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braxiatel · 2 years

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Okay so some overall thoughts on Power of the Doctor

Disclaimer: I have found Chibnall’s era to be entertaining overall, but lacking the spirit of Doctor Who. It’s had some interesting ideas, but I think there has been a little too much focus on being flashy, and not quite enough focus on storytelling.

That, however, is my opinion. If you found meaning in any of these stories that’s great and I’m happy for you. There have been great and amazing episodes in the Chibnall era, and I can understand why you would.

Power of the Doctor had this problem too to some extend, and that’s all I’ll say on that. I’m not here to bash it, I could go every moment where I felt it suffered from this particular shortcoming, but I don’t really think it would add much to the conversation around it.

With that out of the way:

I really, really enjoyed the culmination of Yaz’s character arc. She has been trying to be the Doctor all of this time, and I think a lot of us have been thinking that was going to end in her dying. I was pleased that was not the case, and that instead she got to be the main character of the show for a bit.

She didn’t have to step up without the Doctor around, because she had been going in that direction for a while. She piloted the TARDIS, she gathered her allies, she stopped the Master (A Master that she specifically had history with), and finally she sort of saved the Doctor when she carried them away from an exploding planet (moon? planetoid?). In that moment Yaz was filling the role of the Doctor, and brilliantly so.

Rather than her arc ending with her getting too caught up in trying to be the Doctor and getting killed, it ended with her getting to be the Doctor in a lot of ways, including having to say goodbye to someone she loved: the Doctor. Mandip’s acting had me tearing up, and then smiling at the end when Yaz realised that being the Doctor also meant letting go of people and letting them move on to new adventures without you.

However, that did have the consequence of Thirteen getting less screen time in their last episode, and I think that’s a shame.

I mean, we can argue semantics over whether the Doctor or their companion(s) is the protagonist of Doctor Who, but at the end of the day this was a goodbye for both Yaz and Thirteen and I don’t think Thirteen got to shine quite as much as they deserved.

That aside, Jodie obviously killed it. The regeneration scene fit Thirteen well, and her acting sold it well. There was a hint of sadness, but also that joy and curiosity that is so very Thirteen.

Dan... Okay, I’m gonna be honest here. I liked Dan realising that he was no longer willing to put himself in mortal danger to travel with the Doctor. But I wish that they had done this at the end of Legend of the Sea Devils so we had had a full episode of Dan when he left. The opening part felt a bit tagged on, like they forgot to add Dan to the script and had to come up with an excuse for him not to be there.

Dhawan!Master was brilliant as always. Do I understand what he was trying to achieve? No. Did him being Rasputin make any sense? Also no. But was it fun? Yeah! And did Sacha kill it always? Absolutely. Big Finish I hope you have his agent’s number, because I am not ready to give him up.

For legal reasons I am not getting into the continuation of the Timeless child plot.

All of the cameos were lovely. Was it very obvious occasionally over the top fan service? absolutely. But you know what, if we can’t have nostalgia in a regeneration episode when can we? I laughed at the dress for the occasion reference and got uhm. pretty misty-eyed at all of the classic doctors they’d gotten involved for that scene with Thirteen.

But uhm... am I the only one who was unhappy about the whole Tegan’s ex-husbands + Ace and Graham thing? Cause it’s just... Of all the companions to bring back and then hint at male love interests for, you picked Tegan and Ace? Possibly the two classic companions most widely believed to be wlw? (excluding Nyssa for obvious reasons) It just... doesn’t sit well with me. Especially not because Tegan and Nyssa being together was already canon, and that line about the ex-husbands didn’t add anything to the story. (Ace obviously did also have male love interests before and I wouldn’t have thought anything of it. It’s just the combination of the two I didn’t really enjoy.)

But! The companions’ support group! Yes, good, love that for them. I especially loved the empty chair as sort of a promise that they were going to eventually include more people.

(Do we know why Ryan wasn’t there? I’m assuming Tosin just didn’t have time to make a cameo, but it was such a shame not to have all of Thirteen’s companions there to see them off.)

And finally the preview for the next episode.

Okay lads, i’m gonna be real with you here. I’m concerned. Now, do I look forward to the R2D era? yes! I’m excited to see what he’s bringing back. But am I keen on so many characters from the first RTD era returning? eeerh.

Look, I’m just a bit worried about Ncuti Gatwa’s debut being overshadowed by all of this, you know? Cause I think it should be about him, and I don’t know that it will be...

I very much hope I will be proven wrong, though. And I mean, as an aficionado of all things Gallifrey and Time Lords, a look at regeneration and some of the forms it can take is obviously something that does appeal (now what time lord who has regenerated to look like himself several times could tumblr user braxiatel be thinking of? hmm)

So yeah. Pretty good episode, had its ups and downs, but overall I think it was tonally similar to the rest of Thirteen’s era and a fitting sendoff.

