"This was never a war, it was an inconvenience."
IN THIS ONE... The war ends by nefarious means.
REVIEW: The problem was always going to be that, because this takes place in a continuing universe, the ending was more or less ordained. Homo Aqua couldn't win the War, we couldn't come to a peaceful agreement (the "Accord" Salt tries to put into place), and a massive "alien" civilization couldn't be on everyone's doorstep. And we already had a template for this. Every other Silurian or Sea Devil story. They always end with the line "They should have been another way." So as soon as the conspiracy was started, Homo Aqua was doomed. That they still get to keep a tenth of their population and are given a trench to live in (which they naturally expect to be a hunting ground for criminal fishermen) is a miracle unto itself, but not enough to call the finale unpredictable. In fact, it's quite predictable that Homo Aqua will be repelled to this point (leaving enough to reuse the costumes in future Doctor Who), that Severance was a bio-engineered virus, that we get none of their technological bounty, and even that Barclay would grow gills and get a happy ending with Salt (at least as this episode begins and he complains of a rash on his neck). So anything the episode does to make you believe it's REVEALING things is playing to the cheap seats.
The series made a number of promises it failed to deliver on, as well. The "War" in the title was mostly a bunch of threats from their side (we get demonstrations, but they keep showing new and better weapons the next episode, like here, a capacity to melt the polar ice caps and drown us all), a couple of illegal terroristic attacks from OUR side, and a lot of diplomatic scenes. They trot out the "Institute" as a villain, only to keep things going as they're never heard from again. Even the villains here (the PM and the two generals) are only threatened with a watery death, but the ones we see play as their imagining what that means. So at the end, a noble culture has been devastated on the eve of peace, and no one directly pays the price. We're supposed to take comfort in the "happy ending" given the two leads (as magical as this seems), and take heed in the very obvious ecological message as a broken Kate Stewart points a gun at a litterer. (This, after blackmailing her psychiatrist for more meds.) Oof. It's a lot like Children of Earth, in that the Doctor never shows up for this because, in the words of the Torchwood serial, he can't bear to look at us. I think that's more on-point that Shirley's comment here about his leaving us to shape our society. Cuz we're great at that. I suppose if I find The War depressing, it's because it's too close to the real world - our leaders can't be trusted and the most venal impulses always win out. I really wish the diplomatic aquarium had exploded in time to wash away a lot of the riff-raff here, and that could have been how Barclay discovered his new gills. Their getting away - as "realistic" and, frankly, as RTD as that is - is simply unacceptable. Between the unpunished genocide and making Homo Aqua "eat the dogs", the realpolitik in the series is really distasteful.
So you'll forgive me if I don't really care either way if they turn Barclay into the Man from Atlantis and call it a win. That whole final sequence, with "Heroes" playing over it - I did think it was ridiculous that General Pierce quoted it as a motivational speech two episodes ago, now I see why they did it, and it's even more ridiculous - is a load of sentimental bollocks. Millions dead, but love will win out. I guess.
REWATCHABILITY: Medium - What a downer, eh? Don't we get enough of that in our reality?
STORY REWATCHABILITY: Medium - Probably plays better to people who don't know their Doctor Who history, or to thirst moms who love a good monster love affair, but while I can't deny the show's good parts - the production values, the three leads' performances, and the focus on diplomacy - I also can't help but find everything over-obvious and depressing.
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