What a journey it's been. Thirteen weeks and nine and a half stories later from the explosive Auton opener we reach the end of the short but sweet Christopher Eccleston. It's been a somewhat bumpy journey, with a large array of greats mixed amongst the dull and the duds, but nonetheless has been a superb "trip of a lifetime" that the audience has been taken on. And as we reach The Parting of the Ways and its sudden approach to a farewell story (although the news of Eccleston's resigning was released the weekend of the first episode's airing), is it a worthy conclusion to Bad Wolf, the series and the character?
Following swiftly on from the events of last week, the Doctor and Jack (Eccleston and John Barrowman respectively) rush to Rose's (Billie Piper) aide following a death-turned-teleportation to the Dalek mothership, the trio are quick to discover that the Daleks have been brought back to life using humans that were transmatted from the games made - creating a truly insane rendition of the 'master race'. With the Dalek Emperor taking charge after surviving the brutal Time War, the TARDIS team must protect the Game Station and all the people on Earth from the Dalek annihilation, with the Doctor and Rose working on a Delta Wave to wipe them all out while Jack and the Games Station workers gathering to ensure that they can work in peace. And with Earth being unavailable to contact, and the fate of all their lives at stake, this could be the very end for them all - with the Doctor coming across the ultimate question to make up his journey this season: "Coward or Killer?"
Much like last week's, this episode is strong in its representations. Last week was the satirical outlook on game shows, this time on how lazy people can be; with this version of the future, when warned of what's to come they simply cut the station off, whilst so few of those stranded from the game shows agree to help to on the Daleks, resulting in their demise later on. You still feel upset for them when the Daleks ultimately strike - with the sequence where Lynda (Jo Joyner) describing the countries being hit coming across quite powerfully - but in the end it's a sad case of it being what they deserve. But amongst that comes such an emotional episode which never seems to falter. From the very first moments with the TARDIS spiralling against a Dalek missile to both of the Doctor's farewells to Rose to his trickery to Rose to get her to go home, and of course the infamous goodbye at the very end. It hits all the right notes at all the right moments.
And with the story now whole, it can easily be remarked as one of the season's best. While the two have different themes as mentioned previously, the overarching story of an unknown force bringing the TARDIS and its crewmembers that even the Dalek Emperor has no understanding of ("This is the truth of God"), and its conclusion is something of pure majesty. Certainly, it's something of a deus ex machina to have a God-like element save the day, but with its power already being set up in Boom Town and the actual nature of it all being subliminally set up across the season, it feels less like an action made out of a whim and more like something which has actually been chosen wisely. And with what it follows being a strong mix of the best action possible on that budget and those down-to-earth segments with Mickey and Jackie (Noel Clarke & Camille Coduri). Combined together, it makes a truly great finale. Christopher Eccleston has done great things as the Doctor across this season, and this episode may just highlight why he is one of the best incarnations of the modern era. His multi-layered personality and performance sells the role elegantly and exquisitely, and his final goodbye is truly heart-wrenching. Piper does a good job at keeping up though, with her performance having the right levels of heart put into it despite being somewhat sidelined in the first 10-15 minutes, while Barrowman has a goodbye which - while these days doesn't hold the same feel because of his revival - does certainly pack a punch; solidifying just how terrible a menace the Daleks are.
Speaking of Daleks, they are great here. Following what was meant to be a surprise reappearance last week (Damn you Next Time trailers!) and a stunning reintroduction to the show weeks earlier with Dalek, their return in full-force is something that many have been dying to see for decades - a Dalek-filled massacre. Only a handful of the creatures every get killed or damaged - a bunch of them via Ann Droid, which adds some humour to an otherwise dark episode - before the grand finale, thus showing their true might, while their benevolent Emperor stands tall and mocks those who dare define him. He may not do much in terms of action, but his design and dialogue is particularly great.
As for the rest of the cast, there isn't a weak member out there. Joyner continues to impress to the very end, Paterson Joseph's negative attitude ensures that his loss is at the hands of his own pessimism, while the two lovebird broadcasters have their moments across. Meanwhile, Clarke and Coduri each have their own moments to shine when events return to 2005/present day Earth where we get to see how they've grown throughout the season too. Mickey has learned not to rely so much on Rose, while Jackie appreciates what the Doctor has done for her daughter, whether it's for the best or not.
The Parting of the Ways is one of the few perfect season finales television has made. Combined with Bad Wolf, it makes up one of the best Doctor Who stories of the 21st Century, and alone one of the best episodes of it too. Heartfelt yet explosive, it's the farewell Eccleston truly deserved, and its brief of next incarnation David Tennant offers a lot of greatness to come. 10/10.
Now, the question of when we'll see the greatness possibly on offer - well, that would be telling...
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