Warning: This article includes SPOILERS for Doctor Who season 15!

Ncuti Gatwa’s Fifteenth Doctor has the biggest connection to Sherlock Holmes since Tom Baker’s Fourth Doctor from the classic era of classic episodes of Doctor Who have made direct and indirect references to Arthur Conan Doyle’s iconic character Sherlock Holmes in the past. The most overt references to the character have occurred in Doctor Who books and the Big Finish Productions audio stories. However, he’s also referenced onscreen numerous times. The Doctor seems to be a fan of Arthur Conan Doyle’s writings, as many Doctors name-drop Sherlock Holmes.

In “Talons of Weng-Chiang,” the Fourth Doctor dresses up as Sherlock Holmes and solves a mystery that feels like a blend of Doctor Who and Sherlock Holmes. No other Doctor has quite captured the spirit of the Arthur Conan Doyle detective, despite numerous versions of the character taking clear inspiration from the character. The closest was Matt Smith’s Eleventh Doctor in “The Snowmen,” which was a clear homage to Sherlock Holmes. However, one key element was always missing. No Sherlock is complete without their Watson. Luckily, the Fifteenth Doctor has gained their own Watson in Belinda Chandra.

Forget Velma & Fred, The Fifteenth Doctor & Belinda Are More Like Holmes & Watson

Belinda's Medical Background Makes Her The Perfect Watson To Fifteen's Sherlock

In Doctor Who season 15, episode 2, “Lux,” Belinda jokes about the situation being like an episode of Scooby-Doo, and the Doctor responds that they’re Velma and calls Belinda “Fred.” However, I think the duo are more like Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John H. Watson. Even though the Doctor is pretty bad at their job in Doctor Who season 14, they have turned it around in season 15 and become the cleverest person in the room again, like Sherlock Holmes. Luckily, they have the perfect right-hand man, Belinda.

The Doctor does the Sherlocking, putting all the pieces of the puzzle together. He even calls the big twist in “The Well” fifteen minutes before the reveal. Belinda's working as a nurse before meeting the Doctor and being their medical assistant throughout "The Well" makes her quite like Watson. Like Watson, Belinda is more than just her medical skills. She’s smart, too, but she doesn’t quite rise to the level of her counterpart. Also, like Sherlock and Holmes, the Doctor and Belinda are better together than they are apart.

Belinda Is One Of The Most Helpful Companions The Doctor Has Ever Had

Belinda's Nursing Background Gives Her The Grit & Education To Help On Adventures

While other companions have offered the Doctor insight or friendship, Belinda is among the first to provide the Time Lord with hard and soft skills related to her job that will almost always come in handy. The Doctor might know everything about Daleks and the laws of time, but they can’t patch up injuries like a nurse can. They might be able to fly the TARDIS, but they don’t know biology to the extent of someone who went to nursing school. Belinda’s medical knowledge will undoubtedly continue to come in handy.

Belinda also has endurance and tenacity linked to her job as a nurse, traits which will lend themselves to adventures with the Doctor. The fact that she worked in A&E, the British equivalent of an emergency room, means she has had experience thinking on her feet and reacting quickly under pressure.

On top of that, Belinda has keen attention to detail because of her job as a nurse. This leads to her noticing things like the missing people in the filmstrip and the fact that the Midnight Monster will attack anyone directly behind Aliss. While past companions have had some of these traits, none have possessed all of them. Ultimately, Belinda’s job on Earth gives her a skillset that makes her uniquely equipped to travel with the Doctor. Add in the fact that she’s willing to challenge them and make them look at things from a different perspective, and she could be one of the most qualified and helpful Doctor Who companions in the show’s history.