For Throwback Thursday we turn our attention back to the two-part finale of the Third Season of Doctor Who. Reintroducing one of The Doctor‘s (David Tennant) most feared enemies in the previous episode, “The Sound of Drums” and “Last of the Time Lords” focus on The Master (John Simm) biggest victory over The Doctor. Having just been elected Great Britain’s new Prime Minister, The Master uses the stolen TARDIS to create a paradox machine which allows him to turn over the Earth to the Toclafane, steal The Doctor’s regenerative energy, cage his rival, and bask in the knowledge of his victory and mastery (so to speak) over the Earth. The only thing he didn’t count on was Martha Jones (Freema Agyeman).
My favorite of the New Who companions, Martha gets a bad rap for her crush on The Doctor. Arguably no other character in the relaunched Who goes through as big an evolution as Martha who is strengthened by her relationship with The Doctor as much as she is strengthened by choosing to leave him (something few companions have been able to do on their own terms). And then she beats The Master. She saves the world. By herself. Suck it, Rose Tyler.
Spending an entire year journeying around the world instilling hope and a story to all she met, Martha Jones laid the foundation of The Master’s defeat and The Doctor’s return. The fact that that entire year never happened to all but a handful of characters once the timeline was reset doesn’t diminish Martha’s achievement. She’s the unsung hero of the human race (seriously, how cool is that)? Although this far from the last of The Master, the season ends on a high note with the world saved and a sad but hopeful final scene as Martha chooses to leave The Doctor and walk her own path (something neither Rose nor Sarah Jane were ever strong enough nor independent enough to choose for themselves). This marks the last episode Martha will ever define herself in relationship to The Doctor (something Rose continues to do even in an alternate dimension). Plus, you know, she did save the world. Well done, Miss Jones.
