Aha! You did what I recommended! Yes, Jack is amazing in this episode, though you do have to be watching for it to see it.
The most important scene, of course, is the disintegration one, and that was written, directed and performed brilliantly. Of course, the focus is on the Doctor, and it's a stand-out performance by Eccleston; but once you pay attention to Jack as well he becomes vital to the scene. He's protecting the Doctor with his own body. He's putting his own grief aside to do it, though (as you say) he almost breaks down at the end. He's completely uncaring about any threats anyone makes to him - he only surrenders in the end when someone holds a gun to the Doctor's head.
In the jail-cell, too, you're right that the Doctor's still (apparently) emotionally shut down, which again speaks to what Jack has probably been doing all along here: guarding both the Doctor and Lynda to the best of his ability. Yet he's ready - he's obviously reading the Doctor from his existing knowledge of him and knowing what's going to come as a result. As soon as the Doctor meets his eyes and says Let's do it, he's ready and they act like a perfectly-in-synch team - yet another reason why the Doctor's partner in this episode had to be someone who was part of Team TARDIS. Someone he'd just met in this episode couldn't have credibly played the role that Jack did.
But the Doctor... oh, that scene where he's staring, heartbroken, at the ashes on the floor. That is one of Christopher Eccleston's best moments in the series, IMO - and it's balanced perfectly by the joy on his face when Jack tells him that Rose is alive. I love that hug between the two of them, sheer exuberance, relief and delight on both their faces. And, too, as you say, his performance when facing the Daleks - creatures of his worst nightmares, the memory of whom had the power to make him lose all control in Van Statten's museum, yet now he's completely in control of himself, in command and delivering exactly the message he wants to.
If it wasn't for the regeneration at the end (much as I love Ten, I wasn't ready to lose Nine and still hate to see him die), these two episodes would probably be my favourites of all New Who. But then I prefer happy endings... :/
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Date: 2008-11-30 09:23 pm (UTC)The most important scene, of course, is the disintegration one, and that was written, directed and performed brilliantly. Of course, the focus is on the Doctor, and it's a stand-out performance by Eccleston; but once you pay attention to Jack as well he becomes vital to the scene. He's protecting the Doctor with his own body. He's putting his own grief aside to do it, though (as you say) he almost breaks down at the end. He's completely uncaring about any threats anyone makes to him - he only surrenders in the end when someone holds a gun to the Doctor's head.
In the jail-cell, too, you're right that the Doctor's still (apparently) emotionally shut down, which again speaks to what Jack has probably been doing all along here: guarding both the Doctor and Lynda to the best of his ability. Yet he's ready - he's obviously reading the Doctor from his existing knowledge of him and knowing what's going to come as a result. As soon as the Doctor meets his eyes and says Let's do it, he's ready and they act like a perfectly-in-synch team - yet another reason why the Doctor's partner in this episode had to be someone who was part of Team TARDIS. Someone he'd just met in this episode couldn't have credibly played the role that Jack did.
But the Doctor... oh, that scene where he's staring, heartbroken, at the ashes on the floor. That is one of Christopher Eccleston's best moments in the series, IMO - and it's balanced perfectly by the joy on his face when Jack tells him that Rose is alive. I love that hug between the two of them, sheer exuberance, relief and delight on both their faces. And, too, as you say, his performance when facing the Daleks - creatures of his worst nightmares, the memory of whom had the power to make him lose all control in Van Statten's museum, yet now he's completely in control of himself, in command and delivering exactly the message he wants to.
If it wasn't for the regeneration at the end (much as I love Ten, I wasn't ready to lose Nine and still hate to see him die), these two episodes would probably be my favourites of all New Who. But then I prefer happy endings... :/