Doctor Who: 10 Huge Questions After The Power Of The Doctor

10. So What Is The Power Of The Doctor?

There was surprisingly little dialogue on the titular "power" of the Doctor, with the Master’s own powers - and the ones he harnesses - the subject of much discussion. The Doctor even admires him for the sheer audacity of his scheme, and comments on the superior power of his TARDIS over hers.

At one point, she questions whether he really does have the power to call upon both Cybermen and Daleks. Turns out he does, helped in no small part by stolen technology from Gallifrey, and the Cyberium he’d ingested.

In contrast to the planet-powering energy of the Qurunx, the Doctor can only give out accidental static shocks. We are shown her inability to control her friends, with Dan choosing to leave early on, and Yaz refusing to stay back, while the Master (as Rasputin) casually uses old-school hypnosis to manipulate the Tsar. The obvious misdirect that the Doctor’s power is her ability to regenerate is heightened by the Master’s plan, with those static charges easily mistaken as the start of the process until we learn otherwise. But as always, this is the Master’s obsession, and not the Doctor’s.

In the end (and, refreshingly, without any of the dull exposition so characteristic of this era), the power of the Doctor is rooted in her friendship circle. Her extended fam. The lengths they go to, both together and independently, to defeat their enemies. The risks they are prepared to take, and the costs that are often involved. Sometimes, the Doctor must let them in (Yaz), and other times let them go (Dan). But the Doctor’s own strength lies in her refusal to admit defeat, surviving on the edge of the abyss.