After the ill-fated love affair of our Tenth Doctor (David Tennant) and Rose Tyler (Billie Piper), one could argue that there would never be another companion as intertwined with The Doctor. Destined to wander time and space devoid of a quirky, generally physically attractive yet needy companion, when The Doctor stumbles upon the headstrong and self-sufficient Martha Jones, most of us thought nothing of it. Oh, she’s another random brown face in the show. Oh, she’ll just be in a few episodes, and won’t be woven into The Doctor’s timeline.

Little did we know, Martha Jones (Freema Agyeman) would prove to be one of The Doctor’s most intelligent and courageous companions to date.

Of course, because I’m a black girl, there’s going to be a tad bit of bias toward a brown beauty balancing the weight of the worlds on her shoulders with grace and style. Yes, for once in a show across the pond (besides Being Human), there was a black female counterpart worth pondering. I rejoiced in Martha’s profession and roles, and smiled as subtle racist remarks were confronted dutifully and with class while on adventures with our beloved alien. When the end of her tenure with The Doctor arrived, it wasn’t the weighty feeling of loss that I felt with Rose- I almost felt happy for her departure.

Doctor Who is a show full of melanin-deficient characters, aside from the otherworldly creatures we get to encounter. The Doctor is traditionally a white guy, and his companions are traditionally young, pretty white girls. That said, I didn’t really expect Martha to stick around long. What struck me, however, was the detachment that was felt as I tuned in to Agyeman’s character. She was nothing more than a rebound in my eyes, and even though she pretty much saved the world, persevering for a year while The Doctor was otherwise preoccupied, she couldn’t transcend this noun. Still enraptured by his past love, The Doctor let Martha go, and with his release my idea of fitting into that box that’s bigger on the inside.

So Martha Jones- was she a hero, or was she a rebound? She championed the dreams of many a brown girl, but her tenure with our Tenth felt like little more than a stepping stone for the next and more engaging companion, Doctor Donna. She saved the world but lost the battle with her emotional attachment with The Doctor. She was the face of a welcomed change in the racial dynamic of the cast, but stayed just long enough to whet a few whistles and continue in the tradition of Euro-centrism. I don’t quite have the answer, but I’m happy to have added her to a list of favorites in one of my favorite shows.

(All pictures c/o BBC America and BBC.)