Orphan 55
I got so mad at Thirteen getting choked AGAIN that I paused.
Why. WHY. WHY!!!!!!!!!!!!
Anyway wow that was...weird.
Look I agree with the message - I am a FERVENT environmentalist - but I found that last bit ridiculously on the nose. That whole speech almost straight to the camera. Would it have killed them to intersperse with more reverse shots? I'm a bit of traitor to myself here but Jodie is not good enough at long speeches yet to carry that off entirely.
What I DID love was the way the Doctor couldn't relax, muscled her way in, took over, told people off, was absolutely brilliant. 'Come on, Kane.' she says very sharply and Kane comes. Whenever somebody tries to challenge the Doctor she puts them in their place and if somebody doesn't tell her something then she'll figure it out herself and notice all the details. Powerful and a bit grumpy compared to her cheery old self
Also loved the moment where Yaz and Graham were like, oh shit where's Ryan. Also loved Ryan being like, ah that must have been the Doctor who saved my life. Also LOVED the bit when the Doctor efficiently removes the Hopper virus from Ryan (who is hilarious), catching him when he falls over, there's just something so - almost parental about their dynamic and I love it.
But the way all the people got murdered? There were zero twists to that, they just fed all the location characters into the kill machine, Hyph3n, Vorm, Benni, Vilma, Kane, Bella. Jfc. I thought the fact that they kept Benni alive might have been an indication of something more. And yeah all the monsters turned out to be sentient victims of classism but they still got blown up? Like, they had an understanding - the Doctor and the 'alpha' (yikes, no) and it clearly was extremely intelligent, but it was impossible to come to a long term agreement ? To negotiate? Apparently they were lost causes despite being victims? But the Doctor just showed they weren't?? Once again, not even an attempt - a start at structural change. What do they eat anyway?? Good survival episode for a change but the Doctor should be making an impact in structural and imaginary forces! Instead we get...oh it might not happen though.
i don't think we've ever had this take on time travel from the Doctor before??!!? This is Moffat opposite. Everything they've experienced could apparently just be an alternate timeline on the eddies of the continuum???
Loved YAZ drawing attention to the Doctor's bad mood. And her also questioning her very sharply on WHEN she knew it was Earth. And her being like: NO SHOW US. That twist was also very nice. But I thought Kane would have had something to do with the dregs/victims?? Beyond wanting to provide for her family? Some sort of solidarity or ancestry or outrage. She also seemed ....idk...coded as .... well very 'literal' - almost like neuro-atypical? Thought the acting gave it a lot of depth so was surprised to find the character so shallow. And how the fuck did she show up by the end of it totally fine if the Dregs are so dangerous.
Benni and Vilma (oh ha, I only got it now) were very like the couple in the Titanic Christmas special who also sacrificed themselves - but not as sympathetic.
There were two parallels with Ryan going on, one for Ryan and one for Graham. Bella resented her mother (didn't she look young????) for never being there for her to the point of multiple counts of manslaughter. And Sylas and Devi, Sylas being a much better MECHANIC than his dad but dismissed. I'm not sure...what it was supposed to say about the companions.
The way people kept throwing themselves into the Dregs' jaws kind of diminished the effect of the sacrifice. Love how Yaz was caring for Vilma- the weakest among them - but she AGAIN gets the least to do. And she still expects the Doctor to take care of herself. The Doctor points to her not having an oxygen supply and she's like: alright she'll be fine ey.
In conclusion, great writing for the Doctor. Some good bits for the companions. The message super weirdly on the nose and the setting and other characters didn't have much else to say. The parallels to companions weren't super clear. And there was another count of choking (GODDAMMIT) and Yaz not getting to do anything. Also that last speech made me flashback to the end of Cats with Judie Dench looking me straight in the eyes reciting a Jellicle cats poem for ten minutes.
Ed Hime did better last series, in my opinion.