Doctor Who
word of advice : spoilers ahead for Doctor Who 60th day of remembrance special " The Star Beast . "
Summary
The first ofDoctor Who ’s 60th anniversary special tackle the job of Donna Noble ’s deep in thought memory , and reveals a secret about her daughter , but in typicalDoctor Whofashion , neither is aboveboard . WhenCatherine Tate leftDoctor Whoin 2008 , Donna Noble start out the TARDIS under a cloud of calamity . Upon flux with theTenth Doctor ’s regenerationenergy , Donna ’s mind overloaded . The only elbow room to preserve her was repress all memories Donna had of space , alien , and the TARDIS . Remembering them would lead in Donna ’s death , but with Tate and David Tennant both returning forDoctor Who ’s sixtieth day of remembrance specials , a more permanent root attend inevitable .
" The Star Beast " delivers exactly that . By the timeDoctor Who ’s first sixtieth day of remembrance exceptional rolls its remainder credits , Donna ’s memories have been fully restore , and the imminent terror of her demise removed . Moreover , Donna no longer possesses the Time Lord energy from David Tennant ’s cut off hand . The solution rests heavily upon Rose Noble , Donna ’s teenage girl . In a timey - wimey whirlwind of scientific waffle , wordy exposition , and trans symbolism , Doctor Whofixes the issue of Donna ’s memory once and for all .
Related : medico Who time of year 14 Cast Guide : Every New & Returning Character
What Happened To Donna After Her Doctor Who Exit
Donna Noble was last seen in David Tennant’sDoctor Whoregeneration instalment , " The End of Time . " As the Doctor watched her marry archetypal " normal fellow " Shaun , the enigmatic Gallifreyan shake off by a lottery ticket as a wedding gift , guarantee the baronial class ’s fiscal future . Donna and Shaun used this money to purchase a mansion , but Donna insisted on giving the remainder to charity . This extreme turn of generosity was due to the"Doctor " side of Donna snarf out .
Under normal circumstances , Donna would have preserve the money - most of it , at least - for her own family . This is why the Fourteenth Doctor roleplay so surprised upon learning otherwise , and why Donna is so harassed at herself upon regaining her old memory . Because a obscure part of Donna carried the Doctor ’s selflessness , however , she was compel to do what the Doctor would have done without really knowing why in the moment .
15 years have pass on since Donna left the TARDIS , which means she must have fallen pregnant with Rose around the same time she splice Shaun , judging by the youngster ’s years . The ternary have been last as a regular family ever since , with Donna ’s mother , Sylvia , a frequent visitor , and Wilfred , Donna ’s grandfather , moving into a plush assist support home at UNIT ’s expense . Since both Shaun and Rose seem oblivious , only Sylvia and Wilf know thetruth about Donna and the Doctor . They convince her that allmemory loss was due to some mental wellness crisis , but Donna never shook the sensation that something had been stolen from her during this blank period .
How Donna Survives Remembering The Doctor
As expected , the coming together of the Fourteenth Doctor and Donna Noble inDoctor Who ’s 60th anniversary specials results in Donna ’s memory gradually creeping back . Sylvia can not help but notice when her daughter instinctively calls the mysterious stranger " Doctor , " despite the Time Lord deliberately not enter himself . The dam is fully open up when the Meep leave the Doctor no option but to call upon Donna ’s Time Lord tidings to economize London from catastrophe . Counter to the Tenth Doctor ’s ominous prediction from " Journey ’s End , " the comeback of Donna ’s Time Lord cognition does not result in her death .
This is entirely thanks to the miracle of childbirth . The 10th Doctor repressed Donna ’s memories because the Time Lord energy she absorbed was too herculean for a one human mind to wield , but upon falling meaning with Rose , one human mind became two . Donna ’s inner Time Lord by nature divided between mother and child , part the energy into two achievable chunks that would not like a shot defeat a regular man . When the Fourteenth Doctor awakens Donna ’s hidden memories , therefore , she merely falls unconscious for a mo . Had Donna remained youngster - loose during the 15 years since leaving the TARDIS , she would have died on the floor of the Meep ’s ship .
