Class: Why Miss Quill was an amazing character

Out of all the reasons to watch Class, it was the brilliantly amoral character of Miss Quill that was the best. Here are a few reasons why.

As I previously mentioned in my overview of Class, while the series was flawed, there were definitely a few things that I enjoyed about it.

Charlie and Matteusz’s relationship, and how it was depicted. Strong, character focused stories that balanced out the sci-fi. A mixture of very different characters that created some great drama.

But what I loved about Class the most? Miss Quill. From the very first episode (which I did think was a little hit-and-miss), Quill was easily my favorite character of the series. It wasn’t that the rest of them were bad. But Quill truly stood out, for all of the best reasons.

For one thing, while she’s the oldest of the group, she’s also the least heroic. She’s not the Doctor or Captain Jack. She doesn’t help Charlie and his friends out of the goodness of her heart. She does it because (a) she doesn’t want to see the world she’s stuck on get invaded or destroyed, and (b) even if she had a way off it, she has something in her head that basically forces her to do “the right thing” anyway.

It’s really refreshing to have a character like this in a Doctor Who related series. Neither a hero nor a villain – simply a survivor. And she’s willing to do whatever it takes to ensure that she survives just a little bit longer.

The Metaphysical Engine, or What Quill Did was easily one of Quill’s best episodes of Class.

(Image credit: Class/BBC.

Image obtained from: official Class homepage.)

Complicated history

There’s also her past, too. She’s fought hard before, and while Charlie considers her as little more than a terrorist, Quill herself truly believes she was a freedom fighter. Quill shares quite the complex relationship with Charlie throughout Class, and it’s great that two such incredibly different characters have a shared history like they do.

We also can’t talk about Quill without mentioning just how fantastic her dialogue always is. As she’s deeply cynical and snarky most of the time, this ensures that she gets by far the best lines of the show. If there was one character in Class that was always guaranteed to make me laugh with a harsh but funny line, it was definitely Quill.

However, there was of course far more to Quill than that. We got to see a lot of different sides to her, especially in The Metaphysical Engine, or What Quill Did. We got to explore her faith, her beliefs, and even her love in that episode.

An excellent performance

More from Winter is Coming

Throughout the series, Quill was established as perhaps the most complex member of the group. While she is motivated by mainly selfish goals, there are always hints that there could be something more to her, either way.

A character as well-written and interesting as that needs a great actress to play her. Fortunately, we got exactly that with Katherine Kelly. She truly embraced the role and completely made it her own. Her performance in The Metaphysical Engine was especially fantastic to watch.

Overall, Quill became one of my favorite reasons to watch Class. More than that: she’s one of the most refreshingly amoral and complex female characters out there. No matter what flaws Class had, Quill herself was an absolutely brilliant creation. And I am very glad that we’re finally getting more of her with The Audio Adventures.

Next. Victory of The Daleks: How it improved the show’s mythos. dark

What do you think of Quill? Was she one of your favorite characters from Class? Or do you have another favorite? Let us know in the comments below.

Home/Doctor Who