#How To Talk To A Doctor About Prem

[respectthepetty]

Communication is Key

This week in BL Land:

Ten: I found a note that said "I'm scamming the doctor for money" Prem: That was my sister, but I'm sorry, and it's not true. Ten: You're my Linda Evangelista, so I believe you.

Karan: You're perfect and you always know exactly what I'm thinking which is why I feel like I suck compared to you. Achi: I can read your mind, and I have been doing that this entire time. Karan: OH MY GOD! So you know how much I love you because you hear me thinking about you 24/7 even when I'm sleeping?! Let's move into together!

Hiro: I didn't show up for the date I scheduled. I'm awful! I'm horrible! Kai: Nah. You just have a demanding job. I understand. Here's some food. Hiro: I still suck, but this food is good, and I will make this up to you because you deserve to be treated well and not have low expectations of people.

Soga: I saw you with your ex, and it made me jealous! Sakae: I'm glad you were jealous, but I only have eyes for you, which means my eyes saw that your ex called you. Soga: We are only friends, and I didn't want to speak to her because I was with you. *kiss*

Charlie: I faked my death, so you were crying over an empty grave. Babe: God, I love you.

Prom: I helped your brother fake his death. Nont: I fucking hate you. Prom: Can we still hang out? Nont: *eye roll* I guess. But I'm still pissed off at you. Prom: I wouldn't love you if you weren't.

These BLs really said, "Problems. What problems?" and kept it moving.

AND I LOVE IT!

The plots keeps moving along, and I get to focus all my brain cells on the one show where the lack of communication is pivotal.

Good for all these BLs for finally understanding that talking to one another really matters, mostly when faking death. Do you see where I'm going with this Dead Friend Forever?

[daughter-of-the-clayr]

i think one of the reasons yaz is often overlooked/underrated is how she's treated by the narrative, especially compared to other companions (the same goes for Ryan, graham, and Dan, btw, but im focusing on yaz bc it's most obvious with her). she doesn't get a fancy nickname, and she's not important to the lore - she's not impossible, of the bad wolf, or the first cyberman, she's just yaz. even the villains treat her that way - swarm, the skithra queen, even the daleks. in demons of the punjab you never get any inkling that prem's death is a fixed point, that it'd be the end of the timeline if the doctor saved him - not like pete, where the reapers got summoned. the only thing that would happen, if prem lived, is yaz and her family would vanish (and, at this point, we don't know half of what yaz would go on to do, so). and it would be tragic, but it wouldn't matter.

but that's the trap.

because if you get caught up in the fact that she is presented as unimportant, you fall into the same mistake as the villains, and even yaz herself to some degree (and she gets some insane shots at her insecurities, like even the daleks get personal), you miss just how much she matters. (and I could talk about recklessness stemming from yaz seeing herself as less important than what she's trying to achieve but rhats not the point of this post)

because then we come to "can't have a universe with no yaz", the person who always comes - the doctor, and graham "keep making humanity proud" and ryan pledging that he'll never let her die and dan talking about how amazing she is and, if you haven't been paying attention, it can feel like character shilling, bc it runs counter to how she's framed in the narrative, by herself, and by enemies.

by the standards of doctor who companions, yaz is ordinary, unimportant - but doctor who is always been about how important a single person, who is willing to try, can be.

[bengiyo]

Cooking Crush Ep 8 Stray Thoughts

Last week, Ten and Prem worked on their communication and struggled to find a place to make out in peace as they continued to date behind Ten's dad's back. Prem's grandmother gave them support and reasonable guidance. Unfortunately, Ten's dad found out, and now Ten is going to do his internship far away. Meanwhile, Changma confessed in a shitty way, and Fire confused Dynamite while Fire was drunk.

Oh good. Their team made it into the competition.

Dish 8: Hard-Boiled Eggs for the Wishful Wishes

That's right, Dy. Know your worth!

Oof, Fire's mom has this boy deep in the closet.

Good choice, Cooking Crush, let Gun play more characters. Imaginary is perfect.

I like Samsi getting these two lovesick friends of his out of the house.

Aww, Ten really did retain his lessons with Prem.

Y'all not gonna scare me about this girl. I've got faith. I think she looks like Ten's mom?

Changma, please stop.

I like Earn. I hope she doesn't cause trouble.

Not surprised Ten has a nightmare. He met an inspiring doctor who also looks like his mom.

LOL, Fire. That's right. Get your ass to Sophanburi. Admitting that he wants to see Dynamite feels like progress.

Not both Prem and Ten getting stubborn about the other.

Well that front fell quickly. Looking forward to this game of telephone.

Why is Neo walking like this? I love him.

I loved this bit. Metha is great.

PREM IS INJURED!!!

I love Ten's pout. Glad these two figured out how to talk to each other.

Oh good. She looks like Ten's mom to Prem, too, but what was that whole thing with the inhaler in the background?

I hope Prem finds leftovers of dishes he taught Ten to make.

The glove is serving as an excellent metaphor.

You have the house to yourselves, boys. Please make use of it.

Thank you, Ten!

Always the damn phones in dramas ruining a good moment.

Oh no. I really don't want Ten to feel like he failed again because of Earn's asthma.

Not Off getting me to cry!!

Well, I really liked this episode. I liked putting both pairs through a separation and letting them sort themselves as they come back together. I like that everything wasn't resolved in a single episode, but important things were addressed. I like that Dynamite didn't fall over for Fire, and Prem can voice that separation isn't working for him.

[mirambles]

Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahaani - An honest review

I watched Rocky aur Rani ki Prem Kahaani because everyone I know on social media and few close folks in my real life said it was very entertaining - funny, progressive, feminist , and it showed gender equality.

So I was taken aback, because the general sentiment for KJo movies should be ‘It’s so shit, but I love it’ - that is a sentiment I can live with because we all have our guilty pleasures.

KJo has his audience who love the shit he pulls off every time he ‘directs’ a film with toxic masculinity, regressive female leads , justifying infidelity (always the answer to unhappy marriages) , glorifying Indian culture, where he adds 30 mins of melodrama and lectures to make the characters redeem themselves. Kjo’s movies are as lame as they can be, but people love them. I get it - ‘this shit is so bad, it’s so good’ category of films. Guilty pleasures are exactly this!

So sell me his new offering in exactly this manner - but all reviews and social media comments were glowing words of praise of how he has addressed today’s issues and it’s a progressive film. Are people suffering from amnesia or have they not watched better Bollywood films? Because I have a whole list of films you should watch that actually deal with ‘progressive’ mindsets - way before Kjo’s time!

Rani is a feminist. A FL as feisty news anchor who gives a 5 min lecture on men’s gaze, objectification of women and rape culture, but does an absolute U-turn 5 mins later by objectifying a handsome man in front of her. This is gender equality. Tit for Tat.

Wearing open back blouses to work is sign of new age feminism (Will I get trolled for sounding old school - has KJo ever stepped inside a corporate workspace - who dresses like Rani does?) What’s next? Women CEOs wearing bikinis? And why not get all men to dress like Rocky Randhawa - that would be peak gender equality in dress code at workplace.

Infidelity is the answer to all unhappy marriages. Remember KANK? Yes, let’s repeat that here, but let’s twist it into unrequited love between the senior citizens. Then add memory loss and illness excuse to get the 80yr old grandpa smooch his 75yr old ex-lover in front of his wife and entire family. The issue is not old age love, age is never a restriction to fall in love, the issue here is infidelity. But if this isn’t cringe enough, let’s completely destroy the most beautiful romantic number in Bollywood by playing it in the background to immortalise infidelity and later lust under the garb of love.

Let’s get back to our feminism torch bearer Rani, who has now jumped from knowing the guy for two meetings to lusting over him. She is honest with herself (not with Rocky mind you, because at no point have they had any conversation about themselves) that she is in it purely for the physical attraction, it’s just a fling for her. She is an elitist , feminist, Colombian grad, Bengali Girl (who has a terrible Bengali accent) and the crude, can’t speak English well, Gucci/Fendi wearing, Ferrari driving, protein shake drinking, loud Punjabi boy doesn’t match up to her standards. Kjo’s new level of feminism - make women pull the exact shit on men that men have put women through for decades. Tit for Tat! Gender Equality.

Btw at this point I still don’t know why Rocky loves Rani - love at first sight is always about the looks and physical attraction, so convince me why he loves her - because isn’t he this walking-talking green flag just by being understanding of his grandpa’s feelings and calling out Rani checking him out. A walking green flag who gets his grandpa’s ex-lover and his grandpa together to help his grandpa get better - because love is the cure for all illnesses. All doctors and medical researchers have been wasting their time on getting degrees and super specialisations - please enter Kjo’s school of love.

So now Rani realises she is in love - when and why and what changed her feelings from lust to love - I do not know. She drives on a 4-lane highway in the opposite direction - woman should have died there for her reckless driving, but she lives to propose to Rocky on a f&*king Highway! Bollywood I love you for pulling off this shit.

This is supposed to be the pivotal point in their relationship where she professes her love to him, going down on one knee (because hey you see role reversal - she is the feminist, the alpha female) and telling Rocky everything that HE IS NOT , listing her resume and her exes’. Therefore implying he doesn’t deserve her, but she is taking the high road and still falling for him. All the reasons she lists that she loves about him are actually about his physical aspects = Lust. She doesn’t list one meaningful quality that she actually ‘loves’ about him.

It is at this point that I gave up on the film, because after this RRKPK became a collation of scenes dedicated to social media trending topics:

1. Women burdened with household work

2. Women not liberated enough to pursue their dreams

3. Women being fat shamed

4. Cancel culture

5. Men being shamed for pursuing classical dancing (KJo research FFS - 50% of India’s top kathak dancers are males right from 1940s! )

Each topic got 1-2 scenes, tweets converted to preachy dialogues uttered by our ‘feminist’ queen and zero closures or character growth.

The only thing that works in this movie - is Ranveer , not his character, but him! He is effortless in this role, his comic timing is superb, needs some work on emotions.

Alia is a shadow of her awesome self on screen post her marriage to Ranbir. It hurts to say this, cause I have loved her in all her movies except SOTY.

Can people age gracefully, I couldn’t bear to look at Shabana Azmi and Jaya B - former was gorgeous as hell in her younger days, now is swollen with all the Botox fillers! Jaya has forgotten to act completely. Dharmendra should not even be acting anymore.

What was the point of rest of the cast? Only Alia’s dad was a decent act.

The one thing I absolutely love in KJo movies is the music and songs! These were crap too. What Jhumka? Because ruining all the songs from ‘The Golden’ decade of Bollywood was not enough, so they made a terrible mashup of Badtameez Dil & Jhumka Gira Re and killed both the songs in one go! Takes some skill doing this - well done!

Why this long rant if I disliked the movie so much, that too KJo movies? I wouldn’t have written one, if the reviews and comments were honest about the movie being average, typical entertainment; but the moment people praised it to nth level of being socially relevant with feminist heroine and gender equality - they deserved to be called out for their shallow thought process thinking that KJo actually cares about any of this stuff.

Worst people think this is ‘quintessential’ Bollywood. Please watch better films - like Amitabh’s roaring 70s, the romance films of 90s, the fun comedies, the glorious slice of life films from Hrishida, the Yash Chopra multistarrers - that’s quintessential, genuine, charm of Bollywood.

Lastly before I wrap this up - RRKPK when literally translated is Love Story of Rocky and Rani. I spent 2.5 hours on this shit show and I still don’t know the answer to why and how they fell in love! They didn’t have one decent conversation about themselves! The latter half is about them wooing their families. The film should have been aptly titled ‘Randhawa and Chatterjee Ki Prem Kahaani’ - It’s all about loving your family - K3G Part 2!

[djeterg19]

I'm back and reading chapter 9 of the Sign book. Much more focus on the investigation this chapter.

We start with Tharn making breakfast. Same as the show but he's alone eating a fried egg, hotdog, and toast. He is not a very good cook so he sticks with simple foods. He gets a text from P'Mhor which is the doctor(I'm far too proud that I realized Prem was using this for Ten in Cooking Crush today) asking to meet for lunch but Tharn tells him he'll probably be busy with the case. Chalotorn insists on taking him out to celebrate if he does have time later. This makes Tharn smile because he likes free food.

The DSI dress code is a black or dark suit with white shirt and...yeah I wish we got that in the show. Billy and Babe would look so good in suits. Or that may just me having a thing for men in suits. Tharn thinks he's 5 minutes early but everyone is already there when he gets to the meeting room and the captain tells him he's late.

There are a bunch of different forensic officers in the room being introduced. The head of forensic medicine went to high school with the captain. They have several different teams but they are missing toxicology as they won't be joining for several days. After all the intros, Tharn noticed a forensic scientist standing by himself so Tharn introduced himself. The man says his name is Vito and they are called back to their separate teams.

As Tharn heads back, he suddenly feels an icy cold sensation at the base of his neck causing his hair to stand on end and makes him feel like he's being touched. Phaya notices and tries to get him to move back to the conference room but Tharn can hear something. A whisper or buzzing that he shouldn't be able to hear but does. Something no one should be able to hear but somehow Tharn is able to.

