divergent universe issues. I refuse to believe that the Doctor didn't care about C'rizz. So yes.

*goes off to cry some more*

[eponymous-rose.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I'd welcome a better explanation, too! It just kinda popped out of nowhere. And not in a good way, either.

Aww, C'rizz... I always kinda felt like his story arcs weren't quite as amazingly awesome as they could've been (and this is coming from a rabid fan who'll re-listen to the audios a ridiculous number of times). Poor guy.

[amaresu]

They have to give a better explanation. Something other than the Doctor is an alien.

I've rather wished for a more indepth look at his storyline, this wasn't quite what I was looking for though. He's been my lovable little psychopath and it just seemed a bit too weird for his character. Not for the Church of the Foundation admittedly, but for the character if that makes sense. I really wanna go listen to Caedroia (I can't spell that thing) for the cow and the garden. The only reason I'd listen to Memory Lane again would be for C'rizz.

[eponymous-rose.livejournal.com]

I tend to keep Caerdroia on hand when I'm listening to anything that's potentially on the tissue-worthy side. ;) Never fails to cheer me up!

[amaresu]

It's one that I avoid listening to in public after the first time. People look at you funny for laughing to yourself on the bus for some reason. I don't know why...

[eponymous-rose.livejournal.com]

Hee, yes! The first few times I listened to it, I was always at work, hoping the people on the other side of my office wouldn't be too concerned by all the insane laughter. ;)

It's the same sort of luck that applied to "Scherzo" - every time they came to, uh, their food source, I'd just taken a big bite out of my sandwich. *winces* I seem to have excellent timing with these things!

[amaresu]

I was listening to Bang-bang-a-boom (don't know if you listen to the Seventh Doctor stuff too) but I got to one part where I was laughing so hard I almost had to let the bus go by and wait for the next one. It was close.

I would hate to have been eating when listening to Scherzo. That would have been bad.

[eponymous-rose.livejournal.com]

Hee! Yup, I'm a fan of the Seventh Doctor audios as well - heck, I'm a fan of all of them. :D (Still catching up on Five's, though.)

I think the one that would probably be the most hazardous to listen to in public is "The One Doctor". Even having listened to it a couple of times, I have to pause that one to allow for moments of uncontrollable giggles.

Mind you, it's not like I'm particularly good at keeping a straight face as a general rule. In an electronics lab last week, I burst out laughing when my instructor reminded us to "reverse the polarity". Said instructor was mildly put out and demanded an explanation, which meant that I had to make up a story about ammeters and things. Not pretty.

[amaresu]

The One Doctor was the first one I ever listened to and I'd only ever seen S1 and parts of S2 of New Who. I was a tad confused to say the least. But it is fantastic. That's one I need to relisten to now that I know who the characters are and I can get all of the jokes.

"Reverse the polarity" I'm laughing about that here.

I love Five. I really should give the Nyssa ones a try again.

[eponymous-rose.livejournal.com]

"The One Doctor" was my introduction to Six - I'd never seen any of his episodes before listening to it. (Actually, Eight was the other Doctor I first experienced through Big Finish. Neat!)

I've been skipping over the Nyssa episodes with the intention of coming back to them once I've caught up on Peri and Erimem.

Also - mind if I friend you? It's extremely nice to have fellow Big Finish fans on the f-list - then I don't feel so bad about my random ramblings. ;)

[amaresu]

Six comes off a lot better in the audios. They expand his character so much more and let his other traits come forward. Also there is Evelyn.

Nyssa seems to be hit or miss. I think part of my problem is that I don't much like her to begin with. Spare Parts and The Game are fantastic though. I enjoyed them. The only other Nyssa one I've gotten through is Winter for the Adept and that was due to India Fisher and being stuck on a bus.

Yay friends! Go right ahead.

[eponymous-rose.livejournal.com]

Yay friends!

The writing seems to be considerably better for Six in the audios (in that he actually has a personality trait beyond "loud"). Also, as you said, Evelyn!

I listened to "Winter for the Adept" and was very proud of myself for picking out India Fisher right away. I'll definitely keep plugging away at these, though - it's nice to know the best is still to come!

I've never been able to listen to audios on a bus - it always seems to be too loud for me to hear anything (and I'm the sort of person who likes to hear everything). So it's either at work, at lunch, or at home!

[amaresu]

I had to double check to make sure that it was her. I was happy to be proved right though.

Big Finish took the opportunity presented by the audios for Six and ran with it. Which makes me happy. Six is one of my favorite Doctors because of them.

I can't read in a moving vehicle and I'm just not that interested in music so finding the audios really saved my sanity on my daily commute. I go through them rather ridiculously fast, but that's okay.

[elliptic-eye.livejournal.com]

In an electronics lab last week, I burst out laughing when my instructor reminded us to "reverse the polarity". Said instructor was mildly put out and demanded an explanation, which meant that I had to make up a story about ammeters and things. Not pretty.

:D I think if one of my tutors had ever said something like that and didn't take kindly to laughter, I'd have ended up getting kicked out of the class.

[eponymous-rose.livejournal.com]

He said it so dramatically, too!

Fortunately, this guy's pretty awesome - he just retaliated by mocking my mad wiring skillz. Phew.

[sunnytyler001.livejournal.com]

"but I'm still looking forward (with, y'know, anxious anticipation) to "The Girl Who Never Was". "

Does anyone can tell me what happened to Charley in "the girl who never was"?