“She asked me if I knew what mercy was.”
Doctor Who continues its lockdown life with a new YouTube short, this one designed as an epilogue to a villain from Doctor Who’s past. Set to follow from “Human Nature” and “The Family of Blood”, two episodes from David Tennant’s run as the Tenth Doctor, they share what ended up happening (or what will happen? Time, etc.) to a member of the Family of Blood. And it’s gorgeous.
This particular story, written by Paul Cornell and read by Lauren Wilson, is about Lucy Cartwright, the daughter of the family. In the original episodes, the Doctor doles out a sharp punishment for her role in her family’s cruelty: she’s trapped in every mirror, all at once, forever. But that apparently wasn’t the end of the story, or of the Doctor’s involvement in Lucy’s life.
This particular moment is what happens when Lucy meets another incarnation of the Doctor: the Thirteenth. It’s an electric encounter, and I won’t spoil anything more about it, except to say that I was genuinely moved.
The fantastic artwork in the short, by the by, is by Christopher Jones. And you can check out the Doctor Who: Lockdown channel for the rest of the show’s quarantine output.