Thasmin!
The New Year’s Day episode of Doctor Who is always an event, but last night’s Eve of the Daleks was a landmark for another reason: Thasmin, the popular ship between the Doctor (Thirteen) and her companion Yaz, was finally made canon.
LGBT viewers took Yaz to their hearts early on. Unlike previous companions who fancied the Doctor, who went around telling as many other people as possible, Yaz kept quiet and demonstrated her love for her best friend instead. This was too subtle for straight viewers, who accused ‘Thassies’ of being “delusional” and “making everything gay.” They somehow missed Yaz’s yearning glances, her avoidance of pronouns when talking about her crush, her desperation when the Doctor disappeared for years at a time, driving her to sleep in the Tardis. Yep, that’s normal gal pal behaviour!
This is entirely consistent with Yaz’s character as established. She was bullied at school, eventually deciding to run away. She was helped by a friendly and slightly butch copper, who told her she had been in the same situation once, and inspired her to join the force. Her mum seems to know and accept - she even asked once if Yaz and the Doctor were dating - but as a young British Muslim woman, she has already endured prejudice, and doesn’t want to experience more.
When she was one of three companions travelling with the Doctor, she was overshadowed, but in the recent season she’s come into her own. Her courage and strength has grown alongside her love for the Doctor, which is palpable if you know what to look for.
For the longest time, I thought this was as good as it was going to get. Yaz would continue to love the Doctor, but because the showrunners were frightened of alienating older fans and the NotMyDoctor crowd, there would be no question of a romance between them. If we were lucky, we might have Yaz confessing her feelings in her last episode as she left, like Martha did. The possibility of the Doctor reciprocating would be zero - despite the character preferring women for all fifty eight years of the series’ run.
Fortunately the writers were braver than that.
Dan, the new companion, had already noticed Yaz’s affection for the Doctor and commented on it in Flux, the recent series. In last night’s episode, he raised the subject again, asking: “Have you ever told her … how you feel about her?”
Yaz automatically went on the defensive: “I don’t know what you mean.” But as she opens up, she admits that she hasn’t told anyone else, not even herself.
That line resonated with me, and who knows how many other LGBT people. Everybody’s story is different: they may realise at a young age, or after a good deal of soul searching, or only once they’re married with children and they’ve met someone special. There is no one coming out narrative. And when the person you love is your friend, there is always the danger that not only will they not return your feelings, but they’ll be disgusted and you’ll lose them. Yaz was in tears by the end. It was such an important moment, rarely put into words. I hope any young LGBT viewers watching felt represented and seen.
If that wasn’t enough, Dan told the Doctor later that Yaz likes her. Her reaction was clearly that of someone who recognised the feeling and owned it, but didn’t want to break another heart; she knows she’s on borrowed time in her present form. When they were watching fireworks near the end of the episode, she turned to look at Yaz, her eyes and heart full. It was beautiful.
The bigots are going to have kittens, but who cares? The first female Doctor’s love interest is a woman - and I couldn’t be happier.
LGBT viewers took Yaz to their hearts early on. Unlike previous companions who fancied the Doctor, who went around telling as many other people as possible, Yaz kept quiet and demonstrated her love for her best friend instead. This was too subtle for straight viewers, who accused ‘Thassies’ of being “delusional” and “making everything gay.” They somehow missed Yaz’s yearning glances, her avoidance of pronouns when talking about her crush, her desperation when the Doctor disappeared for years at a time, driving her to sleep in the Tardis. Yep, that’s normal gal pal behaviour!
This is entirely consistent with Yaz’s character as established. She was bullied at school, eventually deciding to run away. She was helped by a friendly and slightly butch copper, who told her she had been in the same situation once, and inspired her to join the force. Her mum seems to know and accept - she even asked once if Yaz and the Doctor were dating - but as a young British Muslim woman, she has already endured prejudice, and doesn’t want to experience more.
When she was one of three companions travelling with the Doctor, she was overshadowed, but in the recent season she’s come into her own. Her courage and strength has grown alongside her love for the Doctor, which is palpable if you know what to look for.
For the longest time, I thought this was as good as it was going to get. Yaz would continue to love the Doctor, but because the showrunners were frightened of alienating older fans and the NotMyDoctor crowd, there would be no question of a romance between them. If we were lucky, we might have Yaz confessing her feelings in her last episode as she left, like Martha did. The possibility of the Doctor reciprocating would be zero - despite the character preferring women for all fifty eight years of the series’ run.
Fortunately the writers were braver than that.
Dan, the new companion, had already noticed Yaz’s affection for the Doctor and commented on it in Flux, the recent series. In last night’s episode, he raised the subject again, asking: “Have you ever told her … how you feel about her?”
Yaz automatically went on the defensive: “I don’t know what you mean.” But as she opens up, she admits that she hasn’t told anyone else, not even herself.
That line resonated with me, and who knows how many other LGBT people. Everybody’s story is different: they may realise at a young age, or after a good deal of soul searching, or only once they’re married with children and they’ve met someone special. There is no one coming out narrative. And when the person you love is your friend, there is always the danger that not only will they not return your feelings, but they’ll be disgusted and you’ll lose them. Yaz was in tears by the end. It was such an important moment, rarely put into words. I hope any young LGBT viewers watching felt represented and seen.
If that wasn’t enough, Dan told the Doctor later that Yaz likes her. Her reaction was clearly that of someone who recognised the feeling and owned it, but didn’t want to break another heart; she knows she’s on borrowed time in her present form. When they were watching fireworks near the end of the episode, she turned to look at Yaz, her eyes and heart full. It was beautiful.
The bigots are going to have kittens, but who cares? The first female Doctor’s love interest is a woman - and I couldn’t be happier.
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