Tharn is finally snapped out of his daze by the captain who is very unhappy with him. He goes to sit but she makes him come over to her instead. She smacks him with a folder and says he embarrassed her and that he's acting like he's not ready to work. He apologizes and she tells him to go back to his seat. Phaya asks if he's ok and he nods.

They divvy up the work of who is going to interview all of the victims of the murdered men. They have a tablet thing with all of the relevant info for each victim. They call them Kinds because they are like modified Kindles. Everyone leaves and Tharn thinks Yai follows to check that he's ok but no he lectures him about being late and tells Phaya to take care of him.

Tharn hears the voice again but this time he can make out what's being said: help him. Please help him. And Phaya is thinking of his dream the night before.

They get to their victims house and she is less than cooperative. She doesn't want to answer their questions as it brings up too many bad memories of the past. She has a daughter from the assault. They ask to speak with the daughter but she starts yelling at them and slams the door in their faces. So they go visit the daughter at school instead. She also doesn't want to talk but something about her makes Tharn suspicious that she's hiding something. Phaya agrees but they don't have enough to do more now.

They get back to the office and report everything to Singh and Thongthai. Yai brought in one of the victims he talked to because they were acting suspicious. As they are all discussing things, the captain brings in a woman draped in a red dress. It's a woman from one of the photos in Phaya's wallet. Phaya is not thrilled to see her and asks for Tharn's help.

They go into the visitor room and the woman bumps Tharn out of the way to get to Phaya. She wants to have lunch with Phaya but Phaya puts his arm around Tharn's shoulder and winks at him. The woman starts whining and begging. Phaya insists he can't go to lunch with her and that she promised she would stop bothering him after they broke up. Some grossness about how they had sex when he was drugged and of course he couldn't resist a woman that served herself up when under the influence.

Phaya and Tharn go out to lunch and Tharn calls Phaya daddy again. Anyways Tharn can't undo his seatbelt so Phaya has to help him. Phaya realizes how much Tharn looks like Vanvisa close up. He puts his hands on Tharn's cheeks and then under his chin saying. Tharn asks what the hell he's doing and Phaya says that he looks so much like her. Tharn asks like who but they are of course interrupted by Chalotorn. He asks if they are ok because they stayed in the car for so long. They say no they were just talking. Chalotorn takes Tharn's hand and Phaya watches as they walk into the restaurant. Phaya wonders why the doctor doesn't like him.

[jenyifer]

Cooking Crush ep3 1/4 initial reaction

Let’s get into the photo reaction

Fire is finally getting his independence!!!! I love how soft he talks to his mom like anything too emotional or loud could get him in trouble. This is what happens when you have Boy Moms got to baby their kid for too long. Glad he’s getting out now.

Very very pretty setting. Also I liked that they were working together to prep for the next day probably to help their grandma out. Pang has a point Prem shouldn’t look a gift horse in the mouth and just take Ten’s money he doesn’t need it.

Ten was worrying about that all day 100% my precious doctor has the big time feels for Prem if he’s replaying their convos

“How do you say I love you without saying those words?”

Off: I’d say good night

Gun: oh so that’s why you’ve been saying it to me so often lately.

^its so sweet. And idk the exacts but i think I remember an recent interview of theirs going like this.

Ten is so in love with Prem we love to see it.

[legends-of-time]

Thorn Bush (Doctor Who Story)

Chapter 43: Demons of the Punjab Part Two

Masterlist

A/N: Part two!!! 

Apologies for the wait.

——

Kathy opens her eyes to see that they are once more in the hive. The Doctor stands next to her, the Thijarians opposite. Hologram alien script in the air in the centre.

The Doctor immediately turns to the Thijarians, and demandingly asks, "Why does Kathy insist I listen to you?"

"The Prophet knows what's to come, as do we." Kisar speaks.

"Yeah, like what? What are you doing here?"

Kathy puts a hand on the Doctor's arm, giving a stern look. "Listen."

"We are no longer assassins. We are changed." Almak tells her.

"What? Changed how?"

"Our past is no more. We are no longer Assassins. Now we are Witnesses."

"I don't understand." The Doctor answers, baffled.

"We honour the lost. As we can not honour our own." Kisar responds as both Thijarians raise their arms in worship.

"No, still not with you."

"As the Assassins hunted, the Thijarian world was destroyed. We returned to find nothing." As Almak speaks, a holo-projection displays the images of what is being talked about. They point to the container the Doctor holds. "This is all that remains of our home. Our people. Every ancestor. All one dust."

The Doctor's face drops as she looks down at the container she had stolen. "I didn't know. I'm so sorry." She hands it back over.

"Which you would've known if you hadn't been so over-keen." Kathy sternly quips.

Kisar opens the container. They dig their hands in. They look soothed. "They died, unwitnessed, unsaved. We were too late to grieve or honour them." 

The container is placed in the centre console. The Thijarians step back, clasping their hands together against their chests. Kathy and the Doctor do the same out of respect.

"But we who returned gave up a hundred generations to sift, to remember the lost dead. The unmourned." Almak continues.

"In time, it was all we knew." Kisar adds.

"And now we travel beyond. Seeking," a new holo-projection with many planets, "the unacknowledged dead across all of Time and space. This is now the Thijarian mission, to bear witness to those alone. To see, to bear pain, honour life as it passes."

"As each one passes we commemorate union."

"It's what Prem saw with Kunal. What we saw with Bhakti." Kathy summarises.

The Doctor nods. "But why here, why now?"

Kisar bows their head. "Millions will perish, unseen, unknown in the days to come, here."

"The casualties of Partition." Kathy adds.

"We read the timewaves."

"But why this family, why this land?" The Doctor questions. And Prem's face is projected. "Prem."

"His time is soon." Kisar tells her.

The Doctor looks gutted. "How soon?"

The Thijarians are silent, heads bowed.

"Tomorrow." Kathy tells her.

"No, no, that's too soon." The Doctor says frantically.

"He will have his wedding but then..." Kathy looks down, mournful.

"We are not Gods. Events sit as they will. We only witness." Almak declares.

"The fixed force of Time cannot be stopped." Kisar adds.

"If we save him, who knows what'll happen to Yaz." Kathy says. "We cannot intervene."

The Doctor is bereft but nods. "I know." She looks at Prem's image and after a second, a thought, "But if you didn't kill the holy man, if you were only honouring his death -- how did he die?"

"We can show you." Kisar responds.

Kathy tenses at that. The show had never shown it, probably too graphic. But this isn't a TV show, this is reality.

A new holo-projection is displayed. Kathy watches in horror at what she already knew but could not comprehend. To see sweet and gentle Manish brutally kill a kind, holy man with his own brother's gun. 

——

The two of them are quiet as they walk back, crossing the field and towards the barn that sits ahead. Probably contains a frantic group of people who have no idea what's happened to Kathy and the Doctor.

"We can't tell them what Manish did." Kathy says to her. "It may anger him and then who knows—"

"I know, I know." The Doctor mutters, deep in thought.

"Or about what happens to Prem, except maybe Yaz, Ryan and Graham."

The Doctor nods. Kathy knows it won't be difficult for this version of the Doctor to keep things to herself, it's what she becomes known for.

When they reach the barn, Yaz, Ryan and Graham suddenly burst out of it, frantic. Prem following, gun still clutched in his hands, while Manish, Hasna and Umbreen linger by the entrance.

"Where have you been?! You've been gone for hours!" Yaz cries worried, wrapping her arms around Kathy and the Doctor in a tight hug before stepping back, giving them both a once over.

"We've been sitting there chewing our nails off waiting for you two," Graham adds sternly. Kathy doesn't care that she's centuries older than this man, she still feels like a told-off child.

"I know. We're sorry." The Doctor apologises.

"The demons. What happened to them?" Prem asks, his eyes darting towards the tree line as if expecting them to appear and attack.

Kathy pulls out the transmat device the Doctor had grabbed from the tree earlier. "We stole a bunch of these while avoiding them, placed them around the grounds. A temporary transmat barrier around this farm."

"It's what teleported is into their ship and what separated us earlier." The Doctor adds, cottoning into the lie, which isn't difficult as it was what she would've been planning earlier. "We'll be safe."

Ryan frowns. "But Kathy said—"

Kathy quickly shakes her head, cutting him off, "Never mind what I said. We have a wedding to celebrate. That's what's important."

Manish and Yaz both look at her in flabbergasted disbelief though for different reasons.

"Are you serious? After what's just happened?" Manish voices. He turns to Prem and Umbreen. "Can't you see what's happening? You bring demons to life."

"I don't think they're demons—" The Doctor tries to argue.

"Well, I do." Hasna rebuffs. "I'm with Manish."

"How many hours?" Umbreen asks, ignoring her mother.

"Twelve. Eighteen at a push. I can't be sure." Kathy lies, remembering what the Doctor would've originally said.

Umbreen turns to the others. "Tonight we celebrate. And we marry first thing. And then if we have to fight them, we will. Come on!"

Oh, she's so fierce and impressive. 

They all leave except for Kathy, Yaz, the Doctor, Graham and Ryan.

"I can't believe you're letting this marriage go ahead! My Nani to someone who isn't my grandad!" Yaz accuses.

"Also, what happened to no meddling?" Graham questions.

"And where's that purple container?" Ryan wonders.

Kathy and the Doctor share a look. The former sighs. "The Thijarians. They told us everything. We know what happened. And we know what happens."

"Well, technically you already knew." The Doctor quips, deflecting how shaken she still feels.

Kathy rolls her eyes. "Fine, I knew. It was more of a refresh with me."

"I want to know what happens." Yaz declares.

"Prem dies tomorrow." The Doctor tells them.

"We can't let that happen." Yaz says, looking torn as well as horrified.

"It has to." The Doctor argues. "For Umbreen to become your Nani, for you to exist, Prem has to die."

"What about the Thijarians? The container?" Ryan questions.

"Not deadly and neither are they. They've changed. They're not assassins. They instead honour those who die alone." The Doctor explains.

"Aliens with compassion." Graham muses.

"Not as rare as you think." Kathy reminds him.

"But the transmat barrier?" Ryan points out.

Kathy shrugs. "There's no transmat barrier. I lied so the others wouldn't ask questions."

"I've been wondering why she never told me. Umbreen loses her husband on the day she marries. Of course she never wants to talk about it." Yaz says, now realising what's happening.

"I'm sorry, Yaz. We should leave." The Doctor declares.

"No. I want to be sure she's safe. Whatever happens. I want to look after my Nani." Yaz insists.

"I'm with Yaz." Ryan declares.

"Yeah. Me too." Graham steps up.

"Me three." Kathy adds. "Kinda already made a promise to help out anyway."

The Doctor looks at them then a warning, "We can't tell them what we know."

——

That night, Kathy joins the Doctor and Yaz in Umbreen and Hasna's home while Graham and Ryan join Prem and Manish in theirs. The Doctor has been tense and agitated when being near Manish, now knowing what he'd done but Kathy warned her against it.

The last bit of sunlight shines through the slats as the women sit in a circle having their henna done. Kathy is still getting hers done while the others' have theirs drying when the Doctor speaks up from where she's been staring at the drying henna design on her hands in delight.

"This is the best thing, ever." She turns to Kathy and Yaz with a big grin. "Never did this when I was a man!"

Kathy lets out a soft snort. "No, I don't believe you did."

Yaz, noting Umbreen and Hasna's alarmed faces, quickly quips pointedly, "Doctor, Kathy. You and your jokes!"

Oh, yeah. Kinda forgot about certain surroundings then.

"Yes. That's right. My references to body and gender regeneration and Kathy's quips are all in jest. Such comedians." The Doctor says, her reply clumsy as she catches on. 

Kathy tries not to outright laugh as Umbreen lets out an awkward chuckle as if she gets the supposed joke.

"Umbreen doesn't think these are my best work," Hasna grumbles, turning to Umbreen, "but maybe if you had to prepare a body the same day, you wouldn't draw so well either."

"So how long've you known Prem?" Yaz asks softly, trying to cut away from the topic. It's not going to help Yaz.

"Our whole lives. We all grew up here together. Our families have worked the land alongside each other for generations." Umbreen beams as she tells her granddaughter (not that she knows it). "I can't believe it's happening. I waited so long for him. All the time he was away fighting, I was terrified he wouldn't come home. But he did. And now I can see my life mapped out with him. Our home, here."

Now Yaz and the Doctor know what's happening, they look like they're trying to rain in any heartbreak they're feeling from Umbreen's words just as Kathy has been doing the entire time. Every time she's heard Prem and Umbreen talk about their future happiness has not been easy.

"If they let us stay." Hasna remarks pessimistically.

"Nobody cares what we do here, Mum. It's not a city." Umbreen argues.

"I stood outside earlier. I heard gangs in the distance. Motor vehicles. Gunshots." Her mother retorts.

