Canon is merely a suggestion

Redgrave was disappointed when the new UNIT set was completed and there was a photo of Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart, Kate's father, on her desk. "I always imagined it would be a photo of Ellen DeGeneres," the actress revealed.

What immediately struck me about Christofer Ibrahim, as portrayed by Alexander, is how utterly incapable he seems of keeping his hands off Kate—not in a gratuitous way, but in a way that unmistakably signals deep attraction and attunement. He is someone who wants her, but also knows how to be with her. His devotion shows not just in touch, but in timing: the way he grounds her, affirms her instincts, and gently diverts her attention when she’s fixating on something she can’t yet fix.

What works especially well is that their partnership is established as physical and passionate, even if much of it is left to our imagination. It insists that Kate Stewart is made of flesh and blood; that her desires are not limited to duty, survival, or the abstract burden of saving the world. She is allowed want. Heat. A body.

Revisiting earlier Doctor Who episodes where Kate had significant airtime, it’s hard not to notice the contrast. In The War Between the Land and the Sea, the show seems almost deliberate in portraying her humanity. Not just as a commander or political strategist, but as a woman whose inner life extends beyond wartime and crisis.

If this is a conscious choice on the part of the showrunners, then it feels overdue—and telling.

Dustbuddies “I keep seeing him, everyday, every time I go home”

Kate Lethbridge-Stewart & Christofer Ibrahim