Doctor Who Season 2 Episode 3 “The Well” was a reminder that I shouldn’t get attached to any side character. And this coming from someone who has watched Doctor Who for years and welcomed these adventures. While they might be fun on the surface, tragedy always strikes because we are small blips in the time span of The Doctor. So while I’m having fun with the adventures of The Doctor and Belinda, I fear for her. Because The Doctor makes promises, something they can’t always keep.
The Doctor’s Promises
In Belinda’s continued narrative of surprising us by pushing The Doctor, she questions them when it comes to promises. She’s not heart-eyed over the prospect of traveling the universe with this ageless being like Rose Tyler was. And she’s not brash and vocal like Donna Noble was. All of this comes despite having Belinda and The Doctor having a cute little intro where they changed their outfits to the tune of Britney Spears.
Belinda knows that there is danger in traveling with The Doctor, and I love that she called out The Doctor when it comes to their promises. Because we’ve watched this show enough times. The Doctor tries, but they can’t control everything. Maybe anything. All they can do is try. And it’s very much human in its nature. But it’s also quite jarring for someone to be so blunt about it because The Doctor is always so adamant that they have a handle on things. They don’t.
It’s not just jarring to hear someone call out The Doctor when it comes to their promises as an audience member. It’s also jarring for The Doctor as well. And companions have questioned them before. It just feels like Belinda has seen the reality of life in her work as a nurse. And she won’t be fooled by anyone, including an intergalactic being with a killer smile and gold hearts who wants to show her the universe. That makes her stand out. And I can’t wait until she meets Ruby Sunday and sees what kind of life comes after knowing The Doctor. Oftentimes, it’s just as dangerous.
The Tragedy of Shaya
As soon as Shaya, played by Caoilfhionn Dunne, gave us some background about her life before the military, I knew they were going to meet a tragic end. That’s what happens on this show, especially when it comes to secondary characters. But I held on to hope that this would be different. I really shouldn’t have. And because I held hope that this capable military woman would make it out alive, it broke my own heart when she chose to sacrifice herself.
Her death was epic despite my sorrow. She knew she was capable of making that shot when it came to Belinda and she took it. The following sequence of her running towards the well was emotionally taxing as well because you knew how it would end. And it was made even worse by the flashbacks of her running through the destruction of her home world. And don’t even get me started on the voiceOver. That wasn’t needed for my own emotional well-being and hours later I’m still sad.
At the end of the day Shaya is just another that met her end on an adventure with The Doctor. And if she had to choose, she would do it all over again. Because she’s a hero in the same league as The Doctor. I just can’t help but be frustrated that someone else made the sacrifice when he is so powerful. But that remains part of the heart of Doctor Who as a whole. The Doctor themselves shares this frustration, they have from the very start. They are extraordinary, but they can’t save everyone. And that breaks them while also making them admire every single companion they meet along the way.
Who is Mrs. Flood?
Mrs. Flood has appeared again in a throwback episode that referred to “Midnight.” And like the rest of the Doctor Who fandom, I’m increasingly becoming worried. It takes a great deal of power to implant yourself in these various situations. It isn’t just about the time travel aspect of it. Mrs. Flood is making it from the ’40s on Earth to space hundreds of thousands of years later like nothing. But she is also ingraining herself within whatever systems are in place. In Doctor Who Season 2 Episode 3 “The Well” she was a commander that had reports given to her.
The more that I see of Mrs. Flood the more that I think they are not one singular being. They could be multiple beings connected by one consciousness. And that consciousness wants to get their hands on the vindicator. The Doctor has been using it to map the universe as a means of getting Belinda home. Maps are very useful for people on the hunt for something. So whatever Mrs. Flood is after, it might not have anything to do with Earth but Earth will be collateral damage.
Which, let’s talk about our home planet. In an episode that was rightfully terrifying, there was this extra sense of foreboding about Earth. Because The Doctor is very sure about the knowledge that they have. And it shakes them that the world has changed around them and they don’t have the knowledge of how. The whole of humanity is gone and they don’t know why. And it sucks extra for Belinda who has hesitantly put her trust in The Doctor to then hear that there is no such thing as Earth. Now let’s see what she does now that her worst fears have been confirmed. Does she stay with The Doctor and trust him or does she go out on her own?
Only time will tell. But seeing what happened to Shaya in this episode, I fear she might never actually make it back home.
Additional things I think
- Love the touch of Brittany Spears
- The “hon” and “babes” is iconic simply due to the fact that women get called that by men all the time and the women are seen as hysterical. The Doctor has turned that on their heads by a male presenting person saying it to another. It stands out and makes you realize how truly inappropriate it no matter who you say it to.
- Aliss Fenly is played by Rose Ayling-Ellis. She’s a deaf actress known for Code of Silence. The first deaf actor on Doctor Who was Sophie Stone and she appeared in “Under the Lake.”
- Awww The Doctor has a nickname for Belinda. Bel.
- “Midnight” is an episode with David Tennant’s Doctor in Season 4 Episode 10.
- Ncuti Gatwa with those tears. Acting.
- Varada Sethu and her acting.
- I’m never trusting a side character again.
- HOW DID I FALL FOR THIS.
- Serving Officer Shaya Costallion squadron 775.
- A vindicator in action.
- Is that you again Mrs. Flood, played by Anita Dobson.
- IT MADE IT OFF THE PLANET?!
- BUT MY SHAYA.
- *flips tables*
Doctor Who airs new episodes every Saturday on Disney+ and BBC.
