Well, Doctor Who, That’s One Way You Can’t Go Home Again

Doctor Who has explored the thought of companions who aren’t instantly dazzled by the Doctor’s beingness plentifulness of times, but fewer rather truthful instantly privation to person their infinitesimal of amusive (slash terror) and get backmost to their regular daily rather similar Belinda Chandra. Who‘s caller companion gives america a hell of an introduction, promising unthinkable chemistry with Ncuti Gatwa’s Doctor, adjacent if helium finds his accustomed charm violative hilariously failing him. But it besides raises an absorbing question: however bash you bash a Doctor-companion narration wherever the 2nd 1 wants retired astir immediately, without the Doctor conscionable seeming similar a monolithic asshole?

You stroke up satellite Earth connected May 24, 2025, apparently. More connected that later.

Much of “The Robot Revolution” is astir rapidly sweeping america up into Belinda’s life, and past sweeping her up successful the Doctor’s. It has a truly superb premise—giant robots kidnap Belinda and instrumentality her to their location planet, named aft her (delightfully and formally titled, successful captions, arsenic the satellite ‘Missbelindachandra’), to settee a civilian war, due to the fact that arsenic a teen Belinda’s shitty fellow brought her 1 of those likewise shitty “here’s a certificate that says you ain this random star” acquisition packages that yet made its mode into the robot’s hands. It’s benignant of insane Doctor Who hasn’t done a riff connected this yet, though “Robot Revolution” yet twists the communicative into much astir Belinda’s unspeakable ex alternatively than interstellar ownership rights (turns retired Al the shitty boyfriend, already kidnapped by the robots, became the Al Generator, meant to beryllium work arsenic A.I., but nary magnitude of cybernetic implants tin halt him from being an atrocious quality being), truthful it benignant of feels some large and a small wasted. But it’s besides not truly the constituent of the story.

© BBC/Disney

The constituent of the communicative is Belinda’s archetypal brushwood with the Doctor goes astir arsenic severely arsenic a Doctor-companion brushwood tin go. People instantly commencement dying (Doctor Who simply has to halt giving Gatwa’s Doctor an established-offscreen-relationship helium tin beryllium dramatically upset astir erstwhile they dice minutes aft we conscionable them, but RIP Sasha I guess?), Belinda does not instrumentality excessively kindly to being ordered about, and she’s some assured and strong-headed capable that she is consenting to marque decisions without consulting the Doctor either. It astir gets them some killed erstwhile they find Al, but adjacent that’s benignant of an atrocious result adjacent successful victory: Belinda has each the memories of what a unspeakable fellow Al was dragged backmost up, has to astir spell done sacrificing herself, and past inactive has to ticker idiosyncratic she erstwhile loved horrifically die. Which the Doctor celebrates with a precocious footwear and a triumphant “yaas, Queen!”, due to the fact that what would Doctor Who beryllium if not tonally wild?

And that’s not the lone mode successful which the Doctor himself fails to marque overmuch of this concern better. With the particulate settled connected their small near-death experience, helium whisks her distant successful the TARDIS similar Belinda is the drawback of the day, going to municipality connected the accustomed tricks and razzle-dazzles that different get him a caller champion person hook enactment and sinker arsenic helium shows disconnected the TARDIS… and past helium instantly tells Belinda he’s already met idiosyncratic with her face, and scans her familial worldly without her consent. Belinda is, people arsenic a nurse, not wowed by his quality to bash this, but disgusted by the easiness astatine which helium crosses boundaries with people, portion besides being precise perturbed astatine what he’s showing her. Suffice to say, it’s not the Doctor’s champion moment, and astatine the extremity of it all, you benignant of recognize wherefore Belinda would instrumentality different nightmare displacement astatine the infirmary the adjacent greeting alternatively than walk immoderate much clip astir the Doctor.

© BBC/Disney

Yet contempt this situation, there is undeniably a spark of transportation betwixt the 2 of them, and not conscionable due to the fact that Gatwa and Sethu are firing connected each cylinders astir each other. There’s tiny moments of joyousness betwixt the Doctor and Belinda wherever you tin spot a enslaved forming, successful spite of the progressively atrocious concern unfolding astir them. It’s successful there, but there’s besides conscionable truthful overmuch going connected that Belinda doesn’t privation to truly put immoderate further than this feline getting her location arsenic soon arsenic possible, which the Doctor yet has to relent to (because, portion an occasionally not-great person, the Doctor isn’t each that regular of a kidnapper—just don’t fto Ian oregon Barbara perceive you accidental that). Except… helium can’t.

The Doctor realizes something is stopping the TARDIS from returning to Belinda’s modern Earth, but it’s lone we the assemblage that gets to spot successful the closing moments that the crushed is due to the fact that Earth is simply not determination immoderate more, bits of debris floating done space. It’s a slayer hook for the play particularly arsenic we cognize that the penultimate occurrence of the play volition really aerial connected May 24, 2025—and preventing the demolition of Earth seems similar a acold stronger play arc than, say, Rise of Skywalker fix-it-fic.

© BBC/Disney

But it’s besides conscionable a really compelling mode to support the Doctor and Belinda successful each other’s orbits to truly trial the imaginable of their friendship. They benignant of have to spell connected adventures simply due to the fact that location is not an enactment yet, and Belinda inactive gets to (not wholly rightfully conscionable yet, considering it’s not precisely the Doctor’s responsibility Earth mightiness person been blown up for a bit… well, depending connected what we larn astir it happening!) person this benignant of tempestuous narration with him, warming up to the thought of beingness successful Time and Space portion inactive challenging the Doctor connected his bound and promise-breaking antics.

We cognize this play is inactive going to sojourn Earth a fewer times, some successful the modern time and successful its past—next week we’re successful 1952 Miami, and trailers person already shown america Ruby and UNIT’s return, truthful it’s not similar it’s going to beryllium each alien planets each the time, but this is simply a fantastic mode to some springiness Doctor Who‘s latest acceptable of adventures a truly compelling arc simmering successful the background, portion providing fertile crushed for this truly absorbing dynamic betwixt the Doctor and his caller not-quite-bestie to flourish.

Where it’s each going though? We’ll person to hold and see… well, until May 24, 2025, astatine least.

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