As I continue to lose my mind over Doctor Who, it’s finally clicked for me why it was that this whole reveal and character turn resonated with me so hard. (Beyond my long and abiding love for Sacha Dhawan.)
I really expected O to be a one-off for this two part finale. Or at best, maybe a companion for a brief arc. But I truly never thought he’d be such a vital character, one who fits into the larger history of the show because, quite frankly, brown actors rarely get these kinds of roles. Like try as I might, years of casting and general Hollywood history didn’t even let me hope along those lines. And I think that’s part of what made the whole thing so effective and invigorating as a reveal in a way that Missy’s wasn’t. (Though in her case we all knew who she was, and it was simply a matter of waiting for the show to confirm it.)
Also, as far as reveals go, that one was so fucking good. When you rewatch the episode you see all these hints and clues just hiding in plain sight, like a magic trick — or a heist movie — and you kick yourself for not seeing it all along. Part of it is that we didn’t expect this character back so soon, but what better way to explore this Doctor better than by bringing in someone with such a personal connection? And what an effective way to dig into Thirteen’s past. (It’s also a nice way to have the companions start to question everything. After all that relationship is the story of what happens when friendship goes wrong, and who knows the darker side of the Doctor than someone who’s experienced it in various degrees over the years?)
It’s such a contrast from Moffat’s style, in which he had to make sure viewers knew the show (and by virtue, he) was the smartest thing in the room. But whenever you examine any of his plots for too long (at least on Who) they fall apart quite quickly or don’t make sense. Here it felt like the show knew what it was doing and that it trusted that we loved and believed in the Doctor enough to surprise us much like it did her. And what an excellent surprise to start off the series. I only pray that he gets to stick around till the end in a nice long arc where we and “the fam” start to question everything.
I think it speaks to both good writing and progressive casting that I’m actually this excited about a show I’m pretty enthusiastic about in general. It’s meant so much to have Yas travel around with Thirteen (who was already a massive deal), as well as the episode set during the partition of India. But now getting to see Dhawan play this character, of all characters, is just an absolute delight — and not just because he’s a fantastic actor.) It actually feels like Doctor Who is mine in a way it hasn’t been before, despite having loved the show all these years. So yes, representation does really matter and I’m grateful for any time we get to spend with this character and I really hope they do him justice.