She didn’t want to go, but her time was up. No, I’m not talking politics… on BBC1 last night, Jodie Whittaker’s 13th Doctor staged the most dramatic exit of the month (and there have been a few).
The Power of the Doctor marked Jodie’s final adventure and the Time Lord did not go quietly.
In Doctor Who TV bingo, it was a full house: Daleks, Cybermen, past Doctors, battles to the death, the threat to all humanity, emotional goodbyes, an arch nemesis and several regenerations.
As always there is a lot going on, not all of which makes complete sense, but to hell with it. The Doctor is in danger!
The best bit? On the edge of death, and a canyon, confronted with fragments of her past self, we hear wise words from Time Lord legends David Bradley, Colin Baker, Paul McGann, Peter Davison and Sylvester McCoy. “There’s always a way,” yells the Doctor, remembering she’s pre-planned an interactive AI “Holo-me” to plot her reverse regeneration. What luck.
The Doctor returns, volcanoes erupt, she double-powers the Tardis, releases the child and tells the alien creature to kill the fake planet… but at the last moment, the dying Master zaps the creature’s energy into the Doctor.
With so much revival, regeneration and reappearance in this increasingly meta series, it can sometimes feel like the show is eating itself. But it never loses its sense of humour.
Finally, an excellent last line before the Doctor burst with sunlight: “Right then, Doctor Whoever I’m about to be… Tag, you’re it!”
Her tenure may not have been vintage, but as the first female, Jodie broke new ground. For five years she was an immensely likeable and fun Doctor, who said “brilliant” far too often, pulled off charity shop chic and could make a Sonic Screwdriver out of spoons.
As Jodie vanished… an unmistakeable suit and tie… It was David Tennant, the tenth Doctor, yelling “What?” over and over.
A neat throwback - and a new problem - for new Doctor Ncuti Gatwa?
A genius twist that looks set to spark a new lease of life for this never-ending universe.
*Doctor Who: The Power of the Doctor is available on BBC iPlayer.
