When Russell T Davies gazes into the mirror's depths, can you fathom what visage greets his eyes? It's as if he whispers to his reflection, "I am your beloved muse, darling." The season draws to a close with a mind-blowing reintroduction of another familiar face from his tenure at the helm. Yet, before we reach that thrilling twist, we must navigate a narrative that swiftly brushes aside overhyped antagonists, centering instead on the Doctor and Belinda welcoming a daughter into their world – albeit, Susan remains conspicuously absent. Fifteen's departure feels untimely and laments the underutilization of our purported main companion. This episode does offer some dazzling moments, but it also harbors a plethora of squandered potential. If I possessed the power of Desiderium, I would fervently wish for numerous alterations.
The resolution to last week's cliffhanger unfolds with Anita from the Christmas special, now with child, opening a door and pulling the Doctor into the Time Hotel. Time on Earth repeatedly resets, allowing the Rani to manipulate reality to its thinnest limits. Consequently, the Doctor revisits May 23rd to rescue his allies from Conrad's rigid, suburban fantasy. He offers Belinda a stark reality check by merely donning a kilt, but the full restoration of everyone's memories hinges on Anita's ability to open doors. Upon Kate's return, she activates biochips implanted in UNIT personnel, including Ruby, Mel, and Shirley, who zooms back so swiftly that she leaves trails of fire reminiscent of "Back to the Future." Rose Noble also reemerges. Her invisibility served as a commentary on Conrad's worldview, but I yearn for her presence as a testament to the existence of transgender individuals, regardless of Conrad's beliefs. The Doctor and Belinda introduce Poppy to UNIT, explaining her resemblance to the Poppy from "Space Babies" by revealing she was conceived from a blend of their memories and desires.
The Rani teleports in to share some exposition (and perhaps to declare that Mel thinks of her nightly. Happy Pride, indeed?). She reveals she took a "biological detour" to survive the Time Lord genocide, utilizing a Time Ring for her travels. "Find a dumb, blonde Earth girl, and voilà," she mocks the Doctor. Her scheme involves using Omega, whether alive or deceased, as a genetic repository to revive the Time Lords and forge a new Gallifrey. We're already aware that she views Omega – who discovered time travel and is dubbed the "original sin" of Time Lords – merely as a means to an end. No one will lord over her.
Now, prepare for a significant update to Time Lord lore, imparted so casually that it feels like we ought to have known all along. The Rani and the Doctor disclose that the genetic implosion orchestrated by the Spy Master sterilized all surviving Time Lords, rendering them infertile. The Rani elicits groans by insisting that Poppy doesn't count due to her "contamination" with inferior human DNA. Never has she embodied the Rani more than when she begins referring to humans as livestock. It remains uncertain what fate awaits Poppy if the wish-fulfilled world ceases to exist, but the Doctor stands firm in his conviction that his and Belinda's daughter is real. So what if she was conceived from hopes and dreams? All children are, after all.
After the Doctor's firm refusal to join forces with the Rani, they locked eyes, each aiming their sonics with deadly intent. Frustrated, the Rani retreated to the Bone Palace, intent on unleashing the Underverse's Bone Beasts upon UNIT. My underestimation of Susan Triad's technological prowess was evident when, at the Doctor's urgent request, she conjured a Zero Room – a realm that transcended reality – in an astonishing twenty minutes. Mind you, this marvel was crafted by hands that had barely seen a year of existence. The strategy was clear: Poppy would await the battle's conclusion, with a slim hope of emerging unscathed. Belinda, driven by maternal instinct, chose to accompany her daughter, embracing the haunting possibility that they might be eternally trapped within that ethereal space.
Though it felt right to shield a child from such peril, the sidelining of Belinda from the main action saddened me, especially considering the limited screen time she had been afforded this season. The Unholy Trinity – the wish-granting deity, the duplicitous Rani(s), and Conrad – harbored ambitions far grander than mere chaos. Their ultimate goal was to resurrect Omega, a villain of monumental proportions. Yet, these formidable threats were dispatched with almost casual ease.
Armed with a duplicated version of the Rani's sonic coding, the Doctor infiltrated the Bone Palace and facilitated Ruby's teleportation. Omega, now a colossal CGI monster embodying the madness of legend, swiftly consumed the Rani. Mrs. Flood vanished into thin air with the Time Ring, while the Doctor employed the vindicator to banish Omega back to his infernal realm. Ruby, her heart overflowing with empathy, disarmed a threatening Conrad to reach the infant deity, using it to wish for his happiness. I couldn't help but wish for something deeper – for Conrad to be consumed by genuine remorse, devoting his life to atoning for the communities his world had sought to erase and dominate. His happy ending as a chef felt neither earned nor satisfying.