"It's a long way away."

"It's not too late. I can still find you a good Muslim man." Hasna pleads.

Umbreen looks at her in disbelief. "Are you joking right now?"

"Look at the misery that follows him. You don't even have a priest! What sort of respectable wedding will it be?" Hasna argues.

"I don't care about traditions! And I don't care about respectable– wait." Umbreen begins to rant before she pauses, turning to the Doctor. "You're a Doctor, right? That's respectable. You could marry us."

Hasna looks scandalised. "Don't be ridiculous—"

"I suppose I could." The Doctor shrugs. "I haven't officiated a wedding since Einstein's!" She turns to Hasna. "His parents didn't approve either. Non-denominational though."

Hasna ignores her ramblings and instead turns in her daughter. "If your father were alive, he'd die on the spot."

"Everyone's saying it's a new future. We make our own traditions now." Umbreen retorts.

"You're on!" The Doctor agrees.

"Are you sure?" Yaz murmurs to her worriedly.

"Don't worry, Yaz. It'll be okay." Kathy reassures. Okay as it can be.

——

The sun rises welcoming a beautiful day that will bring so much violence and horror but Kathy tries not to think about it and instead tries to focus on the one happy thing, Prem and Umbreen's wedding.

Prem and Umbreen stand on either side of the border rope, both wearing garlands on top of their clothes. The Doctor stands behind them, a flower pushed behind her ear. Kathy, Yaz, Ryan, Graham and Hasna, each with a flower pushed behind their ears, watching on the sidelines.

"This is the spot you choose." Prem says in disbelief.

Umbreen reaches across Manish's border rope and grasps his hands, a massive smile on her face. "I'm going to be the first woman married in Pakistan."

"Of course you are." Prem remarks softly. Umbreen laughs.

Kathy can see Yaz smiling at the scene, recalling her Nani's words in the future and realising it's true. But for all her smiles, she's on the verge of tears. The bittersweet mix is unbearable.

Hasna also notices. "Are you alright, sweetheart?" She asks.

"I always cry at weddings." Yaz tries to cover. Kathy reaches over and grasps her hand, squeezing it in comfort.

The Doctor discreetly sonics the rope. It falls away to the stream. "I know there aren't many certainties in any of our lives. But Umbreen, Prem, what I see you in you, is the certainty you have in each other. Something I believe in, my faith. Love, in all its forms, is the most powerful weapon we have. Because love is a form of hope. And like hope, love abides. In the face of everything. You both found love with each other – you believed in it, you fought for it, and you waited for it. And now you're committing to it. Which makes you, right now, the two strongest people on this planet. Maybe in this universe."

Prem and Umbreen gaze at each other, lost in each other, grateful for the Doctor's words.

"I am not sure how we formalise this." The Doctor says.

"I am." Umbreen kneels, and picks up the rope, out of the water. Places it on Prem's wrist. Looks to Yaz. "Will you?"

"That's a Hindu thing isn't it? Tying the hands together." Yaz asks as she moves over.

"Now it can be our thing. If we want it to be."

Prem nods. Yaz ties the couple's hands together as everyone watches. Hasna melting with emotion, despite herself. The Doctor, Kathy, Graham and Ryan watching, smiling, and then catching each other's eyes. Eyes filled with such sadness.

Kathy looks back as she hears the beginning of Umbreen's speech. Manish is stood, alone, distant. Can't stay away, can't be close.

Kathy feels angry at him but also sad at how such a sweet boy whose beliefs have been manipulated so that he turns against his own family and friends.

——

"But I never thought this day would come," Umbreen says, a short while later as she sits on a bale of hay. Prem sits next to her while the Doctor, Kathy, Hasna, Ryan, Yaz and Graham gathered, sit in a semi-circle around her. Metal trays with half-finished food to the side. Manish on the edge of the barn, can't bear to be seen to approve. "It's been tough. People who I wish were here to celebrate..."

Hasna squeezes Umbreen's hand. "They are, bheti."

"The drought was nearly the end of us. But we get to have this day, because of Manish." At Umbreen's words, everyone turns to the shocked Manish while Kathy tenses. "You were tireless. When there was hardly any food, you took none. When we doubted we'd make it through to summer, you kept on. Night and day, we worked those fields together. I'm proud to have been your neighbour. But I'm even prouder now to call you my brother."

And Manish, Kathy can see he's touched by this, so conflicted. Looking to Prem and Hasna, to Umbreen. The boy-man.

Umbreen picks up a sweet and holds it out towards Manish. "You kept us fed, Manish. Will you let me feed you?"

There's a pause from Manish at the request. Kathy looks away not wanting to see the crushed looks on Umbreen and Prem's faces as Manish says, "I didn't work this land for you, Umbreen. I worked it for my brothers. One who didn't come back, and the other I wish hadn't."

"Enough, Manish—" Hasna tries to interrupt.

"No. Look at you all! Don't you understand what's coming?" He holds the room, looking at them. "None of this will make a difference." And he turns and goes.

Kathy and the Doctor share a knowing look before Kathy gives the Doctor a nod. Kathy knows it won't make a difference but it can't hurt and either way, the Doctor will give them the early warning that Hasna and Umbreen will need to get away.

"I'll talk to him." The Doctor offers, standing. "Prem, your turn." She then leaves. 

"Prem looks to the expectant room and takes off his watch. The watch. "OK, so..."

"What're you doing?" Umbreen asks him.

"You did a Hindu thing with the rope, only right I do a Muslim thing too. This is your Mahr, yours to keep forever." And as he goes to hand it, it drops and falls to the floor, hitting the ground, face down. They all hear the crack. Prem is horrified as he cries, "I'm sorry!"

"Cursed." Hasna grumbles quietly.

Umbreen kneels, and picks it up. "It's fine. It's perfect." She shows him, cracked and stopped at 3:27. "This is us. Forever. Our moment in time." Umbreen and Prem share a kiss. 

Kathy looks to Yaz as she watches the watch become what her Nani gives to her in the future.

——

They're still gathered in the barn when the Doctor runs in, drawing everyone's attention.

"Listen, all of you. There are armed men heading up the track. You have to leave now." The Doctor tells them.

"They want the land." Umbreen realises.

"I'm not going anywhere. This is my home. My husband and parents are buried here. I'm not going to abandon it to thugs!" Hasna cries.

"Where's Manish?" Prem questions the Doctor.

"He's leading them here. He killed the holy man. With your rifle."

Prem goes still, a horrified look crosses his face and then he nods. He knows. The inevitability of that just clicks for him. "Of course." It said so quietly; so bereft.

"Mum's right. This is our home. We stay." Umbreen declares.

"The Doctor's right." Kathy cuts in. "If you stay, you'll die."

The clarity of the statement rings through the air. 

Prem turns to Umbreen and Hasna. "Go to the house, get anything essential, and get back here." He instructs.

"I'll help you." Yaz says.

"Me too." Kathy adds. 

The four of them leave the barn quickly.

——

Umbreen and Hasna are rapidly shoving their life into cloth sacks. Kathy and Yaz are helping them then the companion looks up at the wall and she stills as she looks at the map on the wall. A map with a dot on it.

"Is that Sheffield?" Yaz asks.

Umbreen walks over to them. "My Dad brought that map home from the market one day. One night I said, I'll put my finger on this map and where ever it lands, I'm going to go."

Yaz almost smiles as she says, "And you landed on Sheffield."

"Mmm... Sheffield." Kathy remarks almost sarcastically. She shares a knowing look with Yaz cause while Sheffield has its perks, it's the opposite of what she'd describe as exotic. 

"Such an exotic word. It's in England." Umbreen says excitedly. "D'you know it?"

Kathy almost laughs at that.

"Stop talking! We have to leave!" Hasna cries and Unbreen quickly goes back to packing.

Kathy turns and murmurs conspiringly to Yaz, "Kathy I've warned her but don't worry, she's still set on going."

Yaz lets out a slight laugh at that. Kathy's happy to have lifted her spirits even if it's only for a moment.

——

Umbreen, Hasna (both carrying cloth bags) and Yaz and Kathy burst back into the barn. The Doctor, Graham, Ryan and Prem are still there.

"They're nearly here! You need to move out." The Doctor warns them.

"I have to talk to Manish." Prem insists.

"No, Prem. I'm not leaving you here." Umbreen argues.

"I'll distract them long enough to be sure you can get away." Prem counters. "Then I'll be right behind you."

No, you won't...

"It's too dangerous."

"He's my brother." Prem persists. "Across the field, over the border, into the forests. Keep going north."

Umbreen nods reluctantly. Prem and Umbreen kiss, a powerful, tearful, life-or-death kiss. Kathy knows it'll be their last.

"Go." Prem urges.

Umbreen, her heart breaking, and Hasna go.

Prem turns to the rest of them. "You as well."

"I'll come with you." The Doctor argues.

"No. These are demons I have to face alone."

"He's right, Doctor." Kathy agrees.

Prem gives her a thankful nod and then leaves the barn, leaving the group of time travellers alone.

——

The Doctor, Kathy, Ryan, Graham and Yaz run across the field then Yaz stops, calling their attention, Look.

They turn to see: Prem walking towards Manish and the mob. The mob is full of men on horseback with rifles.

They watch, sheltered from view, able to see distant Prem stopping a few yards in front of Manish, and the mob, through the heat haze. The brothers talk then Prem steps forward, touching his brother's cheek. More words are exchanged then a man on horseback raises the rifle. A finger on a trigger.

And up ahead the two Thijarians slam into existence. They all know what this means.

And then the voice, telepathically transmitted. "We will watch over him now."

They move to leave but Yaz is frozen, looking out to Prem with tears in her eyes and her breath shaky. Kathy and the Doctor take her arms to pull her away. 

The Doctor, Yaz, Kathy, Graham and Ryan walk away. Kathy aches to look back, knowing she can't and knowing the others feel the same.

Suddenly a sound. Distant, but unmistakable. Gunfire. A single gunshot rings out. Kathy closes her eyes tightly and keeps moving.

——

"This is a terrible design!" Nani Umbreen scoffs as she traces the faded henna pattern on Yaz's palms with a wrinkled hand as they sit next to each other in Yaz's family's flat. "Was it a good wedding at least?"

"Yeah." Yaz says softly, feeling tearful as she gazes upon her Nani, remembering the younger woman.

Her Nani notices this. "What's the matter, bheti?"

"You loved grandad, didn't you?"

"Of course." Her Nani replies without a doubt.

"And you're happy with how your life turned out?"

Umbreen looks at her granddaughter, baffled. "Why would you be asking that?"

"Just your journey, so many countries, so many years. I can't even begin to imagine what you've dealt with." Yaz says seriously but then her tone takes an amused uplift. "Then you end up in Sheffield of all places!"

"I love Sheffield!" Her Nani retorts, laughing.

"Really?" Yaz asks doubtfully.

"Well, an old friend warned me Sheffield won't be as exotic as I thought it would be, she was right." Umbreen admits. "But it gave us stability. A life. A home. And it gave me your Mum. And it gave me you and your sister."

Yaz smiles. "An old friend?"

"Mmm... She was at your grandfather and I's wedding. Wait a moment." She reaches into her bag and brings out a leather folder, pulling out a photograph. "Here."

Yaz takes it. The photo is in black and white and displays a traditional Hindu wedding with Yaz's grandparents in the centre with a familiar face in the crowd. Kathy.

"She seems lovely." Yaz says.

"Yes, she was."

Yaz looks up with a frown. "Was?"

Nani shrugs sadly. "We lost contact. I received a call from a granddaughter of hers telling me that she'd passed."

Yaz smiles sadly. The granddaughter was probably Kathy herself. She feels sorry for Kathy having to say goodbye to so many people over her lifetime, she can't imagine that kind of pain.

Umbreen sighs before gesturing to Prem's broken watch that she'd gifted to Yaz, which had started the whole adventure. "You want to know about the watch? Really?"

Yaz looks at her grandmother fondly. "No. Tell me another time. I love you, Nani."

"And I love you too, bheti." Umbreen clasps and kisses her granddaughter's hands.

——

A/N: Please leave comments on how you're enjoying this story and what you think.

[yeonchi]

Thirteenth Doctor Reviews: The Final Verdict (and Ncuti Gatwa is the Doctor)

In July 2017, Jodie Whittaker was announced as the Thirteenth Doctor, taking over Peter Capaldi’s Twelfth Doctor as the first actress to play the Doctor. Seeing the reaction to the casting led me to realise that I should see how she does in the series first before making any judgements, which I expressed in a November 2017 post that served as the prelude to this review series. Cut to May 2022 and Ncuti Gatwa was announced to be taking over as the Doctor after Jodie Whittaker announced her departure alongside Chris Chibnall the year before.

Given how much time has passed between July 2017 and now, it’s amazing to see how things have changed throughout this time. When I started this review series in October 2018, I had come out of a pretty toxic phase in my internet career (that almost saw me deplatformed) and was trying to find my feet after turning a new leaf. Now in October 2022, I’m talking about the things I love (from a new point of view) while maintaining a balance between my personal and online lives. It’s almost like this review series has seen me through a significant phase of character development.

