Celebrating Cass

Guest contributor Alex King praises Sophie Stone’s character from Under the Lake/Before the Flood.

Under the Lake/Before the Flood was a truly marvellous story with much to sing praises about. It featured the return to the ‘classic’ style of Doctor Who, some excellent characterisation of our two leads, a ‘rocking’ rendition of the world’s greatest theme tune, and the Fisher King who speaks (or growls) for himself. However, the strongest aspect of this two parter was its guest cast, particularly Cass.

Cass is probably the most distinct guest character, as she happens to be deaf. However, the aspect makes Cass so fantastic is that her disability does not define her. In some forms of media, disabled characters are sadly portrayed as nothing but their disability. They are not shown to have any additional characteristics, which is definitely ignorant and offensive. Cass is never defined by the fact that she is deaf; it could even be considered more of an additional feature, as it’s barely even mentioned.

Instead Cass is written as an intelligent and strong woman. She’s not afraid to argue with Clara (the “Did travelling with the Doctor change you?” scene was one of the highlights of Before the Flood in my opinion) and she’s not scared to say no to protect people she loves. She’s also described by the Doctor as “the smartest person in the room” and is the leader of the crew. Never once is Cass shown as being weak or incapable compared to the others. In fact I’d argue that she’s more skilled, as she’s both the brains and the leader of the group.

The scene which came closest to portraying Cass’ disability as a weakness was when she came under attack by Moran’s ghost. It is quite common in films and television for disabled characters to be killed due to their inability to recognise the danger facing them, something which I really dislike. When I first watched Before the Flood, I thought that Whithouse had followed this trope and I must admit I was getting quite angry with him. After one and a half episodes of portraying Cass’ deafness in a beautiful manner, the possibility of killing her in such a stereotypical way offended me. In a dramatic turn of events, Cass managed to show intellect in the situation, feeling the vibrations of the floor to know Moran’s ghost was behind her, and thus preventing her own death. Cass is a fantastic example of how inaccurate stereotypes are, proving that she is more than capable of fighting for survival.

In my opinion, the greatest part of Cass’ character is her deafness is not portrayed as a disability, but more as a physical feature. Her incapability to hear defines her as much as Clara’s brunette coloured hair defines Clara. I must applaud Toby Whithouse for nailing this.

I have talked a lot about the character of Cass, but not touched upon the actress who plays her. Cass was portrayed by Sophie Stone, who was the first deaf actress to win a place at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts.

Sophie Stone is fantastic. She really perfects all of Cass’ emotions through her facial expressions and how she signs certain phrases. Clara even remarks “I didn’t need anyone to translate that!” Although Clara’s comment was probably meant to be humorous, I think it can be used as even further evidence to Stone’s acting talents. Lunn, as much as I liked him, was not necessary to understand how Cass was feeling or what she was saying. Doctor Who really became the ‘Sophie Stone Show’ in this two parter, and I hope I see much more of her on other television shows over the coming years.

To conclude, I feel Cass is a strong role model towards not only those with disabilities, but the human race in general. She concentrated more on her talents and personality traits rather than letting her struggles bring her down. Both Stone and Whithouse created someone who I really hope is remembered in the future as one of the all time great Doctor Who guest characters. She was a pleasure to watch, and easily my favourite thing about the brilliant two parter.

Thank you very much for reading. Please leave your thoughts on Cass in the comment section below.