Doctor Who New Year's Day Special - 4 Ups & 1 Down From 'Resolution'
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1. Ryan's Father Was Too Quickly Forgiven
Daniel Adegboyega portrays Ryan's father Aaron in Resolution, a character we've heard a lot about, but never seen. The man who abandoned his son at a young age, only to crop up on New Year's Day to attempt to rekindle a supposed family. Team TARDIS were having none of it, but Ryan did want to hear his Dad's side of the story.
As to how all of that panned out, we'll get to later. For now, let's skip to the end of the episode. Our Dalek antagonist is using Aaron as a puppet, and is about to be sucked into space, unfortunately taking Aaron with him. Ryan manages to speak to his father through the Dalek control, and instructs him to take his hand. In order to get the message through, Ryan forgives his father for what he had done.
The idea of losing a family member, irrelevant of how useless and hurtful they've been, is something nobody wants, not even Ryan. Saving his father was a given, but this could've been done without forgiving him entirely. Make Ryan saving Aaron a metaphor for him giving his dad a second chance, and continue that arc through Series 12, during at least the Earth-bound episodes. The door was opened when Aaron returned, but it was closed again within the hour, and it was a waste of potential.