Now with Jodie Whittaker and Chris Chibnall’s era on Doctor Who well and truly over, I take a look back at my reviews and give my final reflections and verdict for the whole era.

Series recap

These are recaps of each series’ reviews with some extra thoughts made in hindsight.

Series 11

Series 11 is the series I have the most positive view of, though part of it can be attributed to me being a bit dense on SJW politics and trying to find ways to justify it in my head. Graham O’Brien, Ryan Sinclair and Yasmin Khan join the Doctor as her diverse fam from different walks of life. There is no major running story arc in this series and given what we saw in the next two series, it’s another reason why I see this series in a more positive light.

Despite this, the series does still have its flaws. Why wasn’t Krasko’s past elaborated on so as to give context on what people he murdered or why he, as someone presumably from the 52nd century, thought the Civil Rights Movement was when “things started to go wrong”? Why did the Doctor criticise Jack Robertson for shooting the giant spider even though she knew it was dying anyway? Why wasn’t Manish the one who shot Prem instead of that other guy?

According to Bowlestrek (and possibly some others), this series felt like a slight on white men and single fathers, with several episodes containing at least one villain-coded white male, but I honestly didn’t feel that vibe when I first watched those episodes. I probably wouldn’t feel that vibe if I watched those episodes again, but hey, I’m not a white Canadian who’s bitter about SJWs taking over multiple fandoms, I’m an Asian-Australian with niche interests who’s becoming bitter at the world around me and trying to understand why.

Also, I said that I liked The Battle of Ranskoor Av Kolos, but given how Chibnall admitted that it was his least favourite script of his entire tenure because the filmed version was only the first draft (he didn't have time to do a second draft because he was helping all the rookie writers and doing rewrites), I want to come out and say that I only liked the episode ironically.

Series 12

With the previous series electing not to bring back any old enemies, Series 12 decided to revisit the broken trend (following the return of the Daleks in the previous New Year’s Special, Resolution), with the first returning villain being the Master, who was last thought to have been killed on the Mondasian colony ship as Missy. This series also reintroduced two-parters after doing away with them in the previous series. Notably, I went on holiday just as the third episode aired and came back just before the fifth episode premiered on Australia, so I ended up having to write up reviews for three episodes in the space of five days. Luckily, I wrote down some notes on my phone so I was able to get them out quicker.

Unfortunately, this series is what redpilled me to the SJW agenda going on in the Chibnall era. Orphan 55 served as nothing but a lecture about climate change without at least a decent resolution to the remaining characters featured in it. Then we get to the biggest turning point of the series, namely the Timeless Child revelation. After the Master revealed to the Doctor that he destroyed Gallifrey in Spyfall Part Two, the Doctor meets a woman named Ruth Clayton in Fugitive of the Judoon, who is apparently revealed to be a previously-unknown incarnation of the Doctor, known as the Fugitive Doctor. The relation between the two Doctors (apart from them being the same) is left up to the viewer until the Master tells the Doctor about the Timeless Child and that she was said child, at which point it becomes implied that the Fugitive Doctor is indeed the Doctor’s past incarnation, on top of being specialer than special.

Yaz does get a bit of a highlight after Graham and Ryan’s mini-arc in the last series, but it isn’t much. Sadly, Graham and Ryan leave the series in Revolution of the Daleks. I probably would have liked them to stay for another year given how things would unfold in 2020, but the filming for Series 12 ended at the end of October 2019 and the filming for Series 13 wouldn’t commence until November 2020, so the timing wouldn’t have been right there.

Series 13

After two years of waiting and an absolutely atrocious promotion campaign that didn’t reveal the release date until three weeks before the premiere, Series 13 came out in a different format than usual. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, Series 13 was slated to be only 8 episodes long instead of 11 (which was already cut down from 13 and a Christmas Special back during the RTD and Moffat eras), which was later confirmed to be a six-episode serial collectively titled Flux along with three specials, one of which was additionally commissioned for the BBC’s Centenary. Following Graham and Ryan’s departure, their place in the TARDIS would be taken by Dan Lewis from Liverpool.

After my redpilling in Series 12, I decided to hold the series to a higher standard than I did before. The series in general was alright, but it still had its flaws; we were jumping all over the place with plot threads and characters who served little relevance until the end, every second episode was extended instead of balancing the lengths of each episode, and the main villains of the series (Swarm and Azure) ended up being overshadowed by lesser villains (the Sontarans and the Grand Serpent) in the finale.

Unsurprisingly, this series doubled down on the Timeless Child revelation, with a woman, revealed to be Tecteun, confirming what the Master said to the Doctor at the end of Series 12, essentially killing off any potential speculation to the contrary. Surprisingly though, the revelation was not elaborated on further as the Doctor dumped the fob watch containing her apparent past into the TARDIS, thereby pussying out of the double-down. The last two episodes of the series were negatively rated because of those reasons.

As for the specials, Eve of the Daleks was a boring New Year’s Special with an annoying female guest character, while Legend of the Sea Devils was a pretty good Easter Special with good Cantonese language representation, though it felt like it could have been a regular episode seeing as it was only 50 minutes long and it had no mention of Easter. Although The Power of the Doctor, in the end, never revisited or retconned the Timeless Child revelation, it brought back old companions and Doctors for the memberberries. So admittedly, while Flux in itself was abysmal enough for me to nearly null out my review score, the 2022 Specials kind of redeemed it, but not by much.

Top 5 good things about the Chibnall era

Even among Chibnall’s disgraces to the franchise, we did get some gems out of it. Not gonna lie, it was a bit complicated trying to think of good things to talk about this era.

1. Can You Hear Me?

This episode actually got me to open up about some people from my past and later, it inspired me to talk about the IRL context to the characters and elements featured in my personal project when I started the Kisekae Insights series in the second half of 2020. This episode also provided significant character development for Graham, Ryan and Yaz where it was scarce in other episodes. Of course, there was one element in the episode that in the end, I didn’t like, which I’ll talk about in a bit.

2. Returning characters

In Series 12, we had the surprise return of Captain Jack Harkness in Fugitive of the Judoon before he returned again in Revolution of the Daleks. Unfortunately though, his actor, John Barrowman, had been cancelled earlier in the year due to accusations of sexual harrassment that resurfaced while similar accusations were being raised of Noel Clarke, who played Mickey Smith.

Series 13 saw the return of Kate Stewart with a rather lackluster level of involvement, though that was later made up in The Power of the Doctor, which also featured the return of Ace, Tegan Jovanka, Mel Bush, Jo Jones and Ian Chesterton alongside Graham and Dan. In addition, the First, Fifth, Sixth, Seventh and Eighth Doctors also appeared as projections or figments of the Doctor’s consciousness while at the end, the Tenth Doctor returned as the Fourteenth Doctor in a surprise move to prepare for the 60th anniversary specials in 2023.

In all honesty, the returning characters and allusions to past series during the Chibnall era felt like memberberries because they were coming off a series that was lackluster at best and disgraceful at worst. It didn’t look so bad during the RTD or Moffat eras because for the most part, the former was riding highs of success by the time Series 4 was being produced, while the latter was celebrating the 50th anniversary of the series.

3. Stellar performances from some actors

A couple of actors I’d like to highlight are Sacha Dhawan and Jo Martin, who respectively played O, the Spy Master and Ruth, the Fugitive Doctor. Although they played characters who were admittedly unnecessary (the Master had died and I would have rather had the Rani return, while Ruth, you’ll see later), they did a great job expressing their characters regardless, particularly since the Spy Master felt like a ripoff of John Simm as Harold Saxon, but with a classic series twist (shown by his readoption of the TCE and unique TARDIS among other things) and the Fugitive Doctor felt more like the Doctor than the Thirteenth Doctor was.

I will say though, it’s funny that the Master and Ruth were announced to be getting Big Finish audio spinoffs up to a fortnight after Legend of the Sea Devils aired when it previously took years for the Ninth, Tenth and Eleventh Doctors’ content to be cleared; this happened in August 2014, while in January 2018, the Twelfth Doctor’s content was cleared, just over a week following the broadcast of Twice Upon a Time. From the announcement, it appears as though the Thirteenth Doctor’s content was cleared six months before The Power of the Doctor was released, though it can be argued that the episode was completed a year before. But hey, I suppose if anyone in the Chibnall era deserves a Big Finish spinoff, then it’s the Master and Ruth.

4. Graham and Ryan’s character development

Although Series 11 had no clear-cut story arc, the relationship between Graham and Ryan follows a minor arc in the series as Graham tries to get Ryan to acknowledge him as his stepgrandfather, with a bit of r/FellowKids to boot. We see this in a few episodes where Graham tries to get Ryan to fistbump him only to be rejected, then in the finale, Ryan finally reciprocated Graham’s fistbump. Additionally, this series also shows Graham trying to deal with Grace’s death before finally learning to move on.

5. Select episodes

Aside from Can You Hear Me?, Nikola Tesla’s Night of Terror, Praxeus and The Haunting of Villa Diodati are some of the best episodes out of Series 12. The Haunting of Villa Diodati did seem a little boring at the start, but it all changed once the Lone Cyberman showed up. While there wasn’t an episode in Series 11 I would say that I really liked, Village of the Angels is probably my favourite episode from Series 13; likewise with The Haunting of Villa Diodati, the first half doesn’t have a lot going for it, but the second part is where the episode starts to get good. It’s likely that way because both episodes were written by the same writer (Maxine Alderton) and they were both broadcast before their respective series finales.

As for the specials, Resolution was a pretty great episode, followed by Legend of the Sea Devils and admittedly, The Power of the Doctor.

Top 5 bad things about the Chibnall era

Unsurprisingly, this series feels like it has more negatives than positives, particularly in Series 12 and 13. Originally, my plan for this section was going to be “top 5 bad things about the Chibnall era apart from the Timeless Child”, but I just had to put it in anyway.

1. The Timeless Child storyline

The Timeless Child storyline makes up the main background arc of the Chibnall era, making it a highlight and one of the reasons why this era isn’t fondly received by a lot of people.

The first mention of the Timeless Child was in The Ghost Monument, then it wasn’t mentioned again until the end of Spyfall Part Two, when the Master revealed that he destroyed Gallifrey because of what he learnt about the Timeless Child. In Fugitive of the Judoon, the inclusion of Ruth and the Fugitive Doctor was a secret addition on Chibnall’s part (I wouldn’t really say last-minute tbh) that played into his plans for the arc. Ascension of the Cybermen featured a C-plot centred around an Irish policeman named Brendan, which was revealed to have been a cover-up for the Timeless Child revelation that would be elaborated on in the next episode, The Timeless Children.

The story goes that Tecteun, a Shobogan and one of the indigenous beings of Gallifrey, found the Timeless Child beneath a wormhole into another universe and adopted them. However, upon discovering their ability to regenerate following an accident, Tecteun studied and experimented the Timeless Child for a way to replicate this regeneration, presumably killing them multiple times in the process while doing so (as regeneration is normally seen as the death of an incarnation). Eventually, Tecteun was able to replicate this on herself and as a result, she gave this power to other Shobogans, but limiting them to a maximum of twelve regenerations. This was the creation of the Time Lords, thereby making the Timeless Child their genetic template. Later on, the Timeless Child would come to work for the Division alongside Tecteun and eventually, Tecteun would have their memories removed as they became the Doctor and decided to leave the Division (presumably in their Ruth incarnation).

With this, the Doctor is no longer originally from Gallifrey and the First Doctor is not the first incarnation of the Doctor that we know. The Doctor ends up being a chosen one that spawns a group of chosen ones only to end up being reduced to the group they spawned. If this origin story was exclusive to the extended media (like the story of The Other) then it would have been fine, but it was introduced on-screen on a series where TV is god. It raises too many questions and plot holes, it makes the Doctor’s past complicated (as if it wasn’t complicated enough) and it was never deeply elaborated on again.

Later on, near the end of Flux, the Doctor would come into possession of the fob watch apparently containing all the lost memories of her past as the Timeless Child, but when she had the opportunity to open it and regain her memories, she decided to dump it in the TARDIS.

In an interview with Doctor Who Magazine, Chibnall admitted that the inspiration for this storyline was personal as he was adopted and he wanted to explore the adoption myth, about where someone is from versus who someone is. Mind you, in a world where #StopAsianHate crybabies think asking “Where are you really from?” is a microaggression, this really isn’t a good look. Also, being adopted doesn’t give Chibnall an excuse to disrespect nearly 60 years of canon the way he did. In a video breaking down the story of Flux and putting it into context with the Timeless Child arc, Chibnall justifies pussying out of the double-down as a “be careful what you wish for” kind of thing, but by that point, we had waited two years for something significant to come out of it, so it just felt a bit spiteful.

