Doctor Who Christmas Special 2017 review: How was Jodie Whittaker’s debut?

Reflection. If there was one theme for the final Doctor Who Christmas Special of the Peter Capaldi / Steven Moffat / Pearl Mackie era, this was it. We would hesitate to refer to this as a victory lap, but we would go so far as to say that this was a celebration of the entire legacy left behind by some of these people.

While the special brought us a wonderful story about displacement — one that featured Mark Gatiss playing a mustached man at the center of it all — the main event was seeing two Doctors need the end of their lives, both confronting varying degrees of fear and loss. They recognized that they were near the end, but also that they were scared and struggling with the notion of many different subjects. What did it mean to be a hero? What did it mean to be alive? Who do you really trust?

What remains so interesting about Doctor Who is the dichotomy between The Doctor’s imagination and his ability to believe. Therefore, when he did see Mackie’s Bill his first reaction was to not believe what was directly in front of him. He couldn’t possibly imagine that she was back after being turned into a Dalek — while she wasn’t the same Bill Potts that he remembered, that doesn’t mean that she was bad. There was good in the world, but in the supernatural and the actual world.

There could even be harmony on the battlefield. When Gatiss’ character was eventually placed in his proper position at the end of the episode, he was brought back as a time of peace: Christmas. Even in the midst of so much chaos and bloodshed, there are still ways for men to come together.

How was the regeneration?

The arrival of Jodie Whittaker as the Thirteenth Doctor was of course a major highlight at the end of the hour, and we had questions aplenty as to how that was going to turn out.

First, let’s celebrate the small cameo from Jenna Coleman as Clara Oswald, who came back for one final appearance much like Karen Gillan once did many years ago for Matt Smith. Also, Matt Lucas is back as Nardole!

By the time we got to the regeneration itself we were three-quarters of the way to straight-up bawling thanks mostly to Capaldi’s monologue about the battlefield and saying goodbye. Then, he got aboard the Tardis and the regeneration officially began. Whittaker’s version of The Doctor arrived in the form of a Tardis still in reeling, and unlike some we’ve seen in the past the show took its time before showing Whittaker’s face.

CarterMatt Verdict

The more things change, the more they stay the same. While we had a new Doctor in the closing minutes, everything leading up to this was just as we would have imagined it — beautiful, exciting, and thought-provoking. Another perfect say to celebrate Christmas.

What did you think about the Doctor Who 2017 Christmas Special?

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