#< since it is mentioned twice that etho wanted to die

[greeenchrysanthemums]

Joel has a past with Etho, and It is the one secret that he keeps from Lizzie.

The war was still going strong, and Coral Crest just had a victory on the outskirts of their border. They took many prisoners in the aftermath of this long and bloody battle. Among these prisoners was Etho.

By this point in time Etho was pretty infamous and it was a big deal that he had managed to be captured at all, so his arrival at the castle, of course, caused quite the uproar. Joel was too curious for his own good, so he couldn't help but sneak into the dungeon while Lizzie and his father were asleep to see if the rumors were true. He was shocked to find that they were.

Etho struck up a conversation with Joel the second he got close enough to the cell. Joel, who hadn't even realized he had been spotted, was scared at first. However, he couldn't deny his curiosity, so he stayed and talked with him.

Etho admitted to Joel that he got captured on purpose, and that he was just bidding his time until Coral Crest put him on trial and had him killed. He talked about wanting to be free; free from the war, free from Wintertide, just free from it all, and that the only way he thought he would ever find that was through death. Joel asked why Etho was telling him this and he just shrugged and said he was going to die soon anyway so he might as well get it off his chest.

Joel went back every night after that to talk to Etho, fascinated by the strange enemy solider. As time passed, he got to know him, and in turn opened up to him as well. They became friends of sorts, or at least as close to friends as two people on opposite sides of the war could be.

He then realized that he really didn't want Etho to die, something that was inevitable the longer he was in Coral Crest. Months had passed since the initial capture, and they had indeed put him through a trial at this point. His sentence was death, just as Etho had predicted, and the date was fast approaching.

So, Joel did as he does best; he acted brashly and with little to no second thought.

In the dead of night, Joel set fire to one of trees in the courtyard. He had carefully planned it out and made sure that it would not spread to anything else, but it was still enough to cause a panic. While everyone was occupied by the flames, he stole the keys to Etho's cell and set him free.

Etho was confused and at first refused to leave the cell, determined to meet his fate on the gallows, but Joel told him to go have his second chance, make amends, and be free. Etho still wasn't sure, but he eventually caved, unwillingly to let Joel's kindness go to waste.

Somehow, Joel got away with it. He hasn't told a single soul about the deed, because if he did, he would surely be charged with treason. On Etho's part, he never told the tale of how he escaped, because he knew that in doing so, he would put Joel in danger.

Lizzie knows, but she doesn't say anything. She watched Joel sneak out every night, she watched him set the fire, and she watched Etho make his escape into the dark. She kept her silence over the years only because she trusts Joel with her heart and soul; she trusted his judgement enough to keep his secret.

Neither of them could have anticipated that Joel would come face to face with that familiar scarred man when Lizzie sent him to Wintertide to get in contact with the resistance.

[aisakalegacy]

Generation 2 - Chapter 4: Becoming A Martial Arts Master In A Year

They celebrated Steve’s birthday during fall. He was a loner so he didn’t want anyone but his close family to be here, but Taiga tried to make this day special anyway.

He was... Well, funny looking. He started to wear a hat so people wouldn’t focus their attention on his ears. He still was very dark, and had developed the ambitious trait. Well, he only wanted to be a fisherman, but he would be great at it!

Tay came for diner. He was not going to let his favorite (and only) brother celebrate his birthday without him! Even though he had lost his hair, he looked very chic. He had grew a bit of a mustache and beard that suited him very well.

After diner, Steve and Ami went to bed. Taiga stayed up to chat with Tay.

“You know, Tay, your father would be very proud of you. You care for your brother and sisters as if they were your own children. You’re always here for us. What a fine man you’ve become! You’re a great role model for Steve.”

“Oh, don’t mention it. I’ve got wealth - why not share it? You’ve been trough so much, I feel like it is my duty.

- I must ask you a favour.

- What is it?

- I’ve been thinking of traveling to China for a while now. I’m not sure how much time I have left, and there is something there I must do before I die. Now that the kids are all grown, I feel like it is the right moment to do it. I need you to watch over my children and the house while I’m not here.

