I've had a lot of problems with Russell Davies throughout this series. He writes with all the subtlety of a sledgehammer, he can't develop characters and plot at the same time, he doesn't bother to develop characters beyond the Doctor and Rose (and even the Doctor is often left to Christopher Eccleston to flesh out), he appears to appreciate the old series primarily as camp. All of these failings and more have corrupted much of his writing on the new Who, turning often promising concepts into disappointing episodes. With "Parting of the Ways," however, I was anticipating something different: how could anyone dissapoint on a massive, (relatively) big budget Dalek invasion? Well, Mr. Davies somehow lowers himself to the occasion.
The high point of the episode is unquestionably the Daleks themselves, particularly their new role as religious zealots. The notion that human-derived Daleks, now seeing themselves as corrupt, impure, and "fallen," would worship the Dalek Emperor as the last pure creature in existence out of their own self-loathing, is a fascinating one, and one that deserved to be explored further. There is a powerful connection between the appeal of God and the religious revulsion towards impurity and "sin," and a closer examination of this Dalek religion could have made for excellent, intelligent, germane social commentary, and finally expanded Daleks beyond their role as 1960s Nazi analogues. Davies has little time to do this in 45 minutes, however, and spends much of that time setting up its bewildering resolution.
It's rather tragic that the episode falls apart at its ending, because it's the ending that needs to accomplish so much. It needs to wrap up the Dalek 2-parter, provide a sense of closure to the Time War, explain the "Bad Wolf," and bring a satisfactory close to Christopher Eccleston's run as the Doctor. Does it do all this? Yes. Does it do this satisfactorily, acting as a real payoff to the series? Not hardly.
The use of a deus ex machina is always somewhat feeble - it cheapens the story and short-circuits the drama by breaking suspension of disbelief - but Davies's particular choice of plot device is beyond disappointing. The notion that anyone can crack open the Tardis, take a gander inside, and become omnipotent for a couple minutes would be absurd even if this exact same plot device hadn't been used two weeks prior in "Boom Town." Why, exactly, does the Doctor even bother setting up his delta wave weapon, risking the eradication of everyone on Earth, if he knows that a simple dip in the Tardis would let him selectively obliterate the Daleks? It would kill him, sure, but apparently so would his delta wave stunt, seeing as he'd sent away the Tardis and hadn't planned to survive. In fact, there's reason to believe the Doctor could've done a better job wielding the suddenly godlike powers of the Tardis than Rose; she brought Captain Jack back to life, and maybe the rest who were exterminated on the station, but the Doctor might've been able to bring back the Time Lords if he'd thought about it, or anyone else wiped out by the Daleks. In fact, if he's feeling generous, he could burn another regeneration to do that right now. Why not? It would be limp and undramatic, but who needs good writing when you've got God in a box?
The resolution of the Bad Wolf arc is so slapdash one can only come to the conclusion that the Bad Wolf references were inserted into the series long before Davies knew what they were supposed to mean. Many of the references make no sense now in retrospect - how are the trapped aliens in "End of the World" facing "the classic bad wolf scenario"? is Gwyneth from "The Unquiet Dead" meant to be terrified at a future Rose? - and even the very notion of Rose using "Bad Wolf" as a message to warn herself is just plain silly. With the power of a god, couldn't she have come up with something simpler to understand than the repetition of an ambiguous two-word phrase? A telegram would've been more sensible: "Dear Rose, please knock open the Tardis console and go back to the future. Love, Rose."
This is presumably the last we see of the Daleks, and therefore the last we see of the Time War, which has so dominated and influenced this series. You'd hardly know it, though, watching this episode. The Doctor mentions how his people died for nothing, and it's true - as long as the Daleks exist, the destruction of Gallifrey seems like a sad, cruel joke. But we don't get to really feel the Doctor's reaction to this, or see him confront and deal with the shellshock that's defined his character. What a missed opportunity! So much of Eccleston's Doctor has been marked by a dark, vindictive, tortured streak that dates back directly to the Dalek extermination of his people. There's more at stake here than just an invasion of Earth; this is his chance to do for Earth what he couldn't do for Gallifrey, to save and preserve instead of simply exacting revenge. But that never comes across in this script, and the episode is much poorer for it.
Even the regeneration sequence feels clumsy. Too much time and conversation passes between the Doctor "kissing" the deadly energy out Rose (I let this pass without comment) and between the time when it becomes clear - visually and dramatically - that he's dying. In fact, the effect of showing the energy flowing *out* of the Doctor and back into the Tardis accomplishes just the opposite, suggesting that the Doctor has safely removed the threat. This may have been intentional - Davies opting for a dramatic fake-out - but if so, it was a huge miscalculation, producing an awkward disconnect between the event that kills the Doctor and his actual death. As a viewer, I'm dramatically invested in the destruction of the Daleks, the threat to Rose, and the Doctor's sacrifice; when that moment passes, the tension is dispersed, and asking me to take it up again after listening to some joke about dogs in Barcelona is a bit much..
This episode was not all disappointments and weak endings, certainly. The Daleks are suitably frightening again, although not the terrifyingly cold-blooded masterminds portrayed in "Dalek." Sending Rose back home to London and telling her to leave the Tardis to gather dust was a nice touch. Even the Mickey and Jackie appearance was handled well: a pity this is the fourth goodbye we've said to these characters; if they'd been previously handled with any restraint, the sight of Rose leaving her family for the Doctor would've had some emotional impact. The action sequences are nicely paced and dramatic, although an opportunity was missed to make this more horrific; with an unstoppable army of Daleks marching up a closed space station and dealing out slow methodical death to everyone they meet, a feeling of true claustrophobia and inevitability could've added to the menace.
On the acting: Billie Piper does an excellent job with the script she's been given, especially in the back-in-London sequence, although it's easy to see how she could be flummoxed by her awkwardly-scripted turn as a Suddenly-Glowing Omnipotent Plot Device. John Barrowman finally comes into his own in this episode, shining with just the right combination of smarm, heroism, and desperation, a shame considering that his character is unceremoniously ditched at the close of the episode. Eccleston rises above the script's failings, and made me wish once again that he had been in a series helmed by a writer willing to make the best use of his talents. I want to get behind his Doctor's last lines - "You were fantastic... and so was I" - because Chris *was* fantastic. But like Colin Baker before him, his talent was held back by weak writing and a limp direction, and the potential far outstripped the real. Here's hoping David Tennant gets a better shot.
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