Doctor Who Series 11: 10 Big Questions After Episode 5
1. Is The Doctor Religious?
The episode ends on an unusually poignant note. As General Eve’s body is laid to rest, her faithful and soon to be obsolete android, Ronan, leads the survivors in a responsive prayer for the dead. It adds a rare spiritual dimension, perhaps only matched by the Abide With Me ending to Gridlock. Surprisingly, the Doctor knows the words and is able to join in the refrain with full conviction.
The Doctor asks if she and her companions could join in with the ritual, so she is not acting out of a sense of duty or respect. She wants to celebrate the saints of the universe as Eve is added to their number. The spirituality of the Doctor is a theme that has yet to be fully explored in the series. The Doctor is often pitted against religious institutions, and generally takes a dim view of them but we know little about her spirituality.
Instead of believing in a god or even an overarching life force, the Doctor’s faith is grounded in story and the power of the imagination – a theme particularly associated with the eleventh Doctor (‘we are all stories in the end, just make it a good one’) who said as much in The Rings of Akhaten. It is perhaps significant that the thirteenth Doctor also celebrates the virtues of imagination earlier in this story. The Book of Celebrants has a distinctively religious sound to it, and this all could be playing into a wider theme.
The Doctor, in a clear departure from her predecessor, is not being presented as someone who is fighting against the universe. Instead she is finding peace and well-being in the stars. To the cynic it might be a form of escapism or denial, but for Yaz, Ryan and Graham it is exactly what they need right now.