- How long will you be gone?

- I’m not sure. Maybe a year, maybe more.

- I understand. You can count on me. Leave with a peace of mind, and enjoy your stay. And you know, Ami’s horses are starting to like me!”

- She has a funny way to show it, but I’m sure Ami likes you too. That is, as much as Ami can like someone who doesn’t have four legs and a mane.

- Why, you mean she can’t appreciate my luxurious hair?” replied Tay with an exaggeratedly offended look.

Taiga couldn’t help but laugh.

“Thank you, Tay.

-  It is truly my pleasure.”

Taiga took a few more weeks to finish her preparations, and finally, she was ready to go. She was leaving her home in good hands: the last thing she saw when she left the swamps was Tay, helping Ami with her horses.

Seven months later, Taiga arrived to the small town of Shang Simla, Shanxi, in the North-Eastern part of China. It was founded by a group of monks with an ethos of discipline and martial arts, and Taiga was expecting to find clarity of mind as much as physical strength there.

The first person she met was Yi Quan Gai Lam Hu Yin.Yi Quan Gai Lam Hu Yin was the keeper of the Academy of Martial Arts, where Taiga would stay. She came to him and said in a rusty Mandarin:

“I’m here to become a Grand Master.

- To be a Grand Master, you need to defeat each of the twelve Grand Masters of the twelve Academy of Martial Arts. Everyone of them had been training in martial arts since their childhood. Do you have enough determination to compete?

- Yes. Yes, I do. I’ve been waiting for this my whole life.

- Alright. Are you ready for your training?

- Yes!

- Well, he said, go outside and meditate.

- What? When will I fight the Grand Masters?

- To master the martial arts disciplines, you must first master discipline itself. Now go out, and concentrate! I’ll tell you when you’re ready to face your first opponent.”

Taiga went reluctantly in the Academy’s gardens and started to spare with the other students of the Academy. Everyday she would ask Yi Quan Fai Lam Hu Yin about her next opponent, and everyday he would say the same thing: meditate. So she actually gave it a try.

After a few weeks of daily meditation, her impatience started to fade away. One morning, Yi Quan Fai Lam Hu Yin came to her and said:

“You’re ready. You will now fight your first opponent.

- Who is it?”

A man came into the room.

“Meet Master Zhan Kim-Su Shu Zi of the Academy of the Rat.

- Do you fear death, grandma?

- Well, thank you but I don’t intend to die that easy. 

- I’m going to eat you alive.”

Zhan Kim-Su Shu Zi fought well, but he made one mistake: he underestimated Taiga, and Taiga kicked his ass.

“Not bad, said Yi Quan Fai Lam Hu Yin. But do not let all the praise go to your head. The Rat brags a lot, but he was actually the easiest opponent you will have to face. You still need a l need a lot of training if you want to confront your next opponent.”

The next one was Bao Niu Chou Louie of the Academy of the Ox. He was half-occidental, just like her: his mother was Chinese, and his father was American. He was known for his brute force, and Taiga had spent a month doing force exercises to be able to defeat him. She lost the first two times, but she eventually defeated him.

“I was wondering, said Taiga one day to Yi Quan Fai Lam Hu Yin, where is the Grand Master of our own Academy? Will I have to defeat him too?

- You haven’t guessed?”

He had a large smile on his face.

“It is I, Master Yi Quan Fai Lam Hu Yin of the Academy of the Tiger. And I’m your next opponent!

- Alright. I’ll fight you now.”

She didn’t have the time to move that he had already put her on the floor.

“See? You need to concentrate. Technique  is not what you need. It’s focus. You’re too distracted, you don’t pay enough attention to your opponent. Your mind is everywhere when you need it right here. Now go back in the garden and meditate.”

Taiga was furious. After two victories, she had been too sure of her martial arts abilities. But she would not do the same error twice. She meditated for ten hours straight, and the next day, when she came back to his office, she was ready.

“I see you have learnt your lesson. Now let us fight.”

