How Doctor Who Betrayed All Its Principles In One Disgusting Move

Summary:

• Doctor Who is a British science fiction television series that has been on the air since 1963.
• The show follows the journey of an alien called the Doctor and his companions as they travel through time and space.
• The episode Spyfall, released in 2020, remains one of the most controversial in the show's 60-year history.

Although Doctor Who only became popular in the United States in the 2010s with the beginning of the era of the 11th Doctor, played by Matt Smith, the series has been considered a national treasure in its home country of the United Kingdom for many years before that.

The constant change of actors and new adventures is what makes Doctor Who so exciting. Everyone, regardless of generation and interest, has "their" Doctor, the one they grew up with and who became their guide through the world of distant galaxies and various historical periods.

Doctor Who has always been a political show, with different showrunners tackling different issues in British and world politics. However, the ideas promoted by the 13th Doctor shocked all viewers and made them question the quality of the production.

What Happened to Master in Spyfall?

One of the great things about Doctor Who, and what has allowed the show to last so long, is the ability to use the same characters over and over again. Thus, regardless of incarnation, the Doctor fought the same legacy monsters in the person of the Daleks, and had the same nemesis in the figure of the Master.

Like the Doctor, the Master has the ability to reincarnate, which is why he has appeared with different faces in different seasons of the series. The 13th Doctor/Master duo was special and had great potential, as it was the first time the Doctor was played by a woman, Jodie Whittaker, and the first time a non-white actor was cast as the Master, Sacha Dhawan.

However, its plot was ruined by a scandalous production decision.

According to the story, the Master, who used technology to change his appearance, conspired with a Nazi soldiers to gain their trust. Of course, his evil plans were put to a halt by the Doctor, but that wasn't what made fans question the writers' approach to the episode.

In retaliation against the Master, the Doctor removes his disguise and leaves him to be dealt with by the Nazis with the words "now they'll see you for who you really are".

Considering Dhawan's origin and appearance, the remark is read as extremely racist, and the revenge on the Master proves to be unacceptably cruel. Some viewers and critics even saw signs of collaboration in the Doctor's behavior, which completely killed their interest in the show.

For a series so concerned with inclusivity, and constantly accused of being woke, such a writing decision could come at an enormous reputational cost. Now, viewers can only hope that the 15th Doctor of Ncuti Gatwa 's will be more cautious in his reactions.