I Watched Every Doctor Who Episode With Jodie Whittaker's Thirteenth Doctor – These Are The Best

The Thirteenth Doctor’s run is one of the more polarizing in the show’s history, It gave the show its consistently lowest ratings since its 2005 return, and the writing was heavily criticized at every turn. Showrunner Chris Chibnall – who was head writer for all of Jodie’s run in the role – has drawn plenty of ire from fans over his 4 years at the helm of the show.

While it wasn’t entirely deserved, there certainly were some terrible episodes during this era of the show, although going back and rewatching now has made us realize there was more good stuff than we first thought. We’ve picked out the very best of Jodie Whittaker’s time as the Thirteenth Doctor to celebrate the diamonds in the rough.

The Woman Who Fell To Earth

By this point in the show’s history, a new Doctor’s first episode has a formula that is hard to get wrong. We get the fun of The Doctor being a little loopy in their post-regeneration state while eventually building up to the moment where they become the fully-formed version of themselves. Jodie does this just as well as any of the other Doctors, and it lays enough groundwork for the future.

The Ghost Monument

The Ghost Monument is a good example of a quality that many of this era’s best episodes share – a clear and concise focus. So many of the worst episodes from this era spread themselves thin over a bunch of plot points that don’t quite interlock properly, but The Ghost Monument gives our characters a clear direction and keeps them moving toward it at all times. It’s well-paced, has some good action, and pays off beautifully.

Resolution

Skipping over the rest of Series 11, the New Year’s special was quite the thrill ride. There is some controversy over how it treated the Daleks, but it made for a menacing villain for the Doctor to face. It went back to the Series 1 philosophy of one lone Dalek being far more terrifying than an army of them ever could be and restored some of the mystique they’d lost over the years – just a shame it wouldn’t last.

Spyfall

Spyfall is arguably the weakest episode on this list, but it’s still worth a rewatch. It has plenty of the corny non-humour that this era is rightfully derided for, but there is an enjoyable episode under that. The first part is an intense little mystery that builds to a brilliant reveal of The Master, and the second part has enough action to keep you engaged until the end.

Fugitive of the Judoon

This episode is something of a “you had to be there” episode. With hindsight of how terribly The Timeless Children paid everything off it can be hard to enjoy this one, but watching this episode for the first time was absolutely mindblowing. Not only does it feature the return of one of the show’s most beloved characters, but it hits us with an unbelievable twist that no one could’ve seen coming.

The Haunting of Villa Diodati

Here we celebrate writer Maxine Alderton, who only wrote two episodes in the Chris Chibnall era, but they were undoubtedly two of the best episodes of it. The first is The Haunting of Villa Diodati, which gives us a mind-bending mystery as this old-timey villa bends space around our characters, creating tense scenes that pay off brilliantly. Then there is arguably Jodie’s finest moment as the Doctor, losing her temper with her companions and being the strong leader this incarnation of the character rarely got to be.

Village of the Angels

Series 13, also known as ‘Flux’ was, quite simply, terrible. However, buried in there is another Maxine Alderton episode featuring the Weeping Angels, and against all odds, it’s one of the best Angel stories ever. Rather than piling new powers onto them like Moffat always did, this episode plays around with what we already know and uses every little mechanic of these iconic villains to great effect.

Eve of the Daleks

Time loop stories are always fun, and Eve of the Daleks is an excellent iteration of the formula. The Daleks return to their classic form and feel like a threat again, actually being able to kill our heroes multiple times thanks to the time loop. Every little thread is worth paying attention to and pays off in a satisfying way.

The Power of the Doctor

Admittedly, I'm not as big a fan of this episode as most people, but it’s undeniably a bombastic finale to Jodie’s time in the TARDIS. Sacha Dhawan’s portrayal of the Master is easily one of the best parts of this era of the show and he gets so much time to shine in this special. It gives us a healthy dose of nostalgia while we’re at it too, pulling in old companions, and old Doctors to give us something that is a tad nonsensical, but still a lot of fun.