Physician Who simply wrapped up its two-part finale. It started final week with the intriguing idea of a backwards world, the place our queer Physician (Ncuti Gatwa) was married to companion Belinda (Varada Sethtu) in a blueprint nuclear household family, together with Poppy (Sienna-Robyn Mavanga-Phipps), the daughter they by no means had, and no recollections of their time-travelling adventures.
However because the thriller began to unravel, all of the qualities that made the state of affairs compelling fell aside – and this sums up my expertise with the trajectory of two key characters: companion Belinda Chandra and antagonist Mrs Flood (Anita Dobson).
Each had been launched with mysterious origins and complicated dynamics. Followers had speculated for weeks how their motivations would conflict with the Physician, but it surely turned out that these indicators of promise had been nothing greater than a dangling carrot.
Spoilers for Physician Who season 15
Mrs Flood’s build-up was an entire waste
All of us now know that Mrs Flood is a villain from Basic Who: The Rani. Properly… not THE Rani, A Rani. Put merely, Mrs. Flood was instantly knocked down a peg by being instantly changed with the true Rani (Archie Panjabi) throughout the bi-generation scene throughout the Interstellar Track Contest episode.
BBC/Disney/Dangerous Wolf Studios
Remember the fact that Flood was first launched throughout Fifteen’s debut again in Christmas 2023. She broke the fourth wall, one thing hardly ever seen in Physician Who, and continued to pop up ominously all through Gatwa’s tenure.
Throughout that point, followers have speculated about her true identification, with some getting it spot on. Sadly, the groundbreaking reveal I anticipated from the present was extra of a whimper than a bang.
This was tacked on as an underwhelming post-credits scene, with extremely flat dialogue – even the background music felt low-cost for one thing that was meant to be monumental and surprising.
From there on, Dobson was merely second fiddle to Panjabi. She was fairly actually waved out of the room, and even at one level instructed to go make a sandwich for another person, fairly than plotting and scheming (sure, actually).
It appeared that Flood was getting agitated along with her different half’s remedy, and I believed this would possibly result in an attention-grabbing conflict between the 2 Ranis, however that by no means went wherever both. As an alternative, Panjabi’s Rani acquired wolfed up by the unique timelord Omega in all his horrendous CGI glory, whereas Flood simply teleported away.
I’m nonetheless baffled by the necessity for 2 Ranis within the first place – aside from to remind audiences that bi-generation is a factor. Dobson could as nicely haven’t been there, and to have an actress as well-known and achieved as she is to be kicked to the curb on this style is an actual disservice.
I do wish to give Panjabi credit score for bringing the depraved campness that the Rani is understood for, however the writing didn’t do that antagonist justice. We had been thrown new twists each couple of minutes that overshadowed a villain that Fifteen’s whole run had been constructing in direction of.
But when Mrs Flood’s writing is unhealthy, then the ultimate ending for Belinda is actually unforgivable.
BBC Studios/Dangerous Wolf/James Pardon
Belinda grew to become nothing greater than a tradwife
In episode one, Belinda captured everybody’s consideration.
Right here’s a companion who isn’t afraid to query the Physician’s assumptions that each individual he meets is glad to go on an journey. Right here’s somebody who values her work as a nurse, who is aware of her obligations and wouldn’t shirk them for something, even when she’s on a completely totally different planet.
At instances, she went towards the Physician’s orders throughout adventures. She was a problem.
She talks steadily of her dad and mom, how anxious they should be whereas she was away. And we’ve seen how prolonged household performs into the storylines of companions earlier than – take Jackie Tyler, Wilfred Mott and Carla Sunday as just some examples. I used to be intrigued to satisfy them and see what they manufactured from the time-travelling alien who had basically stolen their daughter away.
BBC Studios/Dangerous Wolf/James Pardon
As we entered the ultimate two episodes, all these dimensions appeared to be forgotten. In Want World, we noticed that in Conrad’s utopia, Belinda was now a stay-at-home mum to Poppy (Sienna-Robyn Mavanga-Phipps), and married to ‘John Smith’, AKA The Physician.
How laughable, I believed on the time. Belinda is a younger, bold girl who needs extra from her life. I trusted that the story would ultimately reveal Poppy to be a mirage, or one thing extra difficult like The Timeless Youngster, a controversial plot from Whittaker’s period of Who.
However no. Belinda was apparently at all times destined to be only a mum to Poppy, and nothing extra.
Now, there’s nothing improper with transitioning somebody’s story into parenthood. We’ve seen Physician Who deal with this sort of plot earlier than with Amy Pond and Melody. Motherhood grew to become an extension of who she was, however she nonetheless retained the feisty character that all of us beloved her for.
The issue right here is that this growth for Belinda got here from nowhere, and each different high quality that made her complicated within the first place was fully demoted in favour of this child-shaped plot system – the vast majority of her dialogue was complaining to different characters about saving Poppy.
Belinda was fairly actually locked in a field with Poppy (and I imply actually, there was even a shot of her standing in silence in UNIT HQ, trapped) whereas all the opposite characters went on to save lots of the day, together with final season’s companion, Ruby. Once more, no disrespect to Millie Gibson, however why doesn’t the present star of the present get to shine?
The disappointing ‘Belinda field’ in motion
BBC Studios/Dangerous Wolf/Dan Fearon
Poppy ultimately disappeared, and I believed that lastly Belinda may be free – I noticed her former character start to reemerge. However as quickly as Fifteen realised there was an opportunity they might save this youngster, a baby that at this level Belinda didn’t even keep in mind as a result of universe shifting, her character flipped proper again to solely caring about Poppy.
The final interplay between the Physician and Belinda was the ultimate nail within the coffin. Poppy had been miraculously introduced into existence, and whereas the Physician was now not her father (that honour was given to some random ex that we by no means noticed), Belinda was nonetheless her mom.
The universe was rewritten to make it appear as if each determination Belinda made was as a result of she needed to get residence to Poppy, and that takes away a lot of her depth. Plus, the present by no means gave any indication of her desirous to be a mom, or some other clue that this was the path the plot was heading.
We acquired a quick cameo from Belinda’s mom, whom we’d heard a lot about earlier within the season. However but once more, this interplay was centred round Poppy. She by no means instructed her dad and mom the reality about her time-travelling adventures, and we by no means even acquired to satisfy Belinda’s father onscreen.
It felt just like the plot was speeding forward to get to the ultimate surprising scene and simply coping with Belinda as rapidly as doable.
James Pardon/BBC Studios/Disney/Dangerous Wolf
And what a destiny she’s left with. Firstly of the season, she was questioning the ethics of the Physician scanning her physique just about with out her consent. However now, she’s fully high-quality and dandy with basically being compelled into changing into a single mom, whereas the unique father (the Physician) swans off to pastures new? That’s one step too far for this author.
I wish to keep looking forward to the way forward for Physician Who, however this finale was a multitude, with Belinda and the Rani getting the brunt of the impression. Perhaps it was all the way down to solely having eight episodes to inform a plot arc, or the uncertainty of Gatwa’s future (and that of the present usually) induced some upheavals within the writers’ room.
Regardless of the causes, I hope Physician Who learns from these errors. For a present that has been breaking boundaries in terms of illustration on display screen, each these feminine characters deserved higher than stereotypical gender tropes, corresponding to changing into ‘only a mom’ and being ordered to go and make a sandwich.
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