Who's Mercy?

I’m getting around to watching last season of DOCTOR WHO. The episode “Idiot’s Lantern” had an interesting ending.

The Doctor and Rose just saved the world with the help of a kid named Tommy. Tommy’s dad, an insufferable bully who nearly prevented the world from being saved (and presented, I might add, without one redeeming quality), has just received his comeuppance – his wife kicking him out of the home.

Tommy, the object of much of his father’s bullying, looks on from a distance with the Doctor and Rose as his dad walks away with a suitcase in hand. Here’s the exchange:

Tommy: Good riddance.

Doctor: Is that it then, Tommy? New monarch, new age, new world. No room for a man like Eddie Connelly?

Tommy: That’s right. He deserves it.

The Doctor and Rose exchange a look. Rose nudges Tommy.

Rose: Tommy, go after him.

Tommy: What for?

Rose: He’s your dad.

Tommy: He’s an idiot.

Rose: Of course he is. Like I said, he’s your dad. But you’re clever. Clever enough to save the world, so don’t stop there. Go on.

Tommy catches up with his dad. The Doctor and Rose look on, as Tommy exchanges a few words with his father, then takes the suitcase and continues walking with him. Rose and the Doctor raise a glass of punch in celebration.

Wowza. Justice and mercy. The wronged making the hard choice of reconciliation. The redeemed not settling for cheap vengeance.

Must be fiction.

Just my thoughts,

Sean