Among casualDoctor Whoviewers, when asked to describe the central conflict of the Series 5 episode “Vincent and the Doctor,” most will likely struggle to recall the finer details. Some may not even remember the name of the episode’s main antagonist, the Krafayis. But even though this monster of the week may be forgettable, the story is among the most memorable of the modernDoctor Whoseries — not necessarily for the characters' escapades, but for the touching, poignant way it portrays the famous painter’s internal struggles.
In the beginning of the episode, Amy (Karen Gillan) and the Eleventh Doctor (Matt Smith) travel to 1890 France, where the Doctor seeks answers from van Gogh (Tony Curran) abouta monstrous creaturethat mysteriously appeared in one of his paintings. Here, they find the famous painter in a lonely, dark place, tortured by the inner demons he is known to have faced in his life. Soon after they arrive, Vincent is scapegoated and vilified for the murder of a young girl, demonstrating the locals' distrust and suspicion of his mental illness. After an invisible force attacks Amy, though, the Doctor is able to discern that one of Vincent’s “hallucinations"is in fact an alien creature. Only Vincent can see the creature, so the Doctor identifies it as a Krafayis via Vincent’s sketch. Together, the three embark on an adventure to save the village from the creature’s rampage.
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It is not uncommon, in shows that deal withparanormal or supernatural phenomena, to portray such phenomena as a so-called explanation for mental illness. Hallucinations are really ghosts; delusions are flashes of precognition. Such portrayals are often fascinating, but at the same time, they detract from accuratedepiction of mental illnessonscreen. “Vincent and the Doctor” avoids this route, as the visions of the Krafayis don’t explain away all the title character’s experiences. Instead, the episode offers a raw, honest, emotional portrayal of a man suffering mental and emotional pain.
Though his visions of the Krafayis are in fact real, van Gogh’s other symptoms are still present throughout the episode. He isolates himself, he feels hopeless and a low view of himself, questioning his worth both as a painter and as a human being. He describes having had auditory hallucinations that are not explained by the Krafayis. His turbulent thoughts and ideas are overwhelming, to the point where he struggles to eat, sleep, and communicate with others. Audiences see a character struggle with psychosis, mania, and depression — and instead of depicting him as someone to be feared, the show encourages viewers to sympathize with him.
Amy does exactly that.Sensing the grief Amy carries from her own traumas, Vincent bonds with her, while Amy recognizes Vincent’s pain and empathizes with him. She urges him to believe that one day, he will be recognized as one of the greatest artists who ever lived. His own sense of worthlessness, though, prevents him from believing her — and so at the end of the episode, after the threat of the Krafayis has been taken care of and the village is safe, Amy convinces the Doctor to bring Vincent with them back to the van Gogh exhibit at the Musee d’Orsay. With tears in his eyes, Vincent looks around the room at his paintings displayed, while the museum curator speaks on the brilliance of van Gogh’s works.
After he sees his work on exhibit, Amy is certain that they have saved Vincent from his eventual suicide. She’s sure that she and the Doctor have changed history by allowing van Gogh to see the impact that his work had and the reverence with which it is held in the modern day — but upon returning to the present, there are no new paintings, and she learns that he took his own life not long after she met him. It’s a heartbreaking scene, when Amy realizes that despite all she tried, she couldn’t save her hero. Although seeing his future legacy had brought him joy in that moment, Vincent still met the same fate in the end.
In the short time that Amy knew him, she got to know an aspect of Vincent’s mental illness. She saw his feelings of worthlessness and his lack of belief in himself, and sought to inspire him. However, both the real-life and the fictionalized character of Vincent van Gogh had struggles that ran much deeper — historians believe that nowadays, he would have been diagnosed withbipolar disorder or borderline personality disorder. “Vincent and the Doctor” acknowledges something media with similar themes often doesn’t: that a single moment of joy and hope, no matter how meaningful, can’t fix the underlying issues. Overcoming mental illness is a constant upward battle, and the famous painter, in addition to the illness itself, faced poverty, lack of support, and harsh stigmas of the time. Ultimately, it resulted in tragedy.
Yet, as the Doctor explains to Amy, that doesn’t mean their actions were for nothing. As he elegantly sums it up: “The good things don’t always soften the bad things. But, vice versa, the bad things don’t necessarily spoil the good things or make them unimportant.” Vincent van Gogh lived a life of hardship and struggle — but within the fiction ofDoctor Who, his meeting with Amy and the Doctor clearly had an impact on him. After their adventure, the Krafayis no longer appears in the painting of the church, and the inscription “For Amy” appears in his painting of a vase of sunflowers, honoring his friend. Though his ending may not have changed, his meeting with the two time travelers let him see, however briefly, that there was hope. Amy showed Vincent that he wasn’t alone, he wasn’t broken, he was worthy of respect and love — and that no matter what happened, the world would not forget him for a very long time.
If you or a loved one is struggling with thoughts of suicide or self-harm, please call the National Suicide Prevention Hotline.
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