DOCTOR WHO, S12E01 Spyfall: Part One

My favorite backstory for the doctor is still “totally average run of the mill gallifreyan that did poorly in school”

on one hand there's something psychologically fascinating about the doctor, who prides themselves on their cleverness, being enraptured by the master's mind. even when the master is disguised as o or yana, the doctor is immediately drawn to them and is even deferential to them, sitting at their feet and wanting more than anything to learn from them. because as egotistical as the doctor can be, the one person to whom they are always willing to hear from is their avowed enemy.

on the other hand it's like. wow the doctor really might as well have big ol' letters saying TOP ME stenciled across their forehead huh.

J.C Leyendecker’s “Dancing Couple” but make it twissy

Long time, no Doctor Who old people!! but this felt like a fitting end to 2023. Apologies for the repost, I forgot to watermark it lol.

Hooray divorce!

something something the doctor having this incurable ability to see the beauty in everything, no matter their intentions.

am completely aware that it’s Not That Deep, and that this has nothing whatsoever to do with thoschei but i’d like to use it as an example of the many times the doctor’s seen the master commit atrocities yet still, found the beauty in them (by them i mean the master)

the doctor is literally strapped to a chair here. he’s been kidnapped, rolled about and slapped yet; he still will not give up on the master and their childhood dream to wander the stars together. he can’t help but think his old friend could be more, could be beautiful again. he’s the only person who can see the master’s potential for good, although he is known to be evil. he admires the master’s intelligence, when anyone else would think nothing of it because of what he uses it for.

with that admiration also comes a deep yearning for them to be equals again, not just in their cleverness but in their ideals. they are inherently the same but they don’t stand on the same side and that causes a wall in their relationship, a wall which the doctor would like to tear down by guiding the master towards goodness.

and i’d like to add that the situation’s a bit different here, obviously, since the doctor and missy were already trying to make their friendship work again. so the doctor reminisces and feels nostalgic about their past, he is hopeful about their future and wants his friend (bill) to understand why. their history’s not just history, it’s an endless cycle of meetings and goodbyes. they’re never truly gone from each other.

bill even goes so far as admitting being scared of missy. however the doctor can’t give any response to that, can’t make any promises to his friend because his oldest friend needs his help and he’s already made up his mind. he’s aware he finds a monster beautiful but he does nothing to change it.

and last but not least, this little thing. i can’t even begin to get into the atrocities spymaster committed towards the universe at large and the doctor specifically. the entire episode is filled with mentions of his past crimes, and there’s no forgiveness to be found this time, however the doctor is still noticeably unable of ignoring his brilliance, quite ironically, in the same manner he tried to be her and have a companion to “bask” in it.

all this to say— the doctor clearly associates ingenuity with beauty on top of just admiring the two, especially when they come together. and the master, being the doctor’s first friend, and a brilliant one at that, fits every criteria. the doctor’s also not just alien to humans, but alien to their own species and anyone else in the universe when it comes to how they perceive the master. therefore, the master may be beautiful to the doctor, but to everyone else, they’re evil.

So like Katy Manning auditioned with contacts and didn't tell anyone how blind she was

But then they made her take them out, presumably because old hard contacts reflected studio lights

and I think, although I'm not 100% sure, that Katy's what really established the trope of the Doctor grabbing a companion's hand to run

and even the Master (gentleman that he was) led Jo by the arm after poor Katy supposedly ran into a tree and knocked herself out

anyway I like to headcanon that Jo was as blind as Katy, keeping her disability a secret so she wouldn't be tossed out of UNIT, but the Doctor just worked with it. He's used to his human friends having various physical limitations, so what's one more or less? He provides a steadying hand when he can, and they manage just fine.

It's part of what the Master finds baffling, although after Jo threw off his mind control he began to understand what the Doctor saw in these creatures despite their obvious deficiencies.

she is SO beautiful 

me and Who

The intro to Self Help is so 2010s coming-of-age coded

The rest, as they say, is history.