I feel like Thirteen is already a better person than some of her previous regenerations and she’s still learning who she is.
What I mean by “better person” should probably be explained. The doctor can customarily save the world two times over and he’s succeeded in his mission but then he doesn’t see the fault in treating his companion unfairly, consciously or unconsciously throwing them into danger, or not being concerned with their lives.
Thirteen is… a little different. From the beginning, she displayed so much kindness and empathy towards her companions. She went to Grace’s funeral, watched Ryan go up to the hill to ride his bike, asked about their lives and cared about their respective situations.
— maybe he doesn’t always mean to, but the Doctor could be rather careless about his companions lives and almost immediately wants to invite them to run away with him. Thirteen didn’t. She stayed. She cared. She listened.
In Rosa, she understood that this wasn’t a safe environment for Yaz and Ryan, and told them to sit it out, but they stayed because they wanted to. She asks if they’re okay and tells them to be careful.
— not the Doctor inadvertently coaxing them into a risky situation with little to no concern or like Ten not really being understanding of Martha’s concern about her race in the era they were in.
Even in this preview clip from the next episode, Thirteen keeps her promise to bring them home and literally doesn’t ask them to stay, even though she has clearly become attached to them and wants them to, and is so excited when Yaz invites her in for tea.
And this doesn’t take away from anything else. Thirteen is just as fierce and effective as the other doctors where it concerns saving the world and protecting people, but she’s just a lot nicer and more caring when it’s necessary to be.
(P.S. I don’t mean all of the previous regenerations are guilty of the faults I detail above, just some of them.)
Yaz and Ryan’s utter amazement at meeting Rosa Parks and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. respectively was the best part of this episode, and I loved Graham saying he was Steve Jobs and was trying to market a smart phone, LOL. XD Jodie continues to hit it out of the park as well. I loved her channeling 12 by writing on the wall. I also love how they all work as a team to make sure history stays on course. The only bad thing is that the villian Krasko was really flat, but at least the other guest characters were top-notch, especially Rosa herself.
The villain wasn’t the point though. There’s plenty of people just like him in everyday life. He was recognizable enough as it were. So why waste time going more in depth on him?
^^^ Exactly. As @lilbasthet so aptly said, “racism is the monster of the week”. Not just Krasko, but the whole social and political milieu of Alabama 1955. The ex-con space racist was just an excuse for the Doctor and her friends to be there and bear witness.
relatable af
relatable af