People say that the Timeless Child twist allows new stories to be told and adds mystery to the Doctor’s character. In regards to the first point, The Time of the Doctor already did so by giving the Doctor another regeneration cycle. While it does potentially allow alternate and non-canon Doctors to be canonised, I’d rather it be left to the fandom or extended media and not dictated by the TV series itself. In regards to the second point, unpopular opinion, but the Doctor doesn’t need any more mystery than they already have since the Moffat era, particularly when it destroys canon the way the Timeless Child arc did. We know that the Doctor is a Time Lord from Gallifrey who stole a TARDIS and became a renegade. Thanks to RTD, we know that the Time Lords fought the Daleks in the Time War and both sides were wiped out thanks to the Doctor. Thanks to Moffat, we know that neither the Eighth or the Ninth Doctors fought in the Time War, but a previously unknown incarnation who future incarnations rejected, but later came to accept. The Hybrid arc ended up being unnecessary, but it wasn’t as bad as the Timeless Child arc was even with the answer being non-existent or deliberately ambiguous. Also, over 30 years have passed since the Valeyard’s introduction and nobody ever bothered to address his existence yet. What gives?

Before the double-down, a lot of people were hoping that the Master was lying about what he discovered. Some went the easy way out and speculated that the Master was the Timeless Child, but I don’t agree with it because the Master’s past is likely just as complicated as the Doctors and even then, it doesn’t address Ruth’s place in the timeline (I’ll buy pre-Hartnell at best, but not between the Second and Third Doctors).

However, my ideal solution would be that the Doctor is actually cloned from the Timeless Child and that Ruth is one of the Timeless Child’s incarnations. The Time Lords attempted to clone the Timeless Child but ended up creating an ordinary male Time Lord instead, so they dumped him somewhere and left him to live his life as he did. The clone eventually becomes the Thirteenth Doctor and meets the Timeless Child again, who is now in her Ruth incarnation, and after a few encounters, she encounters Ruth getting their memories erased by the Division. The Doctor somehow saved the Timeless Child and set them up to live a new life; maybe they became a child again without their memories and the Doctor brought them back to the planet where Tecteun found them and they began walking hand-in-hand towards the future, or the Doctor managed to prevent or interrupt the process and save Ruth while also defeating the Division for good before leaving her to live her own life in her TARDIS. Or better yet, don’t do the Timeless Child altogether and instead address something else that’s important, say the Valeyard. Though I must say, given how this arc was never elaborated on in the 2022 specials, I think I could buy the Doctor being a clone of the Timeless Child and Tecteun deciding not to reveal that the Doctor was a clone so as to save her the trouble of wondering whether she was the clone or not, like the Space Beth arc in Rick and Morty.

Personally, I will not accept that the Doctor was the Timeless Child or had any incarnations pre-Hartnell First, including Ruth or the Morbius incarnations (which I believe to be Morbius’ incarnations); William Hartnell’s First Doctor always was, and always will be, the original Doctor.

2. The Doctor’s callous dismissal of Graham’s cancer concerns

Towards the end of Can You Hear Me?, Graham tells the Doctor about his fear that his cancer might come back before the Doctor responds, “I’m still quite socially awkward” without any reassuring words. In another interview with Doctor Who Magazine, Chibnall states that Graham’s cancer concerns were inspired from his own cancer diagnosis at the age of 22. After learning this, I honestly think that scene is totally something r/thathappened, but this is fiction, not real life, so it wouldn’t have hurt to put in some reassuring words because fiction doesn’t have to follow real life to a T. Heck, even Chibnall admitted in that interview that there was another version of that scene where the Doctor does give Graham some reassuring words. Here, I’ll give you my example that I quickly made up in the first hiatusbreaker update: “I should say a reassuring thing now, shouldn’t I? I’m still quite socially awkward, but I just want you to know that you’ve got me, Ryan and Yaz in the TARDIS, and we’ll be there for you if anything happens, just as you have been there for us.”

OK, so people might not know how to respond to something they have no experience of (which is understandable) and Chibnall was just trying to express that through the Doctor, but you’d think that the Doctor has lived for so long that they would at least be able to show empathy and support, particularly in an episode that mainly focused on mental health issues. Even with context, the way the scene was written still makes it look like the Doctor was being callously dismissive of Graham’s concerns. Yes, I know the Doctor said she was socially awkward and that I said in my review that her fam should have known this because they’ve been with her for so long, but sometimes opinions change when you get a better understanding of the situation from different people and it still doesn’t excuse the way she dodged the subject.

Look, being adopted and being diagnosed with cancer when you’re young are relatable situations, but this feels like Chibnall brought them up as excuses for the flawed writing in the respective episodes.

3. Hamfisted SJW politics without entertaining stories to back them up

The third episodes of Series 11 and 12, Rosa and Orphan 55, were the two series-requisite SJW-fest episodes focusing on social justice topics, namely racism and climate change. Unfortunately, they didn’t end up being as entertaining as expected; Rosa failed to elaborate on the background behind Krasko’s imprisonment and racism, while Orphan 55 failed to provide a decent resolution for Bella and Kane, making the episode’s ending feel like the Doctor lecturing the audience. I suppose improving the episodes the way I suggested wouldn’t do much to change the nature of how the episodes were presented, but at least it would make it entertaining.

Arachnids in the UK and Revolution of the Daleks featured Jack Robertson, an American businessman who served as an expy of Donald Trump, though in retrospect, given events that happened in the past two years, he could also be seen as an expy of Joe Biden, given how Robertson was shown to hate Trump in-universe (meaning that he could only be a Democrat candidate) and his actor, Chris Noth, is a liberal who got #MeToo’d in 2021. It’s so hilariously pathetic.

War of the Sontarans was an entertaining episode, but it featured Mary Seacole, who some say wasn’t actually a nurse even though she did help save lives on the battlefield. I didn’t know a lot about Mary Seacole and I’m not from the UK so I didn’t really care much for her character, but I believe that Seacole should be applauded for the good deeds she did, whether she was actually a nurse or not.

4. Lack of promotion and elusive marketing

I don’t know if it’s just me, but there hasn’t been a lot of marketing surrounding this series, with each series only getting trailers or release dates three weeks before their premiere. Even in the RTD or Moffat eras, the promotion of the series typically began at least three months before they were due to premiere. During Series 13, however, the BBC were being deliberately elusive with their promotion of the series with their #FindTheDoctor ARG that didn’t even reveal an airdate followed by an advertising campaign in Liverpool that also involved them deactivating their social media accounts for a day. The fact that the whole campaign won awards just shows how people will accept anything when they’ve been blueballed for two years.

On top of that, there used to be a lot more behind-the-scenes insights before the Chibnall era with Doctor Who Confidential, but as the years went on, the featurettes became shorter, now going up to around 5 minutes at most. Additionally, from 2009 to 2013, there were quite a number of documentaries produced as retrospectives to the series, with a majority of them being produced by BBC America in response to the series’ growing interest in the US and the 50th anniversary. All this reduction in behind-the-scenes content just goes to show how far this series has fallen over the past decade.

5. Poor writing and lack of significant character development

While Graham and Ryan did get significant character development throughout their appearances on the series, the Doctor and Yaz didn’t get much compared to them.

The Thirteenth Doctor ended up being an expy of the Tenth and Eleventh Doctors without any attempt to make her unique or understanding how the Tenth and Eleventh Doctors’ qualities make them unique. The Thirteenth Doctor’s moral outrages at people killing enemies (like the giant spider, the Sontarans and Marsissus the Sea Devil) were clearly ripped off from similar notions from the Tenth Doctor, along with his aversion to weapons, survivor’s guilt and “no second chances” attitude, but Chibnall didn’t seem to understand why those elements mattered to the Tenth Doctor nor the potential consequences of keeping the enemies alive. Aside from the Timeless Child, there’s no particular moment in this series that cements the Thirteenth Doctor as the Doctor (yes, I mentioned that thing at the start of Series 11, but that was post-regenerative and things have changed since then). I suppose the Doctor’s character can be summed up by whatever it says on the TARDIS Data Core article about her, but I don’t think that it’s enough.

Yaz got very little character development during Series 11 and 12, but then Series 13 went out of its way to regress her character development. OK, so we know that Yaz is a socially-awkward Muslim who was bullied at school and suffered racism while working as a police officer, but meeting the Doctor changed her life and eventually, she decided to quit the police force after randomly going on secondment for extended periods of time (and those ten months she spent being obsessed with finding the Doctor). Upon being separated from the Doctor and Dan in the Crimea and being transported to the Temple of Atropos, we saw that she had to have “WWTDD” - “What would the Doctor do?” - written on her hand (like a child) when at that point in her adventures with the Doctor, that phrase should have been the first thing that came to mind, not to mention that she has also been a police officer, potentially signifying that Yaz is too incompetent to rely on her instincts and logic. Later on, when Yaz gets trapped in the 20th century with Dan and Professor Jericho, she couldn’t recall the year they had to get back to even though she and Dan were supposed to know. They only figure it out once they get to Joseph Williamson’s tunnels in Liverpool and they find the door leading back to 2021. I don’t really believe in it myself, but there’s a reason why people like Bowlestrek and NoelZone call her “Yaz the plank”.

Throughout her run, the Doctor seemingly showed favouritism towards Yaz, which the fandom soon spinned into a ship known as “Thasmin”. This ship was explored during Series 13, but it was kind of rushed and there wasn’t much development because Chris Chibnall and Matt Strevens never planned on exploring it, though the resolution was okay. Eve of the Daleks apparently showed Dan “outing” Yaz to the Doctor, but I’m not LGBT so I can’t really comment on it.

Dan, like Yaz, doesn’t get a lot of character development, but I feel like we know enough about him in his first episode to conclude that he doesn’t need it that much, not to mention his sense of humor and the meme of him being “Evil Dan”.

And one more thing, I’ve got to mention Ryan’s dyspraxia, because it was only mentioned in like five episodes and it didn’t play that much a part in his character development nor do we see it affecting his adventures with the Doctor negatively. Chibnall could have written Ryan with autism and I wouldn’t be able to notice this.

A common rebuttal for the Chibnall era being bad because of its wokeness is “It’s not the politics, it’s the writing!” Um, is it possible that both things (among others) could have contributed to the Chibnall era being bad? Let me put it another way: The series isn’t bad because the writing is woke, but the series is woke because the writing is bad.

During the RTD and Moffat eras, the showrunners were working on other shows while working on Doctor Who; RTD was producing Casanova while working on Series 1, then was overseeing Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures throughout Series 2 to 4 and even continuing after stepping down as showrunner in 2009, while Steven Moffat was producing Sherlock alongside Mark Gatiss simultaneously throughout his run as showrunner. Chris Chibnall, however, was not shown to be overseeing anything else while realising his “five-year plan” for Doctor Who (though given the coronavirus pandemic, he probably couldn’t do anything else even if he wanted to), so in all honesty, he had no excuse for the quality of writing we got from him. On the other hand, though, the Chibnall era was all about fresh blood in the name of diversity, so I could probably forgive the amateurish quality as being produced by rookies and not by experienced individuals. We can only hope that the RTD2 era will really bring back the show we knew and loved.

Final points tally

So in a few episodes, the Doctor has been giving out points, which she changed to gold stars and stickers as the series went on. Out of interest, I’ve been keeping a tally and I’d thought I’d sum everything up to see how everyone did.

Yaz: 20 (10 points S11E5, gold star S12E6)

Ryan: 20 (gold star S11E6, gold star S12E6)

The Doctor: 5 (given by Ruth S12E4)

Graham: 10 (gold star S12E6)

Gabriela/Adam/Jake: 10 (one gold star each S12E6)

Jack Harkness: 10 (gold star NY2021)

Mary Seacole: 15 (gold star and sticker S13E2)

The Master: 15 (self-granted gold star and sticker BBC100)

Yaz and Ryan are at equal first with 20 points, Mary Seacole and the Master are at equal second with 15 points (if you want to count the Master giving himself points), Graham along with Gabriela, Adam and Jake from Praxeus are third with 10 points and ironically, the Doctor is last at 5 points.

Final era rating and verdict

Specials are included in the ratings.

Series 11: 81/110 (73%)

Series 12: 83/110 (75%)

Series 13: 18/90 (20%) Hypothetical: 47/90 (52%) Conservative: 27/90 (30%)

Final era total: 175/310 (56%) Hypothetical era total: 211/310 (68%) Conservative era total: 191/310 (61%)

In the end, despite all the flaws and disgraces I pointed out with the Chibnall era, it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. I compared Chris Chibnall with Kamen Rider producer Shinichiro Shirakura and writers Shoji Yonemura and Toshiki Inoue; that comparison continues to stand even at the end of the Chibnall era. In terms of wokeness, to compare the three showrunners of the revived series up to now, RTD is someone who has been woke from the beginning, yet knows how to subtly incorporate politics in a way that still makes the episode entertaining; Steven Moffat is someone who had to learn how to be woke judging from the reception of Series 10; while Chris Chibnall is the r/FellowKids version of woke. The way the Chibnall era was presented seemed to be appealing to a new generation of younger viewers (given the modern music used in Series 11 and its promos back in 2018), but as time went on, it seemingly stopped appealing to some of the more hardcore fans with the Timeless Child arc. Would I still go to say that Chibnall is a hack writer? Maybe. I’m not a good judge of acting skill or film production, but I like to think that everyone, cast and crew alike, did an okay job with what they were given; undoubtedly, this era would have been better with different people at the helm.

