Characters need obstacles to over come and handling those who are in the minority with kid gloves never letting bad thing happen to them pisses me off. Iโm a bisexual woman and I would feel insulted if characters that represented me in the media never suffered and were written to be perfect and happy all the time. Sorry for the rant just this fandom will be the end of me.
I think people are just scared and vulnerable because she isnโt straight and because queer characters so often get treated disproportianately badly by the narrative. So her dying, despite likely in no way being the end of her story, and, hell, her still being active in the narrative the whole way through, bears a lot more weight. It shouldnโt. Lke you say, itโs not reasonable to write LGBT characters in a bubble, either. Itโs just a risky and politically charged space for any narrative, and without the rest of the story, Iโm not too surprised people are panicking. Hell, I feel worried myself. A part of me fears that, after all people have gone on and on about wanting permanent death (ugh, I could not disagree more with that criticism), Moffat just decided to go for it on his last outing. But nothing of the presentation here suggests thatโs what itโs going for. Billโs getting shot isnโt an ending. Itโs a plot point, crucial just for setting up the last leg of this journey. And Billโs own life will be an ongoing part of that, not an abrupt, characterless ending. Hell, even look at Sherlock. Iโm not happy Mary was killed off, but it was in an episode all about everything she is. Whereas, frankly, this is very light on exploring Bill beyond her immediate situation. It would not make sense for this to be her final fate.
Of course, this isnโt the end of Bill. We can still see her. Sheโs still there. And we can even hear her voice in the TV trailer for The Doctor Falls. Sheโs going through hell, yes, but that is where drama comes from. I expect in the next part she will survive and have more agency. The first parts of finales, theyโre the darkest hour. Amy getting shot by Rory, Danny getting converted from beyond the grave, the Doctor mourning Clara, these are not happy story moments. But they are vital to the journey. If Bill is at all being represented fairly, this isnโt the last weโve seen of her. And to me, all signs suggest that will be the case. We havenโt seen the rest of her, and this isnโt the story of her death. As the pre-titles inform us, itโs the story of the Doctorโs.
