Whenever Doctor Who introduces a new companion, there are a few tropes we all expect. They're going to note that the TARDIS is "bigger on the inside." They might have a mysterious backstory that somehow ties to the Doctor's greater mission or history. And they're going to fall absolutely head over heels in "love" (either platonically or romantically) with the Doctor, as well as with the idea of traveling through time and space.
That is until the venerable series's latest companion, Belinda Chandra (Varada Sethu), who upends convention in the season premiere purely by not wanting to be there at all.
Spoilers ahead for Doctor Who season 2, episode 1
We've actually met Sethu before on the show, in the previous season's 'Boom' playing a futuristic soldier named Mundy Flynn. It's quickly revealed that Belinda is a very distant ancestor to Flynn and the two look identical – itself a mystery for another time.
The thrust of the episode finds Belinda taken by emoji-displaying robots to another planet called Missbelindachandra, so named because a former boyfriend, Alan Budd (Jonny Green), bought a star for her to seal the deal of their relationship. Over the course of the episode, it turns out that, after Belinda turned down Alan's offer of marriage, he was approached by the robots and taken back to their planet – since he was the one who bought the star for her. There, the budding incel slowly turned himself into a cyborg straight out of Superman III, and twisted the planet so that the robots enslaved all the humans.
Alan gets shrunk down tiny by the end and the planet is freed from robot slavery. But the fact remains that Belinda (and the Doctor) had to rescue an entire world from an invasion of the Manosphere. Adolescence it's not, but at the same time the episode is definitely digging down on the idea of what being online is doing to young men in Britain and around the world. In this case, the very visual metaphor of a spurned man turning into a computer in order to oppress an entire population – just because he feels that's what he deserves.
But more key to the point we're making here, it's what this experience does to Belinda's relationship with the Doctor immediately afterward. While there is the usual shock and awe of entering the TARDIS, as the Doctor is having fun, Belinda just wants to go home. Her shift at the hospital starts on May 24, 2025, at 7:30am, and she can't be late.
"Yeah, but we don’t need to rush, 'cause Time Lord. Time Machine" says the Doctor, likely expecting they're about to go on a series of fun adventures before he delivers Belinda back to her job and normal life. He continues, telling her there is "something connecting us" and that he's been to the future and met her descendant. He scans her DNA. He natters on about connections, and how it's more than coincidence. But while he goes through the regular Doctor rigmarole, the way Sethu plays the scene is by expressing more concern as he continues. She isn't thrilled by time travel and strange descendents, she's disturbed by a man showing her own face on a screen and talking about destiny.
"I can't help thinking that Bel, maybe we are meant to be connected," the Doctor says.
"Like, this is destiny," Belinda replies, skittishly chuckling like Ralph Wiggum when he's in danger. "Is that what you say to all the girls?"
The Doctor laughs, but then Belinda brings up Sasha 55 (Evelyn Miller) who was killed by the robots earlier in the episode. "She trusted you, and she died," Belinda says. "You tested my DNA without even asking my permission. God. You're dangerous."
The Doctor apologizes, but Belinda has had it. "I am not one of your adventures," she says, and the Doctor agrees to take her home. The rest of the scene, as the Doctor realizes something is blocking the TARDIS from the exact day that Belinda wants to return to, is tense to say the least. We've gone from the start of another season of thrills and fun to realizing that Belinda is a young woman who has escaped one terrible experience with a man obsessed with her, to being alone in a magic box with a complete stranger who seemingly can't get her home.
We, the viewers, know the Doctor is good and pure, but Belinda doesn't quite know that yet. It's impossible not to feel her rising panic as she realizes she's trapped. And Gatwa's people-pleasing performance as the Doctor also plays heavy on the flop-sweat. He knows now how Belinda feels, and the fact that he can't get her home is making both his hearts beat nervously faster.
Rather than the giddy joy of Ruby Sunday (Millie Gibson), the moon-eyed half-crush of Amy Pond (Karen Gillan), or the comedic patter of Donna Noble (Catherine Tate), Belinda Chandra's introduction provides one of the most unsettling character introductions in Doctor Who history. Usually, as viewers, we can't wait to take more trips in the TARDIS. But by the end of 'The Robot Revolution,' like Belinda Chandra, we cannot wait for the Doctor to get her back to safety. Are we in for eight episodes of Chandra trying to escape? Or – more likely – will the Doctor and Belinda start to see more eye to eye as they continue on their journey?
Whichever way things go, based purely on her introduction, this is one of the most surprising companion debuts in decades. Here's hoping the rest of the season can hold up to that high, nerve-wracking bar.
Doctor Who: 'The Robot Revolution' is streaming now. Episode 2, 'Lux' will be released on April 12 at midnight PT/3:00am ET on Disney Plus and at 8am BST on BBC iPlayer, before airing later that day live on BBC One.
For more great new TV, check out our guide to the best new shows coming your way in 2024.