#normally i proofread stuff like this but I've got a thing with my mum in a sec so like #raw unedited thoughts for y'all darling followers #doctor who #doctor who spoilers #dw spoilers #the power of the doctor

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halcyon-witness · 5 months

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dw posting

watched jodie whitaker's last three doctor who specials the other day and found them surprisingly good. i mean, the sea devils one was more of the usual incoherent nonsense but the scenes between the doctor and yaz made it worth it. i'm not giving chibs full credit here as her only interesting characterization across three whole seasons is her yearning for the doctor in the final stretch, but it's emotionally affecting and good for what it is. mandip finally got to do some Acting in these episodes. the regeneration episode was a lot stronger than i was expecting. i've never been that interested in dhawan's master but the character seems more fully realized here, and the idea of wanting to take the doctor's place is a genuinely interesting thread that hasn't been done before, and it's pulled off well. i'm not usually interested in indulging in fanon that i know the show will never embrace, but i'm finding myself more and more willing to hop on the "sacha dhawan's master existed in between jon simm and michelle gomez" train. i still think chibs is completely deranged for bringing the character back less then two dozen episodes after the doctor falls with zero regard for the events of that story, and this interpretation just helps it so much that i have to go with it. thirteen's death/regeneration was also great, imo. i have a hot take that eleven and twelve's regeneration scenes both suffer from being too drawn out and saccharine, and this one was a nice break from that. i don't need you to read me a whole personal essay before you go, you know? even the "tag, you're it" line wasn't bad in context.

honestly i liked these enough that i can see myself starting to come around more to thirteen's era in general. i've always liked most of series 11, and flux, as barely coherent as it is, is still a version of doctor who i've always wanted to see; the epic long-form time-travel-chaos space-opera. it's as close as i think we could ever get to portraying the height of the time war on-screen. a lot of thirteen's stuff reminds me of mid-eighties doctor who in good way. i'm specifically thinking of like, seasons 23 and 24. i know they're not generally well-regarded but i'm very fond of them, and flux and the power of the doctor feel more like a continuation of the show that did trial of a time lord than anything else in the modern era. it has that very specific flavor of weird that i love even when the plot is impossible to follow.

anyway, no conclusion here. just having fun being back on my doctor who shit for the first time in years! happy new year folks!

#*#doctor who

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zlovestea · 2 years

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I CAN’T UNSEE IT

#Yaz = Amity confirmed????#I mean they are both lesbian sooooooo #well Yaz is sapphic but I headcanon her as lesbian :)#owl house #the owl house #amity blight #lesbian #Yasmin khan #Yaz khan #doctor who #Mandip Gill #WHY IS MANDIP SO CUTE-

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thefutureisporcelain · 2 years

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OK having some time to think now, and here are some particular things I love:

1) The gentle closeness of Yaz and the Doctor throughout this episode

2) The Doctor's awkward but totally in character attempts at flirting

3) "If I was going to, believe me, it'd be you"

4) The gentleness of that entire ending scene. It was beautiful writing, beautiful filming, and incredible acting. In the smallest movements of Mandip and Jodie, you could just see the little emotions going through them both. You can see the pain on both Yaz’s and the Doctor’s face. You can see Yaz’s deep care for the Doctor. You can see that it hurts her to know how the Doctor feels, what her reality is. You can see so clearly that she accepts it, even though she loves the Doctor so much. She doesn't push. She understands. And she cares so so so much. And you can see all the pain inside the Doctor, in Jodie's slow, small motions. She usually plays the Doctor so much in motion, quick and fast and funny, and it is always such a beautiful change to see how she displays the Doctor's pain and age. In this quiet scene, in simple moments, you can just feel the things the Doctor wants. The pain of what she can't have. The pain of what she doesn't know. How much it hurts her, to know and also not know what is coming. That small scene was so powerful and held so much meaning.

We got our moment on the beach, even if it wasn't what we expected or maybe hoped for.

That moment we had on the beach was what we all needed.

#im gay im gay im gay #doctor who #jodie whittaker #thirteenth doctor #13th doctor #yasmin khan #mandip gill #dw spoilers #doctor who spoilers #dw spoiler #doctor who spoiler #thasmin #legend of the sea devils #my gifs #my writings

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ssaalexblake · 3 years

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it’s funny tho b/c that yaz and 13 scene is the very first thing i’ve seen that makes me think that maybe they will Explicitly go there (explicit, in this case, means something straight ppl will actually notice) and apparently people are mad because it means they won’t??

the Tension in that scene was new. A lot of things have been narratively present before, looks and hints and spare lines, but i’ve never sat watching and thought ‘oh’ when they’re both on screen before. The Atmosphere jodie and mandip worked into that last scene was So impressive, for all they’ve been acting together for years now they brought something brand new to that scene.

I think maybe it might have been Mandip putting a smidge more confidence in Yaz, Yaz is older now! We meet her as a 19 year old with more bluster than confidence, imo, but now she’s legit in the confidence area. She Knows she’s got the stuff for this, knows Exactly how she deserves to be treated and has the emotional maturity to communicate that in reasonable conversation. She’s what, 23/24 now? There is a Lot of difference between 19 and 24.

And okay, maybe Yaz had that all season and it was just there waiting for 13 to meet her in the middle. But she did. And the emotional honesty and adult conversation bought in a Whole new mood to their interaction.

Anyway, i Loved that scene. They both played it so well.

#dw shit #dw spoilers

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thespianwordnerd · 2 years

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The acting choices in this hug hit different after eotd.

Look how tightly 13 clings to Yaz. Her face is full of regret and guilt because it took time apart to make her realise that she should have done this long before. Every unspoken apology and thank you she's wanted to say during that time is in that hug, and the doctor is the one to initiate it despite never being very physically affectionate before because she wants Yaz to know, after all that time, that she appreciates Yaz waiting for her, no matter how long she's gone, more than anything, and genuinely regrets leaving again.

Yaz is caught of guard at first. Why is the doctor hugging her now? What does it mean? But the surprise quickly fades along with any resentment over 13 leaving for years, because she is so overwhelmingly relieved to see the doctor in real life again. She is able to hold her close for the first time in 3 years (and probably since they met) and it's almost like she's breathing in the doctor's scent so she doesn't forget it. She enjoys the hug before the doctor pulls away because she knows not to take it for granted, and she smiles because they're both thinking the same thing- finally.