Look, I’ve been trying to stay positive about this entire series, but I think we all need to accept that this era of Doctor Who sucked. If there’s one thing I’ve learnt over the past 2-3 years, it’s that sometimes, the people you hate, or the people you think you’re supposed to hate, were right about some things (but not necessarily everything) all along. In politics, it might be the people you call conspiracy theorists, grifters, anti-vaxxers, facists and Nazis, or even individuals like Donald Trump, Elon Musk, Nigel Farage, Pauline Hanson or Craig Kelly. In Doctor Who, it’s the people you might call racists, sexists, or NMDs (Not My Doctors); the people you gatekeeping assholes don’t consider fans because you think fans have to accept everything offered to you like consumers without being allowed to complain. Yes, and I am really saying this, people like Bowlestrek, Nerdrotic, Heel vs Babyface and NoelZone were right all along.

Although I don’t join in the fan discourse of the series on social media, I have to condemn the actions of people like Trilbee (Mr Tardis), Jay Exci and Tharries; Trilbee’s videos on Bowlestrek incited his fans to harass him, with one even making repugnant remarks about him doing something unspeakable with dogs, Jay Exci debating Bowlestrek and failing to properly counter anything he says while giving the excuse that he was tired, and Tharries used Bowlestrek and NoelZone for clout before turning on them. I’m just listing vague examples here, but I’m sure other people may have receipts. You may think NMDs are bad, but let me tell you that the people calling out NMDs are just as bad as them, so they should stop trying to act like they’re innocent of their actions just because they have the clout of their enabling fanbases.

When I started these reviews, I set out two questions that I hoped to answer with these reviews. I briefly answered them in the prelude for the Flux reviews and I’ll answer them again in this post:

1. How does Jodie Whittaker’s performance set the bar for other Doctors after her, male or female?

If it weren’t for Jo Martin and The Power of the Doctor, Jodie Whittaker would have set a really low bar for future female Doctors, but now, I can say that maybe another woman can become the Doctor in 10-15 years and do a better job than Jodie Whittaker, regardless of whether you feel she did her best with the material she was given. As I said in the aforementioned post, just because one Doctor acts one way doesn’t mean another Doctor will act the same way and as such, each Doctor should be measured and judged individually.

2. Will the so-called “SJW/feminist/diversity agenda” affect the way I see and think about Doctor Who?

Admittedly, it did, but it was mostly because Chibnall was being rather unsubtle about it, and even then, all the SJW red flags I found, especially in regards to Rosa and Orphan 55, got me talking about racism and climate change among other things. I was hoping that I’d find something offensive about Hong Kong, but it’s good that there wasn’t; in fact, Legend of the Sea Devils did a good job in Cantonese language representation, something that was last seen briefly in the third episode of the Third Doctor serial, The Mind of Evil. There was also the case of Chibnall adding LGBT characters for representation in Series 11 before they got killed off, but Praxeus did it right because the LGBT representation wasn’t killed off in the end.

Looking forward to RTD2 and Ncuti Gatwa

Admittedly, I was going to do a post about Ncuti Gatwa’s casting back in May, but I never really got around to it, so I’m doing this here.

So right after The Power of the Doctor concluded, we got a sneak peek into the 60th Anniversary Specials, then a couple of days later, the new Doctor Who logo was unveiled, reverting to a classic design, while also announcing that the BBC are joining forces with Disney on Doctor Who, with the BBC continuing to broadcast the show in the UK while the rest of the world (except Ireland) will have it exclusively on Disney+. Also, Disney is expected to give the show higher budgets than before, on top of Sony having a majority stake in Bad Wolf Studios, so yeah. OK, I can kind of get behind putting it on Disney+ worldwide so everyone can get it at the same time (and without ads unlike on BBC America), but why does it have to be streaming-exclusive? In Australia, the ABC will no longer be airing new episodes as a result and I don’t know how many other countries will get screwed over because they can’t watch it for free.

Honestly, the only reason why the series is still on the BBC in the UK (aside from them being the creators of the series) is because RTD is a fervent supporter of the BBC and the licence fee. I know that streaming appears to be the growing trend nowadays, but aside from it being free, I watch the episodes on ABC iView because I know they’ll be available on there right after they premiere in the UK so I can watch them as quickly as possible in order to avoid spoilers. While the Disney+ deal does make it easier for some people to watch the episodes, it’s actually become harder for others to do the same. I hope the BBC and Disney are able to chalk up some kind of a deal to give broadcasting rights to other broadcasters including the ABC, but if nothing changes by November next year, at least we’ll always have torrents.

Going into conspiracy theory territory and speculate on why things are the way they are. I suspect that RTD was asked to come back after the outrage that the Timeless Child arc caused; the BBC fired Chibnall and decided not to renew Jodie Whittaker’s contract, but were told that they could do a final series to wrap things up. Jodie leaving after three series would be believable, but Chibnall leaving after one Doctor would be surprising. If it weren’t for RTD’s willingness to return, the series may have been cancelled and The Power of the Doctor would likely have ended with a fade to black. Other conspiracy theories say that “Chaos in Cardiff” actually happened and that Chibnall and Whittaker were going to quit after Series 11 but were asked to return for Series 12, but that kind of neglects Chibnall’s “five-year plan” comment from the start of his era. There’s also the “hostile takeover” theory I covered in the Flux prelude which kind of turned out to be true but not really. I guess time will only tell.

UPDATE - 19 November 2022: So RTD has come out and confessed that he asked the BBC if he could come back to Doctor Who as early as December 2020 following the lockdown tweetalong for The Runaway Bride when he suggested the idea to Catherine Tate, who then suggested it to David Tennant. Once he knew that both of them were willing to return, RTD emailed Piers Wenger, Director of Drama at the BBC, to throw the idea out there. While this may have been the case, there is still the possibility that either person wanted to return to Doctor Who or the BBC was willing to let RTD come back because of the outrage that the Timeless Child revelation caused. Given what we would later see during Series 13, it was a good thing that RTD decided to come back when he did.

When Ncuti Gatwa was announced as the Doctor back in May, my first thought was, “Well, at least the Doctor’s a man again.” Jo Martin aside, Ncuti will be the first black actor to play a numbered incarnation of the Doctor and his incarnation is slated to be the first gay Doctor. RTD has stated that Ncuti’s casting wasn’t about diversity and representation, but a couple of days before that, he stated that he had someone else in mind before Ncuti came in to audition and “simply stole it”, which makes me a little suspicious, but at any rate I look forward to seeing how he does as the Doctor.

Aside from Ncuti, Yasmin Finney, a trans-female actor, has been cast as Rose and is slated to be the new companion with her debut being in the 60th anniversary specials. On top of that, David Tennant has been announced to be returning as the Fourteenth Doctor alongside Catherine Tate, (the late) Bernard Cribbins, Jacqueline King and Karl Collins, reprising their roles from the RTD era. Neil Patrick Harris has also been cast as a villain who is apparently slated to be the Celestial Toymaker, but further details aren’t known as of yet.

UPDATE - 19 November 2022: Apparently Millie Gibson has been cast as Ruby Sunday, who will be the Fifteenth Doctor’s first companion. So is Rose going to be in Series 14 or what?

The three 60th anniversary specials are due to air in November 2023 before Ncuti’s first episode is expected to premiere “over the festive period” in 2023. In the review for Eve of the Daleks, I was raging about why RTD couldn’t do Series 14 early in 2023 before the 60th anniversary specials, but I can sort of see why the arrangements are what they are now.

While the Chibnall era all but killed off most of my interest for Doctor Who, RTD’s return reinvigorated it and now, I would like to announce that I intend to continue reviewing new Doctor Who episodes, even if only for the content. At the start of this review series, I had plans to give up this series if the next Doctor was a woman, but now, I’m happy to remain as a casual fan (this would be the same if Jo Martin were actually announced to be the next Doctor). My focus in the Chibnall era was seeing how the SJW agenda would affect how I see the series; for the RTD2 era, my focus will change to seeing how RTD does (in writing and the SJW agenda) in comparison to Chibnall.

This series of reviews has been simultaneously posted to a Google Site which I share with my friends on my personal Facebook account. This was because I was still hesitant at sharing my personal project outside of my Facebook friends back then and I also wanted to share my findings on the Chibnall era without revealing this Tumblr to anyone, not that anyone would care nowadays. For future reviews, they will be exclusive to Tumblr and I won’t be doing the bookending prelude and epilogue posts for the era, just the ones for each series.

I would like to acknowledge everyone who read and liked my reviews over the past four years, even if they were few and far between. I would also like to acknowledge Blogtor Who, as it was the site where I got most of my review header screenshots from (as shown in the collage below). Like I said, I’ll be back for the RTD2 era, but until then, feel free to follow me and check out my content both related and not related to Doctor Who, such as Kisekae Insights, Doctor Who 10 for 10 and my reviews of Koei Tecmo’s Warriors games, which are being lined up for future release.

Once again, thanks for following the Thirteenth Doctor Reviews and I hope to see you around.

[doctorthedoctor]

Demons of the Punjab/Thirteen and Yaz Parallels

I’ve been thinking about how the premise of our first Yaz-centric episode is Yaz going back in time to find out her roots/Umbreen’s past aren’t what she’s believed her whole life, and how so much about the Doctor and her dynamic with Yaz is reflected in the events.

—— Flux spoilers ahead ——

Demons of the Punjab starts out with her grandmother reflecting on her life on her birthday. She says she was the first woman married in Pakistan, and Yaz is surprised she’s never mentioned it before. Then, she gives Yaz a watch with broken glass. Her dad offers to get it fixed, but Umbreen insists it must never be fixed. Yaz gets upset when she doesn’t explain why or the overall significance of the gift. 

UMBREEN: I don't want to talk about it any more. 

YASMIN: Nani, please. 

UMBREEN: You won't understand. I have such stories I could tell you. 

YASMIN: And we want to hear them, really. If you don't tell us, we won't know. Your life's our heritage. 

UMBREEN: When you're older. Maybe.

Obviously, this is a direct parallel to Yaz wanting to know more about the Doctor’s past, which the Doctor insists on evading at all costs. Umbreen, like the Doctor, implies that Yaz doesn’t understand, while also never giving her the opportunity to understand. 

All of this is encapsulated by the fact that Umbreen has kept that watch. Much like the Doctor’s fob watch, it’s a piece of her past that she has a hard time looking directly at, and one she also knows cannot be changed, otherwise she wouldn’t exist as she does today. But they both keep their watches around for if/when they choose to face those periods of their lives.

Just like she does with the Doctor, Yaz struggles to accept that her nani won’t talk about her past. She convinces the Doctor to take them back in time so she can see what her life was like. While there, Yaz has a hard time processing the fact that her nani is getting married to a man she’s never seen or heard of before — a man that is not her grandad. She believes something is wrong and wants to prevent the wedding. It upsets her when the Doctor agrees to marry them, but her outlook changes once she learns the grim truth about her nani’s past. 

YASMIN: I want to know what happens.

DOCTOR: Prem dies today.

YASMIN: We can't let that happen.

DOCTOR: It has to. For Umbreen to become your nani, for you to exist, Prem has to die.

Without knowing it, this exchange gives Yaz a glimpse into the Doctor’s past through the context of her own life. How much death has forged the Doctor’s path to who she is in that moment? And after the eventual reveal of the timeless child, the Doctor learns there’s so much more than she ever knew. 

This experience sets Yaz up to better understand the Doctor’s past whenever it’s shared with her. I also think it’s important to note that once Yaz does learn the truth about her nani’s past, she reacts with compassion and a desire to ensure Umbreen is okay in the end.

YASMIN: Umbreen loses her husband on the day she marries. Of course she never wants to talk about it.

DOCTOR: I'm sorry, Yaz. We should leave.

YASMIN: No. I want to be sure she's safe, whatever happens. I want to look after my nani.

This is the same exact moment that she and the Doctor have on Ranskoor Av Kolos later on in the season:

DOCTOR: Get the hostages back to your ship. Yaz, you go with him.

YASMIN: No. I'm with you. Whatever happens.

These exchanges are important because they give the Doctor a glimpse into how Yaz would respond to learning the more intimate details of her past. Yaz consistently communicates through her words and actions that everything the Doctor is and was will be safe with her. With such a volatile life and history, it's important for the Doctor to understand that Yaz’s love genuinely does abide in the face of everything. (And, man, if Yaz spending more than half of their time together separated but wholly committed to the Doctor doesn’t show that she loves her no matter what, I don’t know what would).

After witnessing Prem’s death, Yaz approaches Umbreen with more consideration for what she’s experienced. 

