i think part of what makes Donnaβs story so interesting is that sheβs maybe the most realistic companion we had since 2005. she isnβt societyβs typical role model of the successful woman, in fact if anything, sheβs the opposite. she has an unstable job, sheβs trying and failing to find love in a world where society is holding her age and her looks against her. even when she FINALLY is about to get married and sheβs so close to ticking off one of the many boxes society is expecting her to - her fiance decides to feed her to some huge spiders on her wedding day. Rose, at least still had her whole life ahead of her, while society has been telling Donna since her thirties that sheβs running out of time.
and then Donna meets the Doctor and she does what any sensible human being with more than an ounce of common sense would do in that situation: she takes a look at all that destruction and declines having another adventure. who wouldnβt? her fiance died on her wedding day, she has a bunch of relatives who have to hear some sort of plausible version of the events, one which doesnβt involve strange, glowing particles, giant spiders and a trip to the very beginning of planet earth in a time machine looking like a box belonging into some sort of museum.Β
time has taught her how to take responsibility and make the best of the cards life deals her. itβs why, once the dust settles and she regrets her decision, she takes things into her own hands. life isnβt happening to her - sheβs happening to life. and then, she does what we usually see the Doctor doing: she starts investigating strange phenomena in the middle of London - and quite successfully so. IF the Doctor hadnβt shown up, she still would have learnt several things about Adipose Industries without his help, the TARDIS, or a sonic screwdriver. no wonder, she and the Doctor make such a perfect team.
and even after losing her memories, sheβs still carrying on. of course her life becomes small and meaningless in comparison, but honestly, iβm not sure iβm ready to see RTD rewriting her ending. because her losing her memories feels so typically human. after all, who doesnβt feel a secret longing for something they cannot put into words when looking at the stars - just as if we had forgotten something big that used to be part of us? who isnβt curious and utterly fascinated by all the incredible things which must be out there? i cannot be the only one who think itβs funny how a bunch of scientist point their instruments at some corner of the sky for a really long time and we - the whole planet, pretty much all of humanity - find the results breathtakingly beautiful.
imho Donna was the most human human companion this show (or at least NewWho) had, and the older i become the more i appreciate the story RTD gave her.