Ruby also wished for the wish world's demise, while the Doctor's solemn wish, "No more wishes," allowed Desiderium to revert to his human form, a weeping infant. To the Doctor's immense relief, Belinda and Poppy emerged unscathed from the Zero Room. As the Doctor and Belinda sketched plans to child-proof the TARDIS and embark on a worldwide adventure as a family, Ruby, who alone retained fragments of their forgotten world, observed them passing Poppy's vest back and forth. In a poignant, heart-wrenching moment, Ruby realized the vest was shrinking, eventually vanishing along with Poppy and her parents' memories of her.
The Doctor moved on, casting Belinda's star certificate into the cosmos for the robotic sentinels from the season premiere to discover. He and Belinda laughed mockingly at Ruby's assertions of their shared parenthood, perhaps stung by the impossibility of her claim. At UNIT, his demeanor bordered on condescension when Ruby mentioned Poppy again. While UNIT personnel could recall other anomalies, like the shift in teal's hue, no one remembered Poppy. Ruby reminded the Doctor of his past feat of restoring her existence, sparking a collective reflection on his many rescues. "Sometimes I think we're all your children," Kate declared, abandoning subtlety altogether.
Now thoroughly convinced, the Doctor solemnly vows to Belinda that he will locate Poppy, come what may. Yet, the power to alter reality even marginally lies solely within a Time Lord's regeneration energy, necessitating a grave sacrifice from him – his life, or at least his current countenance. As he peruses a slideshow of his former selves, he quips, "Let's face it, I was the pinnacle," only to be interrupted by none other than Jodie Whitaker's Doctor, presenting a heartwarming farewell. Thirteen ponders that they remain essentially unchanged, but Fifteen disputes this by confessing his affection for her. She realizes she ought to voice similar sentiments to Yaz, yet Fifteen reveals that she never does. The acting here… breathe-taking, yet the show could have delved deeper into their shared dynamic.
Voluntarily undergoing regeneration, the Doctor witnesses the world's fabric shatter into countless shards before dissolving into whiteness. He awakens in a breathtaking garden, where Belinda awaits. Though Poppy remains her daughter, she is no longer his. Retrospectively, the narrative weaves itself anew – in each episode, Belinda urges the Doctor to return for Poppy. Sharing an intimate moment with Poppy, he whispers, "I'm infertile. But if I could bear children, I'd wish for one just like you." Belinda insists that traveling with Poppy is perilous yet inquires if he'd escort her to Neptune upon her maturity. Tears well in her eyes as she expresses a sense of forgetfulness, to which he responds that wondrous things may be forgotten but undeniably occurred somewhere. "One truth endures: I love you," he assures her. "And I love you, Pops. That bond will never falter."
I find this conclusion for Belinda lacking. Clarifying, there's no stigma attached to being a single mother, and it logically concludes two seasons rich with baby and family references by reuniting a lost child with her mother. However, due to the narrative sequence presented to viewers, Belinda seems to have undergone a character rewrite, devoid of an autonomous choice towards motherhood. (Granted, she beseeched the Doctor to save Poppy, but this was under the guise of a forgotten daughter, altering the perception.) Consider Carla, who willingly embraced Joe Sunday into her family – her fondness for children was established, and she bore no prior obligation to Desiderium; he could have been adopted by strangers. Belinda's retcon stands out as jarring in contrast.
The Belinda who eagerly anticipated cosmic adventures alongside the Doctor, regardless of Poppy's existence, has vanished. She now possesses an entirely different origin story and a purely human offspring. While this has presumably been her 'true' self all along, our viewing experience disrupts the fluidity of her journey. This Belinda doesn't balk at the Doctor's "Miss," contrasting her earlier stance against being defined by marital status. She fails to question the Doctor's unauthorized scan of Poppy, a stark departure from when she reprimanded him for doing the same to her. It appears Belinda never truly held center stage in her own maternity narrative; Ruby was the first to recall Poppy.
When it comes to "Doctor Who," the departure of a Time Lord is invariably poignant, but the exit of Fifteen strikes a particularly poignant chord. Not only were there episodes that felt light on Doctorly presence, but Ncuti Gatwa's tenure was also marred by the fact that he never got to confront the iconic villains he longed to battle. His swift departure left little room for a heartfelt farewell to Ruby, as he regenerated near Joy, the luminous star, uttering the poignant words, "This has been an absolute joy."
And then, a shocking twist: his successor is none other than Billie Piper?! As an avid fan of Rose Tyler and the Tenth Doctor, I must admit, even I feel somewhat overindulged by this nostalgic gesture. Moreover, the notion of transforming into someone who bears an uncanny resemblance to one's ex is utterly bizarre. Though the credits refrain from bestowing upon her the title of The Doctor, a press release tantalizingly suggests that her identity and the reason for her return remain shrouded in mystery. Could it be linked to her Bad Wolf alter ego, considering that Fifteen directed his regeneration energy towards the TARDIS console?
Billie Piper's talent is undeniable, and I eagerly anticipate her on-screen presence. However, I suspect her return will be a fleeting one, not spanning an entire season. Nonetheless, it feels as though nostalgia is being leveraged as a crutch, and this incessant backward glance may impede the show's capacity to progress and evolve.
