This one totally sold me on Donna as well. I liked her irreverent attitude towards the Doctor before, but her actions here were pivotal in showing exactly what a companion should be. She asked the difficult questions (and I don't mean about the English/Latin!). She argued on behalf of the people of Pompeii ("Donna, human, no!"). I loved her line about the fact that she wasn't one of those kids he'd been traveling with, implying she wasn't impressed with him just because. He was going to have to prove his case to her.
That said, she asked for the details... how many people would die at Pompeii, why couldn't the Pyrovilians just go home with all this technology available to them, what they planned to do. This all enabled the Doctor to realize that the decision was to save 20,000 people in Pompeii and have the world destroyed (and all the humans on it... including those he just saved) or set the volcano off, killing those 20,000 people, but saving the rest of the world.
Donna realized the choice and the gravity of having to make such a decision. Then the Doctor told her they likely would not survive their efforts to save the world. "Never mind us," and Donna understood the risks and was willing to give her life to do something important. When the Doctor hesitated, she didn't just use words to encourage him, she physically placed her hands over his and executed the plan right with him. She took on his burdens as hers. Supported him in his decision with action.
Then she made the case that, while the whole town couldn't be saved, perhaps they could save someone. So they did, and the Twelfth Doctor took on the form of the patriarch of the family they saved (my theory on "why this face?").
It took my husband a couple of days to realize exactly what Donna had done for the Doctor. He was too focused on their rapid banter and trying to understand their words instead of their deeds. He finally got it out of the blue ("OMG, I understand what Donna did for him!"), and it blew him away!
Since I never took Latin (French, instead), I wasn't familiar with those characters. It's an interesting use of them, though!
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dancing_serpent
(no subject)
Date: 2015-03-02 02:22 pm (UTC)That said, she asked for the details... how many people would die at Pompeii, why couldn't the Pyrovilians just go home with all this technology available to them, what they planned to do. This all enabled the Doctor to realize that the decision was to save 20,000 people in Pompeii and have the world destroyed (and all the humans on it... including those he just saved) or set the volcano off, killing those 20,000 people, but saving the rest of the world.
Donna realized the choice and the gravity of having to make such a decision. Then the Doctor told her they likely would not survive their efforts to save the world. "Never mind us," and Donna understood the risks and was willing to give her life to do something important. When the Doctor hesitated, she didn't just use words to encourage him, she physically placed her hands over his and executed the plan right with him. She took on his burdens as hers. Supported him in his decision with action.
Then she made the case that, while the whole town couldn't be saved, perhaps they could save someone. So they did, and the Twelfth Doctor took on the form of the patriarch of the family they saved (my theory on "why this face?").
It took my husband a couple of days to realize exactly what Donna had done for the Doctor. He was too focused on their rapid banter and trying to understand their words instead of their deeds. He finally got it out of the blue ("OMG, I understand what Donna did for him!"), and it blew him away!
Since I never took Latin (French, instead), I wasn't familiar with those characters. It's an interesting use of them, though!