This article includes spoilers forDoctor Whoseason 15, episode 1, “The Robot Revolution,” and discusses domestic abuse.
A lot happens asDoctor Whoseason 15, episode 1, “The Robot Revolution,” draws to a close, and the installment’s finale tackles some pretty problematic subject matters in a very sci-fi way. As well as the mystery of why Varada Sethu is rejoining the show as a new character after debuting as part of theDoctor Whoseason 14 cast,“The Robot Revolution” also wraps up its social commentary storyline with a big last-minute twist.
Ncuti Gatwa’s second season as the Fifteenth Doctor retains the same glossy visuals brought in ahead ofDoctor Who’s Disney era. Ofall the actors to play the Doctor, Gatwa has benefited from the best digital and practical special effects, and they’re on full display in the season 15 opener. However, Fifteen isn’t really the focus of “The Robot Revolution,” as Varada Sethu’sBelinda Chandra is essentially the episode’s main characterand her history (and future) heavily informs the narrative. By the end, it’s especially clear that Fifteen is a supporting character.
Doctor Who Season 15, Episode 1 Is A Commentary On Coercive Control
Alan’s treatment of Belinda and her planetary namesake is reflective of real-life toxic partners
Push aside the big red Robots and the almost parodic-looking rocket ships and “The Robot Revolution” is a powerful allegory for something else entirely. In short, Belinda’s early dynamic with Alan Budd (Jonny Green) is subtly written to reveal him as an emotionally abusive partner. As mentioned by Belinda herself when she’s reunited with him near the end of the episode,Alan was always trying to correct, humiliate, or discipline Sethu’s characterfor behaviors and traits he deemed unacceptable or undesirable.
Alan assumes complete control over the entire population - a society that had been living in harmony for millennia - and uses his position to try and force Belinda into wedlock.
Even after Belinda turned down Alan’s marriage proposal in their youth,Green’s character quite obviously never gave up on controlling his ex-girlfriend. After being taken to Missbelindachandra One by the Robots pretty much immediately after his failed proposal, he dominates the planet with technology from its own future thanks to the displacement caused by the time fracture between Earth and the planet named after his ex. From there, Alan assumes complete control over the entire population - a society that had been living in harmony for millennia - and uses his position to try and force Belinda into wedlock.
What Belinda’s “Planet Of The Incels” Line Really Means
Sethu’s character is referencing a real community of deeply misogynistic men
Belinda perfectly sums up Alan’s oppressive society by saying he has “taken coercive control and made it complete control of the whole planet,” and describes Missbelindachanda One as a “Planet of the incels” under the AI Generator’s regime. It’s a quick line but holds a lot of meaning.“Incel” is a contraction of “involuntary celebate,“or sometimes “involuntary celibacy.” It refers to a real and problematic community of men who desire a romantic partner but have become incredibly misogynistic due to their inability to find someone. It can often make them physically and/or emotionally abusive toward women.
Although often used as a derogatory term or insult by those outside the incel community, those who align themselves with the movement’s ideology often proudly refer to themselves using the title.
So, what Belinda means when she says “Planet of the incels” is thatthe situation in which Alan has found himself would be the twisted desire of members of the incel community. Alan doesn’t take his rejection well and uses the resources he finds at his disposal to eventually command his robotic legions to bring Belinda to him by force so they can finally be married. Giving a toxic and romantically frustrated man like Alan the power to do pretty much whatever he likes with a planet’s society and infrastructure is incredibly dangerous, as proven even further by the war.
How The Doctor Saves Belinda From Alan “The AI Generator” Budd
Fifteen’s Time Lord physiology allows him to absorb the energy put out by the paradox
As the AI Generator, Alan decides his union with Belinda should begin with both copies of the same star certificate being touched together. Of course, Alan has no way of knowing the paradox such an act will cause, but Belinda does thanks to her conversation with the Doctor earlier in the episode.The strength of the paradox is enough to destroy Alan, but Belinda manages to survive without a scratch. Put eloquently by the Doctor, Belinda “needed a Time Lord to take the kaboom.” In other words, he absorbed the energy that would have killed Belinda as it did Alan.
Doctor Who Season 15’s New Companion Does Something I Never Thought The Modern Show Would
The Doctor’s companions often fall into similar categories, but season 15’s new TARDIS passenger is something the post-revival era hasn’t seen.
The Doctor’s heroic act, which was never really guaranteed to ensure his own survival, has an unexpected side effect.Fifteen is slotted into key moments throughout Belinda’s timeline, as proven by the shot of the Doctor holding Belinda as a baby - just like he did with Millie Gibson’s Ruby Sunday. So, the mysterious connection between Belinda and the Doctor is strengthened even more by this event.
Doctor Who’s “The Robot Revolution” Pretends To Be An AI Story, But It Really Isn’t
Russell T. Davies pulls a bait-and-switch
Doctor Whohas run for so long now that it has been able to base episodes on a wide variety of events that are especially relevant at the time of broadcast. For large portions of “The Robot Revolution,” it seems as though showrunner/writer Russell T. Davies is on the verge of drawing inspiration from the controversy surrounding AI-generated works such as writing and visual arts. However,Davies adds a sharp left turn at the end of the episode.
“The Robot Revolution” rapidly shows its true colors as a story about abusive relationships, incels, and coercive control.
When it’s revealed thatthe “AI” in “AI Generator” was actually “AL"with part of the L blocked from view, “The Robot Revolution” rapidly shows its true colors as a story about abusive relationships, incels, and coercive control. The two topics don’t typically cross over in popular culture, so it’s not only an original combination, it also aids brilliantly in Davies' unexpected narrative deception.
The Doctor Reveals In The TARDIS Why His New Companion Looks So Much Like Mundy Flynn
Belinda’s DNA is a match with Mundy Flynn’s
When Missbelindachandra One is free of Alan’s dictatorship, the Doctor finally gets to turn his attention to the enigmatic subject ofwhy Belinda shares the same face as the 51st century’s Mundy Flynn- another character played by Varada Sethu, who appeared inDoctor Who, season 14, episode 3, “Boom.” After taking Belinda’s DNA without permission for testing (which she reprimands him for), he is able to confirm thatMundy is a distant descendant of the Doctor’s new companion.
After RTD’s Doctor Who Season 15 Update, I’m Confident The Mrs. Flood Mystery Won’t Have A Disappointing Answer
Doctor Who’s showrunner has answered one of the biggest questions I still have about the show’s Disney era, and it sounds very compelling.
Although this is a notable reveal, the Doctor is convinced that the chances of meeting them both are slim, and even slimmer that they have exactly the same face despite being separated by millennia of the same bloodline. Despite the Doctor’s enthusiasm to discover why this is,he begrudgingly agrees to take Belinda home in an attempt to respect her wishesto return to her regular life. This is prevented by the TARDIS' refusal to take Belinda back to her point of departure, which teases Earth’s demise and sets up the rest ofDoctor Whoseason 15’s storyline.
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“The Story and the Engine”
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