Doctor Who Is Giving Me Life Because It’s Finally About Heroes Again

Somewhere around Peter Capaldi’s first season I stopped watching Doctor Who. But I stopped loving it long before that. Over time it became too self-hating for me, too dark. That’s why I’m so in love with Jodie Whittaker‘s take on the iconic character. Yes it is refreshing for The Doctor to finally be a woman, but more than that the latest season of the series has re-centered itself to fully focus on the story this series has always told — one about our universe’s unflinching hero. In the process it’s reignited my romance with beautiful show.

I say romance because that’s the only word capable of accurately capturing my relationship with Doctor Who. No show has been able to yank at my heart quite like this one, and likewise no show has made me cringe as much. I still can’t think of Christopher Eccleston’s mannequin-filled entrance and not feel a bit nauseous from secondhand embarrassment. But when it comes to Doctor Who the good always outweighs the bad. I was able to forgive the parts of the series that made me roll my eyes because I knew a better episode or arc was always around the corner.

But sometime during Matt Smith’s reign as the Doctor, that changed. River Song’s (Alex Kingston) time-traveling romance felt a bit too convoluted and emotionless for my taste; his adventures with Clara (Jenna Coleman) felt a bit too hollow. During this period Doctor Who leaned into a theme it had largely glossed over before — its underlying darkness. The Doctor was no longer an eager hero with a complicated past and a narrow dark streak. He was angry, bitter, and borderline cruel. He became more of an antihero, and though his callousness was well earned, it hurt to watch this once optimistic character lean into his own demons.

But for the regeneration of its 13th Doctor, the series hasn’t merely cast a new actor. It’s almost completely restarted its story under the direction of it’s new head writer Chris Chibnall. And the direction it’s gone in is a gorgeous return to form. “The Woman Who Fell to Earth” starts with a very confused Jodie Whittaker. She can’t remember who she is or what she’s supposed to be doing as she stumbles through rapid-fire explanations to her new companions and tries on outfits. Stripped of the mythology and the pain that has gradually weighed down every regeneration since the 9th Doctor, Whittaker’s take on the character is forced to completely focus on the one thing she knows she’s supposed to do — help people.

The resulting shift has transformed Doctor Who back into an optimistic show about the goodness of heroes. The 13th Doctor with her manic excitement and boundless energy has already proven that she’s incapable of leaving any moment in space and time that seems array alone. The third episode of the series, “Rosa”, actually saw The Doctor stopping to help Rosa Parks while returning her new friends to Earth. She’s so invested in being the best savior she can be, she saves people as she’s in the process of saving people.

Of course every iteration of The Doctor has been selfless. But Whittaker’s take on the role infuses her savior streak with so much warmth, it’s difficult not to immediately love her. Whereas Capaldi, Smith, Christopher Eccleston, and yes even David Tennant’s Doctors would often be snippy in their explanations to their companions, Whittaker’s 13 isn’t. Even when they’re running for their lives, she takes the time and energy to explain what’s happening to her human buddies to the best of her abilities. She’s even proven she can side-step the ego that used to land Tennant’s 10 in trouble, actively relying on Graham (Bradley Walsh) to catch her hints and deliver the final deadly blow in the robot-packed “The Ghost Monument.” More than most iterations of herself, 13 is a leader.

And she’s one who is able to step aside and give other heroes their due. In many ways our introduction to 13 starts with her failure. After several near death lunges and stumbles, The Doctor is able to defeat Tzim-Sha, an alien who has been using Earth as its own personal hunting ground. But the ensuing fight costs the sweet and adventurous Grace (Sharon D. Clarke) her life to the distress of her husband and grandson. The Doctor takes the weight of this loss on her shoulders, but she doesn’t let her own personal failure overpower Graham and Ryan’s (Tosin Cole) grief or the memory of this incredible woman. She understands Grace’s sacrifice is far more valuable than her own personal turmoil and steps back.

That painful acknowledgement of sacrifice happens again in “Rosa.” Toward the end of the episode, The Doctor realizes that in order for Rosa Parks to stay sitting in the white section of the bus — a protest that would help spark the Civil Rights movement — she and her companions need to be on the wrong side of history. They can’t help her. Instead they’re forced to watch this elderly woman be verbally attacked, an event they’re directly responsible for causing.

It’s certainly problematic to give a white woman control over this huge moment in American history. But in the context of this time-traveling story, The Doctor’s appreciation and respect for Parks feels genuine. There’s a sense that The Doctor doesn’t see Parks as an equal hero but a greater one. The Doctor has all the time in the universe to be good. But Rosa Parks devoted her limited time alive to being continuously beaten down, harassed, and discriminated against just for the chance that things may get better.

Doctor Who has always been a show about heroics. Naturally the dark side of the subject was bound to be represented in this series, the pettiness, anger, and self-hatred that comes from constantly sacrificing yourself and never completely succeeding. But the latter half of Steven Moffat’s take on the series leaned so heavily into that darkness it became more of a draining and angst-filled chore than the series I recognized. I will never claim to be the biggest Whovian or know what’s “right” for this complicated series. But Whittaker’s 13 has given me back a tale of selflessness and sacrifice I didn’t realize I was missing. Doctor Who is back to being a good and pure thing, and right now we really need that.

New episodes of Doctor Who premiere on BBC America Sundays at 8/7c.

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