Doctor Who: 8 Unanswered Questions From The Thirteenth Doctor's Era

Personality is the main thing that differentiates each incarnation of the Doctor. Unfortunately, Thirteen's personality was portrayed as relatively cardboard cut-out and undefined. Jodie Whittaker certainly had a lot of potential, but the writers never utilised it properly. In general, her Doctor was extremely scatty, displaying a lack of drive, contributing to an absence of authority. There were some brilliant one-liners and moments throughout her tenure as the Doctor, but there just weren't enough to clearly define her incarnation.

There were even instances (mostly in her first series) where she felt like a parody of the Doctor, exposing some glaring flaws in her characterisation. Thirteen lacked the edge and intensity that other Doctors have offered, and while her version was supposed to be more warm and cheerful, the writers failed to develop any distinctive layers on top of that surface-level trait.

Another issue was Thirteen's contradictory morality, which incited some confusion and concern among viewers. Her ethics are questioned in a few episodes, like in Spyfall, when she shamelessly hands over the Master to the Nazis after removing his perception filter. It's quite unbelievable that the Doctor would ever do something this cruel.

And then there's this line from Arachnids in the UK:

"I love a conspiracy!"

Whereas three episodes later in Kerblam, Thirteen states:

"Don't like bullies, don't like conspiracies."

The inconsistency of Thirteen's own words demonstrates that the writers weren't paying enough attention to building her character. She is beyond messy, and in instances like this, she can come across as inept. The Thirteenth Doctor was a squandered opportunity that Chibnall should have developed better.