Ever feel like the TARDIS usually picks up people who are already a bit "special"? You know the type. The girl who fell through a crack in time. The impossible girl who lives a thousand lives. The one who literally absorbs the heart of the time vortex and turns into a golden goddess.
Then there's Bill.
Honestly, when Bill Potts first walked into the Doctor’s office at St. Luke’s University, she wasn't a puzzle to be solved. She was just a girl who served chips in the canteen and had a habit of sneaking into lectures because she was curious. She didn't have a destiny. She had a job, a foster mum who didn't quite get her, and a massive crush on a girl with a star in her eye.
The Doctor Who Companion Bill: A Masterclass in Being Normal
The thing about Doctor Who companion Bill is that she reminded us what it actually looks like when a regular person sees a time machine for the first time. She didn't just stand there in awe; she asked where the toilet was.
She asked why the name TARDIS was in English if the Doctor was from another planet.
That's real.
Pearl Mackie played Bill with this grounded, "mouthy" (her words) energy that made the Twelfth Doctor's final season feel like a breath of fresh air. After years of the high-stakes, universe-ending drama surrounding Clara Oswald, Bill was a reset. She was a student. The Doctor was her tutor. It was a mentor-student dynamic we hadn't really seen since Ace back in the 80s, and it worked because it allowed the Doctor to be a teacher again.
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What most people get wrong about her sexuality
There’s always that corner of the internet that claims Bill "talked about being gay too much."
Total nonsense.
If you actually look at the scripts, she mentions it maybe three times in a dozen episodes. Usually, it's just to tell a guy she's not interested. It mattered because she was the show's first openly gay full-time companion. But more than that, it mattered because it wasn't her "plot." It was just who she was. She went on dates, she got nervous, she got heartbroken.
It was normal. Finally.
Why the Cybermen ending still hurts
We have to talk about the floor. Floor 1056.
The finale of Series 10, "World Enough and Time," is arguably the most horrific thing the show has ever done. Watching Bill get shot through the chest and then spend years waiting for the Doctor in a nightmare hospital—it's brutal.
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She trusted him. He told her "Wait for me," and she did.
She waited until her heart was replaced by a machine. She waited until they put her in a suit and turned her into a Mondasian Cyberman.
The moment she sees herself in the mirror—but we see the Cyberman—is a masterpiece of acting from Mackie. She’s crying, but the machine can't cry. It just says "I... waited... for... you."
It’s the ultimate tragedy for a character who was defined by her humanity. Most companions get a "soft" exit. Rose got a parallel world. Martha just walked away. Bill got her identity stripped away in a cold, metal basement while the Master laughed.
Is the "Space Puddle" ending a cop-out?
Some fans feel like Heather (the "Pilot" from the first episode) showing up to turn Bill into a sentient oil creature was a bit of a deus ex machina. Basically, it felt like Steven Moffat couldn't bear to actually kill her off.
But honestly?
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Bill deserved a win.
She spent her whole life wanting to see the stars, and she ended up becoming a part of them. She became an immortal being that could travel the universe without a box. Plus, later materials (like the novelization of "Twice Upon a Time") hint that she eventually chose to become human again, lived a full life on Earth with Heather, and died of old age by the sea.
That’s a hell of a journey for a girl from Bristol who used to serve extra chips to people she liked.
The Actionable Legacy of Bill Potts
If you’re revisiting the Capaldi era or watching for the first time, pay attention to "Thin Ice." It’s the episode where Bill asks the Doctor if he’s ever killed anyone. It’s one of the few times a companion actually holds the Doctor’s feet to the fire regarding the moral weight of what he does.
Here is how you can appreciate the character's depth beyond the TV screen:
- Read "The Shining Man": This is a BBC New Series Adventure novel featuring Bill and the Twelfth Doctor. It captures her voice perfectly and shows how she handles a "typical" alien invasion without the TARDIS doing the heavy lifting.
- Watch the "Lockdown" mini-stories: During the 2020 pandemic, Steven Moffat wrote a short "Farewell, Sarah Jane" style piece that gave more closure to Bill’s post-TV life. It's heart-wrenching and worth a search.
- Re-watch "The Pilot" as a standalone: If you want to introduce someone to the show, this is the best entry point. It treats the show’s lore as a mystery again, through Bill’s eyes.
Bill Potts wasn't the "chosen one." She wasn't a ghost in the machine. She was a friend. And in the end, that's exactly what the Doctor needed.
Next Steps for Your Rewatch
To get the most out of this character arc, watch the episodes The Pilot, Oxygen, and the two-part finale World Enough and Time / The Doctor Falls in sequence. This "mini-marathon" highlights the evolution from her wide-eyed curiosity to her ultimate sacrifice, providing a clear view of why her short tenure had such a massive impact on the series' history.