“Get back, get back, get back to where you once came from”
And so, Billie Piper’s 27-episode run as Rose has come to an end: trapped in a parallel universe with her family but with no chance of escape. The “Army of Ghosts” and “Doomsday” double-part series finale lived up to the expectations of a demanding audience, not only did we get to see the inseperable duo seperated but we got a Dalek/Cybermen war thrown in for good measure. I say “war”, more of a “battle”. I say “battle”, more of a “brief encounter”. There was a lot crammed into these two 45-minute segments and so many memorable moments, all of which were built in to the script to lead us in to that ending. Rose going head-to-head with the Cult of Skaro, Pete and Jackie being re-united, and the Daleks and the Cybermen in a war of words were all sequences that will stay with the viewer for quite some time. None of them however can hold a candle to the last 10 minutes.
In a brilliantly crafted scene, the Doctor and Rose were on either side of the corridor in front of the breach into the Void, holding on for dear life as all beings contaminated with “void stuff”, themselves included, were being dragged relentlessly back into the Hell. It all went wrong as Rose’s lever slipped, she risked everything to save the situation and very nearly paid the ultimate price but Pete came back to rescue her in the only way possible and jumped back into alt-Earth. With the breach closed and the heroes separated there was one last chance to say for the lonely angel to say “Goodbye” to his Rose. Even the coldest of hearts cannot fail to have been moved as the Doctor appeared in alt-Earth for a final farewell. Billie is gonna be a tough act to follow.
