The (robot) revolution will be televised on Doctor Who season 2 as killer robots take the stage during the season opener. It’s been occurring for years, the slow build of disgust robots have for humanoids, and it is finally time for their rise and the destruction of humans. But before their plans can fully come to fruition, there is someone they need: Belinda Chandra (Varada Sethu). On Earth, Belinda’s life is simple; she works in the medical field, and she spends her time just trying to make it to the end of the day. So, one can imagine her shock when she is kidnapped by robots who came from the planet ‘Miss Belinda Chandra,’ who are determined she become their ruler.. But heavy is the head that wears that crown it never asked for as being a leader requires a great sacrifice that has her coming face-to-face with the Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa), who is leading a revolution of his own. Tasked with trying to get Belinda home to Earth, they will soon forge a friendship that will test all of space, time, and missions.
In celebration of Doctor Who season 2 and Sethu returning to the series, The Koalition participated in Disney’s press conference with Sethu and Gatwa to learn more about the season, the challenges their characters face, this season’s theme, their favorite episodes and more.
“This season we’re trying to get back to Earth, which is like a deviation from the usual direction of trying to get into space and tackle things. But Belinda has absolutely no interest and is not charmed at all by the Doctor at first. The doctor lives very dangerously; he’s also very dangerous. So, it takes a little longer for that bond to form. It’s slower, but it’s just as deep as any that there’s been, maybe more so. The payoff is they really value each other, and they value each other’s value systems, but she challenges him and calls him out,” said Gatwa.
Episode One’s ‘The Robot Revolution’ balances the present with the past, introducing viewers to Belinda’s life as a nurse living with roommates and stress, stuck in a relationship with an unappreciative boyfriend before she is quickly whisked away to planet Miss Belinda Chandra. Despite the confusion of her present situation, Sethu is calm and collected, giving a performance that both draws in the viewer and keeps them guessing her next move. The unpredictability of the violent situation lends itself to a contentious meeting with the Doctor. Will they loathe each other? Need each other? Love working with each other?
“They’re very much equals. They’re a team figuring out how to get back home because she decides she’s got her own life, her own plot, her own main character journey. When she gets plucked out of that by The Doctor in some ways all she wants is to go home. She doesn’t want to be somebody else’s little adventure. She wants to go back to her life and so she challenges him. She holds him accountable and eventually they become very aligned, and they realize they need to work together to be this team to get back to Earth, to get back to where she wants to be. They have a really really strong partnership,” said Sethu.
For Gatwa, “It was definitely a joy coming back to the second season and being able to explore the character further. Having him feel more settled in my skin [was] just the natural process of having done a season and coming back for the next one. There was more comfortability, more areas I wanted to explore, and there were obviously going to be new challenges. Challenges isn’t the right word, but for the character, he was going to grow in different ways because there were new people in his life, in terms of hitting the ground running and smashing it from the first day.”
Sethu added, “I think it’s interesting these two roles in this show really have to lean on each other as equally as actors playing these roles, but then also narratively, they’re really leaning on each other this season because they have the challenge of trying to get back home. The Doctor doesn’t know why he can’t. They’re equally as confused. They equally have to lean on each other. That was a nice on/off-screen thing that was happening because I was still getting used to the madness of it all as well. It was really nice to have someone as grounded and as generous as you to be able to go through that journey with because it’s quite a journey.”
The Doctor will need Belinda more than ever as he carries the unspoken burden of being who he is, a lonely alien. Multiple seasons of the series have multiple Doctors grapple with the responsibility, guilt, and loneliness of being the last of the Time Lords. “Loss is a big theme of The Doctor. He faces that a lot; he’s lost a lot of companions, he’s a survivor of a genocide, and it speaks to [character]. We’ve always known the Doctor to be quite emotionally distant at times, and because he’s suffered a lot of loss, there’s been a lot of trauma there. That’s definitely a theme throughout this season.” At the end of the day, the Doctor is an alien in desperate need of a connection, something Belinda could provide as the season continues.
But not every episode will be a reflection of loss and sadness, as joy, exploration, fun, and hope were also teased. “It feels really great to be doing something artistically. It’s quite rare to have a show that [inspires hope]. That’s the real message behind each episode is hope and upliftment, and to have two leads, two heroes that are attuned to nonviolence is quite rare and beautiful. It encourages learning, compassion, and curiosity,” said Gatwa.
Sethu continued added, “That’s what I like the most about Doctor Who as a franchise. It does exactly what we said. It’s the core themes coming from the Doctor’s point of view: curiosity is about learning, understanding each other, communicating with, and connecting with other people. Generally speaking, the belief system comes from a place of love. The world can be a scary place, and so it’s nice to be part of something that feels like it’s coming from the right place.”
Fans of the series know this isn’t the first time Sethu’s been on a Doctor Who set. Viewers will remember her from last season when she played Mundy Flynn in the episode ‘Boom,’ set in 5087. Mundy was a soldier on the war-torn planet Kastarion 3, where AI ambulances ruthlessly kill injured personnel deemed unfit for service. But how are these two characters connected, if at all? “There’s a genetic connection that spans thousands of years, and it adds another layer to the relationship between The Doctor and Belinda,” Sethu previously said.
“As an actor it was the best [experience]. It was unbelievable. I literally could not believe I was able to come back because I didn’t know there was a history of companion actors who had played another role and then came back as a companion. I just thought once I’ve got to play a guest lead in ‘Boom,’ that was that. I was very sad about that because I had such a great time. So, when I got the call as an actor I could come back as a companion, I literally couldn’t have dreamt of it because I just thought, ‘Well, it’s that, it’s gone now. I’ve ticked that box; I can’t go back.’ It meant a lot and I was very curious to see how [showrunner] Russell [T. Davies] would make a nod towards that connection. I love that he’s managed to tie it into the story and why their relationship is so special because you keep coming across it’s a genetic link, there’s an importance to why The Doctor keeps coming back to this person,” Sethu said.
“There are a lot of Easter eggs [and] breadcrumbs. They’re breadcrumbs that all tie in. I think generally in life, time is not linear, it’s like the infinity symbol and that is present in Doctor Who. Just in tiny things, there’s lots of echoes, it’s like an ebb and flow. Things come and go and come and go and come and go and you’ll realize things are building up to interesting fun things,” Sethu and Gatwa both teased.
Reflecting upon this upcoming season, Sethu and Gatwa couldn’t help but notice the inclusivity of Doctor Who. Sethu, who has previously starred in the acclaimed Star Wars series Andor, means that, for the first time in the history of the series, the two leads of the Tardis will be played by actors of color.
“That was something we acknowledged quite early on. We just both had this moment where I was like, ‘Look at us right now. Look at us in the TARDIS’. It meant a huge amount. I try not to take on the pressure of that because I want to free myself up to being creative, to being playful. If you put on the pressure of being the first of anything, it takes away the joy. You don’t want to feel like you’re being scrutinized, but hopefully the payoff is that what we create is something authentic that feels genuine. Now that we’re out the other end of that period of filming, I can now look back and appreciate how special an experience it was and how special it is. I’m getting messages from people all around the world saying, ‘It means a lot to see a brown person or a team that is comprised of people of color.’ It means a lot to me personally, but also, it’s lovely to hear that it’s the same for other people out there,” said Sethu.
Doctor Who season 2 premieres on Disney+ on April 12th. To learn more about Doctor Who, check out the full press conference in the video above.
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