Rose’s Connection To Doctor Who’s Metacrisis Explained
Inheriting one-half of her mother ’s Time Lord energy entail Rose Noble herself became a hybrid of human and Gallifreyan , with the latter one-half hide beneath the control surface , just like her female parent . Similar to Donna giving away her drawing win , Rose ’s internal Time Lord evidence in various elusive style . Her shed shop portion out a vague resemblance to the TARDIS , the name " Rose " was chosen in honor of Billie Tyler ’s character , and the toy she sold online were cuter version of monsters Donna and the Tenth Doctor face , from Adipose to the Daleks . InDoctor Who ’s 60th anniversary peculiar , Donna and the Doctor also surmise that Rose identify as non - binary is " because the Doctor ’s male and female . "
Rose ’s Time Lord half is only unbolted after her mother ’s is unleashed first . Once the Fourteenth Doctor breaks the seal on Donna ’s mind , Rose undergoes the same process , gaining an identical level of extraordinary , otherworldly word , as well as Doctor - Donna ’s vast cognition of time and space . This is why Rose all of a sudden hump how to commandeer the Meep ’s control condition panel and remove the psychedelic sun rays from the possessed UNIT soldiers , revert them back to their usual selves .
Doctor Whomakes no attempt to obscure its commentary on trans right . Rose ’s gender is present as something to be celebrated - a beautiful and unique part of her that derives from the unspoiled deeds Donna and the Doctor did together , and that in the end contributes toward saving the day . By contrast , the Meep switches from being kindly to calling Rose " eldritch . " It is not by accident that a monstrousDoctor Whovillain is revealed as a closet transphobe .
How Donna & Rose Release Their Time Lord Energy
Although Donna and Rose survive the awakening of their Time Lord energy because they share the burden , they can not stay part - Dr. forever . The consequences of doing so are not fully explicate , but the Fourteenth Doctor manoeuver out that the metacrisis has only " slowed down , " leading audiences toward the premiss that , should Donna and Rose keep their Time Lord powers , they will kick the bucket rather rather than later . The solution to this conundrum , however , is revealed to be deceptively simple . Donna and Rose both voluntarily let the Doctor ’s pith loose , releasing it into the wind .
As Donna signal out , the art of " letting go " is something only a fair sex can properly realize . The meaning of this line is deliberately ambiguous , butDoctor Whoimplies that the favoritism , prejudice , and negative treatment cleaning lady endure in mundane lifetime make them well better at " let go " than men , or male person - present Time Lords . accordingly , the Fourteenth Doctor fails to earn that Donna and Rose can simply breathe out any remaining energy received from the Tenth Doctor ’s manus 15 years prior . This permanently fix the metacrisis , but also mean Donna and Rose no longer own crack - intelligence . Donna go bad back to being her usual self , and Rose becomes her " on-key ego " for the first fourth dimension .
MD Who ’s " letting go " solution raises the question of why Jodie Whittaker ’s Thirteenth Doctor - the only female - presenting looping acrossall actors who have played the Doctorwho would remember Donna - never revisit the turbulent ex - fellow traveler and advised her to release the dangerous Time Lord energy voluntarily . Whittaker ’s Doctor , however , did not bonk about Donna ’s inner energy being syphon into a child . It appears extremely likely that Donna allow go of her Time Lord top executive only became an option after Rose inherit some of the Gallifreyan glow herself .
Of course , the Thirteenth Doctor would have found out about Rose had she put out to confab Donna , but the risk of spark off Donna ’s retentivity would have deterred Whittaker ’s regeneration from drop by , despite having a new face . It take in sense , therefore , that despite the result to her predicament being amazingly aboveboard , Donna was not saved earlier inDoctor Who . Donna should be thank whatever secret power made the TARDIS land near her in Camden Market .
Doctor Who ’s sixtieth day of remembrance specials retain on December 2 .
