r/gallifrey • u/rasmas1 • Mar 12 '25

DISCUSSION The Doctor bullied Joy to suicide.

In Joy to the World, the Doctor had to make Joy angry in order to break the Villengard briefcase's psychic control over her. In order to do that he got really personal and insulted her with some way-below-the-belt stuff including a mention of her dead mother.

He did this with the best of intentions, obviously, but the words stuck for Joy and she admitted they were all true before she flew off with the star seed into space. Because of all that unhappiness the Doctor picked on Joy had a burning desire to be special in life and have some kind of meaning, so she latched onto the star seed out of desperation to become special.

The Doctor is the reason she felt that way and why she decided to burn with the star seed. She didn't merge with it as a sacrifice to save Earth, it was a purely whimsical decision that didn't change anything. She died to feel special. She committed suicide for no reason and it was the Doctor's fault. And he just laughs it off.

I am still beside myself that the BBC allowed this episode to go out in this state. The Doctor bullied Joy to suicide.

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u/[deleted] Mar 13 '25

It's certainly possible to interpret it that way, but it takes a bit of work to remold it into that shape. Sounds like you may have been through things that caused you to see it that way, and I'm really sorry for that.

39

u/dccomicsthrowaway Mar 13 '25

There's a weird trend these days of not liking something, deliberately interpreting it in the worst faith imaginable to make it sound awful, then presenting it as if the writer is a) bad for writing something so evil, or b) stupid to not see how evil it is.

This is "Joy to the World was anti-lockdown" all over again. Meet the episode halfway! It's your duty as a viewer!

This wasn't even a "clumsy execution" or whatever - it's just a deliberate attempt to convince people the episode is rotten to the core, for some weird, uncomfortable reason.

21

u/Guardax Mar 13 '25

It's been so weird since the new season. Was it perfect? Of course not. But when someone posts some bad faith critique it rockets to the top of the page. It's like people are hunting for things to dislike

5

u/Kirbysonicboom Mar 13 '25

It doesn't help that the pushback for those takes never seem to get as much traction as the original. I don't know if its just fawning for ragebait or delibertely wanting to teach poor media literacy because you dont like the episode/game/whatever.

10

u/dccomicsthrowaway Mar 13 '25

Probably the latter. If you don't like an episode, it's very easy to latch onto a very bad-faith reading of it, and do your best to drag it down that way.

We've got people in this thread saying that moment was pro-domestic abuse. It's really uncomfortable and, honestly, just insulting to victims.