Lance’s Betrayal and Donna in Series Four
May. 10th, 2008 01:03 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
meddowOne thing that so far has disappointed me about Donna in Series four is that at no point have we ever had a mention of Lance by Donna. The wedding itself has been mentioned twice, once by Wilf, another time by Sylvia, but again, never by Donna and also, never by the Doctor. He doesn’t ask.
Obviously Donna doesn’t need to talk about what happened, the Doctor was witness (although it could be an amusing scene having Donna discussing her disastrous wedding with the soon-to-be-married Martha). But I want to know whether Lance isn’t discussed because Donna and the Doctor don’t have to talk about him, or because Donna doesn’t talk about it and the Doctor’s being sensitive about the matter.
Also, exactly how much about Lance’s betrayal do Donna’s family know about? She wouldn’t be able to bring up the fact he was eaten by giant spiders, but was she able to hint without specifics that he was an evil bastard who betrayed her before he died. I don’t think Donna’s got it in her to tell Lance’s parents what kind of person their dead son was even if they did believe her. And if she could not tell anyone, and she was left with everyone trying to understand and assuming things about her grief, how does that affect a person?
But I’m interested in this because of the nature of how Donna was wronged: it wasn’t just a betrayal, it was systematic murder. The first time Lance and Donna interacted, he was made her coffee. So he purposely picked her out and targeted her and went along with it for six months, all the while she trusted and loved him. Lance would have decided that Donna – the big-hearted, funny, ballsy and vulnerable Donna that we all adore – was worthless, so much so that she did not deserve to live. It’s utterly horrific what he did.
It’s one of the brilliant things about Donna. She only met the Doctor because some arsehole HR executive found her life and Donna herself completely without value, but this person who has no particular special skills or talents is the not just a friend of the Doctor – a person whom we are repeatedly being told is a god – but his equal.
I suppose you could argue that it’s one of the reasons why Donna gets so upset and sympathises so much with the innocent victims she’s meets on her travels since she’s been there herself. She is quite aware of this fact, she did mention it when discussing saving the people of Pompeii. Or that it’s one of the reasons why the Doctor has opened up to Donna much more than he has opened up to Martha and Rose. He did witness what was possibly the worst moment in Donna’s life. But they’ve never dealt with it directly and I really hope at some point it is dealt with. There is some wonderful Donna stuff that could be explored, but so far hasn’t been.
Obviously Donna doesn’t need to talk about what happened, the Doctor was witness (although it could be an amusing scene having Donna discussing her disastrous wedding with the soon-to-be-married Martha). But I want to know whether Lance isn’t discussed because Donna and the Doctor don’t have to talk about him, or because Donna doesn’t talk about it and the Doctor’s being sensitive about the matter.
Also, exactly how much about Lance’s betrayal do Donna’s family know about? She wouldn’t be able to bring up the fact he was eaten by giant spiders, but was she able to hint without specifics that he was an evil bastard who betrayed her before he died. I don’t think Donna’s got it in her to tell Lance’s parents what kind of person their dead son was even if they did believe her. And if she could not tell anyone, and she was left with everyone trying to understand and assuming things about her grief, how does that affect a person?
But I’m interested in this because of the nature of how Donna was wronged: it wasn’t just a betrayal, it was systematic murder. The first time Lance and Donna interacted, he was made her coffee. So he purposely picked her out and targeted her and went along with it for six months, all the while she trusted and loved him. Lance would have decided that Donna – the big-hearted, funny, ballsy and vulnerable Donna that we all adore – was worthless, so much so that she did not deserve to live. It’s utterly horrific what he did.
It’s one of the brilliant things about Donna. She only met the Doctor because some arsehole HR executive found her life and Donna herself completely without value, but this person who has no particular special skills or talents is the not just a friend of the Doctor – a person whom we are repeatedly being told is a god – but his equal.
I suppose you could argue that it’s one of the reasons why Donna gets so upset and sympathises so much with the innocent victims she’s meets on her travels since she’s been there herself. She is quite aware of this fact, she did mention it when discussing saving the people of Pompeii. Or that it’s one of the reasons why the Doctor has opened up to Donna much more than he has opened up to Martha and Rose. He did witness what was possibly the worst moment in Donna’s life. But they’ve never dealt with it directly and I really hope at some point it is dealt with. There is some wonderful Donna stuff that could be explored, but so far hasn’t been.
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no subject
Date: 2008-05-10 01:23 am (UTC)That's what I assume it is. What I wish they'd bring up is where her dad went. In combination, the whole Lance fiasco and subsequent ending up trapped back at home in the middle of her life with that mother and her dad apparently dying on top of it explains Partners in Crime to me. It's not just vaguely appearing wanderlust and omg-the-Doctor-is-GLORIOUS that inspired her. She refused him due to her keen awareness (one that we've seen again) of the horrors of the universe, but subsequently the hugely, inordinately crappy things in her life started to pile up and the more she thought about them the more she started to go OH MY GOD HOLY SHIT GET ME OUT OF HERE GET ME OUT GET ME OUT GET ME OUT. And that's what she was thinking when she started compulsively seeking out the Doctor. Nothing else to hang onto -- everything else had fallen apart -- so she started to think about the beauties despite the horrors and clung to that chance.
It'd be pretty cool if we could get a stronger sense of the things that drove her to overhaul her life, but...well, apparently I've already got it figured out. XD
no subject
Date: 2008-05-10 01:42 am (UTC)"He died. This time last year."
"I'm sorry. Did you get to say goodbye?"
"Yeah. It wasn't unexpected or sudden, he was sick. And Mum's got Gramps. So do I."
That is all I need.
no subject
Date: 2008-05-10 05:56 am (UTC)That is what I'd assume it was. We all know Ten is prone to put his foot in it, but the thing was Lance was kind of so epic that even he should know to keep his trap shut. After all, if Donna was your friend, would you be mentioning it to her? I sure wouldn't unless she mentioned it first.
But once again, you've done such a great job on summing the situation up. I love your mini metas. They make far more sense than the majority of what the fandom puts out.
no subject
Date: 2008-05-10 07:28 am (UTC)I'm rather amazed at just how long Ten has managed to go without putting his foot in his mouth about it. He's made real progress since his insensitivity to Martha's crush. I really want him to accidentally bring it up, particularly if it's in an argument, just to see the reaction each has.
no subject
Date: 2008-05-10 03:21 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-05-10 09:42 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-05-10 10:04 am (UTC)