YASMIN: And you're happy with how your life turned out? 

UMBREEN: Why would you be asking that? 

YASMIN: Just your journey. So many countries, so many years. I can't even begin to imagine what you've dealt with.

So many countries, so many years . . . so many planets, so many lives. Yaz really can’t begin to imagine what the Doctor has dealt with.

UMBREEN: You want to know about the watch? Really?

YASMIN: No. Tell me another time. I love you, Nani.

UMBREEN: And I love you too, bheti.

The phrasing here is important. Umbreen frames her question through Yaz’s wants and not her own. Yaz’s response shows that she’s come to understand that others need to feel ready to speak in order for her to listen. That information should be shared on Umbreen’s own terms, whenever she wants to tell her about the watch. 

And at the end of The Vanquishers, Yaz finally gets to see what that looks like: 

THE DOCTOR: I want to tell you everything. 

YASMIN: I’d like that. 

___

Bonus exchange between Yaz and Graham:

GRAHAM: This must be scrambling your head.

YASMIN: Just a bit. I thought I knew my nan's story. She inspired me. But if this is true, if this is her life, then she lied to me.

GRAHAM: Yeah, but maybe she just didn't want to tell you everything, you know. The woman's allowed to have secrets, even from her granddaughter. And you've got to remember, Yaz, that girl in there, she ain't your nan yet. It's only later she'll decide how to tell it. And I honestly don't know whether any of us know the real truth of our own lives, cos we're too busy living them from the inside. So just enjoy it, Yaz. Live this moment and figure it out later.

[nightmanatee]

list of all thasmin mirrors in the s11-s13 (bc apparently not everyone can see it??? i see so many people questioning some character`s desisions bc "why whould they?" -> bc thasmin would that`s why ofc):

the obvious ones:

1. 11x06: umbreen (yaz) and prem (13) . tragic short love story+yaz potentionally paralleling her grandma+waiting for each other but having no time?

2. 12x06: adam lang (13) and jake (yaz). astonaut and the ex police officer? do i have to say anything else?

3. 12x08: byron (13) and claire (yaz). they have literally things said in the script (with byron being compared to the doctor).

4. flux: bel and vinder. not sure who is who probs bell is yaz bc she watches the hologram. their relationship is thasmin mirror.

5. flux: dan and diane. not sure who is who but it`s the "bad" variant of ending for thasmin and i hope it`s only here to serve for thasmin rights in that dan`s speech in eotd.

6. eotd: sarah (13) and nick (yaz). several (3) years of having a crush on sarah? them travelling together after the events of eotd?? they ARE here for thasmin.

the questionable ones:

1. s11-s12: grace (13) and graham (yaz). i mean grace IS mirroring 13 in twwfte and their "3 years together"/3 seasons together stuff+it seems like yaz is going to be the one to live after the doctor etc etc.

2. 11x07: charlie (13) and kira (yaz). only putting them there bc of 13`s speech about how you didn`t expect to fall in love but it counts!! also kira never recieving nice things (/yaz and graham`s speech in the last ep of s12).

3. 12x03: benny (13) and vilma (yaz) . again wasting too much time (46 years) without engaging tho vilma (yaz) was always happy with everything already + benny finally being able to ask a hand in marriage before dying.

4. 12x04: nicola tesla (13) and dorothy skerritt (yaz) . putting them there only bc a very minor parallel tho skerritt was always on tesla`s side; was always defending him etc etc

so 10 couples after all. most of them from s12-13 which is reasonable. just wanted to be sure more people will now see this: how thasmin is not only about 13 and yaz being on screen but also other couples being here and showing some stuff/doing something.

3(4 including graham and grace) couples getting a happy ending. 8 of them being canon in one way or another (not sure about tesla and skerritt and charlie and kira didn`t get a chance to talk). 4(5 including benny and vilma; not sure about bel and vinder) being married btw. 5 of them strugling bc of lack of time; 3 of them being not happy bc of lies/misunderstandings (byron/claire+charlie and kira+dan and diane).

seems pretty "optimistic" huh

[rearranging-deck-chairs]

no but like. how powerful would "ive been where you are" be coming from yaz to the doctor in a moment of Big Distress and lifechanging decisions?

because they dont talk about it. im not sure how much the doctor knows about yazs history but whether she knows or not, this is not something they acknowledge? they can see it in each other, or at the very least yaz can see it in the doctor, but they dont talk about it?

so i dont know if the doctor would be surprised to learn that about yaz but it would for sure be surprising for yaz to say it? i think? for yaz to take that step toward the doctor on the 'i wanna tell you everything' playing field, especially about something that the doctor maybe feels like, is their duty? like a choice they dont want to make but they Have To? which is what many of the choices these past years have been i think

if the doctor thinks this is a

YASMIN: We can't let that happen. DOCTOR: It has to. For Umbreen to become your nani, for you to exist, Prem has to die.

or

YASMIN: Don't let the Cyberman have what it wants. DOCTOR: I know, because armies will rise and billions will die. [...] YASMIN: He's bluffing. Don't listen to him. DOCTOR: But I can't be sure. I can't risk this planet. I can't win! [...] YASMIN: What are you doing? DOCTOR: Giving it what it wants.

situation. like 'i dont want to let the child be kidnapped and hurt, but it's the universe, it's all the lives that will not be saved if i dont do this' and yaz steps in like clara in the day of the doctor with another way. we're not gonna let the fucking child die. we're the doctor.

CLARA: These are the people you're going to burn? DOCTOR 10: There isn't anything we can do. DOCTOR: He's right. There isn't another way. There never was. Either I destroy my own people or let the universe burn. CLARA: Look at you. The three of you. The warrior, the hero, and you. DOCTOR: And what am I? CLARA: Have you really forgotten? DOCTOR: Yes. Maybe, yes. CLARA: We've got enough warriors. Any old idiot can be a hero. DOCTOR: Then what do I do? CLARA: What you've always done. Be a doctor. You told me the name you chose was a promise. What was the promise? (The fighting seems to have stopped on Gallifrey.) DOCTOR 10: Never cruel or cowardly. WARRIOR: Never give up, never give in. (The images vanish.) DOCTOR 10: You're not actually suggesting that we change our own personal history?

we're not gonna let the child die even if that child has to to become the doctor. thats what we're the doctor for.

yaz, in acting capacity of the doctor, forcing the doctor to put herself before the universe for ONCE. yaz forcing the doctor to take care of herself like self-care by proxy, self-care the long way round asfhjh

yaz saying "can you hear me" and yaz

[id: yaz walking through the boundary in the timeless children]

[wandsandwheezes]

Family Man | F. W

TW // mentions of prem kids, pregnancy, children but mostly pure fluff

Taglist ✨ @witch-and-a-half @weasleysflowr @hufflepuffgirly @theweasleysredhair @wand3ringr0s3

If you asked Fred Weasley what his pride and joy was, people would usually expect him to beam proudly about the success of the shop with his brother, nevertheless, when he smiles fondly and says 'Thea Weasley' people are more often than not surprised.

Fred loved his Daughter so much that words couldn't describe how much happiness filled his heart every time he saw her. The second she was born, she had him wrapped around her little finger, a father that would do anything for her.

When you and Fred married, you were quick to fall pregnant with your first child, a Daughter, named after your Mother but the absolute spitting image of her father, however her soft strawberry blonde locks curled into ringlets, a trait that seemed to sprout as soon as her hair was long enough.

"How're my girls doing?" Fred whispers, pulling off his jacket, having just walked in from a day at the shop. You're sat with your daughter nestled into your side, about an hour or so deep into a nap. Fred gently scoops her up, not before pressing a small kiss to your forehead with a sweet hello, her little arms instinctively wrapped around his neck, falling back asleep instantly.

He took her up to her bed, tucking her in underneath her covers before pressing a gentle kiss to her hair, "goodnight my sweet angel, sleep well"

"I wish she'd stop growing," He says, joining you on the sofa, allowing you to cuddle into his side, his hands moving to play with your hair as he kicks off his shoes. "one day I'll wake up and my little girl will be an adult."

Laughing gently, you trace circles on his chest, feeling relaxed against him, you reminice of the moments you'd had together as teenagers, talking like this about your futures, getting married, how many kids you'd wanted and how you'd both give anything to do all of that with each other.

"Unfortunately Freddie, all they do is grow," You move to press a kiss to his cheek, nuzzling your nose into his neck for warmth, causing him to wrap his arms even tighter around you.

Little did you know that day, you were already pregnant with your second & third weasley children - the twins, like their father but one boy and one girl, Lee and Winnie. Identical apart from the eyes, the girl like her fathers and the boy much like yours, both with signature weasley hair.

Not even a few months after the twins you found out you were having another son, Billy who looked much like his uncle Bill did as a child, as Molly had pointed out hence his name. You originally wanted to call him Jamie but when you met your little boy for thr first time, both you and Fred decided that Billy was definitely more fitting.

finally your youngest daughter, Arabella. She was a gift that none of you had expected, after some complications after having Billy, you didn't think that having another child would be on the cards again. You found out you were pregnant a week or so before Fred's Birthday you had taken test after test, and even a trip to St Mungos to make sure, but as your doctor assured you, Arabella was on her way.

The thing about little Bella was that she was a tiny baby, a premature birth. When she was born she was so fragile looking and hearing her cries broke Fred's heart. The doctors said that she was quite frankly a miracle, making her just another pillar of pride for your adoring husband.

Having five children with Fred was an interesting experience, the house grew louder and louder and soon became like a second Burrow, children in and out of the house, magic everywhere. It truly was reminiscent of both of your childhoods. Despite having all the children to look after, he loved all of them with his whole heart and nothing less.

Your kids loved loved going to see Fred's parents and getting to spend time with Uncle George and Uncle Ron it was heart-warming to watch your family love the people you chose to be your family. Winnie absolutely adored being around Ginny and Lee wanted nothing more than to be like his Uncle Harry.

When Thea's Hogwarts letter came, Fred genuinely thought he was going to have a heart attack, "Merlin, Y/N, my little girl isn't old enough to be going to Hogwarts!" he was sat across the table from you eating his lunch, The sounds of Lee and Winnie bickering as Billy quietly draws and Arabella sits in your lap, listening into the conversation. To you, you were watching your babies grow up right before your eyes but to Fred they were always his babies.

"Freddie, my love it'll be the twins next, Lee wont shut up about getting to see Uncle Harry at school." you laugh, playing with the little curls on Arabella's head, a trait inherited from her oldest sister, "give it four years and our Bella will be off on her first year at Hogwarts with all of her siblings."

"I don't even want to think about that, I really don't know how Mum did it, sending us off one by one." you laugh lightly looking at your husband with a small smirk, "From what i heard from Molly, she was all but kicking you onto the platform, apparently you and George were a nightmare"

"We so were not!" he defended, feigning fake offense, rolling his eyes and taking a bite from his sandwich. "I think we were absolute golden angels" you raise an eyebrow at him, shaking your head, "You can be a golden angel and take Thea with you to Diagon Alley tomorrow to get her supplies, I don't fancy a day trip to London with the whole weasley clan just yet!" you laugh, he nods finishing up his food, the plate finding it's way to the sink, being washed up magically like at the Burrow, he presses a kiss to your hair, heading quickly to step into his father shoes, only to break up the growing argument between the twins.

You sat, content in the family you created, praising your younger self for putting up with all of Fred's antics because really, you were the luckiest girl on earth, with the greatest man alive, a loving father and the best Husband.

The time came to send Thea off on the Hogwarts Express, Molly had agreed to look after the rest of the children as you sent off your oldest, you were crying with fred as you hugged your little girl goodbye before she got onto the train. "Remember, Thea, it doesn't matter what house you get put in, and if you need someone to help you, you find Ted or Uncle Harry and they'll help you out." she laughs, wrapping her arms around her father's neck giving him a long hug. "I'll be fine, Dad, after all, I've got the weasley name to live up to!" he smiles proudly at his daughter, i give her one last kiss, giving her a couple of galleons for the train, "I love you, Thea." she hugs me again, "Love you too, Mumma!"

"One down, Four to go." you joke, leaning into your husband's side as you wave the train off, "At least the twins will have each other and Thea next year, the poor girl is all on her own!" you shake your head, pressing a kiss to his cheek. "I'm sure she's already made friends, she's much like you when it comes to being outgoing..." he smiles, calming down a little, "I can't believe we've just sent our first off to Hogwarts." you hug him gently. "Neither can I, Freddie, neither can I."

[butchbarbieagainstterfs]

I sow this dude in reddit going off this woman who was venting because she's way past her due date and her doctor said she might have to be induced, her dad basically started to mansplaining her about pregnancy, telling her not to induse labor because it's risky even though all of pregnancy can be risky even going past due date can be, basically acting like he knows better then person who literally went to school to be a doctor.

This fucking dude acting like Op's dad is thinking about her and the baby's safety, i checked this dude's profile and its just full of sexist shit to woman, the dude going on that this why men should get more right with kids but like if he think that, it's not Op's dads business, it would be her husbands and even the husband told the dad to fuck off.