Yi Quan Fai Lam Hu Yin was ferocious, and he deserved to be called a tiger. His moves were fast and Taiga had to pay an extra attention to everything he did if she wanted to be able to avoid his kicks and punches. He was way better than her and he wouldn’t allow her any mistakes. If she wanted to win, she will have to exhaust him, so that’s what she did. She mades as few movements as possible in order to keep her strengths, and when he started to show signs of weakness, she did her first attack. Yi Quan Fai Lam Hu Yin fell on the floor, defeated.

“You have made me proud, Taiga. You have learnt a lot these past three months. Keep fighting like this and soon, you’ll be a Grand Master. And now...

- Go outside and meditate?

- Exactly. If you defeat your next opponent, I will consider you worthy of a new belt. You better start training now.

- Who is he?

- Who is she, you mean. Master Lu Zhi Tu Mao of the Academy of the Rabbit is the fastest woman alive. Good luck.”

After another month of training everday against Master Yi Quan Fai Lam Hu Yin, Lu Zhi Tu Mao presented herself at the Academy.

« Is that you who wish to challenge me? You look like fun!

- I could say the same! said Taiga. So... skip the introduction?

- Lets. »

Lu Zhi Tu Mao was fast, but Taiga was more skilled, and now she was trained to see the weaknesses of her opponents. She understood that Lu Zhi Tu Mao needed to be so fast because she was not strong enough, which meant that by using more strength, Taiga could defeat her! She redoubled efforts and hit her as much as she could! That’s how she defeated her.

“Wow, you’re good. If you want a friendly spare sometimes, come to see me at my Academy!

- I will when I have defeated all the Masters!”

Lu Zhi Tu Mao laughed.

“Yeah, you do that!”

After that, Yi Quan Fai Lam Hu Yin did as he promised: he gave her a white loose-fitting pants and jacket along with a black belt.

“You have completed the first part of your journey to become a Grand Master. You have eight more masters to challenge. You will have to train harder. Do you want to continue?

- Of course!

- The next master you will have to defeat is Master Ai Pei Long Chen of the Academy of the Dragon.

- What’s special with him?

- He’s invisible.

- Invisible?!”

Taiga was astonished.

“Yes. People at the Academy of the Dragon follow a very strict ethos that say their face mustn’t be remembered, only their actions must survive history. That’s why they become invisible.

- How am I supposed to defeat an invisible man?

- ....

- Please, don’t say “by meditating”.

- If you know what I’m going to say, what are you still doing here?

- ... Fine.”

Out of respect for the Academy of the Dragon’s philosophy, we won’t show you how the fight went. We can only tell you that Taiga was crushed more that twice, but she finally managed to defeat Master Ai Pei Long Chen by throwing dust on him. 

After him, she defeated Master Sun Young Kim-Su She Si of the Academy of the Snake.

 She was deceitful and cunning. She tried to cheat during the fight, but Taiga had not come all this way so a cheater could beat her! Taiga was a proud student of the Academy of the Tiger, so she fought treachery with ferocity - and she won.

Masters from other Academy started to hear about this old woman who was defeating them one by one. The proudest of them all was Simia Zhi Ma Wu of the Academy of the Horse. She came all the way to see what the fuss was all about, and she seemed very disappointed when she saw Taiga in person.

“Move, fool. I don’t have time for weaklings like you.”

Taiga was very offended. She stood there and said:

“Make me!”

Simia Zhi Ma Wu’s charge was so sudden Taiga was almost hit. Fortunately she avoided it fast enough.

Master Simia Zhi Ma Wu was a strong woman, and she was fast too - that made her a fearsome opponent amongst martial artists. But Taiga’s pride was at stake here, and she couldn’t lose! She eventually defeated her, but she ended up with two broken ribs, a broken nose and a dislocated jaw. She needed a lot of rest after that.

Master Yi Quan Fai Lam Hu Yin cared for her and let her sleep in his office until she recovered.

It took a few weeks, but after that, she was back on her feet and ready to fight.

“Please, pick a nicer opponent next time! she begged her master.

