The Doctor's Wife

A few seasons ago, there was an episode called "The Doctor's Daughter." I remember the anticipation leading up to that episode. The thought of The Doctor having a daughter was freaking everyone out, considering the fact that The Doctor is supposed to be the last of his kind (Time Lords). It turned out that his "daughter" was created during that episode by a machine that took some of his cells. Still, it was pretty cool. So, when I saw the title for this week's episode, I was reasonably excited. What I found was an episode that is sure to go down in Doctor Who history.

Who is The Doctor's wife, you ask? She is none other than his beloved TARDIS (Nope, not River Song - not yet, at least).



(The Doctor and his "wife" just after they first met)

The relationship between The Doctor and the TARDIS has never been explored to the lengths that it was in this episode, which is strange if you stop and think about since the TARDIS and The Doctor are the longest running characters in the series. I'm sure it seems strange to refer to a space ship as a character but that is truly what she is. To affirm this notion, in this episode, a turn of events led to the TARDIS' matrix (basically, her soul) being stolen and transferred into a woman's body. For the entirety of the episode, The Doctor and Idris (the woman housing the TARDIS matrix) said everything they had been wanting to say to each other for the duration of their centuries-old relationship. The way they sweet talked and bickered and worked alongside each other was a perfect manifestation of their usually non-verbal relationship. One of my favorite moments was when The Doctor yelled at the TARDIS in frustration for being famously unreliable and never taking him where he wanted to go. She quickly replies and says "...but I always took you where you needed to go." There was also a great conversation where they talked about how they chose each other when The Doctor first fled his planet, Gallifrey. As a long-time follower of the show, any moments of backstory are always special for filling in the gaps of the characters before the point where the show began. By the end of the episode, her body was failing and the matrix needed to be recovered to the physical TARDIS. The Doctor and his "wife" shared a tearful goodbye...I'll admit I teared up when she started to fade and he whispered "I don't want you to..." This show gets me every time. It's a bit pathetic, really. Not to leave us in sadness, as The Doctor gets ready to head to his next destination, he talks to his TARDIS and a lever moves of its own accord, reassuring him, and us, that she can still hear him and she will continue to take him where he needs to go.

None of the plot lines I have been following were addressed in this episode...I'm getting anxious! However, there is something new to add to the list. Just before her body failed her, Idris said this to Rory: "The only water in the forest is the river." The Doctor said he didn't know what it meant yet but I'm sure we'll figure it out sooner or later. As far as speculation goes, I'm guessing it will have something to do with River Song. Although, I'm learning with Doctor Who, it is usually never what you suspect.

I'll leave you with some of my favorite quotes from the episode.

"Biting's excellent. It's like kissing. Only there's a winner." - Idris

“She’s a woman, and she’s the TARDIS.” -The Doctor
“Did you wish really hard?” -Amy
“Shut up, not like that.” -The Doctor

“Oh, it’s the warning lights! I’m getting rid of those, they never stop.” - The Doctor

And a picture of Amy and The Doctor with the TARDIS! It's bigger on the inside.