Bill is a nickname for Williamena or Will. Which simply put means -- "agency". Oh very nice, yes, I like it.
But, I didn't see this mentioned above... but the main theme of the entire season appears to be agency or loss of agency, or loss of Will or giving up your "will" or choices. (Maybe it was and I missed it?) No, it's not something I've talked about--there's just far too much going on to cover everything, though I agree with you that it's a major through-line this season. I do disagree with your reading of a number of those episodes, however, in that I don't think we've really seen Bill display much in the way of agency so far. I've noted elsewhere that Bill had not had that big 'companion saves the day or the Doctor' moment that most NuWho companions do in one of their early episodes and wondered if it was being saved up for something special (little did I realize). She has mostly been quite passive, along for the ride--which someone, I'm forgetting who right now, pointed out that framing her a student explicitly sets her in a more passive role, someone who is there to observe and learn rather than intervene as the hero. She's often ready to leave or accept a brush-off (and, indeed, her life has taught her to expect little from others). In Thin Ice it's the Doctor who tells he her wants her to make the decision about the Big Fish and he has to do some prodding to make her. In Oxygen she never really overcomes her malfunctioning suit--it encumbers and traps her the whole time, and all she does is survive it. It's not that this episode is the first time we've ever seen her assert herself, but it is the first time it's really mattered. While in the meantime, you're right, the weekly plots are showing over and over the dangers of having one's agency removed.
The parallel of Bill with River here does fit the agency theme, though, as much of the point of TWoRS was River refusing to be used anymore as a pawn. Not that River and Bill have similar backgrounds particularly, but both have been neglected and have suffered from a lack of agency and both have finally claimed it in similar ways.
Re: Bill = Will = Agency
Oh very nice, yes, I like it.
But, I didn't see this mentioned above... but the main theme of the entire season appears to be agency or loss of agency, or loss of Will or giving up your "will" or choices. (Maybe it was and I missed it?)
No, it's not something I've talked about--there's just far too much going on to cover everything, though I agree with you that it's a major through-line this season. I do disagree with your reading of a number of those episodes, however, in that I don't think we've really seen Bill display much in the way of agency so far. I've noted elsewhere that Bill had not had that big 'companion saves the day or the Doctor' moment that most NuWho companions do in one of their early episodes and wondered if it was being saved up for something special (little did I realize). She has mostly been quite passive, along for the ride--which someone, I'm forgetting who right now, pointed out that framing her a student explicitly sets her in a more passive role, someone who is there to observe and learn rather than intervene as the hero. She's often ready to leave or accept a brush-off (and, indeed, her life has taught her to expect little from others). In Thin Ice it's the Doctor who tells he her wants her to make the decision about the Big Fish and he has to do some prodding to make her. In Oxygen she never really overcomes her malfunctioning suit--it encumbers and traps her the whole time, and all she does is survive it. It's not that this episode is the first time we've ever seen her assert herself, but it is the first time it's really mattered. While in the meantime, you're right, the weekly plots are showing over and over the dangers of having one's agency removed.
The parallel of Bill with River here does fit the agency theme, though, as much of the point of TWoRS was River refusing to be used anymore as a pawn. Not that River and Bill have similar backgrounds particularly, but both have been neglected and have suffered from a lack of agency and both have finally claimed it in similar ways.