Doctor Who
By Sioph W. Leal
The latest season of Doctor Who starts with a focus on new companion Belinda Chandara (Varada Sethu) living her life as a nurse until she’s kidnapped by robots declaring her their Queen. While this is happening, The Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa) spends the introduction to the second season trying to find Belinda for reasons not revealed until the end of the episode.
Having a focus on Belinda is a great choice, and typical of Doctor Who, as we get to see the day-to-day life of Belinda before she’s swept up in the world of the Doctor. She’s a great addition and those who will miss Millie Gibson’s Ruby as they will easily love Belinda. She’s headstrong, smart, quick thinking and not easily enamoured by the wonders of the Whoniverse and quick to spot a threat in something, or someone charming. There's a clear heart in her and she’s shown from the get-go that she can handle herself and is not afraid of hard work or getting her hands dirty. Even though Sethu was in Doctor Who last season as Mundy Flynn, an Anglican marine in 5087, on performance alone it truly does feel like a different character. Already, she’s a great choice for a new companion and with a new mystery following her, the intrigue is set up well. From the trailer and other promotional material, we know something, or someone is stopping Belinda from returning home and even affecting the TARDIS.
There’s a lot that we can’t talk about due to embargo restrictions, but this episode is a great introduction to the new characters and plot. There’s a lot of classic Who moments and feelings without feeling repetitive but the shining star is Belinda. Gatwa and Sethu have a great on-screen partnership that’s different to the previous companion and a little more fraught but it works great with the impending mystery. There’s a great moment when The Doctor asks Belinda to join him travelling through space and time and even though she sees the wonder in it, and him, she remarks how dangerous she sees him and even questions how many people he’s proposed this to and how many he has lost along the way.
"Doctor Who" Season 2 arrives weekly on Disney+ and BBC beginning April 12, 2025. The first episode was screened for review.