It’s been a long time since the Doctor has been in. Series 9 ended over a year ago and we haven’t seen the Doctor since his last Christmas special “The Husbands of River Song.” Somehow I missed watching “The Husbands of River Song,” which left me a little confused while watching “The Return of Doctor Mysterio.”
Even though I was a little confused, I thoroughly enjoyed “The Return of Doctor Mysterio.” This Christmas special was a great example of the Doctor at his goofiest and most intense. I loved his impassioned speech about protecting the earth, but also how he readily dismissed it when talking with Nardole.
Here are some other thoughts I had while watching “The Return of Doctor Mysterio.”
Desires
Grant’s greatest desire was to be a super hero. The little red jewel that the Doctor gave him granted that desire. I definitely wouldn’t mind the ability to fly or having super strength. I imagine that I could do a lot of amazing thing with those powers, both selfishly and unselfishly. If I was granted super powers, though, would I be embarrassed that my greatest desire wasn’t something a little more altruistic or a little more honoring to God? Our desires dictate our actions, so we need to be aware of them. If we can direct our desires to honoring God, then those desires will lead to actions that make an impact for his kingdom in this world.
Overwhelmed
Grant’s double life as a nanny and super hero didn’t leave much time for anything else. He was either responding to the baby monitor or police sirens. He hadn’t really achieved much balance in his life and was allowing himself to be stretched too thin. None of us can fly through the sky on our own, but we probably know what it feels like to be overwhelmed. Especially after the holiday season, when we’ve got something going on every night, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. We get to the New Year and we think that things we’ll be different, that we might actually get some time to rest, but then it never happens. We’re never going to stumble into regular rhythms of rest and Sabbath; we need to make them happen, which fortunately doesn’t take super strength.
Brain Swapping
As Alycia and I were watching “The Return of Doctor Mysterio” she made a joke that one of the brain aliens was named “A. B. Normal.” The brain aliens weren’t as terrifying as the Silence or as memorable as the Daleks, but they were effective. What better way to accomplish a goal than replacing the brains of the most powerful people on the planet? In an instant people were transformed from one thing into another. The Bible promises that the same thing happens to us when we come to Christ: the old is gone and the new has come. Unfortunately, though, my life often feels like the old is slowly going as the new is slowly coming. I wish that my brain had been completely replaced when I became a Christian; it might be easier to follow Jesus. Though, it was evil aliens bent on world domination who replaced brains; perhaps Jesus’ way of transformation is more loving. It may not be as instantaneous, but he definitely walks with us through the entire process.
I was happy to have the Doctor back and I can’t wait for Series 10’s premiere in April. An April premiere means that I’ve got three months to watch “The Husbands of River Song” and maybe the last few episodes of Series 9, since they were tremendous.
What did you think of “The Return of Doctor Mysterio?”
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