I hope Jodie and Mandip know they're making me lose my mind and I will forever owe them so much.

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elskamo · 2 years

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I’m kinda worried about what’s gonna happen in Doctor Who before Russell takes over again. Spoilers below for the latest episode!

On the one hand I’m so happy they finally confirmed that Yaz loves the Doctor romantically, it’s great to see more LGBT+ representation on the show and it’s the first time that ship tease may actually lead to a same sex relationship between the Doctor and a companion... in theory.

Both Jodie Whittaker and Mandip Gill have just two episodes left before they leave the show. Yaz has only just revealed in private that she likes the Doctor, let alone tell the Doctor herself. To me this means that either:

1. The Doctor is going to reject Yaz’s affections for her or Yaz will back out of saying anything before leaving the TARDIS for good.

2. The Doctor will reciprocate Yaz’s feelings which means that Yaz has got to die or meet another equally tragic fate at some point in the final special.

It feels like all the ship tease has just been gearing us up for disappointment. I know the last two specials haven’t been shown yet and I should probably reserve judgement but I can’t see how they can really turn this around.

#queue #ronnie rambles #doctor who

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aion-rsa · 3 years

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Doctor Who Series 13: Jodie Whittaker Leaving Rumours, the Next Doctor, and the Future

https://ift.tt/2SweahO

Jodie Whittaker is fast approaching that three-season milestone at which most Doctors pull the inter-dimensional rip-cord and eject themselves from the TARDIS. Speculation has swirled around her, as it does for most Doctors, from the very start of her tenure, and now, more than ever, there’s the strong scent of Regeneration in the wind. So, will Whittaker leave at the close of series 13? And if so, will any of her companions remain to bridge the gap between eras? Might showrunner Chris Chibnall also hang up his sonic-shaped pen? The BBC is playing its cards characteristically close to its chest, so divining the answers to these questions is not unlike trying to unlock the mystery of the Doctor’s real name.

There was an ample reminder of the BBC’s zeal for secrecy when Who-newcomer and beloved Liverpudlian John Bishop – cast last year as companion Dan – was rebuked for revealing during an online Q&A that his character, too, would be Liverpudlian. If the BBC don’t want you to know that a Liverpudlian might be playing a Liverpudlian, then this is going to be a bumpy ride. But let’s strap in, brace for impact, and see what’s (or Who’s) out there…

Jodie Whittaker on leaving

Everyone has their favourite Doctors, and not-so favourite Doctors. Jodie Whittaker is not alone in having had love and scorn heaped upon her in equal measure, a phenomenon that has touched most actors to have taken on the role, with the possible exception of Tom Baker and David Tennant, who stand as almost deified in their respective eras.

It’s clear, though, that Jodie Whittaker has loved every moment of being the Doctor, and of being embraced by the show’s fandom, telling the Telegraph in November 2020: “If you bump into a Whovian, it genuinely makes both of your days. There’s something emotional, poetic and very humbling about being in the show, because you’re a little tiny jigsaw piece of something that is so precious to so many people.” It’s perhaps understandable, then, that her response to the speculation around her departure was to say: “To even question an end point would be too upsetting.”

Or, to parrot one of her predecessors: “I don’t want to go.”

Where’s the evidence?

Over the last eighteen months, rumours that Jodie Whittaker will be leaving after season 13 have been endlessly shared and repeated. These rumours were reported as fact by some media outlets earlier in the year, though the BBC has steadfastly refused either to confirm or deny them. It does, however, seem more likely than not that 13 will be 13’s last; a supposition based upon the ‘Who Rule of Three’ and the unignorable sound of drums gathering pitch and pace across the internet.

In the hunt for ‘evidence’, dead-ends and red-herrings abound. IMDb currently reveals no projects rumoured or in pre-production for Jodie Whittaker beyond her TARDIS tenure, but, then, actors keeping contractual secrets would be fools to release their schedules onto one of the most comprehensive entertainment databases ever to have existed. So no help there.

The Mirror newspaper recently reported that the front-cover of the 2022 Doctor Who annual would be Doctor-less for the first time in its 57-year-history. Could this be a clue? Not likely. The people at Penguin Random House – the annual’s publishers – made it clear that the thirteenth Doctor will feature heavily throughout the publication. So whether the new cover is simply a radical redesign, a yielding to the purchasing power of this era of the show’s vocal detractors; or a shrewd marketing move designed to have the product promoted for free in the press, it doesn’t actually tell us very much about the likelihood of the 13th Doctor’s exit.

Peter Capaldi’s Trouser Clue

We might, however, be looking for clues in all the wrong places. Peter Capaldi deduced that he’d be handing over the TARDIS keys to a woman a few days before the BBC officially broke the news to him: thanks to his tailor.

At a New York Comic Con panel in 2017, Capaldi told the audience: “I went into Paul Smiths, which is a very wonderful clothes shop in London where I buy my suits, and everybody knows me in there. And they said, ‘We just got a call,’ they said, ‘from the Doctor Who office saying, ‘Can we have a pair of [Peter’s] trousers, but with a waist size thirty?’ … And I thought, ‘Well, that can’t really be a man with a thirty-inch waist. That must be a lady then’.”

Staking out Jodie’s tailor probably won’t prove fruitful, though. Knowing the BBC, they’ve probably plugged that potential leak by sub-contracting Jodie’s wardrobe out to a mute grandma living alone in a fortress atop the Himalayas.

