Jo can
get a bad rap sometimes, and to be sure, she can be frightened, she can be
clumsy, and she can be overwhelmed.
However, she can also be brave, clever, and cool in a tight spot, and
when she’s at the top of her game, she’s pretty darn awesome. Here are my favorite moments from Jo Grant
(spoilers.)
Rescuing the Doctor (Series 8, Episode 2 –
“Terror of the Autons: Episode 2”)
Jo has a
rough start of it in her first adventure, wrecking one of the Doctor’s
experiments in her introductory scene and later getting hypnotized by the
Master. However, despite being told to
just keep out of the fray, she’s as determined not to sit on the sidelines as
she is not to be anybody’s liability.
Luckily for the Doctor, she tails him when he goes on investigation and
turns up with a well-timed vase to the noggin just as he’s being menaced by a
carnival strongman (it’s Who, just go
with it.)
Disarming Mailer (Series 8, Episode 7 – “The
Mind of Evil: Episode 3”)
“The Mind
of Evil” is definitely the serial that puts Jo at her most badass,
demonstrating that her job at UNIT isn’t entirely down to a favor from her
uncle. Here, caught up in a prison riot
(just another day in the life of being a companion,) Jo takes advantage of a
fortuitous distraction to take Mailer’s gun and gain the upper hand on the
inmates who’ve taken her hostage. In
true companion fashion, she fires the gun in the air and aims it at the inmates
to keep them from hurting her, but she never shoots anyone with it.
Escaping the Cell (Series 8, Episode 8 – “The
Mind of Evil: Episode 4”)
More from
“The Mind of Evil.” Jo’s tag-team game
with the Doctor can be pretty on-point when it needs to be, and it’s great
here. They pull the old “ailing
prisoner” routine, with the Doctor pretending to still be weakened from the
Keller machine and Jo demanding that their captors bring them food so he can
get his strength back. Then, when the
food arrives, Jo smashes the tray in one inmate’s face and then hands it to the
Doctor and distracts another inmate rushing in to see what the commotion about,
so the Doctor can clobber the guy while he’s not looking.
Masquerading as the Princess (Series 9, Episode
5 – “The Curse of Peladon: Episode 1”)
A great
Jo moment. I’ll admit that Jo isn’t
always the quickest on the uptake, but she plays her part perfectly here. Upon arriving on Peladon and discovering that
the penalty for trespassing by non-royals is death, she immediately adopts a
regal aspect and instructs the Doctor to present her before King Peladon. While she’s great as “Princess Josephine”
throughout this story and takes advantage of having the king’s ear, this first
scene of her quick thinking is my favorite from the serial.
Escaping the Cell (Series 10, Episode 12 –
“Frontier in Space: Episode 4”)
Another
fun tag-team between the Doctor and Jo.
Once again, our heroes find themselves imprisoned, but never for
long. The Doctor and Jo maintain a
stream of casual chatter while the Doctor subtly works at getting the door
opened. Then, after he’s done it, Jo
moves inconspicuously in front of the security camera and monologues “to” the
Doctor, who’s in fact escaping; her continual talking covers for him and makes
it seem like he’s still in the cell. I
love watching these two work together, and I like seeing Jo pick up on the
discreet hints the Doctor gives her.
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