
by David Finniss
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This episode picks up where the cliffhanger from the previous episode left off, with the TARDIS taking the crew somewhere on its own. The destination is an alien world where a faction of humans is at war with a race of aliens called the Hath. Upon arrival, the Doctor is “processed” and his genetic material is used to create a “daughter”, an attractive blonde girl who is later named Jenny.
I was a bit concerned to see Martha get kidnapped almost immediately. As great as it is to have her return for a few episodes, they really made a point to sideline her. Granted, she does become a bit more proactive, helping one of the Hath and befriending them to a certain extent, so that helped a bit. It was a rather tender moment when she first came upon the injured Hath and began attempting to administer aid. Even when working with alien biology, she is still able to help and it shows the Hath that she is not their enemy.
I was rather surprised at the Doctor’s initial attitude towards Jenny. He came off as rather unlikable, which is rare for Tennant’s Doctor. I
mean, I get that he would resent the way she was made against his will, but at the same time, she was still a good person and she was making an effort to connect with him. Even Donna starts calling him out on being unfair to her.
While she starts off as a bred soldier, she does learn from the Doctor about a better way and she does have her own little character arc. It also parallels the Doctor’s as he slowly starts to connect with her to the point where she gets invited to join them on the TARDIS.
Of course, part of you knows that she won’t stick around as a companion. In a way, you’re almost waiting for her to get killed, which she inevitably is. It was a tender scene, and both Tennant and Moffett did a fine job, but I couldn’t help but wonder why she didn’t just regenerate. This issue is brought up over the course of the scene and handwaved off as something that it not likely to happen due to the nature of her birth.
I’m not sure where the Doctor comes off taking the moral high ground. He keeps ...