- I don’t get to pick. Every Academy is associated to an animal from Chinese astrology. The order is ritual and follow a cycle. The next challenger is Master Chen Sheng-Hong Yang Wei from the Academy of the Goat. 

- The Goat? I can manage that.

- You be so prompt to juge. One day, it will backfire.

- I’ll work on that. ”

However Chen Sheng-Hong Yang Wei from the Academy of the Goat should have been the one listening to master Master Yi Quan Fai Lam Hu Yin, because it did backfire for him.

« Well look at that, he said, an old woman wished to challenge me?

- Old woman? You’re far older than me. »

He bowed respectfully, and they started to fight. 

Taiga let him think she was weak on purpose by missing a few hits, and when Chen Sheng-Hong Yang Wei’s defense was very lowered, she stroke back and she won the fight! She was ecstatic. After that, Master Yi Quan Fai Lam Hu Yin gave her the last fighting clothes she was going to wear: gold and black.

“You’ve reached the last part of your journey. You overcame many challenges, you trained hard, you learnt, and now you are here. I must ask you still: do you wish to continue? Once you’re a Grand Master, you shall take the place of the Master of your Academy - that means my place. With this comes a great deal of responsibilities.

- I’m not willing to take your Academy from you, Master Yi Quan Fai Lam. I must continue because I need to prove to myself that I can do it. But being able to beat all Grand Masters once doesn’t mean I’m the best of them all - it just means I had luck. I’ve struggle most of my life with things I had no control over. Now it’s time for me to be in control of my life.

- So be it. For you next opponent, you must remember what I last taught you.

- That I must go outside and meditate?

- ... No. That you shouldn't juge so quickly.

- Why that?

- Deedeeda ♪ ... Deedeedee ♪... Mmmhmmh deedee  ♪”

They could clearly hear an elderly woman singing on the outside.

“Oh. She’s here. Taiga, I want you to meet Master Gao Pei Hou Shen of the Academy of the Monkey.”

Taiga opened the door. A very, very old woman was having a hard time climbing the stairs of the Academy. She was so wrinkly one could hardly see her eyes. Her back was hunched and she needed a cane to walk. She was perhaps a hundred years old!

“ You? said Taiga. No offense, but a woman your age shouldn’t be sparing. I don’t want to break you.”

The old woman slowly finished to climb the stairs before she said with a whimsical smile:

“I’ve been through fifteen pregnancies, I can be through one more fight.

- Well... If you say so. Let’s go in the gardens.

- I’ll follow you.”

They went in the garden and went in position. Taiga wasn’t very happy about that fight. The woman looked so frail! If she slept, she’d break a hips and die! And her master wanted her to fight that woman?

“Salute, announced Master Yi Quan Fai Lam Hu Yin.

- Oh, no, said Gao Pei Hou Shen.

- No? What do you mean, “no”?

- I don’t like to have an audience. What if you steal my secret attack? Huh. Have you thought about that?

- Well, I...

- Yeah, That’s what I thought. Youngsters don't think about anything these days. They don’t care for the elder as much as we did.

- But I...

- Please, make me a cup of tea, will you?

- I... Alright”, said Yi Quan Fai Lam Hu Yin.

And he went back to his office. Master Gao Pei Hou Shen turned to Taiga.

“So you’re the one everyone is telling me about. I’m glad to meet you. Let’s talk. It is rare to see a woman your age start such a difficult journey. Of course, to me, you are a child, but to them, you’re over.

- Yes. Martial arts are something I have always loved, but I couldn’t dedicate my life them.

- Why not?

- I had three kids to raise. But martial arts are what helped me make it through. I’ve been through so much. I came to a new country with nothing. I had no place to stay. When I had my first daughter, I had a home but not much else. I had to do things that I’m not proud of, but that I will do again if I could go back in time. When I was desperate, martial arts were calming me down: when I fought, I was also fighting my problems. I don’t think I’ll live as long as you do, Master Gao Pei Hou Shen. I don’t regret the life I’ve lived. But I have one thing left to do, and it is to become a martial arts master. Does that make sense?

- Yes. Yes, it does.

