*Bel-related spoilers.*
Well, we’ve talked about Vinder, so clearly it’s high time we talk about Bel. Like her fellow Flux-arc recurring character, Bel pops from her first moments onscreen. I absolutely love her and would consume the hell out of a spin-off or any further ancillary content the Whoniverse would want to give me (Big Finish audio, comic miniseries, etc.)
When we meet Bel, she’s searching. The universe has been ravaged by the Flux—destruction and refugees are everywhere, and bad actors like Daleks and Cybermen are trying to claim every scrap that remains for themselves. Amid all this danger and disarray, Bel is consistently tough, brave, and capable, getting herself through dicey situations with determination.
Like Vinder, who’s later revealed to be her partner, she has military training that comes very much in handy in the present environment. She’s quick in a fight, she can fly unfamiliar ships, and she has knowledge of certain alien lifeforms that helps her avoid serious peril. If you have to try and navigate what’s left of the universe, Bel is definitely someone you want at your side.
One of my favorite things about Bel is that, while she’s steely and determined, she also brims with so much hope and empathy. We see these qualities at work in different ways, both large and small. Even with the universe crumbling around her, she’s still convinced that she’ll be able to find Vinder somewhere out in all the chaos and the mess, and she records messages for him on her travels. Her only company is Tigmi, their unborn child, who can communicate basic sentiments to her through a handheld monitoring device that she carries. But Bel’s spirits stay up, and she repeatedly assures Tigmi that she’ll never give up looking for their father. Yet, for all her focus on her search, when she comes across a group of people in trouble, she takes time out to try and help them.
There’s a moment in one of her logs/messages when Bel simply says, “Oh my universe, look at what you’ve been through.” I love that so much, compassion and grief for the universe itself, this beautiful, unfathomable expanse that’s been torn apart by the Flux. Bel feels for all the people who’ve been killed or displaced or lost loved ones, of course. But she also feels for the place that every living thing has made their home. I feel like this line says so much about her.
But any discussion of Bel naturally needs to include the line, the speech she gives to a Cyberman who attacks her. At this point, she’s already shot it, but because Cybermen are both ruthless killers and fastidious bookkeepers, it insists on recording her “mission” before it dies. As it presses and won’t take no for an answer, she finally tells it to put “love.”
“Incorrect,” the Cyberman states. “Love is not a mission. Love is an emotion. Emotions are not missions.”
And Bel—wonderful, brave, hopeful Bel—replies, “And that's why you're dead on floor, and I put you there. Love is the only mission, idiot.”
I just…I know she’s not a companion, but spiritually, she is, you know what I mean? Long before she ever meets the Doctor, she understands the Doctor’s ethos, and she’s everything I love in a great companion. Bel is a beautiful character, and I can honestly say she’s one of my favorite parts of series 13.
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