Boy he really went out on a limb there considering that most of the actors who have played The Doctor have left after three series when left to their own devices. That’s kind of like predicting that there are going to be pumpkin spice flavored foods for sale in October.

It was deleted before I could reply, “OK, boomer.”

Because more often than not, the Doctor’s response to Graham is what happens, more or less. Someone lays some heavy shit on you and you don’t have an answer. Maybe you will later. Maybe you won’t. The show left that open ended, and such is life. And again, sometimes just acknowledging that you heard that person is…

It wasn’t a dick move, it was a realistic moment of her not knowing what to say. If you think that’s “being a dick,” then you are wrong.

Did they have to respond after this as well?

Raises hand in agreement.

The idea the Doctor is “socially awkward” is complete bullshit. Even the new the new one, she is absolutely an extrovert.

Hey, remember when the Twelfth Doctor was so insensitive that he had to have cue cards made? And Clara called herself his “carer” and he said, “Yeah, she cares, so I don’t have to”?

I don’t think it misses the mark at all. It was, in fact, on the mark. Too many TV shows and movies always seem to have the magical answer for the character who needs it. That is not the case in real life. This episode clearly showed that there is no magical answer that makes everything better. A show about a space…

My problem with this is something I’ve been seeing more and more lately: the complaint of “they didn’t handle this situation/ portray this character in the exact way I personally would have wanted them to”. Which is IMO a very odd stance to take, when discussing fiction. These things are creative decisions, and as…

This is similar to my take. Thirteen is standing there talking to a companion who has faced his fear and shown he’s big enough to admit it. There’s a hint that she didn’t confront her fear and has been dodging it for several episodes. She can’t talk to Graham about his fear because she can’t talk about her own.

Open Question: How much of the backlash and response is related to sexism and assumed gender roles?

That was my take away of it! I felt Graham understood the Doctor was there for him.

See, I didn’t even get the comedic vibe from it; I didn’t get a read that Thirteen was being flip, there was a nervousness there. Barring any reveals later in the season my theory is that the Doctor’s new identity crises have unmoored her enough to make her build up a personal wall between her and the TimeFam. 

As a cancer survivor myself, I have to say I don’t understand these complaints. Graham’s lines were very well written, and I identified with him a great deal. It was nice to see a survivior speak openly about the fear of it coming back, because it’s true that the fear is always in the back of your mind.

I’m not going out of my way to defend the scene in question, because it was definitely weird, but I could absolutely see Capaldi’s doctor doing the same thing, particularly in his first series.

...sometimes. 12 had a “duty of care” and that came out in some emotional ways once or twice, but Clara found him to be very cold and unfeeling at times. He certainly wasn’t giving comfort or compassion to Danny Pink either

Why are people so upset by this? Havent we all bene in a situation where we struggle to answer. Where we don’t know if words of comfort will help or hinder? Where we get lost in the labrynth of our own grief and retreat with regret and fear that we can’t quite handle, much less ignore to support another?

As someone who’s brushed into their own share of mental health issues, I never felt “Vincent And The Doctor” stuck the landing concerning its treatment of suicide, mostly because I thought Ten would never have put Van Gogh in the position of that many people looking at his work. By comparison the Thirteen/Graham scene…

As someone socially awkward that never knows what to say until after the conversation has ended, I found The Doctor’s response honest, open, and refreshing. Instead of giving Graham platitudes that mean nothing, she let him know she was listening but didn’t have the words he wanted to hear. At least she listened and…