The new season of Doctor Who has begun, and we’ve finally said hello to the new companion, Belinda Chandra. We’ve been eager to meet her, especially since much of the promotion of the season has focused on the Doctor trying to get her home “the long way round”. This implied that she wasn’t exactly as eager to travel with the Doctor as other companions, such as Rose or Ruby – and this was proven true with “The Robot Revolution”.
Over the course of the episode, we see the Doctor and Belinda get to know each other. The Doctor already seems to like Belinda a lot, and it’s clear that he wants her as a companion. Belinda, on the other hand, doesn’t seem to be as impressed by the Doctor as other companions.
This is confirmed in the final scene of the episode. When Belinda finally enters the TARDIS, she is initially amazed by it. But she wasn’t amazed enough to want to travel with the Doctor. In fact, she immediately asks the Doctor to take her home. At first, the Doctor almost ignores this, telling Belinda that the TARDIS is a time machine and that he can take her back home after enjoying a few adventures first. It’s clear that the Doctor wants a new companion, and Belinda seems to be a perfect fit. He even believes that they’re destined to travel together.
But Belinda still tells him no. And she gives good reasons why.
A dangerous life
When Belinda first arrived on Missbelindachandra One, she met Sasha 55. Sasha was not just an ally to the Doctor, but she believed that she would eventually travel with him. So the Doctor was deeply shocked when she was vaporized right before his eyes.
Travelling with the Doctor is an extremely dangerous life. We’ve seen many companions come and go. Most have come close to death on many occasions. Some have even died. And while Sasha never got the chance to be a companion, it’s clear it’s what the Doctor wanted. It’s also clear that he can’t always save everyone, even those he strongly cares about.
So Belinda bringing up Sasha's death as a reason not to travel is more than fair. She’s just had her first adventure with the Doctor, and she’s already seen too much death. The TARDIS life isn’t for everyone, so it’s refreshing to have a companion who doesn’t want that life. Who simply wants to go home.
Of course, in the words of a classic song, Belinda quickly discovers that “you can’t always get what you want”. Something is preventing her and the Doctor from travelling to May 24, 2025. The Doctor promises he’ll get Belinda home, but it will have to be “the long way round”.
How does Belinda feel about this? Will she adapt to the companion life well or struggle against it? Will she change her mind about the Doctor, or will their already shaky relationship only get worse? We can’t wait to find out.