Doctor Who Series 10 Has Two Masters
The latest casting twist in Doctor Who isn’t that the Master is now played by a woman….it’s that The Master will be played by two people.
Steven Moffat’s tenure at Doctor Who hasn’t been one without controversy. There were people who hated how useless Amy Pond was without her man Rory. There was taking River Song and making her a Doctor-crazy woman in love. There was that whole “Clara on a leaf” half season which is generally regarded as the worst of Doctor WHo since the reboot.
But patriarchy will out, and that means that one of Moffat’s best notions–making the Master regenerate as a woman, who styled herself “Missy”–is generally regarded as his most controversial decision ever. Nevermind that Michelle Gomez and Peter Capaldi have chemistry for days. Nevermind that their interactions are some of the best since the Jon Pertwee as the Third Doctor faced off against Roger Delgado’s original Master. Doctor Who fans are offended because she has an innie instead of an outie. SCANDAL.
Which is why the announcement yesterday that John Simm, who was the last male actor to play The Master would be returning this season raised shock and awe across the Whoniverse. What did it *mean*?
