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akashasheiressAm I the only one not seeing the True Love between Eleven and River? I mean, I know I'm not literally the ONLY one, but other than one or two flisters, everyone seems to think that this is a case of True Love Between True Equals. Here's why I disagree and why I find that interpretation, frankly, puzzling (then again, somebody did just literally call me an ''idiot'' for not thinking the relationship was healthy):
1. It's pretty one-sided. Sure, he's interested in her and enjoys flirting with her, but he's nowhere nearly as emotionally invested in her as she is with him. He seems to view her more as an interesting puzzle to solve, rather than somebody who's special to him as a person.
2.He is, by her own admission, the only man she could ever love, while she is hardly the only one for him.
3.He has no problem leaving her in prison while he continues merrily onto his own adventures. He does not seem to have any qualms about using her love/fixation for him to further his own ends and doesn't seem to feel guilty about her freedome being taken away from her.
4. Sure, he implies that he'll stop by and shag her at night, but keeping in mind my first point, this is a really fucked-up thing for him to do, IMO.
5. She was raised and brainwashed into having him as her sole purpose in life. Sure, he ''broke her programming'' by falling in love with him, but is this truly that much better? She is still obsessive about him, to the point where she endangers the Universe for him. Again, her life is completely about him, while the opposite is hardly the case. So much for ''equals''.
6. I did not see evidence of him being in love with her in the episode. And I feel that Matt Smith is too good of an actor to accidentally portray Eleven as not feeling as strongly for her as vice-versa.
7. She ''lives for the days'' when she sees him, whereas he doesn't really seem to care much about whether he sees her or not. Granted, she is imprisoned and her days must be pretty boring, but even if the Doctor was the one in this position, I can't see him living for the days when he sees a specific character.
In the end I have to agree with this blogger:
''Now we see she has always and only been a pawn - first of the Silence and then of the Doctor - and her love is unrequited. I find that sad. She is ripped from her family at birth and brainwashed. Finally she gets a chance to kill the Doctor and falls in love with him instead. Next time they meet, the Doctor uses her to fake his own death and she goes to prison for most of the rest of her life. After she earns a pardon (for a crime she didn't commit), she sees her Doctor for the last time and dies for him.''
Again, this is just my view, but I'm seriously surprised that so few people seem to share my interpretation, as I felt it was glaringly obvious. I know I idea whether any of it was intentional. I actually fear it's not, as Moffat is no stranger to writing fucked-up pairings that he apparently believes are stellar examples of Real True Love (and neither was RTD).
Anyway, I'm actually writing an essay in which I argue that the very concept ''Strong Female Character'' is problematic in and of itself and that the claim that the portrayal of women on television as exclusively improved over the years doesn't hold water. I am using River Song and Rose Tyler as examples. If I get an OK mark on it I might post it here.
ETA: I'm also surprised to see so few fics portraying the relationship as fucked up, as I know that there are people who enjoy ships like that (including myself, from time to time).
1. It's pretty one-sided. Sure, he's interested in her and enjoys flirting with her, but he's nowhere nearly as emotionally invested in her as she is with him. He seems to view her more as an interesting puzzle to solve, rather than somebody who's special to him as a person.
2.He is, by her own admission, the only man she could ever love, while she is hardly the only one for him.
3.He has no problem leaving her in prison while he continues merrily onto his own adventures. He does not seem to have any qualms about using her love/fixation for him to further his own ends and doesn't seem to feel guilty about her freedome being taken away from her.
4. Sure, he implies that he'll stop by and shag her at night, but keeping in mind my first point, this is a really fucked-up thing for him to do, IMO.
5. She was raised and brainwashed into having him as her sole purpose in life. Sure, he ''broke her programming'' by falling in love with him, but is this truly that much better? She is still obsessive about him, to the point where she endangers the Universe for him. Again, her life is completely about him, while the opposite is hardly the case. So much for ''equals''.
6. I did not see evidence of him being in love with her in the episode. And I feel that Matt Smith is too good of an actor to accidentally portray Eleven as not feeling as strongly for her as vice-versa.
7. She ''lives for the days'' when she sees him, whereas he doesn't really seem to care much about whether he sees her or not. Granted, she is imprisoned and her days must be pretty boring, but even if the Doctor was the one in this position, I can't see him living for the days when he sees a specific character.
In the end I have to agree with this blogger:
''Now we see she has always and only been a pawn - first of the Silence and then of the Doctor - and her love is unrequited. I find that sad. She is ripped from her family at birth and brainwashed. Finally she gets a chance to kill the Doctor and falls in love with him instead. Next time they meet, the Doctor uses her to fake his own death and she goes to prison for most of the rest of her life. After she earns a pardon (for a crime she didn't commit), she sees her Doctor for the last time and dies for him.''
Again, this is just my view, but I'm seriously surprised that so few people seem to share my interpretation, as I felt it was glaringly obvious. I know I idea whether any of it was intentional. I actually fear it's not, as Moffat is no stranger to writing fucked-up pairings that he apparently believes are stellar examples of Real True Love (and neither was RTD).
Anyway, I'm actually writing an essay in which I argue that the very concept ''Strong Female Character'' is problematic in and of itself and that the claim that the portrayal of women on television as exclusively improved over the years doesn't hold water. I am using River Song and Rose Tyler as examples. If I get an OK mark on it I might post it here.
ETA: I'm also surprised to see so few fics portraying the relationship as fucked up, as I know that there are people who enjoy ships like that (including myself, from time to time).
