Now
here’s where I get into SPOILERS for series eight of Doctor Who. Missy played by Michelle Gomez was a character who
popped up a number of times throughout the series usually at the end of an
episode as a teaser. In a way it became another of the show’s series arcs. In
the finale it was revealed that Missy is in fact the latest incarnation of the
Master (though the name ‘Missy’ did kind of give it away)! This was a pretty
significant reveal as we hadn’t seen the Doctor’s fellow Time Lord nemesis in four
years; and it led to an uproar in some parts of the fan community not at all
pleased that one of the show’s most iconic villains was now a woman! They seem
to think it’s a betrayal of the legacy of the Master, that it was just a stunt,
and that it’s ruined the show for them. Many supporters of this version of the
character see this backlash as sexism. Why is this such an issue? Why is it
such a terrible thing that the Master is a woman?
Well
let me tell you, it’s not! -leaving it even more unfeasible for me to get
behind or understand peoples’ problems with the character. So I’m going to
break down why these complaints don’t hold water. The big one being that making
the Master a woman betrays the legacy of the character. And I have to ask…what legacy?
When Roger Delgaldo originated the role in 1971 he did a magnificent job
playing a Machiavellian Moriarty to Jon Pertwee’s Doctor. The two sharing the
screen was the best part of almost any episode and many would agree Delgaldo
was the best incarnation of the character. But after that, we got a Walking Dead incarnation played by Peter
Pratt and then Geoffrey Beevers who the writers had no idea how to use. He was
followed by Anthony Ainley who let’s face it, was a terrible Master. He was
enjoyably terrible, but his hamminess went through the roof and removed any
iota of legitimate threat from the character. Eric Roberts’ version in the
television movie was even worse! Hell when John Simm came into the fray we were
just glad to have a decent Master again. He borrowed a sizeable chunk of
Ainley’s camp but was also a distinctly interesting character with an expanded
backstory and madness. But he did suffer from Heath Ledger-Joker syndrome of
the smart dangerous sociopath (which I kinda think Moriarty in Sherlock is trying to capture too) and
more than a few times it got cartoonish (particularly in “The End of Time”). So
by the time Michelle Gomez and Missy came along we had more bad Masters than
not, so it’s not exactly a great legacy and certainly one that’s been trodden
on worse before. Others have suggested Missy should have wound up being the
Rani another Time Lord villain from years ago played by Kate O’Mara. And the
Rani a scientist with no conscious, was an interesting idea…in theory. In
practice she too was a campy villain who literally dressed up as the Doctor’s
companion as part of her evil plan. And maybe the character would be worth a
revisit, but certainly didn’t leave enough of an impression to do so. I’d
probably have just preferred an original character over the Rani to be honest.
Some
people complain that it’s not the fact she’s a woman but rather it’s her
personality. Primarily her flirtatious relationship with the Doctor that we saw
in “Death in Heaven”. But what people are forgetting or just not willing to
admit, is that there has always been a slight homoeroticism between the two
characters. If you look back on some of those scenes between Pertwee and
Delgaldo (not to mention Pertwee’s outfit and Delgaldo’s somewhat prissy
attitude) which with slightly different dialogue and a change of scenery would
be similar to the gentlemanly discussions in Oscar Wilde stories. Even in “The
Last of the Time Lords” we see that there are multiple dimensions to the
relationship between the Doctor and Master (don’t forget the Master’s “death”
scene). It’s always been there, all that Missy has done is bring it slightly
more to the surface. There’s never going to be any action on it, it’s just
making a subtle homoeroticism heterosexual (in fact maybe the LGBT community
should be making a fuss). Her flirtations and seductions are merely a new
weapon she uses.
Was
the Master becoming a woman merely a stunt? Well kind of. There was a lot of
talk before Capaldi was cast that there should be an ethnic actor or woman in
the role to make it more diverse. Even though to do that just for the sake of
it would be a bad way to cast the Doctor. And there’s already been a lot of
diversity in the supporting cast. Nonetheless there were still naysayers when
Capaldi was cast so in a way it is obvious Steven Moffat went for a woman when
casting the Master. But while it was a gimmick I think it paid off. Yeah Missy
does retain a bit of the hamminess that I guess has become a part of the
character now and at times her more forward flirtations do give me unpleasant
recollections of River Song (did you hear she’s coming back? Oh joy…), but
she’s a very charismatic, entertaining, and intimidating Master. She’s got a
great look for the part, being not only menacing and insane but actually
frightening with her wicked smile and upturned eyebrow. I think she comes
closest to Delgaldo’s Master than any of the other successors in terms of sheer
screen presence while at the same time standing out on her own.
But
there are still people who think that the Master shouldn’t be a woman despite
decades of continuity supporting the idea that Time Lords can switch gender
(Moffat even did it before in Doctor Who
and the Curse of Fatal Death which every Whovian should see!). There are
people who think making the Master a woman removes all menace in the character
which is frankly insulting. Not only because again the character hasn’t had
much menace in a long time; but also because there are plenty of menacing
female villains in the history of television and film. Cruella de Vil, Annie
Wilkes, Azula, Jane Hudson, etc.; certainly it’s possible that Missy could join
these ranks. If the writers take her in the right direction. I’m looking
forward to her reappearance and to series nine. And to those that say the show
is ruined with a female Master, they’re too resistant to change to be fans of a
show that’s all about it!
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