Top Five Big Damn Hero Moments: Bill Potts (Doctor Who)

As much as I adore Bill, it was tough coming up with her Top Five Big Damn Hero Moments because, looking back at her season on the show, she in fact gets to do so little.  She only really has one unabashedly-big win, and while she’s all about the questions, she rarely gets to be the one following those through to the answers (except in situations where the Doctor has already figured it out and is waiting for her to catch up.)  I don’t say this as a criticism of Bill but of the writers, for not letting this awesome character spend more time doing awesome things (spoilers.)

Releasing Heather (Series 10, Episode 1 – “The Pilot”)

Here, we see Bill’s attention to detail and emotional intelligence saving the day.  The Doctor is able to infer a lot about the sentient engine oil (it must always be said) that takes over Heather, about the alien substance that subsumes her, but through her understanding of the young woman herself, Bill is the one to figure out why Heather is chasing them:  her promise not to leave without Bill.  Understanding this, Bill can let Heather go gently, releasing her from her promise and saying goodbye.

Keeping Her Memories (Series 10, Episode 1 – “The Pilot”)

When Bill meets the Doctor, he’s on a strict no-traveling-in-time-and-space diet, and he can’t afford to have students wandering around who know he’s really an alien, so after their initial adventure, he tries to wipe Bill’s memory of it.  Kudos to Bill, first for realizing what he’s doing (“I know what a mind wipe looks like!”), and then for ardently arguing for her right not to forget what’s happened to her.  It’s a little thing, very personal, responsible for saving no lives or planets, but I love her passion as she stands up to the Doctor here.  “Let me have some good dreams for once!” – beautiful.

Discovering the Memorial (Series 10, Episode 2 – “Smile”)

Any companion worth their salt is both curious and not overly-inclined to stay put when the Doctor tells them to, and in this episode with Bill, it certainly pays off.  The Doctor’s the one who’s able to put it together and figure out why the Vardy turned on the humans, but it’s Bill who finds the deceased woman on the dais, and along with her, the ship’s records of the deaths of the set-up team.  The Doctor’s companions, proving for the umpteenth time that doing what you’re told is overrated!

Stopping the Monks (Series 10, Episode 8 – “The Lie of the Land”)

This is the most typical big-companion-win moment Bill has during her time on the show.  After she was one to give the Monks the in they needed to subdue the human race, she steps up to finish it.  She’s prepared to die, as Missy has told her that’s the only way the Monks can be defeated, but it doesn’t come to that.  Instead, she overwhelms their global psychic propaganda with thoughts of the deceased mother she invented in her head.  It’s somewhat of a cheesy Love Conquers All bit, but I appreciate Bill’s bravery and that it’s her heart that carries the day.

Distracting the Empress (Series 10, Episode 9 – “Empress of Mars”)

While this is a small moment, it’s still brave.  As the Ice Warrior Empress is bearing on the Victorians, Bill remembers the previous, brief affinity they shared as the Empress regarded her with respect as a fellow woman among “noisy men.”  Bill gets her attention and, while she certainly doesn’t talk the Empress around, Bill distracts her and buys the Doctor enough time to get in position and take her down.