By Owen Quinn author Photos copyright BBC
1: Refusing to let Shelley die in The Haunting of Villa Diodati
Captain Jack Harkness has warned the Doctor not to give the lone Cyberman what he wants, no matter what the cost. However, the Doctor doesn’t bargain on Storyteller, Percy Shelley, being that cost. He has the Cyberium in his mind. Trapped in a shifting house under relentless pursuit, Graham, Yaz and Ryan are all for sacrificing Shelley’s life to prevent the rebirth of the Cyber Empire. If that happens, billions will die.
“Save the poet, save the universe. Watch people burn now or tomorrow. Sometimes, even I can’t win.” The Doctor.
When given the right writing, Jodie Whittaker’s Doctor can burn from the screen and in this scene, she does exactly that. Her speech is something that would come from any Doctor and one of those rare times when she turns on her companions for their short-sighted-ness. Ryan was never a favourite companion of mine. I saw no purpose in his inclusion as part of the Tardis crew. It is his declaration that Shelley is only one life against billions. When the Doctor looks at him, it is with horror.
She asks him, “Is he Ryan? She tells him that his thoughts, his words will inspire and influence thousands for centuries. If he dies now then who knows what the damage will be on the future. Words matter! One death, one ripple and history will change in a blink. The future will not be the world you know. the world you were created in won’t exist and neither will you. It’s not just his life at stake, it’s yours. Do you want to sacrifice yourself for this? You want me to sacrifice you? You want to call it? Do it now. All of you. “
They all look at the Doctor in silence as she stares at them.
“Yeah because sometimes, this team structure isn’t flat. It’s mountainous, with me at the summit, in the stratosphere. Alone. Left to choose. Save the poet, save the universe. Watch people burn now or tomorrow. Sometimes, even I can’t win.”
This speech reminds us just who the Doctor is. The loner that walks through eternity. Despite what Yaz and the others think, they don’t know her at all. They are barely seeing one tiny facet of who the Doctor is. They cannot ever hope to see the universe through the Doctor’s eyes and while his companions are the best of her, they are ephemeral, a means for the Doctor to see the universe through their eyes. time is not a question of going back in time and killing Hitler as a baby. The consequences of that would be unimaginable. Her companions see it as an easy choice. Let Shelley die and then the future will be safe. One word can cause mayhem around the world , one misheard word caan destroiy a life and let’s face it, if they let Shelley die, do they really think Ashad will simply turn on his heel and go home. He will destroy everything and everyone making the sacrifice of Shelley pointless.
It also shows just how little literature means to her companions and the world in general. I am not a poetry fan but maybe I should be. Maybe once in a while, I should read something I haven’t before. We all find something personal in things we read and when you think of it, how many times a day hurt or inpsire people?
This speech is a clear reminder that the Doctor sees things on a univeral level and is disappointed when those that travel with her fail to do so. When Ryan suggest letting Shelley die, the Doctor takes a personal inference that she has somehow filed to help them open their minds. Not even the we love Bradley Walsh club we all belong to can smooth over this one.
But here we see the Doctor, the lonely Doctor that trips sometimes and is reminded that no matter how long she travels with someone or thinks she has helped them see a bigger universe, she will always be alone.
The Time Warriors and Beyond 