Doctor Who: How The Doctor Got Her Darkness Back
Was The Doctor herself the true monster at the heart of 'The Haunting Of Villa Diodati?'
If there's a complaint that fans have had about Chris Chibnall's era as showrunner over Jodie Whittaker's Doctor, it's that the series has been a little less serious than it had been before. Much like the classic series, The Doctor bumbles into a situation, does stuff, and saves the day. Where is the epic Doctor that NuWho fans have grown to love? Where are the hints of darkness they're used to?
Honestly, it's arguable that the show was still that dark even before Chibnall and Whittaker took over, especially when you look at pretty much any scene with Missy devolving into slapstick, or the fact that Stephen Moffat was incapable of letting a good death stand. But it's a fact that both he and Russell T Davies presented their Doctor as almost a force of nature above all others; a lonely god who has lived so long that there are few living beings capable of matching his experience and wisdom.
"He's like fire, and ice, and rage. He's like the night and the storm in the heart of the sun. He's ancient and forever. He burns at the centre of time, and can see the turn of the universe. And... he's wonderful."
Compare that to Whittaker's little bit silly and outlandishly alien mad scientist, who seems to solely inhabit the lighter side of David Tennant's version of The Doctor, and it's understandable why so many see this Doctor as being a watered-down version.
At least, until Sunday's episode.