The missus

[dreamer_easy]

With the imminent return of Lucy Saxon, aka Mrs. Master, some interesting snippets about the unhappy couple's relationship have been popping up in SFX interviews. Here's actor Alexandra Moen answering a reader's question:

What was the thinking behind Lucy's black eye in "The Last Of The Time Lords"?

"I thought it was really appropriate, and, without talking too much about domestic violence, it was quite typical of a bully, wasn't it? To knock their partner's self-esteem and then be very, very sweet to them afterwards, which can be very confusing for the person being bullied. I think for that relationship to work on screen, especially because Lucy was so much in the background and not having a lot of lines, I think that little symbols like that were really important to summarise their relationship as opposed to a big old domestic barney."

And RTD chatting with an interviewer:

I know fans sit there going 'What happened to Lucy Saxon?' I've read that online – did she shoot him on purpose, so that he could be resurrected? Which is completely missing the point of a story about an abused wife. No, she killed him! [...]

I think her black eye is the most disturbing thing you smuggled into Doctor Who. The subtlest and most disturbing thing in the history of the show.

"Yes, absolutely, never mind that he talks about burning Japan and all those things. Actually it’s what goes on in that bedroom. The true violence. Because he charms, the Master. Isn't he lovely, isn't he funny? But no, he's a mass murderer. And of course he inflicts violence upon women."

I remember objections to Lucy's black eye at the time, the details of which now escape me. There may have been an element of "Don't spoil the sexual fantasy!", as there was with denial about Spike's attempted sexual assault of Buffy. Murder and torture are quite acceptable, but wife-bashing and girlfriend-raping pop the damn bubble. (There's a great line in an old Tom Corbett Space Cadet where the baddie says, "I'm not a gentleman, you know. Even to women!") More seriously, though, they bring the violence thudding down to a level where we can viscerally understand it, where the destruction of the whole of Japan is just too big to really grasp.

But now, something I've wanted to do for ages:



Meanwhile, in Rome... Claudius and a couple of other troublemakers are summoned to the palace in the middle of the night by the Emperor Caligula - crazy, vicious, and all-powerful. They're pretty sure they've had it. They wait in darkness, terrified, until suddenly:



Ta-da! Out of nowhere leaps Caligula in drag, doing a crazy dance. He's putting on a little show!




Now, Caligula has roped a singer and some dancers into this grotesque spectacle, including a pretty young woman.




As she turns away to camera, her face out of his sight for a moment, her hands still raised from the dance...






... we see that, far from enjoying it, she is terrified.



Or in Lucy's case, that she has a black eye and a thousand-yard stare.

I'm not for a moment saying Last of the Time Lords stole this scene, but I'll bet you a bikkie it was influenced by it, consciously or unconsciously. (The whole thing gets more bizarre when you recall that Derek Jacobi is playing Claudius and John Simm once played Caligula.)

Comments

[jvowles.livejournal.com]

Or that someone who ought to have been noble and reign wisely instead was an insane, obsessive murderer?

[dameruth.livejournal.com]

I was really quite amazed at some of the stuff they got into that season finale, given that it's theoretically a family show . . . but I guess you have to be a grown-up to decode the stuff, so that's why it works.

[hexacontium.livejournal.com]

I'll bet you a bikkie

for some reason I read 'I'll bet you a bikini' *eek*

[qthewetsprocket.livejournal.com]

I've read that online – did she shoot him on purpose, so that he could be resurrected? Which is completely missing the point of a story about an abused wife.

Actually, I disagree...one of the sickest things about an abusive relationship is that no matter how horrible the abuser is, the abusee will very often do absolutely anything for them in return for the love they don't feel they deserve. So I can totally see the Master treating Lucy like crap, beating her and sleeping with other women, and yet she's still willing to go to prison (possibly for life) just to help him escape justice.

And personally, I was quite impressed with the black eye, as well as the little menage-a-trois innuendo as the Master gets a massage: brief, subtle and very succinct; but still vague enough that the kids won't get it (and probably won't even realize there's something there that they missed). It also brought home Lucy's predicament in a very powerful way: get involved with a charismatic, charming man who you've already seen can get away with murder? This is what you live with in return. Be warned.

[kateorman.livejournal.com]

and yet she's still willing to go to prison (possibly for life) just to help him escape justice.

Or is she? DUNH DUNH DUNH

I hope she spits in his face. >:)

brief, subtle and very succinct

It is, it's very powerful but subtle - in fact, in my screencap, Lucy's (healing) black eye is barely visible!

[qthewetsprocket.livejournal.com]

I hope she spits in his face. >:)

...Or knees him in the ghoulies. If it can't be Donna, then I suppose Lucy would do. 'Hello, lover.' *WHAM*!

*wants a bookend to that scene in Mark of the Rani so flipping bad I can taste it*

[travlr1.livejournal.com]

Out of nowhere leaps Caligula in drag,

*blink*

Why does that remind me of Beef from Phantom of the Paradise?

This is just plain genius

[howlingquietly.livejournal.com]

Since I can't watch The End of Time until I'm reunited with my boyfriend tomorrow, I'm avoiding anything new on the internet to prevent spoilage; the benefit is that I'm just catching up with some of your older posts -- and I'm so glad I've found this one.

The text puts into words I've thought about Lucy Saxon, and it's so great to hear those behind the scenes using the same justifications that I've used, and it's great to hear your thoughts about those who had issues about the black eye. But the screenshots made it golden. The juxtaposition is just wonderful, and makes me realize that some of my favorite parts of the program are great on multiple levels, even when I don't see them at the time. Long life the RTD era in reruns and our hearts and minds.

Re: This is just plain genius

[kateorman.livejournal.com]

Ay thenk yew! :D

I swear to gods there is a Clockwork Orange visual reference in End of Time.