I was also very confused by this, because the episode seemed to imply at the end that Poppy had always existed, and we’ve just never seen Belinda mention her, but as you say, that completely doesn’t fit with the openIng of the first episode. The implication then becomes that Belinda didn’t have Poppy initially and was rewritten so she had a daughter, which I personally find to be an extremely creepy way to write out a companion.
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I’ll admit, I’m kinda wondering what kind of rewrites went on during this season…
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i actually hope the billie piper doctor is only there for a mini series like flux , without a companion just her trying to figure out why she has that face (presumably bad wolf related) and somehow the writers can add some timeless child lore in that series as well to make it feel complete
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The optics is not good I’ll agree.
But tell me my kids might never have existed and watch me tackle anyone who stood between me and my boys and that zero room (Zero Room! Yay 
)! I would go feral 
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Wasn’t that exactly what we got with Tennant though? 
I don’t know how likely it is but I am hoping for multiple seasons 
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I want as little as possible. Nothing against Piper, she’s amazing, but I think if we got a lot with her it really would push the narrative of the show running in circles even further
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I’m basically hoping for next season to be sort of “Oh No It Isn’t!” as Doctor Who and as a whole season…
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Thing is, I wouldn’t mind that but we’ve recently seen the approach to a Doctor with a returning face wondering why over the course of a miniseries and it amounts to asking the question a little bit and then having no real proper answer for it.
I think I may be in the minority here in that I’d rather it not be a fakeout or anything. They’ve done this now, I want them to commit. I think Piper has got the chops to be a good Doctor. If she hadn’t been Rose already, she’d be one of my top picks as an actor working at the moment.
However, she has already been Rose so I can’t get the taste of desperate gimmick out of my mouth. But when that’s gone, and I hope it goes, I do think she could pull it off. She’s outstanding.
However however, I do sense fakeoutery and/or shenanigans. Not being credited as the Doctor combined with her own statement following the episode just suggests to me something is afoot. And given that a lot of things have been afoot and inadequately resolved recently, I really wish things weren’t afoot.
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tennant’s specials did not explain why the face is back , just throwing the usual (the universe is trying to warn me) and then show an old companion in danger is not an explanation (not exactly what happened but you get the idea)
i want the bad wolf thing to be an actual warning or a reminder
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Right there with you 
I think it was, but in a not particularly satisfying way. That he got that face to remind him of Donna and to tell him to slow down and process his existence as “The Therapy Doctor” if you will. But I’ll grant you that it was clunky.
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Just watched. I don’t think I’ll care for RTD2 anymore. I enjoyed it but it’s mostly because the hype of watching a new episode, which I only started to do since 13’s run (and I dropped it halfway through and came back afterwards) I can enjoy it and forget it afterwards, but thinking about it just is simply frustrating. There’re so many good dw stories I actually love and willing to revisit, so I’ll focus on them now
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*The Doctor has therapy at beginning of incarnation*
*The Doctor’s new incarnation commits suicide*
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I agree with you. And if Romana could choose her face maybe the Doctor also can.
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The second Doctor was given half a dozen to choose from, he just rejected them.
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What gets me about this episode is leaving the cinema I didn’t like it much but thought “hey at least it wasn’t Empire of Death.” But the more I talked about it with my friend, and thought about it, the more I disliked it. And once I started reading this thread and discussing with friends on Discord after reaching the hotel… It’s really plummeted for me and I kinda hate it and I hate that I hate it 
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Yes we saw that sign in Wish World
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We did? Maybe I’ll have to go back and look…
Honestly, I don’t like how negative I’m feeling about it, either, but not terribly much I can do on that front.
I’m kinda suspecting there was one rewrite to add Belinda in as the main companion of the season, then another to turn this episode into a regeneration episode…
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