- I’ve got your tea, Master Gao Pei Hou Shen!”

Master Yi Quan Fai Lam Hu Yin was back with a cup of tea.

“Now will you please fight?

- Oh, but we already did while you weren’t there.

- What... You did?

- Oh my, yes.

- And who won?

- She did.”

Yi Quan Fai Lam Hu Yin stood there, open-mouthed. He eventually shook his head.

“Good job, Taiga. You can rest now.

- Well, I’ve got to go. Good luck, young lady!

- ... I’m fifty.

- And I’m one hundred. It is all relative.”

And then she went away, with her cane and her whimsical smile.

Taiga mastered the martial arts skill, and the next fights went very smoothly. First, there was Master Li Yuan Ji You of the Academy of the Rooster. He was very proud, and he took it very badly when Taiga kicked his ass.

Then there was Master Abi Yat Sen-Hong Gou Xu of the Academy of the Dog. He had an almost playful way of fighting, but sometimes he would do a brutal move that was unexpected. Taiga beat him nonetheless.

There were only one challenger left - it was Master Shen Su Zhu Hai of the Academy of the Pig. She was just a little bit older than Taiga. She had a very intelligent look, and she stank awfully. She looked at her arrogantly

« Your master said you’d be the one to defeat me. You don’t look like much.

- Just you wait. I trained hard!

- Even if you had the muscles, do you have the skills and mind? »

This was a very, very long fight. Master Shen Su Zhu Hai seemed to know everything she was going to do. She could guess her every moves, and was completely unpredictable herself. If she wanted to win this time, she would need to be destabilize her. So she started to do completely random moves. If she didn’t know what she was about to do herself, Shen Su Zhu Hai would not know either! That’s how, eventually, Taiga managed to defeat her.

After that, Taiga went outside. She had completed her lifetime wisher, and she felt invulnerable.

“Congratulation, said Master Yi Quan Fai Lam Hu Yin. You are now an official Grand Master of the Academy of the Tiger. What is the first thing you are going to do?” 

Taiga could not hold back her smile.

“Go outside and meditate.”

[whovianfeminism]

Whovian Feminism Reviews “Twice Upon A Time”

Letting go is always the hardest part. And yet, letting go is how this show survives. We have to let go of Doctors and companions, TARDIS windows and sonic devices, and producers and showrunners to let new ones come in. It’s how Doctor Who has survived for 54 years. Change and go on, or die as we are, as the Doctor would say. But it doesn’t make saying goodbye any easier. "Twice Upon a Time” gave us an episode filled with both sadness and hope, a perfect balance between a heartfelt goodbye to Peter Capaldi and a generous welcome to Jodie Whittaker.

To prepare for this historic regeneration, we’re brought all the way back to another iconic regeneration -- the very first one. After playing William Hartnell himself in An Adventure in Space and Time, David Bradley returns to Doctor Who to play the First Doctor in “Twice Upon A Time.” His portrayal of the First Doctor is incredibly well done, recreating the feel of Hartnell’s performance while also providing his own subtle interpretation of the role. In the unseen moments between the First Doctor’s escape from the Cyberman ship and his regeneration in the TARDIS, Steven Moffat slips in a story about how he, too, might have resisted regeneration.

Although it doesn’t quite break the fourth wall, I can’t recall an episode of Doctor Who that acknowledges quite as much as “Twice Upon a Time” that we are, in fact, watching a television show. The “Previously...” opener doesn’t just show us an abbreviated version of “The Tenth Planet,” it tells us that it took place 709 episodes ago. Black and white footage from “Tenth Planet” is show in its original, smaller dimensions before it beautifully transitions from Hartnell’s Doctor to Bradley’s Doctor, in color and in modern television dimensions. 

There’s also a bit of a retrospective on the era and the actor which influenced the character of the First Doctor. Though this is a show about an alien time traveller, Doctor Who has always been a product of the people of its time, and has reflected their biases and prejudices. This was something that Steven Moffat was very aware of when writing his version of Hartnell’s Doctor. He told SFX magazine that the First Doctor reflected "old fashioned attitudes” in ways that stand out to modern audiences but were “normal and invisible” at the time. And instead of ignoring that, he tried to embrace it and confront it head on. 