Doctor Who: the behind-the-scenes causes of regeneration

By Mark Harrison

Doctor Who: Which New Doctors Are Now Canon?

By Chris Farnell

Will the Doctor Regenerate in 2022?

Series 13 will consist of eight episodes, set to begin airing later this year. The Mirror reports that there will be two specials in 2022, although it isn’t clear whether these will be in addition to this year’s 8, or whether we’ll see a split of 6 episodes in 2021 with the 2 specials being held over for 2022. A special – Christmas Day, New Year’s Day or otherwise – has become the traditional arena for regeneration, so if Whittaker is leaving, it’s likely that her final scene will come at the end of that rumoured second special.

Many think that the greatest evidence for Whittaker remaining as the Doctor until at least 2023 is our proximity to Doctor Who‘s upcoming 60th anniversary. After all, it would seem a shame to bow out before a big milestone, and it could be daunting to saddle a new Doctor with spearheading such a significant celebration. Still, the timey-wimeyness of it all means that even should Whittaker leave in 2022 there’s no reason she couldn’t make an appearance in an anniversary episode, perhaps alongside a few other previous incarnations. And 2022 marks the 100th anniversary of the BBC itself, so it’s hard to imagine that the show won’t be doing something extra special to mark that, given that it owes its very existence and longevity to the broadcaster (Michael Grade notwithstanding). Whenever she leaves, 13 could easily have her cake and eat it.

Will Chris Chibnall leave after Series 13?

When Bradley Walsh and Tosin Cole left at the end of ‘Revolution of the Daleks‘, Mandip Gill’s Yaz stayed behind. Yaz has been one of the new era’s most underdeveloped characters, so it made sense that she would get her chance to shine and grow in a less crowded environment, sharing companion duties only with John Bishop’s newly teased Dan. But as her character and her story seems so intrinsically linked to the Doctor herself, with the promise of more in-depth exploration to come in series 13, when/if the Doctor leaves, will Yaz’s story also draw to a close? Will only Dan remain with a foot in two TARDISes? All speculation at this point, and it very much hinges on which direction the writers take Yaz in this next clutch of episodes.

Showrunner Chris Chibnall – a lifelong fan of the show and, prior to his appointment as big chief, a long-standing writer for both Doctor Who and Torchwood – has been at least as divisive a figure in Who fandom as 80s helmsman Jonathan Nathan-Turner. Rumours regarding his possible departure have circulated with just as much frequency as those surrounding Whittaker. When asked about series 13, Chris Chibnall told the Radio Times: “I do know I’m coming back for a third season. Yeah, absolutely.” Within those words, if you look hard enough, exists the implied absence of certainty around future seasons, but perhaps that’s getting rather too Da Vinci Code about the whole thing.

While the stewardships of previous showrunners Russell T. Davies and Steven Moffat spanned two Doctors each, this doesn’t mean that Chris Chibnall is guaranteed a crack at the 14th Doctor. Should Chibnall leave after season 13, among the writing team perhaps only Pete McTighe – who wrote ‘Kerblam!‘ And co-wrote ‘Praxeus‘ – has the experience to take over as showrunner, given his stint over-seeing the award-winning Australian prison-drama Wentworth.

How might 13’s Regeneration Happen?

Each of the modern Doctors has met their end in the service of some great sacrifice, either to protect a companion or to save if not the universe then at least a world within it. It’s unlikely that 13’s exit will be any different. It’s simply a question of against whom or what she’ll be fighting when her time comes.

Though it may be too soon for the Master to be directly responsible for the undoing of yet another Doctor so soon after 12’s John-Simm-shaped downfall, it’s likely that the Master will at the very least influence the direction of 13’s regeneration. Sacha Dhawan has expressed enthusiasm at the idea of returning, though nothing, as you would expect, has yet been confirmed. Or denied.

The revelations in ‘The Timeless Children‘, controversial though they proved for some fans, are perhaps too epoch-shaking and era-defining not to play a part in 13’s swansong, and it may well be that the shadowy Division – the Time Lord’s very own version of Starfleet’s Section 31 – will be complicit in the Doctor’s fall.

Another question presents itself: now that the Doctor knows she has infinite regenerations, might it make her more reckless? Might she start to see her body more like an easily changeable suit than a thing of flesh and blood? Might she regenerate multiple times before becoming the 14th Doctor, a la The Curse of Fatal Death, and what on earth would we call the 14th Doctor – who wouldn’t really be the 14th Doctor at all – if that happened?

Who’s in the running for the next Doctor?

Many of the same actors tipped as possible replacements near the end of Capaldi’s run have reappeared in the Regeneration rumour mill, including firm favourites Michaela Coel, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Michael Sheen, David Harewood, Richard Ayoade and the indefatigable Kris Marshall. Joining them this time are Line of Duty alumni Kelly MacDonald and Vicky McClure, and It’s a Sin front-man Olly Alexander. It could be that one of them, or none of them get the call. The next Doctor could just as easily be Jo Martin’s fugitive Doctor, who’s been hiding in plain sight all along.

Really though, as with all things connected with the show at this stage of its cycle: Who knows?

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Doctor Who Series 13 will air on BBC One later this year.

The post Doctor Who Series 13: Jodie Whittaker Leaving Rumours, the Next Doctor, and the Future appeared first on Den of Geek.

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isagrimorie · 4 years

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[initial reactions] Doctor Who 12x07 - Can You Hear Me?

I find it so hilarious that the reason Thirteen hasn’t been doing emotional talks with other people... is because she’s deliberately trying not to be left one on one with people because she doesn’t know what to say.

