#the 'i'm very socially awkward' scene is so fucking bad though im not defending it

[aq2003]

a criticism that i absolutely despise about thirteen is the "she's socially awkward, less confident, and more nervous about coming off as weird and this is out of character" take. because this ties into one of her defining character traits as an incarnation. yes all the doctors previous have been strange and offputting to some degree and have mainly not cared about coming off that way (save for ten, who mostly does want to come off as a friendly affable dude and asks if he's being rude sometimes but doesn't have moments where he's apologetic about his oddness in itself). but for thirteen her whole deal is that after twelve's dying wish was basically "ALWAYS BE NICE TO PEOPLE NO MATTER HOW MUCH ETERNAL RAGE AND SADNESS YOU KEEP IN YOUR SOUL" she tries to hide/repress any negative, less "presentable" sides of her from her close friends even when they can tell she's trying to hide it and are attempting to offer emotional support. she tries to be conscious of how she comes off after like, centuries of not really giving a fuck about this. and she clearly struggles with it and this is why she feels so fish-out-of-water in multiple different ways. it's not out of nowhere nor is it ooc (especially bc it was something you saw a little bit of with ten)

#ive seen this criticism in many different places and it . Annoys me! for many reasons. #5 hour chibnall hate video essay you were right about the companion character writing and the politics being bad but this is like #one of thirteen's most notable traits that also ties into the most interesting part of her character #'thirteen is oblivious human social conventions' like both eleven and twelve at MULTIPLE different points? #'thirteen is needy' Oh you mean like ten was needy? like ten had a scene where he was straight up talking to the air #bc he missed martha so bad and generally absolutely needs a companion with him lest he literally be driven insane? #dr who #13 era #the 'i'm very socially awkward' scene is so fucking bad though im not defending it