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Date Posted: 13:54:28 07/01/07 Sun
Author: Celebaelin
Subject: Spoilery subtext exploration
In reply to: Celebaelin 's message, "Episode 3.13: Last of the Time Lords *No Spoilers*" on 13:53:20 07/01/07 Sun

Right then, here’s the totally spoilery analysis based on the second viewing that’s just finished on BBC3.

Let’s start with Lucy shall we? Like Lumpo31 once we had the reveal about The Master not being dead (not a [i]massive[/i] surprise) I suspected that Lucy had been acting as a sort of backup copy of The Master’s persona and there’s plenty of evidence to back that up if you’re looking for it:

When The Master exposes The Doctor to the full burden of his 900 years and the latter’s body seemingly disappears Obi Wan like leaving his clothes behind The Master looks at Lucy; why? What possible help or clue could she give him?

Lucy follows The Master about whenever possible and in one scene seems barely able to stand without him.

The captured Toclafane says that they share each others’ memories explaining why it knew Martha but it also says that they kill humans “Because it’s fun.” This isn’t a normal human attitude so far as I know [b]BUT[/b] it [i]is[/i] The Master’s attitude. The Master tells us in the very next scene that he took Lucy to Utopia. That scene incidentally contains Lucy’s only dialogue of the entire episode – one line telling The Doctor about how godawful Utopia was.

(Yes, I took notes. [i]What?[/i])

From this I’m guessing that the Toclaphane, Lucy and The Master all entered into some sort of communal mind in Utopia. The Master’s mind, being strongest, dominated but when The Master and Lucy are left on Earth after the Toclaphane are sent back to the end of the Universe The Master’s mind is shared between his body and Lucy’s. When his body dies rather than regenerating The Master’s mind inhabits Lucy’s body exclusively leaving her to pick up The Master’s ring. This is done in true style, nail varnish and all, with the new version of Doctor Who borrowing from the [i]Flash Gordon[/i] movie just as the original portrayals of The Master borrowed from comic book and Buster Crabbe era [i]Flash Gordon[/i] portrayals of Ming. Are we to expect a return to the camp Master? Will The Master be wearing flashy red robes for good reason I wonder. This would certainly fit in with my suggestion that this regeneration of The Master is one earlier than some that we have seen, possibly earlier than Roger Delgado or Eric Roberts.

[img]http://img.search.com/thumb/3/32/Robertsmaster.JPG/200px-Robertsmaster.JPG[/img]

This also leads to a bit of kinkiness when The Master is choosing his masseuse and suggests that having Lucy join them might be ‘interesting’.

More evidence for this train of thought can be found:

Lucy shrugs resignedly before joining in with the rest of the ‘human’ race in saying “Doctor”.

Just before he expires The Master asks “The Drumming; will it stop?” (For in that sleep of death what dreams may come) and this is all the more pertinent if this death is more of a mind transference. Physical death but not mental death occurs, do the maddening drums persist – evidently so!

The Master has certainly transferred his mind into another (non Time Lord) body before but this was [b]after[/b] his thirteenth regeneration when he became the Anthony Ainley version by inhabiting the body of Tremas (anagram of Master).

Nearly done with The Lucy Master now but a question spring unbidden into my mind, will the new form taken by The Master be able to regenerate assuming it’s not his thirteenth regeneration yet would it? If not this Master comes [i]somewhere[/i] between Delgado and Roberts.

Just a couple of other little bits which I think are worthy of comment

In the television broadcast The Master starts out by greeting “My people” and talks of “the eve of war, lovely woman.” Whilst this may be external to the plot as such and intended primarily for the viewer it is interesting that Professor Docherty, the one woman we know of who has a functional television on which to watch him, is indeed one of his people and he might well think her a lovely woman. He might even be right about that if Martha’s final scene with her is anything to go by. There’s a couple of words missing to complete the gag and make it hold together of course “the eve of war, [i](have you met Eve?)[/i] Lovely woman.”

Milligan (who shall henceforth be known as Flasheart) is [b]not dead[/b] even in the future (tell the King to stop blubbing). The Master says when he is about to off Martha that it will be his first blood and he didn’t want to kill her without The Doctor being there to supervise it so I surmise that it wasn’t his intention to kill there and then and thus Milligan is still alive. Or would be alive still if that future still existed, which it doesn’t. That scene didn’t play particularly well IMO, it’s an unnecessary complication that looks forced ultimately.

The human race is degenerate. Well, erm, irrespective of your actual opinion on this the show has something more of an optimistic view. Without The Master’s corrupting influence humans are not monsters; even the Toclafane, running blindly from the end of all existence, are malign only because of The Master’s influence and the humans of our time prove to be not only their own salvation but that of The Doctor and the Toclafane as well.

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