Doomsday is about the end of a world. Not a physical world, as such, but a more personal world. It is the story of the end of the world of the Doctor and Rose.
As I mentioned yesterday, it's clear that the Doctor has been a massive influence on Rose, perhaps for the worse. And we see that so strongly here, in the opening scenes as Rose encounters the Daleks, not with a feeling of fear or awe, but instead smugness. She gloats about how she destroyed the Emperor Dalek, and how the Doctor is going to destroy every last one of them. And it's becoming more and more apparent that this is affecting her relationships with the people that she loves. Her own mother is distraught when Rose proudly declares that she's going to stay with the Doctor forever and this is rendered in the heartbreaking scene as Rose is sent off to the parallel world against her will by the Doctor, a decision made in the best intentions, but one which she rejects, jumping back to be with the Doctor, because she loves him.
And this leaves the Doctor with a dilemma. On the one hand, he has just been given the opportunity to send Rose away, let her live without his influence acting upon her; let her be safe from all of the horrors of the Universe; let her have a family. But he can't stay angry because of the energy that she brings him. Because he loves her too, and she's been a bad influence on him, but he hasn't wanted to admit it. But, in the briefest of moments, you get the sense that he's preparing himself for life with Rose for the rest of her life, as they get ready to save the Universe.
But it's clear that this will not last, and a series of events conspire to send her back to the parallel universe for good. And, to be honest, this is one of the best things that happens to Rose all series. We see her raw emotion, and all of the subtext of the series comes flowing out. We realise just how much the Doctor means to Rose, and just how much she loves him. And the story concludes with the Doctor meeting Rose on a beach, and they have a talk about what's happened. And she cries that she loves him, and he gets cut off before he can return the affection. It's the real tragic moment of this story, that we see two people fall in love before our eyes, and then they get cut off just as they begin to realise it. Even Romeo and Juliet were allowed some time to
And whilst I may disagree with the length of time over which this story arc is continued, and whilst I may have disliked the relationship between the Doctor and Rose as it developed over the past series, there is no denying that this is a powerful piece of television. And besides that, Daleks fight Cybermen in it, which, to be perfectly frank, is amazing.
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