Opinion: What Some Call the 15th Doctor’s Weakness, I Would Call His Strength
Feature article by guest contributor Michael Weible.
It’s that time of year again when we’ve said goodbye to the last season and now await the Christmas Special to ring in the new year. During this time, many of us will move on to other Sci-fi/Fantasy staples to “wet our whistle,” such as Star Wars: The Acolyte, or, if you’re American like me, you finally have your hands on the latest Orphan Black spin-off series, Orphan Black: Echoes. In between feasting your eyes on mind-bending television, you begin to have questions about why some people provide a rather bleak outlook or impression on your favorite Mad Man with a Box. You begin to question, why is that? You read articles and editorials from professional writers and guest contributors. Then, you start to see a common problem.
Passionate Critiques and Changing Times
Our so-called “critiquing” of a children’s family-friendly series is due to our passion as fans of the series. From an outside perspective, we are all just looking for things to gripe about because our favorite show is now changing to keep up with the times and the current landscape of watchable television. Where there was once a cultural stigma to have emotion-driven protagonists, we have been through movements in the past decade to make it more acceptable and accessible to society these days. Some of the biggest concerns I have seen regarding our current Mad Man are that he cries too often, and that takes away this “take-charge,” “no fear” leadership prowess and makes him more flawed. I, for one, say, isn’t that a good thing?
The Importance of Emotional Depth
The best television for modern audiences growing up now is emotional. Ncuti Gatwa’s work on the most recent season on Disney Plus catapults his unapproachable, sometimes stoic, or in earlier cases, maniacally affable Id to new horizons. He was a superstar in Sex Education, and the gravitas and emotional depth he showed on display there will truly benefit the 15th Doctor moving forward. Now that we have a post Time-War/Flux/Masterless Doctor, he can finally be his true self. His new regeneration can breathe and find out who they are on their own terms. It’s like going through a trauma or lived experience that alters your personality but now on a whole new scale. The 15th Doctor is no longer burdened by his past. Tennant’s 14th retires because of this, ready to settle down and let the new guy take the wheel. The new guy always eventually finds themselves, though, not always right away.
The Doctor’s Growth and New Horizons
I think we are seeing a more emotional side of the Doctor this time around because he must grow. He has schemas he has picked up that have molded him into the Time Lord he is today, which includes finally understanding just how incomprehensible he really is. He is not just a man, a woman, a Timeless Child. He is whatever society needs him to be. This can carry weight, and he knows this. True strength is to show he finally understands just how lost, confused, and scared he really is to face his future. For the first time in 60 years (in the show more like thousands of years), there aren’t guardrails up, and he can truly explore what makes him tick. He no longer must be the strong, unstoppable force he once was. Now, he can really come into his own, the way he wants to.
A More Human Doctor
Sure, there will still be moments of amazement, moments of the good old-fashioned “Oncoming Storm” he tends to be, but now that storm can show it’s a much stronger storm now that he can showcase his flaws and grow from them. He can even go so far as to let others in for a change; it will be a whole new force to be reckoned with. I think given the message a lot of the show’s past serials and two-parters rely heavily on, including spin-offs Torchwood, The Sarah Jane Adventures, and yes, even Class, it’s that the real way to defeat one’s enemies or overcome adversity is through teamwork. The best kind of teamwork is only achievable when you can truly connect and bond with each other. If the Doctor were to continue his habit of being a loner while traveling with people but not fitting the typical pastiche of being a loner, then the show would stagnate, and eventually, we’d reach Dark Times 2.0.
To avoid this, the 15th Doctor absolutely needs to be more receptive to audiences everywhere, including his companions. For lack of better words, the more human they make him, the more compelling he can become. For all that we know, the place he originated from is more emotional than that of the typical Time Lord from Gallifrey. Now that the memories are no longer hidden from view, he can truly tap into his full potential. That potential may rely heavily on emotions. To borrow a term from Bravest Warriors (a web series created by Pendleton Ward, creator of Adventure Time), he needs to become an Emotion Lord. If he lets his emotions out, he can truly be a force for good and show just how relatable he can be to not just audiences but anyone he encounters, alien or otherwise.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Gatwa has a bright, teary-eyed future ahead of him. The Doctor as well. It’s high time we embrace that wearing our emotions on our sleeves does not make us seem weak. It makes us seem stronger because it means we aren’t afraid to show fear. For what it’s worth, fear is not a terrible thing to show when you are finally free of everything else.