REGENERATION AS A CHOICE – How the Doctor choosing their faces creates a 2,000-year long character arc
I headcanon that each new face the Doctor gets represents something they subconsciously need or want, and all together their 13 faces form a character arc 2,000 years in the making, as the Doctor wrestled with their own identity.
Becoming the Cosmic Hobo showed the Doctor embracing his new life as a traveller after running away – 2 was cheekier, more mischievous, and had more fun than 1, letting go of his grumpiness. His youth could also represent him letting go of the Grandfather role, and therefore his granddaughter Susan. 2 was the Doctor letting go of responsibility– which got them in trouble with Galifrey.
Stuck on Earth and punished for 2’s frivolity, 3 needed to be disciplined, and take responsibility for himself. Working alongside UNIT he also needed to be a man of action (hence 3’s love of car chases and kung-fu). He also needed to be a scientist to repair the TARDIS, hence his highly technical mind and knack for creating hi-tech vehicles (hello, Whomobile)
Finally free to travel time and space again, 4 was the Doctor at his most alien - he travelled with the most non-human companions (Leela, Romana I and II, K9) and was the only Doctor with another full-time, onscreen Time Lord companion. He also becomes President of Galifrey. Seen like this, his weirdness and aloofness feel like him embracing his Time Lord side/heritage after being trapped on Earth for so long.
After 4 was the Doctor at their most alien, 5 became the most human and compassionate Doctor yet, to remind himself how important caring is. 5 dressed in period Earth clothing and also had the largest TARDIS team since 1, surrounding himself with friends.
6 was a selfish asshole for a reason: 5’s selfless compassion got him killed (he gave his companion, Peri, the antidote for a poison rather than himself). 6’s selfishness was a survival mechanism that protected him from that kind of self-sacrifice happening again. I also like the idea his hideous technicolour costume is an expression of self-hatred: 6 was the Doctor at his ugliest, an honesty needed to confront and grow past the darkness within him (represented by the Valeyard in Trial of a Timelord)
The original reason for 6′s nastiness - before poor Colin Baker was fired early - was that he was hiding a dark secret that would be gradually revealed as he got nicer over time. 6′s personality was designed to repel people and protect that secret
This man was an enigma. He carried a question-mark umbrella and had question marks sewn into his jumper. He was a scheming, manipulative mastermind who played the clown right up until the moment he blew up your entire planet. It’s fitting that I have no idea why the Doctor turned into 7. As with so many other things, only 7 will ever know
8 was a last hurrah for the Romantic Hero Doctor before the Time War turned him into a damaged warrior. He was the first Doctor to kiss a companion, he was introduced in a bombastic movie, his era – spanning the nine years between the TV Movie (1996) and Series 1 of NuWho (2005) was the most diverse of any Doctor – 8 got to inhabit all aspects of the Doctor’s personality before the Time War turned him into a warrior
The most obvious, turned into a warrior to fight the War but still fundamentally good. Although in The Night of the Doctor it’s the Sisterhood of Karn who turn 8 into a Warrior, in The Day of the Doctor novelisation it’s revealed the cup he drank contained only dry ice and sherbet, and they didn’t do anything to him. The War Doctor was 8 letting the darkness the Doctor hid all their lives take over
9 was the lone survivor, able to deal with his trauma and hide it effectively. He was still more of a warrior – he hadn’t yet moved on from the War – but also just soft and childish enough to let Rose under his skin.
All of 9′s TV adventures were either Earth-based or on space-stations; grimy places of work, no grandiose planets or cosmic wonders. This was a conscious choice:
The more gritty, grounded look and attitude of this Doctor suggests he was trying to reconnect with the roots of the universe – back to basics, throwing himself in, like his speech in The Long Game –
You’ve got to throw yourself in. Eat the food, use the wrong verbs, get charged double and end up kissing complete strangers
- to the point where he didn’t slow down long enough to look at himself in the mirror.
10 made himself for Rose. The Doctor let himself be the swaggering romantic hero again, for her. He wanted a face she would fall in love with, because he relied on her for emotional stability. 10 was younger, funnier, and flirtier, because Rose made him feel safe enough and good enough about himself that he thought he’d moved past his darkness
10 is 9′s parting gift to the woman who saved his soul
This is why 10 is the most human Doctor; he was designed for a normal human to love (where as 11 needed the psychopathic River Song) AND why 10 wears his emotions on his sleeve - he never needed to hide anything from Rose .
However, he also inherited Rose’s capacity for selfishness and carelessness, hence the parallels between Rose’s relationship with Mickey and 10’s relationship with Martha. (which is why Martha and Mickey are perfect for each other)
10 literally built himself around Rose, they were perfect for each other – without her he’s lost.
This explains why 10 snogged every companion he met (except Donna) – he was desperate for a love that could fill the hole Rose left, but could never find it – almost the emotional equivalent of nymphomania
It also means that Martha Jones - who was objectively more qualified than Rose, saved 10′s life more times, and did it all without the Bad Wolf Deus Ex Machina - was wasted on 10, despite being as close to perfect as a companion could get
Thus the defining theme of 10′s era is loneliness - he and Martha failed to be a meaningful comfort to each other, 10 is in a constant state of loss even with one-episode characters (Madame de Pompadour, Astrid, Jenny etc) and Martha got out before he dragged her down with him.
