By now you’ve heard that Jenna Coleman is well and truly gone from Doctor Who. Lots of folks are kind of glad she’s gone–though if the last episode, “Hell Bent,” tells us anything, the door’s still open for an admittedly unlikely spin-off series. Her departure leaves a decidedly… companion shaped hole in the series. In an interview with Radio Times, Steven Moffat and Peter Capaldi shared their opinions on who should fill said hole.
According to them, the next companion is likely to be a woman. Moffat said, “I’m beginning to have an idea of the kind of person, specific ideas but not a specific actress.” He also mentioned that it’s still super early and concepts could change.
But it was Capaldi’s answer that proved to be the most interesting. He said:
With the best will in the world, I don’t want a bloke, because I’m frightened that they’ll give him all the action and I’ll be standing around spouting scientific gobbledygook. ‘Oh, Peter’s not up to chasing those Zygons down the corridor, let the chap do it.’ And that would be awful. I want to chase the Zygons!
So Capaldi is worried that if the next companion is male, he’s going to miss out on some action. He doesn’t want some other dude cramping his style. To be fair, that may be very likely should they decide on a male companion. But still, his answer rubs me the wrong way because it implies that women can’t take on their fair share of action… though I’m willing to give Capaldi the benefit of the doubt on this one.
While I’m excited to see another female companion, what I don’t want to see is another romantic pairing to dangle in front of the Doctor. One of the best parts of the Capaldi/Coleman seasons has been watching them redefine their relationship, with Clara going from a starry-eyed girl who has a crush on the Doctor to someone who can prove to be his equal, without all the awkward crushy-crush drama.
It’ll be exciting to see who they choose to be the Doctor’s next companion, and a male companion really would be an excellent change of pace.
(via Uproxx)
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