S04E13: 'Journey's End'

Published Thursday, Jul 10 2008, 10:19 BST | By Ben Rawson-Jones | 46 comments

Bringing together a range of familiar faces and themes, 'Journey's End' is a satisfying and epic crowdpleasing conclusion to the last series presided over by Russell T. Davies. Although not entirely flawless, the episode takes us on an emotional journey that comes close to squeezing out tears of both joy and sadness.

The poignancy of Donna's regression to simpleton and The Doctor's underlying loneliness, encapsulated by a haunting final scene, are cleverly counterbalanced by several 'punch the air' moments and fan-pleasing twists. The sight of the Tardis towing the Earth back into position is hilarious, but given gravitas by Murray Gold's epiphany-inducing music.

Then there's the reappearance of K-9, the revelation of Gwen's 'Unquiet Dead' background, the Daleks barking out orders in German and, most pleasingly of all, Gita from EastEnders being vaporised! Presumably Sanjay was too busy bedding her sister to save her.

The Doctor copping off with Rose Tyler would be a move that would split the audience, so Davies wisely managed to please both parties by allowing the human Doctor to play tonsil tennis with the chavette instead. The new Doctor figure's decision to commit genocide on the Daleks was very well handled, harking back to the ethical dilemma posed in Davros's debut story 'Genesis Of The Daleks' in 1975.

However, the manner in which the Daleks were quickly wiped out was disappointingly too similar to their sudden demise in both the first and second season finales. It all felt far too convenient and detracts from the air of menace generated in their comeback story 'Dalek' opposite Christopher Eccleston's Doctor.

The accusation from Davros that The Doctor uses his companions and friends as "weapons" was particularly thought-provoking, as the evil scientist's views are not without substance. A flashback to several characters who have perished helping The Doctor added another layer to the complex debate and evoked the 1986 epic 'Trial Of A Time Lord' season.

Finally, Catherine Tate bowed out in fine style and was given prominence by a narrative that relegated the other companions like Rose to mostly window dressing. Tate hilariously reeled off a list of technical jargon with relish once Donna's new Time Lord skills emerged, adding to the fun factor of the finale a great deal. Moments later though, she was emotively pleading with The Doctor not to wipe her mind.

In many ways, Tate's ability to seamlessly and convincingly shift tone from joy to sadness epitomised just why this finale left its mark on the audience.

> What do you think of the finale? Share your views

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vinny, south west , on February 1st, 2010
journey's end is such a sad episode because the doctor lose's all his assistant/companions. the last two or three scenes were the most heart breaking beacuse he had to take rose tyler back to the paralel univerese and she cant but in the end she stays there with the part human doctor. Then he has to say goodbye to donna noble and wipe her memory or else she would die then the last scene leaves the doctor all wet from the rain and all alone inside the tardis.

markus oz, on October 20th, 2009
Catherine tate was particularly irritating this whole series - her constant screaming i'm just a temp was pathetic - she had nothing of the presence of either rose or martha and dampened an otherwise brilliant finale - i agree that the ending was somewhat predictable, but the inference in the subsequent special that the daleks / the master? may be back already creates tension for the next series. Aprehensive about the new doctor having enough manic enthusiasm for the role and may come off as an arrogant kid - we will see

amy clarke, south east , on July 31st, 2009
Very touching , maybe ott a wee bit with all the people in the tardis but the cloned dr was sexy almost beating the real dr to second place , pity the clone went off with Rose in a way , donna would have been better A! oh and why wasnt Martha hugged ? or given a clone but she did ok and married Mickey (think so )

Jeremy - London, on January 21st, 2009
Thought the finale was very good - very enjoyable - loved the 'doctor Donna' - thought that Catherine Tate was excellent - such a shame to lose her character.

Lee, Carlisle, UK, on January 5th, 2009
What an amazing finale

Conlagh,Armagh,N.Ireland, on December 25th, 2008
Why is David tennant quiting???? He's the best doctor yet!!!!!! SAD:(!!!!

lemonpencil, england, on October 20th, 2008
I LOVED the season finale, the highlight being the line, "It's you! ... *looks away* you're naked!" haha classic! BUT I thought Donna's ending was immensely cruel, I cried sooooo much! Donna was the best companion ever and then Rose gets a happy ending and she doesn't! The injustice! It actually took me ages to get over that. But overall, it was brilliant.

Andy b, on October 18th, 2008
best episode yet but donna's death was a bit of a let down. she didnt really die (good). cant weight for next series. hey all doctor who fans!!!

Chris, on September 9th, 2008
It had some good moments, but was ruined by shoddy science, lack of logic and the main characters acting out of character.