This is why 10 and Donna were best friends - both were desperate to be loved. Donna thought she was worthless; when we met her she was marrying Lance, a man she threw herself at and didn’t notice was evil because she was so desperate for the love she denied herself. We see this torn away from her again in Forest of the Dead. Her arc in Series 4 was learning self-love, but then that was torn away and when we met her again in The End of Time she was in another fast engagement with Shaun (albeit a much happier one) to fill that hole.
Donna was good for 10 because she was the exact opposite of Rose, instead of Martha, who was too close for comfort. Donna forced 10 to grow in new ways, recognise flaws in himself he wouldn’t have had to if he’d stayed in the ‘comfort zone’ of his companionship with Rose.
Although they couldn’t give each other the romantic love they needed, 10 and Donna understood and respected each other, finding comfort in each other’s company in a way 10 couldn’t with Martha.
Is ‘alright’ special Time Lord code for ‘really not alright at all’? Cos I’m alright too.
This is why Donna acts almost as 10′s wingman-
Why don’t you ask her yourself?
But then Donna, his perfect safety net (even better with a Time-Lord mind) was taken; 10 watched her regress back to her self-hatred after only just realising how bad it was, and I think he realised the futility of trying to escape the holes inside him.
10 acted too soon in thinking he’d gotten over his Time War trauma, hence his superiority and self-righteous hatred of murder. Once Rose was gone and 10 was alone his flaws were exposed; although he was much more ‘sociable ‘ (growth from 9!) without companions he was more susceptible to darkness than 9, who was built to cope on his own.
At the end of his life 10 was so full of pain, had gone so dark (Waters of Mars) and let go of so many loved ones, he needed to move on. Hence, he created 11, the youngest and silliest Doctor, who could pretend to be an idiot to hide his darkness and age.
Where 10 held on to his grief, used it to make himself feel superior and let it keep hurting him, 11 was the man who forgets – which is why his era was less connected to previous ones, in comparison to the amount of story threads that connected 9 and 10.
11’s era felt disconnected from the rest of Doctor Who – all his arcs started and wrapped up in this bubble because he was so focussed on his own problems he forgot everything else (something 10 called him out on in the 50th)
11′s era is often compared to a Dark Fairytale, and I love this idea - this regeneration was a fantasy story the Doctor told himself, where his adventures were as big and ridiculous as possible, to distract himself from his responsibilities and pain. And the last line Amy says to him, in the Time of the Doctor;
“Raggedy Man, goodnight.”
was the fairytale finally coming to an end.
Fairytales teach morals to kids, and 11′s moral was responsibility - a big theme of his era was running away, or absence (he accidentally abandoned Amy, he ran from the Silence for 200 years) but his responsibilities always came back to bite him (the Silence, the War Doctor, Trenzalore)
His capacity to forget was initially a good thing, but it also made 11 the most (unintentionally) destructive Doctor – he ruined Any’s childhood (4 psychiatrists), erased her parents (the crack in her wall that ate them was created by the TARDIS) and her husband from time, and stole her baby (turned into a murderous psychopath).
And then there was River, whose childhood he ruined and whose future he stole; both her future regenerations and the rest of her current life, pining for him in prison for a crime she didn’t actually commit. She, and a lot of other characters, turned 11 into this God figure, which is dangerous.
11 was most similar to 2, right down to the bow tie (Matt Smith took direct inspiration from Patrick Troughton) because they’re both regenerations where the Doctor lets go of responsibility
11 was so destructive the Silence raised an army against him.
This is why he needed Amy and Rory – companions who were willing to wait (14 years, then 40, and 2000). Amy’s arc was becoming responsible to Rory in a way Rose wasn’t to Mickey, and together she and Rory grounded 11, giving him family structure, something to slow down for (The Power of Three) that he hadn’t had for a long time. Plus, Rory was always up for calling 11 out on his shit.
Then he met perfectly ordinary Clara, and accidentally turned her into the Impossible Girl.
All of the ‘big bads’ from 11’s era were villains looking for revenge – the Silence in series 5 and 6 and the Great Intelligence in Series 7, a villain who first met the Second Doctor.
Until, in the 50th, 11 finally started taking responsibility for his actions. That’s why defending Trenzalore for 700 years was so important – finally, it’s 11 left behind (paralleling Amy and Rory’s waiting, and Clara saving him a hundred thousand times) where he had to face the consequences of his life.
12 was the Doctor holding up a mirror and being honest with himself. He came full circle; old and crotchety like the original Doctor and the War Doctor, the two most honest regenerations.
Again he was influenced by his companion – love her or hate her, Clara knew the Doctor better than any other companion (even River, who idolised him) and because of that – because of being in his time stream, because of saving his soul in the 50th, 12 trusted Clara with his ‘true’ face.
He started off being as destructive as 11 – turning Clara into a liar and killing her – but by the end of series 8 he recognised his own destructive nature (thank you Danny Pink and Missy) and from then on his era became about responsibility and duty
His Duty of Care to Clara, his Duty to watch over Missy in the Vault for 1000 years.