The first Doctor has several astounding moments that lay his sexism bare in “Twice Upon A Time,” several of which are grounded in comments and actions from previous stories. The First Doctor threatens to give Bill a “jolly good smacked bottom,” which is exactly what he threatened Susan with in “The Dalek Invasion of Earth” (a line which Hartnell may have improvised himself). And the First Doctor mentions to both the Twelfth Doctor and Bill about how he expects female companions to clean up the TARDIS and fetch him things. That moment is handled much better than a similar one from “The Five Doctors,” where the Fifth Doctor asks a very offended Tegan to “humor” the First Doctor when he makes a similar demand of her.

Although I understand and appreciate what Moffat was attempting to do, I have to admit that after the fourth or fifth sexist comment it began to feel overplayed. His point could have been made with just one or two lines. Eventually, they began to actively detract from my enjoyment of “Twice Upon a Time.” The last thing I wanted to hear in the episode introducing Jodie Whittaker was two men sniggering over how all women are made of glass, even if they were clearly in the wrong. Hartnell and the First Doctor were hardly progressive, and it’s perfectly reasonable to want to address that. But to have some of the worst moments of that era of Doctor Who thrown so frequently in your face was just exhausting. 

And yet, I have to admit there might be a generational difference here. I later watched "Twice Upon a Time" with my mother, who's just one year younger than Moffat, and she actually appreciated those moments. She grew up watching the same era of television as Moffat did, and remembered just how pervasive and accepted those sexist attitudes and comments were. These types of comments were already outrageously outdated and caricaturish by the time I was watching television in the 90s. But they were the background radiation of the media my mom consumed at a young age -- a poison in the foundation of our current media that we are still, generations later, trying to clear out. She felt it was important to have those moments called out for what they were, instead of letting them be swept away and forgotten. 

And she felt that those moments perhaps revealed the endemic bigotry that kept a woman Doctor from being able to come forward earlier. Is it really believable that an alien time traveller would believe it is appropriate to spank a grown woman or would be befuddled by lesbians? No. Is it also believable that an alien capable of totally changing their physical appearance has only ever appeared as a white man? No. But did we really need to belabor the point and escalate the problematic comments? From my perspective, no. 

Between three Doctors and two regenerations, we hardly have any time for Bill Potts, who makes a re-appearance to help urge the Doctor towards regenerating. Although it’s always a delight to have Pearl Mackie back on our screens, Bill is unfortunately not much more than a plot device in “Twice Upon a Time.” She’s used as a tool by the Testimony to either manipulate or understand the Doctor. She asks the right questions so the Doctors can provide us with exposition. And she’s there to put in the emotional labor to convince the Twelfth Doctor that he should regenerate. Bill does have moments of charm but ... that’s it. Moments. In the end, nothing much has changed since “The Doctor Falls.” She still lacks a satisfying story arc that is wholly her own, and exists almost entirely to further the Doctor’s arc. It makes me long even more for the next season of Doctor Who, where a woman will be the lead protagonist and a woman of color will be one of her companions, and it will be much harder to make their stories center around white male characters.

But for the time being, this is still Peter Capaldi’s story, and I cannot begrudge him the incredible ending that he so justly deserved. The man who was introduced as the Doctor while holding his lapels in an imitation of Hartnell ends his tenure by encouraging the First Doctor towards regeneration. The man who began by creating a “darker, less user-friendly” Doctor lands on his defining ethos: “Be kind.”

There is fear and sadness here, too. Regenerating isn’t dying, but it is an ending, and both of the Doctors are afraid of what comes next. The First is afraid of who he might become. The Twelfth is afraid that he might never leave the battlefield. But they still get another chance at life — which is why it is so very fitting to put them up against a British Army Captain from WWI, who is facing a very real and very final death. He was resigned to his death, until the Doctors accidentally gave him hope. Now he’s had time to think about everything he will lose, and he is afraid.