I had to even tell this dude the risks of going past due date, like the placenta will slowly stop working, stop giving oxygen, nutrients and removing waste, then there's infections that can happen, and risks of baby getting to big and get stuck during vaginal birth.

He basically ignored what i said and went on rent how his mum had no problems with birth, like pregnancy is random for all people, i know people who had easy pregnancies and other's who had horrible hard pregnancies.

My own mum almost died twice when she was giving birth, i had almost died, i was 3 months prem.

Just reading this dude's comments makes my head hard, like not even my own bf will talk over me about subjects like this and even he knows the risks with pregnancy, men like this dude really put shame on all men because the assholes ones are such the loudest.

Cis dudes are awful when it comes to pregnancy and the like, it's so disgusting.

[vinylhazza]

How do you think E would react if Y/N went into prem labour? Like she’s laying in bed at 6 months pregnant and then she’s in pain, screaming and having contractions. I feel like he would be so scared but calm

he would be freaking the actual fuck out in his head, but he doesn’t let her see it.

she had this adorable bump, just starting to buy maternity clothes because she would no longer bare the hem of her leggings digging into her stomach. she was glowing, this happiness radiating off of her everywhere she went.

but today she felt something strange. there was a pain that would come and go, sharp and shocking. she was laying in bed reading a book she’d just picked up from this quaint bookstore on the east side of town - having a fond relationship with the elderly lady that runs the shop. she loves how the books have been through things she knows nothing about, frayed pages and tear stains that tell her the journey of the book and how it made someone feel. she was all about the sentiment of things.

it was something ethan loved the most about her. she appreciated things for what they were and always looked in between the lines.

he could see her flinch from the corner of his eye, clutching the book in her hand tighter about every 12 minutes, a little grunt escaping her lips with each flinch.

“kicking a lot today?” he would lean over, placing his hand against her belly in an attempt to feel his princess rolling around in his loves belly. she was going crazy, kicking wildly against his hand so much so that he’s widening his eyes and looking up at Y/n to see her reaction.

he starts to grow concerned when he sees the pained look on her face, scrunched up and hurting. she’s biting into her bottom lip before reaching for his hand frantically.

“e something isn’t right,” she breathes out, feeling weak from the pain that’s shooting through her. she can feel the baby flipping in her stomach - but she knows the pain she is having isnt normal.

“what’s wrong baby? tell me what’s happening, do we need to go to the hospital?” he’s sitting up suddenly, grabbing her hand while she squeezes tight, another contraction taking over.

“i think...oh my godddd something isn’t right-“ she breaks off when another one comes crashing faster than any one of them before. she knows she’s in premature labor at that point - that’s literally the only answer to what she’s feeling.

“okay let’s go sweetie, let me help you up. don’t worry about a thing my love we got this,” he’s soothing her, rounding to the other side of the bed and pulling her up by her hands, lifting her up and carrying her through the house, grabbing her purse and keys on the way to the door.

it does make her feel better that he is being so calm and gentle with her. she’s cuddling into his neck and grunting when another contraction hits hard, bunching up his shirt in her hand and squeezing her eyes shut, shaking in his arms.

he’s scared out of his fucking mind because the baby absolutely cannot come now how is that even possible? so he’s driving as fast as he can with you screaming the passenger seat, scared shitless and hoping they can stop you going into labor as fast as possible because he can’t bare to hear you scream anymore.

the nurses are on their feet the moment she is wheeled into the emergency room - getting you back as quickly as possible knowing it’s very common but also very scary as a first time mother.

after they get the contractions to stop and the doctor explains that it’s very normal and they will keep an eye on it to ensure it doesn’t happen again, ethan is shaking his hand with this relieved look crossing over his face because his love and angel were okay.

he’s holding your hand while you lay in bed, rubbing over your baby bump and talking to your tummy, singing a song and laughing when he feels the baby kick. he keeps telling you how strong you are, kissing your knuckles and running his fingers through your hair.

“she’s okay?” y/n asks the doctor one more time, triple checking that nothing was wrong and it really was just a scare.

“yes she is alright ma’am. this is actually more common than you think. nothing to be worried about, your babygirl is healthy,” he nods, writing something down on his clipboard and telling you your discharge papers will come any minute now.

ethan is actually so relieved but he also knows exactly what he will be like when the real thing happens, looking forward to the excitement and finally getting to meet their little bundle of joy.

[missmarthanightingale]

graham o’brien in s11

basic facts:

he was born sometime in the 1960s, probably, which puts him in his late 50s at the start of s11.  he used to be a bus driver, but had to retire, presumably for reasons related to his cancer.  he married grace sinclair 3 years prior to twwfte, around the same time that he officially went into remission.  he’s a fan of call the midwife & action movies.

character traits:

practical/cautious

graham really is a thoroughly practical sort, & i adore him for it.  the doctor doesn’t really do snack breaks, so he starts carrying sandwiches with him wherever they go.  he worries about having to pay damages for vandlism in a hotel room.   he imagines his late wife talking to him, & she teases him about having to figure out how the hoover works, which is so mundane & adorable.  he knows the geography of sheffield, even though according to his profile he was only ever a bus driver in essex, because it’s habit & he knows how useful it is to know these things.

he is, at any given moment, the most likely to be worrying about the immediate consequences to himself & his loved ones, & the least likely to get carried away with something else.  in twwfte he’s happy to do what he can to help with the main plot, but until they’re dealt with, his primary concern is the dna bombs, which is a very reasonable reaction.  he has a cautious nature, his first instinct is to run away from danger, unless he’s been given a good reason to run towards it.  he questions the doctor as a way of getting her to explain herself, & acts as the main voice of reason as needed.

loyal/protective/caring

graham’s certainly loyal, primarily to grace & ryan.  twwfte is an episode full of a man letting himself get dragged along on an adventure he has very little interest him because his wife & her grandkid are committed which means, in his own eyes, he has no choice but to go along with them.  throughout the series he is constantly with ryan, trying to protect him & take care of him to the best of his ability.  yaz & the doctor he doesn’t see as his responsibility the way ryan is, but he does consider them his friends & seems pretty loyal to them as well.

he’s really just a thoroughly decent guy.  he connects with people, he’s good with people.  he easily convinces durkas cicero to open up to him, befriends prem, establishes a rapport with charlie; he listens to them when they need to talk to someone & gives them good advice.  he does the same with yaz in demons of the punjab, letting her vent her feelings before giving her a bit of perspective & helping her understand the other side of things.  he even does a pretty good job of connecting with people he doesn’t like that much, because however much they tick him off he’s able to keep from antagonising them, a level of restraint largely beyond the others.

motivation

a lot of his initial attitude after she dies seems to be along the lines of What Would Grace Do.  when they’ve been basically kidnapped, he deliberately makes an effort to see the adventures through grace’s eyes, as a way of cheering himself up & a way of remembering her.  he tries to act according to what she would have wanted him to do, or wanted to do herself; mixed in with his survivor’s guilt is this desire to sort of live on her behalf, to honour her in a sense.  when he’s imagining grace in arachnids, he says to her “i have so much to tell you” because he knows how much she’d have loved to hear about it all, & loved even more to have lived it with them.  when he makes the decision to keep traveling with the doctor, it still partly a question of What Would Grace Do, partly an urge to run away from the place where his grief is strongest for a while, & partly - the most important part - because he has a taste for it, now.  he looked at it through her eyes & learned to love it, & now he’s doing it for himself.

mostly for himself.  there’s also ryan.  i think it’s really interesting that graham’s so committed to ryan, especially when ryan doesn’t encourage it at all.  it would have been really easy for graham to throw in the hat & just accept that ryan doesn’t want to be his family, especially with grace gone, but he didn’t.  i think ryan’s actually all graham has, in terms of family.  apart from the tardis crew, he’s pretty much alone in the world, & has been for a while now.  if he had any family members he was close to, he’d have mentioned them; personally i’d guess that graham’s an only child, but if he has siblings they’re not close.  i really don’t think he’s ever been a father, & his missteps with ryan are the moments when he’s channeling his only experience with parenting, his own dad, who from resolution seems to have been the stoic sort.  it’s the idea that ryan needs him which saves him in it takes you away, & the idea that ryan wants him that gives him pause with his plan in tborak.  ryan’s his connection to the world, the way grace was when he was struggling with cancer, which makes him a pretty important factor in any decisions graham makes.

the doctor:

there is so much snarking with these two, endless banter back & forth, it’s excellent.

you know, something that really frustrates me about these two is that graham is in a really good position to understand the doctor in a way that very few companions usually are.  he’s nowhere near as old as her, but he has much more experience at life than most people who travel with her.  even though he’s very different from her, we’ve seen how good he is at letting people talk.  if she ever wanted to, say, share something with him about how age weighs on her, or how much she needs other people around to keep her going, or how hard she’s finding it to hold on to hope, or how she’s struggling with the darkness inside her, or how much she wants to run away sometimes, he’d hear her & accept her.

but she doesn’t talk to him.  maybe she just doesn’t want to talk; maybe she forgets how mature he is in human years.  but god, their dynamic could be so much more than what it is, & it’s What We Deserve.

[ssaalexblake]

ngl i thought Praxeus was very relevant to the over arching plot of s12 actively because of the character work.

If your long plot doesn’t consider characters, their development and motivations as an important part of an over arching plot, it becomes the last season of game of thrones where character motivations don’t matter and all that matters are the twists and turns that have absolutely no emotional weight and therefore are empty and boring.

That was an ep for the companions, it was kind of solidifying their functions, in a way. 

Yaz last season was eager to help and please, was absolutely awestruck with thirteen and happy to follow her around and eager to follow instructions in an effort to please, and was mostly just happy to be awestruck, now she’s after actual responsibility and growth and is doing this the only ways she’s been shown how; Copying 13′s style. 

Ryan was off on his own investigating, he had the sense to pick up a key piece of evidence that solved the mystery, showing he’s also come very far from being more passive last season. He also managed to keep a grieving and freaked out woman company in a way that didn’t result in him being knocked out because he annoyed/distressed them, personal growth! He’s become much more comfortable in his own skin and worked through some of his own trauma enough to be a wise word to somebody else in a similar situation rather than just spurning them out of his own unresolved issues. 

Graham has totally solidified his presence as the Councillor, we saw shades of it last season in how he reacted to Prem and especially how he treats Ryan and Yaz, but this season he’s branching out and showing that care and empathy to far more people. They also showed a lot about him, and his self image, imo, ‘do you know how hard it is being married to someone that impressive’ and Graham’s far away stare that belayed so much grief was Absolutely him thinking of Grace, and how he thought she was miles more impressive than he is and yet he’s the one sitting there.  He’s also showing a more protective side towards 13, imo when before their relationship was like friends who just like to insult each other playfully,  he openly states his (and their) worry for her And he’s keeping people in line on the tardis for her, he did it with Edison and he was doing it with Jake when 13 had too much on her mind to care. He is, in short, far more careful about 13′s house than she is with his. 

I also would say that 13 was not entirely ignored that episode, because this followed the season trend of Reminding 13 of Gallifrey’s Demise by once Again including a plot about planetary annihilation. She literally cannot get away from these reminders, her temper even flared with Suki when she thought she’d infected earth on purpose. 

Yaz’ increasing recklessness is Absolutely gonna be part of the big plot, Ryan’s increasing willingness to get out there and his intuition and better people skills will be, Graham’s sheer empathy will be, just because we don’t know How it’s relevant yet doesn’t mean it’s totally divorced from the whole story. Maybe it’s because i grew up on this format???? with episodic television first and foremost, but I often find episodic formats the best way to develop your characters because you can tailor any story you tell to best say what you want to about your cast without the restraints you have from other storytelling formats. Yes, you end up with isolated stories, but everything you learn about the characters from said stories carries over to the over reaching plots, and sometimes the things you need to say about the characters can’t be done in the Big Story(tm). 

In this specific case i imagine this is because 13 is deliberately not talking to them about her problems, so heavy plot episodes are by a natural by product very much light on the companions. Spyfall Part 2 had them entirely divorced from it and they were also effectively totally removed from the story entirely in fugitive of the judoon by getting accidentally kidnapped by Jack and only returning at the end, in a way i honestly thought was kind of shoddy from a writing perspective, at least in Praxeus i can connect 13′s irritation at having a Guest Companion(tm) not be who she thought they were to the master reveal, and the planetary destruction plot to the fact that the show simply will not let her forget gallifrey is gone. 

The next narrative step is, of course, the merge all the plot lines carefully into one. The companion’s development, 13′s reclusive refusal to tell anybody anything and her deteriorating mental state, Gallifrey’s destruction, the master’s cryptic messages, the timeless child, Ruth!Doctor’s existence, etc etc, the building blocks are almost all there to all converge in the finale, and it will be a far better story because they took the time to lay it out with careful groundwork and precision than if they’d bulldozed through, imo.