*Spoilers.*
It took me a while to come up with this list. As usual, the fault doesn’t lie with Thirteen herself but with some of the lackluster writing during her era. When an episode doesn’t give her much in the way of impressive moments, how’s the Doctor supposed to show that she’s a Big Damn Hero? But I really like all the moments I did pick, which show off a nice range of Thirteen’s capabilities.
Figuring Out the Pting’s Motivation (“The Tsuranga Conundrum”)
I love a good “they’re not evil, they’re just…” moment. The Pting has been terrorizing the Tsuranga, causing it critical damage by eating its way through essential systems. Throughout, the characters try to figure out how to fight it before it kills all of them. But in a flash of inspiration, the Doctor realizes it isn’t trying to sabotage the ship. Rather, it feeds on energy and has a ravenous appetite; the damaging it’s causing is just a byproduct. This leads her to her solution, removing the bomb from the ship’s self-destruct mechanism and luring the Pting into the airlock with it. Attracted to the bomb’s energy, the Pting eats it and it denotates inside the Pting’s indestructible stomach—the characters are saved from the explosion, and the now-satisfied Pting can be safely ejected. Not bad at all!
Breaking Through to the Solitract (“It Takes You Away”)
The Solitract has tempted multiple people through a door between realities, but its incompatibility with the universe is threatening to collapse the entire plane. The Doctor works to get everyone out, and when Erik refuses to leave (the Solitract has taken the form of his late wife,) she pulls out the old “last of the Time Lords” card to present a more appealing offering, pointing out that the Solitract can only keep one of them and sustain its presence. “I’ve lived longer, seen more, loved more, and lost more,” she tells it. “I can share it all with you.” It’s a classic instance of the Doctor being prepared to sacrifice themselves to save everyone, and this time, it’s at the cost of being cut off from the universe she loves so much. And when she realizes that the Solitract plane is still collapsing, the Doctor is able to reason with the sentient anti-universe, saying, “You are the maddest, most beautiful thing I’ve ever experienced, and I haven’t even scratched the surface. I wish I could stay, but if either of us are going to survive, you’re gonna have to let me go.” Love, love, love.
Saving the Companions (“Spyfall: Part 2”)
The beauty of time travel: when the Kasaavin whisk the Doctor away and the Master leaves the companions stranded on a crashing plane, the Doctor will have already left a solution for them! Although the scene flips between the companions on the plane and the Doctor alone in the Kasaavin’s dimension, the Doctor encouraging herself by answering her own question, “What would you say to the others if they were here?”, Future Doctor has given the companions all the answers they need. She’s left clues that lead Ryan to instructions she printed for him and placed in a handy seat pocket. Following her directions, the companions lift up a panel in the floor and plug Ryan’s phone into the plane’s computer, so Ryan can control the plane using the app the Doctor created and installed on his phone for him. Oh, and she recorded an in-flight video for them, complete with guidance, reassurance, and jokes! Neat moment.
Tricking the Daleks (“Revolution of the Daleks”)
In order to stop an army of mutated Daleks, the Doctor sends out an alert to a ship of Death Squad Daleks, knowing that they’ll focus their energies on exterminating their “impure” brethren rather than attacking the humans. And unlike so many humans who’ve introduced an invasive species to get rid of a particular pest, she has a plan for dealing with the Death Squad Daleks once they’ve done the job for her. She materializes the TARDIS in the sky where they’re swarming and taunts them into following her inside. Once they’re all stuffed into the TARDIS, she appears again, as a hologram this time, and reveals that this isn’t actually her TARDIS. It’s the one the companions used to escape Gallifrey at the end of series 12. She’s disguised it like her own, lured the Daleks inside, and programmed it to fold in on itself before shooting itself into the Void, where it, and the Daleks, will be ripped apart. The Doctor knows how to clean up a mess, that’s for sure!
Tag-Teaming to Save the Day (“The Vanquishers”)
When she’s captured by Division, and then attacked by the Ravagers, in an antimatter universe, something goes wonky with time and the Doctor splits into three parts. One remains there with the Ravagers while the other two appear in our universe. Dividing and conquering, the two Thirteens take on the Grand Serpent, the Sontarans, the Daleks, and the Cybermen, while also rescuing various friends in danger and looping in the antimatter Thirteen for crucial intel that will help them deal with the Flux. Teamwork for the win!
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