It’s another reason why she probably has a group than a one on one companion because she knew from experience eventually she’d be drawn into one. It’s like once she knows things are going to get intensely personal or emotional she could throw Graham towards them.

This time though, Graham was looking to talk to the Doctor personally and Thirteen... just doesn’t.

I kind of love it.

Usually women are always the one who have emotional wisdom and maturity in shows but the Doctor... is still the Doctor. And the Doctor, with the exception of Twelve, who had to be forced to talk because Clara expected nothing less, and River pushed the final meter for Twelve, is emotionally constipated.

And just because the Doctor is a woman now doesn’t mean she’s suddenly enlightened emotionally.

It really does seem the bolstering talk she got from the team really helped her push aside her grief and everything on her plate.

But also, Thirteen rushing head long into something, not stopping to ask if she should be doing something and runs right into a trap. Oops.

Also, LOL at Thirteen basically kind of dragging immortals --

“You immortals. So entitled. So spoiled. You never clean up after yourselves.”

Speaking as one of the immortals, who doesn’t clean up after themselves. And whose fights with their ex best friend, ex lover ruins lives and planets. Also, Time Lords in general.

Quite a self-drag there too, isn’t it?

BTW, I am so glad the TARDIS is back arguing with the Doctor. I love when they get into spats.

Yaz

We get more insight to Yaz -- and Sonya. So it turns out, it’s Sonya who also takes care of Yaz, when they’re not fighting. And she does try to become the people she looks up to, first the officer who helped her and now trying to emulate the Doctor but she’s impatient and immediately wants to get to the best stuff.

And, there is one aspect of the Doctor Yaz is like, and that’s the penchant for running away.

Also, apparently bullying in school got too bad and ‘some other stuff’. Despite the running away too, I think it also makes clear while she likes some space she doesn’t actually want to be alone. Solitary.

Plus, Mandip Gill’s ability to look like a sullen teenager is amazing.

Ryan

I think this is the first time Ryan realized that his time away from his life also meant time away from people who matters to him. And because of his dad, I don’t think he ever wants to be that person, he wants to be solid and dependable but the kind of life the Doctor lives isn’t made for solid and dependable.

Also, I feel there’s some foreshadowing there with his nightmare about the Earth on fire. I also honestly did not think the Dregs were coming back, but yes they are nightmare material so, valid.

Graham

Graham’s fear is understandable tied together with how he still blames himself for Grace’s death. And it’s also understandable why he wanted to share with the Doctor, not only because she’s a doctor, but because it’s something he can share with a peer.

Unfortunately, the Doctor is both socially awkward and emotionally constipated but I think Thirteen saying that out loud helped lighten the mood...

The enemies of the week had a potential to be more interesting, if this was a two parter or a longer story because they’re interesting and does call back to the other immortal elements of the Whoverse: Eternals, Guardians and them.

#doctor who #doctor who spoilers #13th doctor #thirteenth doctor #dw 12x07 #dw: can you hear me?

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rowanthestrange · 4 years

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Do you think they will take Thasmin in more of a like relationship-relationship or at least two way street (rose tyler or Charley Pollard type thing) direction or more of a Yaz loving 13 but 13 not returning romantic feelings? (more of Martha type)

I don’t think either actually, not those archetypes I mean.

Yaz loves the Doctor, and knows she does. And I think the Doctor loves Yaz, and has just now worked out that she does. (Slash when Yaz impossibly turns up again, to get her out of prison this time, with Yaz pointing out that she’ll always come and save her).

But the difference here than with other relationships, is that I think both of them know that the Doctor is not in a fit state for anything to really happen. And she’ll want it to, but Yaz will probably work out where the boundaries should be.

I think we will get a kiss at least once, but it’ll be a sort of sad. Happy sad.

And it will be a fact that they love each other, but that will mostly be it, if that makes sense. Sort of like a more explicitly canon variation of Twelve and Clara, but without her control issues and the trauma-high energy; bit more healing focussed, softer, and married couple-esque.

If I had to write it:

In the Special, Yaz and Jack would talk. The fact that the Doctor doesn’t listen to her, bothers her, especially as she’s getting a sense of her own self-worth. And the mountain thing is how the Doctor sees them, doesn’t feel right. Jack clearly loves the Doctor, and look how much she listened to him. And she’s a brave soul, who didn’t go through everything in her life to be silent now, and so at the end she says something to that effect. Probably after the boys are gone. But slight plot difference - the Doctor admits it, apologises, opens up just a little. Now if it’s just the Special we get to keep Mandip for, a soft apology kiss for messing up everything this was supposed to be (for her, for everyone). But the Doctor holds together. It’s like Arachnids In The UK with no tea to save the situation. We want her to do something, but she doesn’t. Probably straight into whatever the next cliffhanger is.

But if we keep Mandip for another series - Yaz says her piece. The boys are already gone. We’re weirdly rooting for her because it feels very Martha - we like her, but we also want right by her. But as she goes, the Doctor - as if she can’t help it - asks her not to leave her. Like above, maybe she apologises - describes all of the things she knows she should have done and didn’t, but she doesn’t know why. Admits she thinks something’s gone a bit wrong inside her, and she doesn’t know how to fix it. And she’s asking for help. (Because Yaz will always come to save her). It’s the Doctor’s Can You Hear Me moment, and we feel it. And maybe you’d have to wait for a kiss, but there might be the gentle taking of a hand. And that’ll do for now.