Rochelle QLD, on August 29th, 2008
i want more of David Tennant as the doctor! :)

May Li Lau, Surrey, on July 20th, 2008
I thought this season's finale was absolutely fantastic, miles better than last year! I loved the part where Donna's a Time Lord/Human but the scene where Donna's begging the Doctor to not wipe her mind was definitely the tear jerker of the series! Apart from the slightly cheesy moment where Rose kisses the Human Doctor on the beach, Journey's End was a brilliant and satisfying end to this series!

Chris, Devon, on July 17th, 2008
I suppose I'm disappointed because this has been a FANTASTIC series, and I was expecting a fantastic finale. The Stolen Earth built up to it well, and it felt like my hopes had been satisfied. But - perhaps it was because it felt rushed and a little all-over-the-place, even for Doctor Who at 65 MINUTES. Perhaps it was because the plot devices and strands seemed unending and confusing, and could easily have been cut (Osterhagen key? What the hell?). Perhaps it was the return of Rose, which made the poignant finale of the second series seem hollow and worthless. Perhaps it felt slightly uncohesive and struggled under the weight of everything. But it wasn't without its good points too - Julian Bleach as Davros was stunning (the reason I bump this up to 3 out of 5) and his speech lording it over 'the true nature of the Doctor' was genius in writing. Yet, after so many brilliant episodes (2, 3, 6, 7, 8 and 9, 10, 11 and 12) this felt distinctly hollow and underwhelming.

steve, on July 17th, 2008
I think that so much more could have been achieved from this episode, good as it was, I am also glad that after the 4 tv movies next year, he wont be back. It is a shame he has penned the 2 and subwritten the final two movies, but he could have let the duplicate doctor have some coral to grow his own Tardis. Donna could have been a unique entity, with a second heart and a time lady. It was missing the Brigadier, who should be appearing in the Sarah Jane adventures and finally, does this mean the Dr has lost a regenerative cycle or not, due to not changing shape.

Stuart, Edinburgh, on July 16th, 2008
Great finale, great 4th series overall... I think people have to get things into perspective and look at it as an overall package - something for everyone ... drama, action, humour, heartbreak and for me Julian Bleach's performance as Davros was simply incredible, perfect timing with the dialogue - intelligent and decidedly chilling. David T is a fantastic Doctor and I would really like him to feature in the first half of Series 5 in 2010 however I would like to see someone else with a new fresh take on the role so a mid season emotional regeneration plot would be fantastic - remember - there's always the Half human Doctor and Rose spinoff to visit every couple of years - see how this human character deals with the alien threats minus the Tardis and being more vulneable - well done RTD and the team PS - my 5 year old was nearly devasted at the end of Stolen Earth then soooooo excited at the finale ... if I could bottle that 65 mins!!!!

Hil, Darlington, on July 15th, 2008
Good ending, could have been better but was overall good. =3

Steve, Warrington, on July 13th, 2008
Does this change from RTD to SM mean we will finally get rid of Rose Tyler? I hope so. Doctor Who should be more than one companion and the fact that for the last 4 seasons Rose has been in or hinted at has gone sour. Did RTD really think that no one could carry the show other than Rose? Season 4 was carried by the billiant CT but over shadowed by the Rose obsession. And really, why does RTD think the Doctors love for his companion is any different than his love for Jo Grant, Sarah Jane or even Tegan?!!! I enjoyed the 4th Season. It had it's high and lows! Finally the Red Dalek makes an appearance, although it was to short!!! Going forward, why do we have to wait for season 5 for 2 years? If DT wants to do other things, hand over the reins. Stop pampering him!!!!

Bill Taylor England, on July 13th, 2008
A fitting end to series

Steve - Clacton on sea, on July 13th, 2008
I thought episode 12, was the best ever. So I was a little disappointed with the last one. It seemed a bit of a let-down. The action dried up to quickly, and the ending was to sad, with Donna losing her memory, and the Doctor all on his own again, made me feel, like this was the end of an era. Which in some ways I guess it was, knowing that there is no full season until 2010, and that some of the main player behind the scene are leaving the show? This felt like the program coming to an end, and the teaser for a Christmas special was an afterthought. I love “ Doctor Who”, but I guess the powers at be feel the show needs a break. PS. I was happy that it looks like “Touchwood” will have a new permanent member in its cast. (I Hope)Martha was great in the episodes she was in last season, and I think she should stay with that show.

Lee<-------->London, on July 12th, 2008
The Finale was 50/50 in my opinion as the only scene I enjoyed was when : Catherine Tait used her comdey in a tense situation and Davros's quotes were sensational!! Stolen Earth was packed with action and the scene where he Daleks attack the Valiant was directed with sheer quality!!!

Mark, columbus, ohio, , on July 12th, 2008
Loved it. I will miss Donna though. The next companion should not be young and in love with the Doctor. My money was on Donna having a pocketwatch and actually being Romana ( or the Rani ).

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