So, liked you talking about Orphan 55 and finding a new interpretation to it! Are there any other Chibnall-era stories that you feel people really don't get?
On the whole? the whole era seems to sail over peoples heads imo, but that's the salt talking. Okay, it's not Only salt talking, i think S12 particularly is very interconnected in its themes the whole way through and when people miss one thing they tend to not see a bunch of others. But still.
On an episodic level, I think Arachnids in the UK sailed way way way over peoples heads in a massive way, not necessarily in a they didn't get it way, but more of a 'didn't bother to look at it' kind of thing bc there are giant spiders and a tr/ump stand in making a lot of noise, not to mention Najia's 'are you dating' riff distracting a different subset of people. I admit that all of the above was very distracting, especially if you're arachnophobic.
But yeah, a rich guy with no morals is out to make a fast buck. He picks Sheffield of all places to do this, working class, known for it. On the way to making a fast buck he cuts corners and forgive me, i've not watched it in a long time and i may be slightly off on some of the specifics, but the illegal/irresponsible disposal of waste by some rich guy, in a place where working class people live in an effort to make it more ~fancy to attract richer customers (like, i assume he was after that?), causes an environmental disaster to the local ecosystem by producing harmful gasses and litter is everywhere (hence Yaz's dad convinced there's a conspiracy of some kind), this in turn affects local fauna to the point something Weird happens to them (in this case, they get really really big) and the next domino in this long list of cause and effect, is that this effects the people living in said city because the now massive huge spiders are a danger to people and kill them.
Rich people fucking up the lives of the working class by destroying the environment to line their own pockets. Rich people harming wildlife to line their own pockets causing environmental disaster that in turn fucks over the working class.
it's almost like, in real life, the people doing the real harm and damage to the environment are the rich monsters content to do whatever they can for that new yacht no matter the environmental disaster it causes for us average joes.
They uh, were going somewhere with that one! And it's one of the least mentioned ones i think? When people talk about episodes with messages about protecting the environment/the destruction of it, Orphan 55 and Praxeus tend to be the only ones mentioned, but they're not alone. Orphan 55 and Arachnids live specifically at the intersection of capitalism VS environmental protection and how these two things Cannot coexist. Praxeus takes more of a dig at a different area.
I think War of the Sontarans flies frequently over peoples heads for it's themes of contextual morality in war. The show does not tie its opinions on violence up with a neat bow. We have two lead characters in two vastly different times (Dan & 13), one is fighting tooth and nail to stop some general starting a pointless ego driven fight and getting people killed, the general is unequivocally portrayed as awful. Meanwhile, Dan is in present day Liverpool fighting for a cause, trying to stop colonization and being portrayed as entirely in the right for doing so.
It was wrong of that cowardly general to start a bloody, awful, horrifying battle that got other people killed just to satisfy his bloodlust and make himself look big, to place the glory of war and the British empire over a legitimate solution that avoided bloodshed and solved the issue. Meanwhile, in the same breath, the show says It was morally correct of Dan to fight back against a colonizing force in his home city, even when it meant blood.
The context of this genuinely seems to throw people. I've seen complaints that the show can't even make up it's own mind on what it's view of violence is and like... Yeah? You're SO close to getting the point here, guys. Of course you cannot offer a blanket judgement on violence in general! 13 was called a hypocrite for having tears in her eyes when the general killed the retreating sontarans but not caring that Dan and Karvanista used violence to remove them from Liverpool in the future and Entirely missed the nuance of how those situations differ.
I just think it flew over peoples heads that the show was maybe saying gratuitous ego driven violence when peaceful solutions exist is Bad, while at the exact same time also saying that you are morally correct for fighting back against colonizing forces with violence because those peaceful solutions Do Not Exist here.
I mean, it's vastly more complicated than the summary, but yeah. That theme pops up more than once in the era. Trips people a lot, as well.
On a small scene level, i think people misjudged what was going on in It Takes You Away with what the solitract did. I remember people being angry that 13 got a frog and not a person from her past, but Graham and that dude only got their spouses because the solitract was actively trying to trick them into staying with them. The thing about 13 in this scene is that she is the one seducing the solitract, not the other way around (it is Genuinely the most aggressively flirty 13 is her whole run. I don't feel bad using the word seduce in its traditional usage here. She was using every bit of doctor charm that 13 does not normally Want to utilise but proves here can do so if she wants).
Once 13 is alone with the Solitract, the solitract does not Need to trick or manipulate 13 into staying because 13 was the one asking to stay. So when the solitract just appears how it wishes, that makes perfect sense. Also, 13 would have been angry had she had some piece of her past pulled from her brain and shoved in front of her, lbr.
The rest i have are more theme related than episode related specifically? I think? yeah.
