Last night’s special marked the end of an era
BY NIC CROSARA, IMAGE BY BBC/JAMES PARDON
On Sunday (23 October) in the Doctor Who special titled, The Power Of The Doctor, Whovians were left on the edge of our seats. It was a powerful and bittersweet farewell to Jodie Whittaker, who took on the role of the 13th Doctor. She made herstory as the first female Time Lord, as well as queerstory, when it was confirmed her character had feelings for her companion, Yaz, sending #Thasmin shippers to cloud nine. She will certainly be missed.
A lot went down in The Power Of The Doctor, so let’s jump right in…
Before we look forwards, let’s look backwards
There was a lot to do with this special. Not only did it mark Jodie’s final episode and push the show towards its new era but it also marked the BBC’s centenary. This episode oozed with nostalgia. We saw multiple previous Time Lords and quite a few past companions as well. For her final battle, The Doctor had to face The Master who had teamed up with the Daleks and Cybermen. When The Master forces The Doctor’s regeneration, Yaz manages to bring her back but unfortunately this is short lived as The Doctor is fatally wounded and her body begins to renew, and the two have to share a tearful goodbye (more on this later).
That regeneration twist
For a long time, Doctor Who fans have known that Jodie Whittaker will be passing the baton on to Sex Education’s Ncuti Gatwa. So in the moving scene where The Doctor surrenders to the regeneration and fades into the bright cosmic glow, I expected to see Ncuti standing there once the glow faded. But instead, there stood fan-favourite Doctor, David Tennant – who looked even more confused than me. Russell T Davies cleared up confusion, confirming that Ncuti would be the 15th Doctor, not the 14th as we had expected. Not to fear, we will still get to see Ncuti in 2023, as the teaser trailer shows.
“I don’t know who I am anymore…”
— Doctor Who: The Power of the Doctor 🔥 (@bbcdoctorwho) October 23, 2022
Doctor Who returns 2023. Read more here ➡️ https://t.co/RTBWn0CHbp #DoctorWho pic.twitter.com/67fPU46DTc
We need to talk about #Thasmin
While this special powerfully nodded to the past and made us excited for the future, I wish we got a little more of the present. After years of fans “shipping” The Doctor and her companion, the easter special, Legend Of The Sea Devils, confirmed that Yaz’s feelings for the Time Lord were reciprocated. But things were complicated. While The Doctor said she loved Yaz more than her wife, she also made it clear that it couldn’t work, no matter how much she wanted it to. Telling Yaz: “I can’t fix myself … to anything … anywhere… or anyone.”
But with the feelings reciprocated and all the build-up, many Thasmin shippers have long been hoping that we’d see the two share a bittersweet “I love you” or even better, a kiss. But with all the high-stakes adventures across time and space, we didn’t get to see too much of this pairing together. Especially as The Master took over The Doctor’s regeneration for a large chunk of the episode.
While we never got a big sapphic kiss, Yaz’s individual journey has been a joy to watch. Her character provided us with queer South Asian representation – a rarity in general, but especially in sci-fi. Many felt seen by Yaz’s journey to realising and then accepting who she loves. She’s such an iconic companion. With The Doctor temporarily unable to physically save the day, Yaz steps into her power. Taking command of the Tardis and forging ahead on this high-stakes challenge to save the world, and the woman she loves.
My favourite scene from the entire episode was when Yaz flipped the dynamic we’re used to seeing on the show. Many past Doctor’s have scooped their companions up in their arms and carried them to safety. But when The Doctor was fatally wounded, Yaz ran to rescue her, carrying her back to the Tardis. But, I must admit I missed something from this which was later pointed out by Thasmin shippers online. Though it’s hard to see, one viewer pointed out that it looks like Yaz kissed The Doctor on the cheek writing “maybe we actually did get a thasmin kiss”.
ok so… OMG. this REALLY looks like yaz kissing the doctor on the cheek??? wow wow wow… maybe we actually did get a thasmin kiss 🥹🫶pic.twitter.com/aZI8n9CMdv
— dee (@raspberry_dee) October 24, 2022
This was certainly an epic and tearful moment, however many shippers were left disappointed that there was not a big romantic kiss between the two.
Here’s what fans had to say about the WLW ship in this special
now ive had time to process everything i understand why they did thasmin like that im the end, it would’ve been so much harder for yaz to go if they’d delved in more, still sad at the lack of hug at least, but this was a ship that was never meant to be and we still got so much.
— jack || DW SPOILERS (@morningstardis) October 24, 2022
drinking game take a shot every time thasmin could’ve kissed over the course of this era and didn’t
— han 👻 (@yasminkhvn) October 23, 2022
what i love about this little thasmin bubble is that some people loved the episode and some people feel let down but there is no arguing on the tl, everyone is so respectful of how other people’s feel
— ivy (@thasminkhan) October 24, 2022
They may have not given us a kiss but at least we knew they had feelings for each other. I’m going to miss them so much. #Thasmin #DoctorWho pic.twitter.com/NTTQuFDSuO
— Kaily ☾ ☼ (@BadWolfKaily) October 24, 2022
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