Doctor Who Season 14’s New Character Is The Worst Sally Sparrow Replacement
SUMMARY
- Lindy Pepper-Bean in Doctor Who fell short of Sally Sparrow’s heroics and likability.
- Lindy struggled with fear and selfishness, while Sally proved herself as a strong and brave hero.
- Both Lindy and Sally worked indirectly with the Doctor, but Lindy’s actions led to betrayal and demise.
Callie Cookie’s Lindy Pepper-Bean is the main character of Doctor Who season 14, episode 5, “Dot and Bubble,” and while she shares some similarities with Sally Sparrow from the harrowing “Blink” episode from Doctor Who season 3, Lindy falls very short of Sally’s standards. The cast of Doctor Who season 14 have been taken through various adventures that feel very Steven Moffat-inspired, despite almost all of them being written by Russell T Davies. Although Moffat wrote “Boom,” most of the others have been penned by Davies during his return spell as the Doctor Who showrunner.
Davies was the showrunner when Moffat wrote the script for “Blink,” and the episode’s formula has essentially been reimagined to create “Dot and Bubble.” The installments were first aired 17 years apart, and yet both boast the “Doctor-lite” framework. The reduced use of the Doctor and his companion means both episodes needed to bring in a new character to lead the story. Sally Sparrow filled the position in “Blink,” but Doctor Who‘s Disney era placed someone far less likable in the limelight for “Dot and Bubble.”
Callie Cooke’s character is hard to root for
Carey Mulligan’s Sally Sparrow is famous in the Doctor Who fandom for successfully navigating the threat of the Weeping Angels during their first franchise appearance. However, she didn’t do it alone, as she received remote, “Timey-wimey” assistance from David Tennant’s Tenth Doctor. She willingly accepted the Doctor’s help, used her own intuition, and quickly became a hero who was very easy to root for. In other words, Sally would have made a great Doctor Who companion. By comparison, Lindy Pepper-Bean was all but useless in the face of danger, and only very begrudgingly listened to Ncuti Gatwa’s Fifteenth Doctor.
Although Lindy finally caved to the Doctor’s authority, she literally had to be told how to put one foot in front of the other to escape the monsters that would otherwise have happily called her lunch.
Although Lindy finally caved to the Doctor’s authority, she literally had to be told how to put one foot in front of the other to escape the monsters that would otherwise have happily called her lunch. She’s just as afraid as Sally was in “Blink,” but Lindy regulates her fear much less effectively, as the self-entitled Finetime resident is quickly revealed to be little more than a selfish and cowardly racist. In short, the ending of “Dot and Bubble” confirms Lindy has more hallmarks of a villain than she does of a hero.
The Parallels Between Doctor Who Season 14’s Lindy & Sally Sparrow
Lindy did share some similarities with Sally
Both Lindy and Sally only work indirectly with the Doctor throughout their episodes before finally meeting him at the end. Both women also lose loved ones during their respective stories, with Sally mourning the loss of best friend Kathy Nightingale, and Lindy unknowingly losing her mother (Susan Twist’s Penny-Pepper Bean) to the massacre on the Homeworld. In addition, they both gain love interests along the way. However, while Sally’s relationship with Larry lasts beyond her encounter with the Weeping Angels, Lindy quickly betrays Ricky September and causes his demise in the closing moments of Doctor Who season 14, episode 5.
