I gotta be honest: the state of the world right now has got me down. Feelings of optimism and hope that the world might just—with a lot of continuing effort—start to move toward inclusion and justice are few and far between these days. And despite some steps in the right direction in our beloved show, I’m afraid that attitude of mine extends to Doctor Who as well.

The idea that each of the Doctor’s regenerations is a reaction against the last has been discussed over and over in fandom. We never know for sure along which axis that pendulum will swing—age, temperament, ability to connect with humans, or what-have-you—but swing it will. And given that the Thirteenth Doctor is the first “not a white, cisgender man” incarnation, I can’t help but wonder: How will the Fourteenth Doctor push back against that?

Perhaps my apprehension is misplaced, and Doctor Who, of all institutions, will not fail me. But as we’ve seen time and again, though the Doctor herself is not, those writing her stories are only human. And given the political landscape of both the US, where I live, and UK, where Doctor Who is produced, I can’t help but eye the future with a certain sense of dread.

I’d like to think that future Doctors will be cast ever more diversely, giving more visibility to various demographics that have traditionally been under-represented in television. But sometimes a notable push into new territory results in a such strong reaction from those who don’t care for it that the result is a hard turn back toward the familiar (see, for example, the American presidency).

What would a hard turn toward the familiar look like for the Fourteenth Doctor? Well, let me start by observing some broad patterns among the various Doctors:

I’ve often noticed that Doctors with ordinal designations divisible by three (Third, Sixth, etc.) come across as “grumpy” or abrasive. Standoffish, perhaps. (Obviously the First Doctor also fits that description, but he is a special case.) In contrast, their direct successors (the first column here) tend to be more goofy or clownish, with hidden depths trending toward melancholia in their later tenure.

Now let’s turn our attention to that middle column, where the next Doctor in our succession would fall. All four of these regenerations strike me as softer, more approachable, perhaps even (dare I say?) cuddly. How might traits similar to those manifest in a character that contrasted Jodie’s Doctor?

From my American perspective, it seems like a Black man would be a good fit. I say that because white supremacist culture here has trained us (white people and people of color alike) to perceive Black men—especially large, physically strong ones—automatically as a threat. What better way to subvert that expectation than to make the Doctor a “scary Black dude” who is gentle, soft-spoken, and brilliant?

Obviously there would be pitfalls for writers there, too. It would be just as easy to slip back into stereotype with a Black male Doctor as with a female-presenting one. But the positive potential is exciting, and part of me wonders if that’s the direction the production team will go next.

Even better, I’d like to see a woman of color in the role next. The trick there is that cyclically, she would be the “kinder, gentler” Doctor who would counter whatever darker path the Thirteenth Doctor turns down in the coming years. There are a couple of reasons I dislike that idea. First, I have a hard time seeing Jodie taking that kind of turn. Second, I don’t necessarily want the next female-presenting Doctor to be “soft”; that treads too close to feminine stereotype for my taste.

Unfortunately, I’m not convinced that the pendulum will swing in either of those directions. Instead, I think we may well end up with another young—perhaps as old as mid-40s—white, cis man who will “bend” expectations by displaying some of those more stereotypically feminine traits while in a masculine-presenting form. But we’ve explored that avenue already, and I worry about where treading that same road will take us.

So I guess for now, I’ll just have to keep hoping that no matter what I think I want, the TARDIS (and the production team) will take me where I need to go.