“I do what I do because it’s right. Because it’s decent. And above all, it’s kind. Just that. Just kind.”
Peter Capaldi’s Doctor articulating a damned fine philosophy in Capaldi’s season finale of Doctor Who. I hope those words sink into many of the younger viewers of Doctor Who and stay with them. Fictional heroes and their examples can be as important to our development as the real world heroes, and it’s clear with this line that Steven Moffat understands this and is trying to make sure we got the hero we needed. Perhaps one day when they are older one of those former child fans will be faced with a difficult choice and they will think back on those lines, and they will know where they need to steer their moral compass.
This is why I think the Doctor should remain male, if there were more male role models like him I wouldn’t care if he regenerated as a female, in fact I quite like the twist it would bring.
But while the Doctor remains one of the very very few male role models who solves problems firstly by trying to talk and find a peaceful solution, and does the right thing, I think his gender is more important for young and impressionable minds. Someone countering the macho guns blazing attitude of so many other male “heroes”