#grrrhhhh i just love a neat little complicated story with all pieces ij place

[roxannepolice]

My take on "where was the Doctor in 73 yards, or at least how to interpret the TARDIS staying in place while he was in Barbieland".

The scene where Ruby tries to open the TARDIS door is very much mirrored by Carla changing the locks, implying the same thing happened here (no it's not diagetically related, it's audio-visual semiotics. when two scenes mirror each other one probably expands on the other). And I think we are meant to assume the Doctor IS inside, just as Carla was in her home.

Which is kind of like when the TARDIS ran away from Jack, because oh yes Jack is 100% Ruby's mom

No but srsly the TARDIS didn't ran away from Jack, she ran away from what Jack was - a paradox, just as the Doctor's gut reaction to him had nothing to do with him as a person only "Time Lord instincts". She never had a problem with Ruby before, meaning the problem is not Ruby as a person only

Ruby as part of a paradox. Again, this episode is very much grandfather paradox, with a neat little gender shift into a grandmother paradox. Ruby goes back in time to prevent the events that put her in a situation where she goes back in time to prevent those events - the Woman/old Ruby only appears AFTER the Doctor steps on the circle in the beginning of the episode, implying this is where the events kicked in motion.

Except the Doctor talks of Roger ap Gwilliam BEFORE the charm fun starts, implying HE'S NOT ACTUALLY A PART OF WHAT HAPPENED THERE.

The Doctor disappears NOT when the circle is broken only when Ruby reads of Mad Jack, because THIS is the beginning of the paradox, because RaG is NOT a part of it, but Ruby's idea that he is - IS. Sth sth seeing patterns in chaos.

I'm flying off into higher regions of existence, so I'll just conclude that the TARDIS couldn't run away like she did from Jack, because she was bound in spot by the paradox - she had to be there as a reminder to unfuck it.