And in the series proper, more healing bits, a kiss if we didn’t already, still danger for the pair, they still butt heads plenty of course (and if River turns up oh boy), but if Yaz finds someone kind and pretty well, the Doctor might facilitate that. And in my ideal world where I don’t know what the plot brings next time, ultimately at the end there’s no heart-breaking ending, just Yaz getting more time at home, maybe with her own flat and someone else to come back to, and like with Graham, the Doctor can always come back if she needs to, and Yaz can ring if she needs her, and we’re all the better for learning how to be people instead of letting our moments get the better of us.

#replies #thasmin #me typing all that into the inbox replies #praying it wouldn’t eat it #it’s hard to write doctor romance #no-one’ll ever be completely happy #but they are who they are #and so you have to settle

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giddleford · 4 years

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Broken Walls

Graham is unable to sleep and so over a mug of hot chocolate he manages to deepen his friendship with the Doctor.

Word Count: 2,088

Rating: G

Notes: I wrote this by hand while I was not paying attention to some lectures during the span of one day, it was bugging me, a lot, so I had to have it done. It’s also my first published fanfic which is, well, scary. To those who are fortunate to know the references, you will love them, to those who don’t, I hope you just enjoy it.

Thank you to the amazing @not-mandip for being my beta tester and helping me come up with the title. I wouldn’t have written this if you hadn’t invited me to your cursed chat, so thank you for that as well.

The TARDIS was quiet, only the usual white-nose remained. Graham had been exhausted, there had been way too much running in the last adventure and he no longer had the stamina. He was doing pretty good for his age, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t tired. As he lay in bed of his longtime claimed bedroom his muscles relaxed, leaving parts of him painfully sore. He’d have to ask the Doc for a calm adventure, thought Graham, he didn’t think he’d be able to move tomorrow. He tucked himself tighter and let his body relax even further, now feeling as if he was floating. He reckoned he’d be falling asleep soon, he was in warm and soft plaid pajamas with a blanket with a fluffy underside over him but yet he couldn’t. He might have been laying down but his mind was still running.

The Doc had been particularly reckless, as if she didn’t care about her life anymore. She was never careless with the fam though, always making sure they were alright, almost like a mother hen, but with herself, well, then it was different. Graham had a vague idea of regeneration, he knew that Doc was hard to kill, but he was still worried. He was so sure he had something to do with that man, oh what’s his name, yes, right, the Master. While the rest of the fam was trying to make out who he was, Graham had been looking for answers in her expression. He remembered quite clearly, even though it had been a while ago. She was standing still, shocked, as if she’d seen a ghost. He’d never seen the Doc like that. He knew she was furious as well, her anger tended to be very subdued, boiling beneath the surface but raw and potent. And yet he couldn’t exactly make out why she was angry, they hadn’t been left for dead in a crashing plane at that particular moment, and all the Master had done was reveal his true identity. He wanted to ask her so many questions, and he tried, he really tried but she had been so shut off, pretending as if nothing happened, as if everything was all right. He knew it wasn’t, he had been through too many hardships to know the face of grief and she wore it almost daily. He had to ask her, he wanted to help, to understand, to be supportive but only if she’d let him.

Gosh, he’d worry his head off, no, he wouldn’t fall asleep if he worried so much, but he couldn’t help it.

He tried to think about things that made him happy, like watching The Chase on TV and beating the chaser from his sofa at home. Trivia, he was good at that. But no, that didn’t make him truly happy it was just a distraction. He knew who made him happy but thinking about her still hurt, it was bittersweet. Her smile, her mind, all of her still made him all dopey, but this time that ache he got when he looked at her was tinted with grief. He tried to focus on the positive, all the memories that they made, all the laughs that they shared, all those quiet afternoons and those rare mornings where it was sunny and she would brighten the day even more. At least he had Yaz and Ryan, they had been next to him, supportive as always, and so was the Doc, as alien as she was. Now he thought about it she had been incredibly understanding, always showing support. From small touches to meaningful looks, to small worlds when they were alone, she had been all too familiar with his grief, as she had been there.

Darn it, this wouldn’t do, he was worrying again. It was as if he couldn’t control his thinking.

He had to clear his mind, perhaps a good mug of hot chocolate would help, like the ones Grace used to do on lazy nights. That paired with anything that could distract him would be greatly appreciated. He could watch TV, he’d meaning to finish The Hour but never got around to do so, too distracted by the evergoing travelling. Or maybe he could read a book, any of them classics. Definitely cozy, to be seated in a fluffy bed with a hot chocolate in hand and a book in the other. He shifted his in his bed, a bit reluctant to leave it’s heavenly comfort. As he stood up he located his slippers by the side of his bed, he then moved to reach for his matching fluffy robe. Perhaps he was out of bed, but he wasn’t going to sacrifice comfort. He headed towards the kitchen, or more specifically, he started walking around the halls expecting to eventually find the entrance. It didn’t take him long to find it, just like it didn’t take him long to prepare a warm mug of hot chocolate. He put marshmallows in the dark beverage, immediately feeling nostalgic for that was Grace’s favorite part. She had a sweet tooth, she would never admit it though. Graham chuckled under his breath, she could be quite stubborn sometimes. He missed her, even a simple hot chocolate made his heart ache, but right now he needed a distraction, a story to lull him to sleep.

