I know! I know! I had promised another CHRONOLOGIES AND TIMELINES entry next. But I was re-watching the Thirteenth Doctor's era just for fun and this idea for a series popped into my brain. So I thought I would pursue it.
Mandip Gill might just break a New Who record by the end of Series 13. Thus far, Jenna Coleman holds the title for longest-running companion in the Revived Series. She came in halfway through Series 7 and stayed all the way til the end of Series 9. So, basically, the character of Clara lasted two-and-a-half seasons. If Gill sticks around all the way til the end of Series 13, that will put her at three seasons. If she stays on even longer, she might just break the all-time greatest record set by Elisabeth Sladen in the Classic Series.
But the longevity of the character is not the only thing that's drawing our attention to her. For some odd reason, fans seem to delight in speculating about her romantic life. We seem to be sure that she is in love with someone else in the TARDIS crew. We see the slightest hints here and there in certain scenes that might indicate an attraction she's experiencing for someone. We wonder if it's meant to be the beginning of a subplot that might later develop into a full-blown relationship. We chat about it incessantly in various social media platforms. Presenting all sorts speculation that we're sure is solid evidence.
Truth be told, most of what we discuss is pretty ambiguous. It might even be as ludicrous as the whole "Donna is secretly the Rani" fan theory that was going on in and around Series 4. But it's still fun to theorise about all this. Chances are, however, it's so much smoke and mirrors. When Yaz leaves the show, she will probably still be single. Or, at best, she will have fallen in love with someone who is not a traveller on the TARDIS. But rather, someone she has met in an adventure.
WHY DO WE WONDER SO MUCH ABOUT YAZ'S POSSIBLE CRUSHES?
Before we dive into the debate, we should examine what has caused it in the first place. This isn't usually the sort of thing that we speculate about regarding a companion. So what causes us to be so fascinated with it? Why do we go on so much about who Yaz may or may not be in love with?
A lot of our curiosity about this stems, I think, from the way the character was actually created. There is a certain level of subtlety to Yaz. Companions often tend to wear their hearts on their sleeve. In many ways, they need to be transparent so that we can easily identify with them as they face all sorts of highly unusual situations that life in the TARDIS presents to them. Right from the earliest days of the show, we saw this. Susan, for instance, was clearly naive and vulnerable. This gave the younger viewers someone to identify with. As children "cowered behind the sofa" at the sight of Daleks and Voord, they almost felt as if Susan was there with them because she reacted in the same way they did.
Yaz, however, does present herself a bit differently from most companions. She definitely has a "still waters run deep" vibe going on. Since there are two other humans aboard the TARDIS with her, Chibnall takes this opportunity to craft her in a different direction than most companions. Basically, Ryan and Graham can emote up a storm and create that crucial connection with the viewers while Yaz keeps her hand closer to her vest.
Chibnall even makes sure that there's dialogue to show this trait off. When Yaz brings Ryan and the Doctor over to her family's flat in Arachnids in the UK, her father and sister are quite shocked. Both remark how they never meet any of her friends. How she's married to her job. That, essentially, Yaz takes the word "private" in the term "private life" very seriously. She doesn't even share much with her actual family.
People like this tend to make us legitimately nosy about them. When we feel someone is hiding something from us, we just naturally want to find out all we can about them. But they don't, generally, give us much to go on. So we have to speculate. We look for any little clue that might reveal something about them and put it under a microscope. Ironically, if people who value their privacy were just a little bit more open, they'd probably be left alone a lot more.
This, I think, is the key reason why we have become so fascinated with Yaz's love life. Because it's not "in your face" like it was with other companions like Rose or Martha, we're far more curious about it. We want to know if we really are seeing what we think we're seeing. But because there's only so much evidence to support what we believe, we explore it all the harder in order to draw any conclusion we can from it. Yaz's reluctance to reveal too much of how attached she might be to certain people reels us in all the more than if she actually gave us some solid clues about how she feels.
EARLY DAYS WITH THE DOCTOR
As indicated in the title, there will be two parts to this essay. As I do believe there are two characters that Yaz might, possibly, be in love with. Not both at once, of course! If Yaz really does have any feelings for a TARDIS traveller, it's either one or the other. So I want to examine each case separately.
In this first installment, we'll look at the various bits of evidence that affirm or negate any potential romantic feelings Yaz might actually have for the Doctor. Again, because Yaz is so private, we're not entirely sure what her sexual orientation might be. So it's possible that she might be attracted to both men and women. Or even strictly women. It really is that hard to tell!
It would be safe to say, however, that Yaz is probably fairly uncertain about the Doctor for their first few episodes. Yes, the Doctor shows her all sorts of evidence that she's clearly an alien - but she still does seem quite insane! It's hard to develop any kind of solid romantic feelings for someone who seems completely bonkers!
