Doctor Who Series 11 Finale: 10 Things That Must Happen In 'The Battle Of Ranskoor Av Kolos'
6. A Series Arc
By now, Chris Chibnall, it’s safe to say we get it. You’re a different kind of showrunner. That’s been a mixed bag. The glaring positive is the fabulous Jodie Whittaker playing the first female Doctor. But with that comes easily his least popular change: no series arc.
Okay, you could argue Ryan and Graham both get a version of one. But for a Doctor’s debut season we’ve seen little to no development for her. She does not have a River Song or an Ashildr. If Tzim-Sha does not return for the finale, there will be literally no thread running through this season for her.
Apart from Ryan & Graham plus a handful of callbacks, the episodes can be watched in pretty much any order, with no real consequences. Being episodic isn’t awful when used a little bit, but when it’s used all the time it puts an awful lot of pressure on Whittaker.
The defining feature of Tennant’s tenure was his relationship with Rose (sorry, Martha and Donna). Smith had River’s winding saga. Everything associated with Thirteenth’s era has come from Whittaker’s performance alone. Hopefully the season finale will provide her with more substance to work with.