He wandered through the halls again looking for his room. He had decided he’d watch TV, perhaps something new, something he hadn’t watched before, like Broadchurch, he’d heard very good reviews. He was decided, but he couldn’t find his room. The halls of the TARDIS we’re like a labyrinth, yes, but he was so sure it was around that corner, instead of finding in the console room. He retraced his steps, incredibly confused, perhaps if he found his way to the kitchen he could walk back to his room, but all he found was dead ends and other rooms. Eventually he found a very particular dead end, it had a mug of hot chocolate identical to his own inside a little compartment. It seemed like the TARDIS wanted him to grab it. He did, and when he turned around there no longer was a dead end, just a simple turn. He kept walking, he shouldn’t have gotten out of bed, he thought, but at least he had gotten distracted. When he came back from his thoughts he was standing right in front of the entrance of the console room. He had the urge to come in, and so he did, having long lost the interest to rationalize the situation.

He admired the room, sipping on one of his mugs when he spotted the open TARDIS doors. Sitting on the ledge with views to a gorgeous orange planet was the Doctor. Graham knew she didn’t sleep, or at least she didn’t sleep when they did but he didn’t expect her to be there. He thought she’d be tinkering with a gadget, constructing something, doing repairs but she was sitting there, still, and that terrified him because he knew something was wrong. He approached her with caution, making sure not to startle her as he sat down next to her. He mentally cursed, sore muscles. He recognized her tears, the pain behind her eyes and it hurt him. Wordlessly he offered her one of the mugs, internally making sure that it wasn’t the one he had drank from. Her eyes softened at the action and Graham knew that was her way of saying thank you. They both drank from their mugs admiring the gorgeous planet, emotions under both of their skins. Graham knew this planet was significant, he knew that she’d be allowed him to see something important even if he didn’t understand it, and he also knew that she was restraining herself, not letting him see her vulnerability.

“It’s gorgeous Doc,” whispered Graham, truly in awe of the sight. The Doctor looked down, instinctively hiding her face and then she looked back up readying herself to speak.

“I know.”

There was a brief moment when they shared eye contact, and that was the oldest Graham had ever seen her eyes look. So many lives were hidden behind those eyes, so much pain, so much regret and it struck Graham if her eyes had always looked like that when she was alone. Cautiously, he started wording his next sentence, he knew that he was meant to ask her, that this was the moment he had been waiting for. He was going to show his support, his worry.

“Hey Doc, I’ve been told I talk about my emotions too much. I’m a bit of an old sap you know, but I’m afraid you talk about them too little. Look, you don’t have to say anything if you don’t want to, but we are worried about you. I know you’re hurting Doc, don’t know exactly why, but I’m here, we are all here in case you need us. That’s what friends are for.“

At hearing those words, the Doctor broke down her barriers. She was also tired, the last adventure also had taken a lot from her, but she would never admit it. Small tears ran down her cheeks and a sad smile painted her lips. It was bittersweet, Graham thought, it was a conflict between good memories and bad ones, she was experiencing grief and in that moment Graham hated that he was right. He never liked seeing his friends in pain.

“That’s my home planet, Gallifrey. For a long time I thought it was gone, destroyed in the war.”

“But it’s not really gone, is it?”

“No, I brought it back”

Graham tried to understand. He failed.

“I used to be so sure that the only way to win the war was to destroy Gallifrey. At some point I found another way, and I brought it back but I forgot. They let me wallow in grief and guilt, so when I remembered I was furious. I had been so alone.”

“What happened then?”

“My childhood friend came back, after I thought he had died.”

Graham searched inside his brain, could that be? Yes, it must have been.

“The Master?”

“I thought he had changed, but suddenly all the work I had gone through crumbled. All those people I saved from myself were massacred. Thousands of people, my whole species. I didn’t feel alone anymore, but that was taken away from me.”

He couldn’t help but admire her, that despite so much pain being ever so present she still managed to smile, she managed to bounce around with shining eyes, she managed to keep hope and to save people from injustice.

“I know grief all too well Doc. My sister, my parents, my young love Jack, my true love Grace, I always felt alone afterwards. But know this Doc, there’s always people who love you but you won’t get to know that if you don’t talk to them. I know this is hard for you, to open up and talk about emotions, so thank you.”

The Doctor looked at Graham and smiled. It filled Graham with a familiar warmth, and so he smiled back, pouring as much love into the little gesture as he could. They finished drinking their hot chocolate in silence, just enjoying the presence of each other. At some point their mugs were empty and Graham felt himself close to yawning, so with a quiet grunt he stood up.

“Here, let me get that,” said Graham as he reached for the Doctors mug.“ You know Doc? I think we’re due a quiet day, we’re all sore from all the running, or at least I am. I’ll be heading back now, get some shut-eye. You should rest too Doc, don’t want you running ragged.”

Just as he was about to leave the Doctor called him.

“Thank you, Graham. For everything.”

“Anytime Doc, anytime,” responded Graham with a warm smile.

As he was going back to his room, he realized how content he was. A pleasant warmth filled his chest. His worries had dampened and now he knew that the Doc could count on him as much as he counted in her. That’s what he meant when he said he barely knew anything about her, and he still didn’t, he had just seen the surface, but now they had a little connection, and it was a start, a very meaningful at that. Perhaps after all this he could finally go to sleep, he was pretty tired after all.

#doctor who #13th doctor #thirteen doctor #graham o'brien #Graham Doctor who #Thraham #but platonic #Dw #fanfiction

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braddersbangerz · 5 years

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(just so that you can nOTP at @not-mandip... Graham)

Favourite thing about them?

His realness. “You wouldn’t be if it was a bomb” To packing sandwiches because they never stop to eat. He’s observant as hell as well. This is a guy who would slap every point into Charisma in Dungeons and Dragons because what he lacks in strength, fitness, etc., he makes up in speech and talking to people.

Least favourite thing about them?

