Summary
- Doctor Who breaking the ‘save the day’ stereotype in Christmas special
- Importance of allowing the Doctor to fail, making him more relatable
- Current Doctor’s struggles make character development essential for show’s success
Almost every episode of Doctor Who focuses on the titular character attempting to save someone, or sometimes even an entire population, from a specific threat. Whether it’s an alien, a Dalek, or a toymaker, the Doctor is always on hand to try and counterbalance the evil within the universe and help those in need. It’s a stereotype that no matter how serious the situation is tends to work out, with the Doctor always getting the best of his enemies in Doctor Who.
However, in the Doctor Who Christmas special, he wasn’t able to do that, and that caught people by surprise in a positive way. The Doctor might be the ultimate science fiction hero, but that doesn’t mean he has to save the entire world, and it’s something that the show can explore moving forward.
Related
Doctor Who: The Villengard, Explained
The Villengard will appear in the Christmas Day episode of Doctor Who, but who are they?
How The Doctor Failed
Doctor Who’s Christmas special was all about the Doctor attempting to get rid of a star safely so that it wouldn’t explode and consume the entire world. He explored numerous options and consistently fought the odds throughout the episode, which created plenty of drama that people enjoyed witnessing. However, audiences presumed that by the end of the episode, he’d do just that: resolve the problem and save all of the characters he was with as part of this episode, but that didn’t happen.
Joy was his one-off companion for the episode, and she proved to be a popular character due to her personality. However, she ended up having a bigger impact than most presumed because Joy was the one who saved the day. She took the star and allowed it to consume her to the point where she ended up becoming a star herself. It was an emotionally powerful moment because it allowed her to beam on the world below and to be there for her mother’s passing. That wouldn’t have happened had the Doctor ended up solving the situation himself, and that’s what made the moment a clever one from a writing perspective, as it showcased that the character isn’t always perfect.
Why It Makes The Doctor More Realistic
The Doctor is a beloved character worldwide, and the reason for that is because he’s a brilliant hero who manages to save the day. Audiences naturally connect to someone who vanquishes the villain, which makes comic book heroes so popular, or other movie heroes such as James Bond. However, due to the Doctor’s powers, the character is not always the easiest to relate to. It’s impossible to understand someone who always takes down the villain and is able to fly around the world and fix issues with an electric screwdriver.
However, seeing him fail slightly and have someone die because he couldn’t fix things will help audiences connect with the Doctor better moving forward. Even when the moment was written beautifully enough to make people feel emotional, as Joy wasn’t upset about the situation, it still served a purpose for the character. People can easily understand and appreciate someone who isn’t perfect all of the time, and this episode managed to achieve that as it proved that he had a certain level of flaws.
It Suits This Current Version Of The Character
Having this particular version of the Doctor slip up was also a wise idea. Every iteration of the character has ended up being slightly different in terms of their confidence, charisma, and, ultimately, how talented they are at what they do. However, Ncuti Gatwa’s version is one that isn’t completely sure of themselves and how they will operate within this world, especially now Ruby Sunday isn’t there for every single journey. That was a focal point of the episode, with the Doctor’s loneliness being a serious topic, which is something that’s going to continue to progress moving forward.
Having the Doctor have specific issues that are relatable characteristics that everyone understands and deals with in their normal lives is going to be important for the character moving forward. This situation is only going to make Doctor Who more impressive as a show. If they can continue tapping into these ideas, then the next season of the show could be the strongest one yet. Even though audiences always enjoy the monsters and the comedic elements of the show, the importance in having the Doctor be a strong character is ultimately the most important thing for every episode.
While the Doctor will likely return to his typical self in the upcoming series, saving the day in most episodes to help as many people as possible. However, audiences going into each episode knowing that the Doctor might slip up will make Doctor Who even more enjoyable to watch because the stakes will instantly be raised safely in the knowledge that certain supporting characters might not be guaranteed to make it. Even though Doctor Who is targeted at the entire family, adding that element of drama will only enhance the show moving forward.
