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Doctor Who Takes a Jab at J.K. Rowling in Controversial New Episode!

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In the latest episode of “Doctor Who” Season 2, there appears to be a subtle critique aimed at J.K. Rowling, the creator of Harry Potter, suggesting a parallel with a character who holds right-wing extremist views. The author has faced accusations of transphobia since 2018, when she liked a tweet labeling transgender women as “women in dresses.” Most notably, she voiced her opposition to the idea of allowing men who identify as women to use women’s restrooms and changing rooms. This is just one instance of Rowling’s transphobic remarks over the past few years; she also spoke against a Scottish bill that aimed to make it simpler for individuals to be recognized according to their preferred gender.

The BBC and Disney+ unveiled images for the second season’s next-to-last episode of “Doctor Who,” titled “Wish World.” This episode subtly criticized author J.K. Rowling by likening her to Jonah Hauer-King’s character Conrad, who is an extremist. It’s worth noting that the showrunner, Russell T. Davies, who is openly gay and a strong supporter of LGBTQ+ rights, may be expressing his feelings towards Rowling for the first time in this comparison.

In one captivating frame, I find myself gazing upon Conrad, engrossed in the pages of “Doctor Who and the Reality War,” a book that bears an unmistakable resemblance to a much-loved fantasy tale, as evidenced by Ncuti Gatwa’s Doctor gracing its cover.

The design of the cover for the Doctor Who book seems to closely resemble that of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, with a very similar font style and layout. Given that Conrad is an unsavory character in Doctor Who who will go to extreme lengths to advance his reprehensible agendas, it appears as though writer Russell T. Davies might be subtly criticizing J.K. Rowling.

In “Lucky Day,” viewers were introduced to Conrad as an extreme conspiracy theorist with questionable ethical standards and motives. While Conrad hasn’t been explicitly portrayed as holding discriminatory views in “Doctor Who,” it’s not hard to imagine such views emerging if he were to gain control, given his character traits.

In the summary of “Wish World”, it hints that the Doctor and Belinda return home only to discover a drastically altered world. It seems likely that Conrad, perhaps with assistance from the two Ranis, holds significant power or even rules over this distorted version of their original reality.

The images show him with his face plastered on propaganda posters, urging citizens, “Keep your thoughts focused.” At the same time, it seems like the radical adversary is airing his children’s bedtime stories on TV within UNIT Headquarters.

In the seventh episode of Season 2, titled “Wish World,” Doctor Who will be available for streaming on Disney+ starting Saturday, May 24. For fans eagerly waiting to unravel the mysteries of Conrad’s distorted world, this is the day they’ve been anticipating!

In this fresh world, Ncuti Gatwa as The Doctor, Varada Sethu as Belinda Chandra, Millie Gibson as Ruby Sunday, and Jemma Redgrave as Kate Lethbridge-Stewart will be at the forefront, accompanied by several other well-known characters.

Doctor Who Opposes J.K. Rowling, But She Almost Joined the Show

Russell T. Davies, the showrunner of “Doctor Who,” has been a strong supporter for the LGBTQ+ community throughout his career. Being a gay man himself, he has been introducing queer characters in his work since the 1999 gay comedy “Queer as Folk” and, more recently, incorporating more LGBTQ+ representation into “Doctor Who.

In 2023, Davies created one of the initial significant transgender characters in “Doctor Who” by introducing Yasmin Finney as Rose Noble. Not only was she presented as the non-binary child of Donna Noble, but her debut episode, titled “The Star Beast,” prominently featured themes related to transgender identity. In this episode, she played a crucial role in thwarting the villainous Meep.

Fortunately, although Finney wasn’t featured in the cast for “Wish World” last week, the BBC announced that she would return for the Season 2 finale, titled “The Reality War,” the very next week.

It appears the head of “Doctor Who” may not express admiration for J.K. Rowling publicly, but it’s plausible to guess their sentiments would be quite different. Interestingly, a past actor from the show, David Tennant, has been vocal in supporting transgender rights and urged Rowling to step aside when voicing opposition (as reported by The Guardian).

As a movie enthusiast, I must share an intriguing behind-the-scenes tale from the world of Doctor Who. J.K. Rowling was once approached during Russell T Davies’ first tenure to pen an episode, but she graciously declined the offer. Later on, the showrunner proposed a captivating storyline where Rowling would make an appearance and our beloved Time Lord would be whisked away into a realm of witches and wizards. However, the current star, David Tennant, vetoed this idea as he felt it might transform the series into a “spoof.” (Sources: The Mirror)

It’s worth mentioning that Tennant’s objections to Rowling being part of ‘Doctor Who’ go back much further than her public expressions of transphobic views. Consequently, it appears that his arguments against the casting proposal were purely based on creative considerations.

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2025-05-22 20:12

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