12 losing Clara was similar to 10 losing Rose, because 12 made himself specifically for Clara, who knew him best. 12 dealt with loss worse – Hell Bent – but then better than 10, or 11; accepting all things must eventually end and living with it, moving on.
12’s era had the most ties to classic Who – jelly babies, lots of UNIT, Susan photo, classic Sonic Screwdrivers, classic TARDIS, Brigadeer’s dad, Cyberman Brigadeer, Cybermen at St Pauls, St Luke’s University (referencing the unaired Douglas Adams story, Shada). He also fought a lot of classic enemies – the Master, Zygons, Ice Warriors, the genesis of the Original Mondassian Cybermen, Original 60s Daleks, he revisits the moral dilemma of Genesis of the Daleks with Davros.
12 spent a lot of time cleaning up previous Doctors’ messes, particularly 11’s – he helped the Zygons 11 left in the 50th, in The Return of Doctor Mysterio he repaired the time damage done to New York, and he finally slowed down long enough to recognise the damage he did to River Song’s life, to apologise to her and finally, finally stay with her (Husbands of River Song) and give her happy ending. He also had to deal with 10’s Master (John Simm).
This was because, while 11’s arcs all started and finished in the bubble of his era, 12’s arcs deconstructed the Doctor’s entire 2,000 year history – in Listen we saw him as a kid in the barn, the Hybrid arc explained why he first ran from Gallifrey, his childhood friendship with the Master connected all three of his series, and series 8’s Good Man conflict directly confronted the prejudice against soldiers he’s harboured for lifetimes (through Danny Pink)
(And how perfect that Peter Capaldi, a fan of the show since it began with the 1st Doctor, got to portray such meta self-reflection, and Steven Moffat, who has now written more Who than any other writer, was showrunner)
12 also helped Missy finish a character arc that had been building since Series 3 of NuWho and become good – the Master got their perfect ending, but not before 12 saved her, putting a cap on a relationship that’s been going since they were kid.
12 was, in many ways, the culmination of a character arc that had been building since the 1st Doctor – hence their meeting in Twice Upon a Time, the two most similar and yet different Doctors, tying off their arc with a neat bow.
At this point, as the first ‘extra’ regeneration the Time Lords had given him in The Time of the Doctor, 12 believed he (and the Doctor) had gone on too long, hence his willingness to sacrifice himself and his refusal to regenerate. He wanted to finally die properly (discussed in Before the Flood and Heaven Sent and come to fruition in The Doctor Falls
By the end of his life 12 realised the core root of the Doctor’s character had always been kindness. His attitude was, therefore, ‘if you’re going to make me do this one more time, we’re going to do it right. Wipe the slate clean. Let’s build it better’
And poured all that self-reflective wisdom into creating…
THIS IS WHY I LOVE HOW DIFFERENT DOCTOR WHO IS NOW
12 needed change. The Doctor was old and tired and, in many ways, had fulfilled his character arc – 12 being the last Doctor would have been perfect from a character standpoint
So, when he regenerates into 13, he deliberately becomes as different as possible –
meant The Doctor, all the history and baggage and pain
13 is young and bubbly and sure of herself where 12 was old and morally conflicted. And yes, that means the gender swap was a choice. 13 is a deliberate attempt to distance herself from the destructive legacy of the Doctor
(Also anyone else think 13′s personality was low-key inspired by Bill? Bright clothes, bubbly personality, very chatty, lots of questions, big gay vibes?)
The biggest theme of 13′s era has been family: this is why she took on three companions the way 5 did, trying to be compassionate, or 1, way back in the beginning with Susan, their original family. Only this time, all 13′s companions are human: Earth is the Doctor’s second, chosen home, and 13 wanting to be treated as an equal, as part of the family, is the Doctor’s way of starting all over again, right from the beginning.
Whereas 12 treated the extra regenerations as a burden or a fluke, letting him live too long, 13 is taking full advantage of the opportunity for change. New regeneration cycle, new her.
That’s why 13 only goes to new places with creatures she’s never seen before
That’s also why she hasn’t done the usual “I’m the Doctor” speech or referenced the Time War or gone dark yet – she is deliberately trying to move away from the destructive, grandstanding habits of her previous lives, trying to move on from the Time War and start again.
Compared to the godlike attitude of previous Doctors, 13 is trying to be normal, fighting their delusions of grandeur. It also explains why she talks so freely about her family (her Granny, her parents), because she is actively breaking down the wall the previous Doctors have built up around their past as some sacred, untouchable thing.
In many ways 13 is succeeding in what 11 tried to do by wiping himself from history at the end of Series 6 (before falling back into his destructive pattern as the past caught up with him again).
This is why I LOVE that Series 11’s Big Bad was a new alien – 9 and 10 both fought returning Classic villains every series, 11’s arcs were an extravagant loop, 12’s arcs all had to do with the deconstructing the Doctor. 13 is doing something new, and most importantly the central conflict is about her helping her friends, not fighting someone she had beef with.
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