Stray Thoughts on the Women of “The Woman Who Fell to Earth”
1)We had the two silly, petty,women at the beginning corrected by Yasmin. This means the episode passed the Bechdel-Wallace test before the Doctor entered the episode. We had two women talking and it wasn’t about a man.
2)What’s wonderful is the Doctor isn’t the only capable woman in the episode.
Yasmin is a police officer. Grace is a nurse. All three women were brave and encouraging and spoke up when they felt it was necessary.
It also means, in the context of the episode, the Doctor, while exceptional, isn’t an exception. Women can be capable-not just our favorite alien. The episode avoids falling into the ‘not like other girls’ trap.
3)As soon as I found out Grace was a nurse, I worried about her. Rory was a nurse. They killed him at least twice. Rita in The God Complex was lovely and a nurse and they killed her.
So while I was touched and surprised the title of the episode applied to two women, I was also upset. Can nurses dying NOT be a recurring thing, please?
Speaking of nurse, this entire episode echoed Rory’s line about his friend’s achievement in overcoming a stammer. Acknowledging the importance of overcoming everyday struggles theme I wished they’d explored more. I’m a fan of Russell T.Davies’ everyday people stories he had with Rose, Martha and Donna. I feel like Moffatt lost sight of grounded stories in his run.
4) The Doctor was geninuely more open sooner than any other New Who Doctor. She also seemed more trusting. She told Graham and Grace to use their own initiative in getting people out of the construction site. She echoed previous Doctors when she helped Carl.(We believe in you, too,Carl.)
The choice of ‘fairplay’ seemed deliberate. I hope it means they won’t shy away from the new issues that come along with the Doctor being female in historical adventures.
5) Will Grace be important moving forward beyond being a source of grief for the male companions? She was the other woman who fell to earth and her name is Doctor-like in that it describes something key about her. The Doctor tries to mend the universe. Grace lived her life with poise and knew it was a gift probably, in part, due to her experiences with her patients.
I know it’s a stretch, but I liked her.Seeing her in flashbacks would be lovely, but it does make me wonder.
Note: Original draft posted on Pillowfort //This was crossposted to Tumblr
2)What’s wonderful is the Doctor isn’t the only capable woman in the episode.
Yasmin is a police officer. Grace is a nurse. All three women were brave and encouraging and spoke up when they felt it was necessary.
It also means, in the context of the episode, the Doctor, while exceptional, isn’t an exception. Women can be capable-not just our favorite alien. The episode avoids falling into the ‘not like other girls’ trap.
3)As soon as I found out Grace was a nurse, I worried about her. Rory was a nurse. They killed him at least twice. Rita in The God Complex was lovely and a nurse and they killed her.
So while I was touched and surprised the title of the episode applied to two women, I was also upset. Can nurses dying NOT be a recurring thing, please?
Speaking of nurse, this entire episode echoed Rory’s line about his friend’s achievement in overcoming a stammer. Acknowledging the importance of overcoming everyday struggles theme I wished they’d explored more. I’m a fan of Russell T.Davies’ everyday people stories he had with Rose, Martha and Donna. I feel like Moffatt lost sight of grounded stories in his run.
4) The Doctor was geninuely more open sooner than any other New Who Doctor. She also seemed more trusting. She told Graham and Grace to use their own initiative in getting people out of the construction site. She echoed previous Doctors when she helped Carl.(We believe in you, too,Carl.)
The choice of ‘fairplay’ seemed deliberate. I hope it means they won’t shy away from the new issues that come along with the Doctor being female in historical adventures.
5) Will Grace be important moving forward beyond being a source of grief for the male companions? She was the other woman who fell to earth and her name is Doctor-like in that it describes something key about her. The Doctor tries to mend the universe. Grace lived her life with poise and knew it was a gift probably, in part, due to her experiences with her patients.
I know it’s a stretch, but I liked her.Seeing her in flashbacks would be lovely, but it does make me wonder.
Note: Original draft posted on Pillowfort //This was crossposted to Tumblr