But that magic bit of dialogue at the beginning of Rosa establishes that our four main characters have been travelling together quite a bit since the conclusion of The Ghost Monument. Some trust has now had the chance to build up between Yaz and the Doctor. And, potentially, so have some romantic feelings. We don't really see much of anything in this particular episode that indicates that this has happened. But, again, this is Yaz we're talking about. We're not, necessarily, going to see a lot of strong indications of what's going on in her. So something could be brewing.
Arachnids in the UK is the first story that gives us any real clue that there might legitimately be something going on with the two of them. Yaz's Mom asks a very pointed question about the nature of their relationship. Why might she ask that unless she actually sensed something between them? As guarded as Yaz might be, her mother is most likely to pick up on it. She knows her daughter well.
Both women deny that there is anything there. So that does score negative points for the Yaz Wants the Doctor Theory. But there are subtleties to the moment that we can scrutinize. When Nadja poses the question, the Doctor says no first. Does Yaz merely respond in the negative because the Doctor has already fluffed the whole thing off? For the most part, an individual won't admit to an attraction to someone if that person has already claimed that they don't feel the same way. Yaz certainly seems very uncomfortable in that moment. It could just be, of course, because a parent prying into their child's love life is always an awkward thing. But there could be more there. Might this discomfort stem more from the fact that Yaz is trying to hide her true feelings and is only doing so well at it?
The fact that the Doctor does say that they're not in a relationship but then questions it can be very subjective too. She may have only asked "Are we in a relationship?!" because she is so socially awkward that she really isn't entirely sure about what's going on between them. Alternatively, she may have actually been picking up on certain things in Yaz's behavior and is genuinely wondering if her companion does have deeper feelings for her. Once more, it's difficult to say.
Whatever the case, that moment in Arachnids in the UK is certainly crucial in this whole debate. It really does introduce the whole concept quite clearly and gets us wondering. If we only look at the situation superficially, then it also dismisses the idea that Yaz is falling in love with the Doctor quite quickly. But, if we observe the subtleties, we see that there is room for speculation.
THE REST OF SERIES ELEVEN
For the rest of Series Eleven, we don't really have much to go on that indicates Yaz's romantic inclinations for the Time Lord. Most of what we could point out would seem like some pretty futile grasping at straws.
There is, perhaps, one other thing that we see in Yaz's behavior during her first season that vaguely supports the idea that she might be falling in love with the Doctor. Yaz starts taking more "solo missions" than the other companions do. In The Witchfinders, for instance, she goes off to look more deeply into Willa Twiston while the rest of the team hang out with Becka Savage and King James. She is quite happy to work alone and get things done.
This could have something to do with her being a police officer. She is able to investigate things without much of any assistance. So she would be quite self-governing like that and would not need as much help as Ryan and Graham would when dealing with complicated situations. This makes a lot of sense for her character. But there might also be another motivation...
One of my favorite moments in Vampires of Venice is the confrontation Rory has with the Doctor about the way he is affecting Amy. That, essentially, the Doctor has the sort of personality that gets people to do things to impress him. Because of this, Amy takes unnecessary risks for his approval. Yaz's willingness to work so much on her own to help the Doctor solve problems could be a similar dynamic. Could she be trying to win favor with the Time Lord in the hopes that, ultimately, the Doctor might reciprocate her feelings? She is trying to impress the Doctor - just like Amy did. Considering Amy did make a very clear pass at the Doctor during Flesh and Stone, it might be possible that Yaz is trying to build up to the same thing. She's just taking longer.
SERIES TWELVE - MORE ARCS WITH YAZ
As we enter into the next season, Yaz's ability to work independently increases. While she does end up getting some assistance in Praxeus, for example, she is more-than-ready to go back into that warehouse on her own to retrieve a piece of technology that she thinks might be important to solving the conflict of the story. The way she storms off ahead of everyone else in The Timeless Children to pass through the Boundary and go to Gallifrey shows off even more her growing determination to get things done regardless of whether or not people are going to lend her a hand.
Again, could this be more of Yaz's desire to, somehow, impress the Doctor and win her affections? Particularly that moment in Timeless Children. She is, after all, on her way to try to save the Doctor. If she is in love with her, she would be more strongly motivated than the others to accomplish the task. Perhaps her forging ahead so quickly without stopping to think about it is one of Chibnall's ways of signposting this?
Or it could just be Yaz developing a stronger and stronger desire to do good. To be more fearless and hesitate less in the face of danger because the right thing needs to be done. It could easily go either way.