But kindness underlies everything. The Doctor pushes time forward to save a stranger’s life, relying on the simple and yet extraordinary kindness two armies showed each other in the middle of a brutal war. That selfless act of kindness gives the First Doctor the courage and conviction to regenerate. The Testimony allows the Twelfth Doctor to see his companions one last time and restores his memories of Clara Oswald, giving him peace. But it is one more call for help, one more act of kindness, that finally convinces the Twelfth Doctor he must regenerate. 

His final triumphant speech epitomized the Twelfth Doctor, and the man who played him. Peter Capaldi will be remembered above all for being one of the kindest, most generous actors to ever pilot the TARDIS. He understands intimately what it is like to be a fan of the show, and what the Doctor means to so many. He was generous with his time and went the extra mile to show his appreciation. And he never, ever gave a condescending answer to children. His final lines about how children can hear the Doctor’s name came directly from his answer to a young fan at an episode screening. 

I’ll admit that I have never before cried at a Doctor’s regeneration. During Capaldi’s, I sobbed. Bill was right — the hardest part of knowing the Doctor is letting him go.

Enormous credit has to be given to Rachel Talalay for creating such a gorgeous episode. I feel like I say that every time I review one of her episodes, and yet it has never been more true. She faced such a variety of challenges in this episode, from faithfully recreating scenes from the 1966 story “The Tenth Planet” to a grim and damp WW1 battlefield, from spaceships and glass ladies to explosions galore. And never is an opportunity wasted to turn what could be a simple scene into a work of art. When the two Doctors first meet at the South Pole, the scene is infused with the shifting, changing blues and greens of the Aurora Australis. When the Twelfth Doctor is considering whether or not to regenerate, the sky is filled with a fading golden light.

And never has a regeneration been quite as incredible as Jodie Whittaker’s. Most regenerations are efficient -- one Doctor burns or fades (or sneezes) into the next, and he plunges straight into a new adventure. But Whittaker is revealed in a mix of intimate glimpses and long, slow shots. We see her lit from behind, standing amongst smoke and light. We see her stumbling to see her own reflection, our first glimpse of regeneration from the Doctor’s perspective. Each scene, beautiful on its own, builds up our anticipation until we finally get our first full reveal of the Thirteenth Doctor. It’s a regeneration that will be remembered as being truly iconic.

Steven Moffat may never have cast a woman to play the Doctor himself, but he has been laying the groundwork within the narrative of the show for a woman Doctor for a very long time. And in an episode that could’ve been focused solely on memorializing Capaldi and Moffat’s time on the show, they both instead provided an incredible generous welcome to Jodie Whittaker.

“Twice Upon a Time” is, above all, a story about letting go. The First Doctor believes it is courageous to simply live and die as himself, but it is later revealed to be fear — and perhaps vanity and selfishness too. The viewers know, from seeing all the Doctors who have followed, that he has so much left to do. There are so many adventures to be had, planets to be saved, and friends waiting to be known. Things can’t end with the First Doctor.

But it’s not just the Doctor who needs to hear this —it’s the viewers too. We all have favorite eras and favorite Doctors, and that’s okay. But some fans go even further to say that the show should have ended after their favorite time or Doctor, as if because they got no enjoyment out of what followed that it held no value for anyone else. To end the story now, to deny all those stories that are waiting to be told, is selfishness.

Some are just nervous or afraid about what comes next. And that’s okay. I won’t deny I’m nervous about what the future holds too. But “Twice Upon a Time” has a message for us too — this is a chance worth taking. We wouldn’t have Peter Capaldi if someone didn’t take a chance on Patrick Troughton, or all the men who followed him. 

Jodie Whittaker is a chance worth taking. 

The Doctor has to grow and change, or the show will die. This is a change that brings the character forward into a new and exciting direction. This opens up a whole new universe of stories, and gives another wonderful actor a chance to define the role. And it gives a whole new generation of young girls and boys a new hero to look up to.

In one beautifully delightful moment, we get a glimpse of Jodie Whittaker and the Doctor she might be. And I cannot wait to see where we go from here.