When he snapped at Ryan for sure because I only thought “You really expect him to give two shits about you if you do that, Graham?” I get that he was worried, I understand that, but as someone with dyslexia (Not dyspraxia), I have the experience of things like that. “Oh, I sposed you’ll blame that on the dyslexia”. Is so easily pictured in my head.

Favourite line?

This entire interaction:

Thirteen: Now I know this is a bit of a shock-Graham: Well you could say that. I mean we have been dumped in space *looks and gestures around* we’ve got spaceships crashing all around us, now we are marooned on a planet that everyone else is racing to get away from.Thirteen: Alright, anyone can focus on the negatives-Graham: Well, what are the positives?

brOTP?

Thirteen and Graham.

They have a lot in common, and I wished we saw a part where Thirteen and Graham sat down and talked about River and Grace, the holes they both left behind.

OTP

Grace/Graham.

We don’t know if he ever had other partners, so it’s that or Food/Graham.

nOTP?

Graham/Thirteen

Just... no. They are mates like Donna and Ten, that’s it. Thirteen needs a mate like Donna again and that’s Graham. He’s not a carbon copy of Donna, but she needs someone who has a different outlook on life because he’s lived it.

And I feel like she can trust him to look after Ryan and Yaz when she isn’t around in Sheffield. Even though Yaz and Ryan can look after themselves, I still think Thirteen and Graham would try to out dad each other in terms of watching after them. In a friendly manner, mind.

Random headcanon?

That man is Biromantic Asexual.

Unpopular opinion?

I don’t think I have one?

Song I associate with them?

Lewis Capaldi - Someone You Loved

Because I wrote a songfic where Grace was an organ donor, and he went to the woman who got her heart like Peter Capaldi did in the video. The woman was pregnant as well and they asked if they could name her ‘Grace’.

Favourite picture of them? The still and gif of this scene. The observant man that he is spotted that Yaz is in emotional pain and is currently trying her hardest to hold it all in.

@not-mandip cause you asked the same character :)

#Doctor Who #Graham O'Brien #Bradley Walsh

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capricorn-0mnikorn · 5 years

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So -- I finally got around to watching the Doctor Who New Year’s episode: “Resolution”

I liked it... I’ll even forgive the fact that it was a Dalek episode.

Further spoilers below the cut (^that^, up there, wasn’t much of a spoiler, right? I mean the Beeb released a teaser revealing that the Big Bad would be a Dalek weeks ago)

Anyway: Onward, fam!

But the only reason I forgive it is because the Dalek was once again a clearly fascist metaphor, instead of just a silly pepper pot.

The best bit (praise what you enjoy, before criticizing what you don’t!) was this exchange between the Dalek and the Doctor in that workshop/barn space (whatever it was)

Dalek: Humanity will Surrender. Doctor: They really won't, trust me. I've seen them in action. They've fought off so many things. Including the worst of their own people. They're really stubborn. Have you not worked that out yet?

I don’t know... It’s just. After the year just past... I really needed to be reminded of that, right now.

Other bits I liked:

The opening, which was not set in the modern day, and not (exclusively) in Britain

Lin and Mitch were a cute couple. I’m glad they both survived. I’m glad Lin was not fridged.

I liked seeing the Dalek out of its casing.

I liked when Graham opened the door after the doorbell rang, and just said: “no.”

I’m glad neither Ryan nor Graham died.

There’s only one thing about the episode that didn’t sit well with me: te whole “Please forgive me.”/”Okay, I’ll forgive you.” trope, especially in a “Holiday” episode. I wish it would die in a fire, and then buried in pit of acid, as I’ve explained before.

However, because of that subplot, this felt more like the actual Series finale than the one with Tim Shaw. In episode 1, Chibnall set up the whole character development arc between Ryan and Graham with the opening scene of Grace and Graham trying to teach Ryan to ride a bike, and Ryan refusing to call Graham “Grandad.” That was resolved two episodes back. But Chibnall also set up a conflict between Ryan and Aaron in episode 1, and periodically reminded us that it was still a thing hanging over Ryan and Graham’s relationship. And it wasn’t until this episode that it was all “resolved.”

And... looking back at the series as a whole, I think that was the problem with Yaz’s character. Chibnall gave Ryan and Graham a path to follow, and gave us hints and signposts along the way to show us how they were progressing. But Yaz only wanted “more of a challenge.” And that ‘conflict’ (as much of it as there was) was resolved as soon as she met the Doctor. Which I think is totally unfair. Because I like the actress, and I like the character. And both should’ve been given more to do.

I’m now sitting here wondering if Bradley Walsh is preparing to leave after this, and so that’s why his storyline had to be completely wrapped up before Series 12. I would not mind it if both he and Tosin Cole were written out, and Mandip Gill stayed on as a continuity character, on her own with the Doctor in the TARDIS.

(Oh, and this was also the first time we had Disability Representation in Doctor Who, so I suppose I should mention that).

While I’m glad for it, and it wasn’t Absolutely Terrible, as far as representation goes (at least it was miles away from “Tiny Tim” bad -- which was one of my fears), I also can’t get past the feeling that Chibnall wrote it in because the Dyspraxia Foundation in the UK was celebrating its 30th anniversary in 2018, and so Chibnall decided to write it into his show. Ryan’s line: “Not bad for a guy with Dyspraxia, huh?” after he rescued his dad just made me wince.

Overall, though, I think this was the strongest of Chibnall’s episodes.

#Doctor Who #New Year's special #Ryan Sinclair #Yasmin Khan #Daleks #episode review #queue

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