Another interesting ongoing development in this season is Yaz's growing curiosity to learn more about the Doctor's past. Ryan and Graham have the same interest, of course. The Doctor is their friend and they just want to know her better. But there might be more to it for Yaz. Her desire might stem more from the idea that, when you are in love with someone, you want to know as much about them as you can. Her tone when she does ask questions about where the Doctor comes from does sound a bit different than the other two companions. Which does sort of indicate that she might have a different motivation than the rest of "the Fam".
THE NEXT BIG CLUE
Like the "Are You Seeing my Daughter?!" sequence with Nadja in Arachnids in the UK, there are a few key moments in Series Twelve that continue to lead us down that Garden Path that Yaz might have a thing for the Doctor.
The one that seems to get fans talking the most is the scene where Yaz catches Claire trying to break into Lord Byron's room during The Haunting of Villa Diodati. Claire starts to complain about Byron's enigmatic nature and Yaz chimes in with: "I know someone like that, too!". Clearly, she is referring to the Doctor. They both reach a conclusion that, as frustrating as these people are in their lives, they wouldn't have them any other way.
It's a scene that can be interpreted in several different ways. It could, quite simply, be about two women complaining about how people who choose to be mysterious can be a bit annoying. Claire is talking about a man she is attracted to and Yaz is just discussing a friend. But both have a similar effect on them. They wish it was more easy to read someone that they care about.
Alternatively, both of these people could be talking about someone they are in love with. And how they wish that person would give them a clearer sign of whether or not they have the same feelings. It could go either way, really. And there has been lots of speculation that this is clearly the latter instance. That, with a tight-lipped character like Yaz, this is tantamount to a confession to a stranger of her secret love for someone.
ONE OR TWO MORE BIG CLUES
As we reach the end of the season and go into the New Year's Special, there are a few more instances that we should probably point out that lend more support to the Yaz Wants the Doctor Theory.
At the very end of The Timeless Children, where it has become clear that the Doctor is about to sacrifice her life to stop the Master, Yaz does seem far more upset about the Doctor's choice than everyone else. This is a highly subjective observation, of course. All that are gathered in the spare TARDIS could be equally disturbed but are not showing their emotions as openly as she is.
But it could also be that Yaz is being so expressive because she really is in love with the Doctor and is nowhere near ready to let her go. Especially when you consider that she normally is very reserved. She even points out to Graham earlier in the episode that she isn't a particularly emotive person. For her to suddenly fly off the handle as much as she does really re-enforces the idea that her feelings for the Doctor run far deeper than just friendship.
When we re-join Yaz in Revolution of the Daleks, she is obsessed with trying to find the Doctor. So much so, that she is practically living in the spare TARDIS as she does extensive research into trying to retrieve the Time Lord. This could easily be seen as Yaz just not being ready to let go of the life the Doctor has shown her. Or it could be the actions of a person determined to get back someone they are in love with.
The rest of the episode deals quite extensively with the fall-out of Yaz losing the Doctor for a time. She is the only one who gives the Time Lord an angry push when she does finally return. The gesture obviously has deeper meaning to it. Which Jack will go on to discuss with her in a very well-executed scene. But what did the push truly mean? Again, it could be Yaz just expressing hostility because she thought she'd lost a good friend. Or it could be much deeper than that.
As the episode concludes, it's very obvious that Yaz is definitely staying with the Doctor even if Graham and Ryan have decided to go. We find ourselves wondering if Yaz will ever be able to let go of life in the TARDIS. And there could be any number of reasons for why she has become so deeply attached to this lifestyle.
MY OWN OPINION (FOR WHAT IT'S WORTH)
If Yaz, for some reason, had left at the end of Series Eleven, I would have had a hard time believing in this theory at all. If you look at what I covered from that season, the evidence does seem fairly tenuous. I don't even really think the scene in Villa Diodati reveals that much. I am still more inclined to believe that Yaz is just complaining about how confusing the Doctor can be, sometimes, rather than venting frustrations over unrequited love.
But the way she has been behaving of late - particularly during Revolution of the Daleks - is a bit more compelling. This still could be something purely platonic. As a police officer, Yaz is someone who likes to see justice being done. Life with the Doctor is the ultimate execution of that concept. So all her attachment could stem purely from that motive. Or there could be another sort of attachment going on. If it is revealed in a later story that Yaz is in love with the Doctor, it won't feel like it's coming out of nowhere. There does seem to be adequate evidence to support this.
And so ends Part One of: Who Is Yaz Crushing On? While I do admit that it is possible that she's in love with the Doctor, the character I discuss in Part Two shows much stronger evidence that they have something far more tangible going on between them.
You'll see what I mean when we get there....
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