#BEL AND VINDER NEED TO COME BACK THEY ARE EVERYTHING TO ME

[doctormastertardis]

Since we are going for REPETITION of themes here, aka "what makes someone powerful is how you remember them",

is RTD saying that all the Doctor has to do is remember his REAL parents to find out Who he really is????

In the finale, Fifteen mentioned that the only reason Sutekh was defeated is because Ruby's memory of her real mom is so powerful that even the God of Death was defeated by Ruby's ~adamance~ to LOOK FOR HER MOM THROUGH TIME AND SPACE.

The entire premise of this season is the parallel between Ruby and Doctor's ADOPTION, post-Timeless Child arc.

RUSSELL T. DAVIS, YOU ASSHOLE,

Are we ever going to see the Pre-Hartnell "fob watch/memory storage" that Thirteen stored in the console/center of the TARDIS after the events of The Flux? Can we please make Bel and Vinder the Doctor's parents? GOD, that would make me so happy.

I want Bel and Vinder back.

[thewanderingace]

I have finally watched The Flux!!

God it took me ages to get through Thirteen's episodes. Some were good but overall I was bored a lot so it took me ages to get through season 11 and 12. But I just watched the last episode of the Flux tonight and now I'm going to randomly share my disconnected thoughts about it on this post.

Okay so overall I think I enjoyed this season! Which surprised me. I was so prepared to hate it after all the hate for the Flux I've seen on Tumblr or be super bored like I am with a lot of Chibnall's episodes but while it isn't my favorite thing I do think it was 13's best season. I didn't think I'd enjoy the Flux if I'm honest. Everything I read about it sounded dumb or confusing and yeah I'm still a bit confused by some stuff that was just not addressed but this isn't the first time the whole universe (or massive parts of it) have been wiped out so it's not exactly a new concept for the Doctor. But the connection with her and her past is new and I'm intrigued by it if I'm honest. And it gave Jodie some great stuff to work with. She was so good in this season. Way better than the previous two seasons just because she had a lot more to work with writing wise.

The individual plots for each episode are really good and kept my attention. I've loved the plot of the Sontarans waging war through time, the Lupari and their species bond with humanity, the whole thing with the Mouri, Swarm and Azure were cool villains, the star crossed lovers Vinder and Bel trying to find each other, the Weeping Angels taking a whole village, Dan and Yaz living 3 years in the early 1900s and doing Indiana Jones type of stuff. I even enjoyed the Division and the Flux plot.

Now while I overall liked all that, I still feel unsatisfied because there were a lot of potentially great stories but they were all crammed together into 6 episodes and none of them had time to be fleshed out properly and some of them didn't connect well and trying to follow it all was SO HARD. There's so much going on and so many seemingly unrelated plots happening all at once that it's so hard to keep track of. And I'm watching all these episodes back to back immediately after one another. I can't even imagine trying to keep up when this aired one a week. I'd be lost. I think this would have been amazing if they had gotten a full season and didn't have to cram it all into just 6 episodes. (this is why I'm worried about the new season coming which is only gonna have 8 episodes. DW needs more than 8 episodes)

I adore Dan by the way. I loved him from his first scene and every second after has just been lovely. He's super sweet and I love his accent and that he's apparently so selfless that he'd rather give all his food to others than have any for himself. He's taking all this alien stuff so well too. He just got kidnapped by a giant dog and hasn't had a moments break since but he's cool. I like him best out of all of 13's companions so far. Too bad he barely had any episodes. That's a shame. Looking forward to watching these last 3 episodes with him though.

Vinder and Bel? I LOVE THEM BOTH!!!!! Talk about star crossed lovers! I'd watch a whole show just about those two.

Dan and Yaz living for three years in the early 1900s?? I WANT TO LEARN MORE!!!! How did they get out of the village that was surrounded by space? Why was it surrounded by space? Dan as the stowaway is hilarious and has to sleep under the bed in the ship XD.

Chibnall throwing every recurring species he can think of was nuts but in a fun way. Daleks, Sontarans, Cybermen, Ood, Weeping Angels, etc.

Kinda lame that Tecteun was just taken out so easily. I wanted the Doctor to do it in a very Doctor way. Like what 10 did to the Family of Blood ya know?

And that's all I got for now. 3 more episodes to go for 13's run!

[armageddon-generation]

Rewriting The Power of the Doctor as a finale to the 13th Doctor’s Era instead of an Anniversary Special

PotD's best parts were all 80s fanservice. It resolved none of Chibnall's plot threads, nor did it celebrate 13’s era overall. I’m not fully resolving the Timeless Child as that would need a different plot. But by adding more callbacks and payoffs I hope to strengthen this era overall as a worthwhile investment

International broadcasters split PotD into 2 episodes, and its first edit was 2 hours long. I’m thus splitting it from 1 85-min special to 2 60-min specials

Forgive my cringe attempts at dialogue.

What changes would you make to the story?

PART 1

The Thijarian Assassins from 11x6 Demons of the Punjab appear in the background throughout the episode, like the Ood in the buildup to The End of Time, 

Karvanista & Tie-ins to The Battle of Ranskoor Av Kolos

Swap the space train in the opening for Karvanista, Bel & Vinder from Flux, transporting cargo for the Coalition of Galaxies from 11x10 The Battle of Ranskoor Av Kolos

Bel: Being boarded by Cybermen once was more than enough for me, thank you very much.

Karvanista recognises the Cybermasters’ regeneration.

When 13 sends Dan to stop the ship crashing he spars with Karvanista again:

Dan: Hello Muttley my son, it's been a while

Karvanista: Just what I need. Leave, you'll only make everything worse-

Dan: Rubbish, I just need to wave my space wand and-

[the ship accelerates]

Karvanista: 'Space wand'? Bloody useless! In my day she didn't need that rubbish.

Dan: Eh?

He is still bitter- he doesn't want to be saved by 13 and when she fails to stop the Cybermasters he rips into her.

13: You lot are working for the Coalition of Galaxies now? Why?

Karvanista: Because two-thirds of the universe got destroyed and then suddenly reappeared after weeks of chaos. They need all the help they can get, and you certainly weren't offering, were you?

The cargo they carried isn’t the alien made  of pure energy. Instead it’s the young Ux from 11x10 The Battle of Ranskoor Av Kolos, an omnipotent species who followed 13's advice to ‘travel hopefully’ and was using its abilities to help rebuild the universe

Karvanista has a heart-to-heart with Dan after his near-death experience, encouraging him to leave 13 before she leaves him. Closure for their relationship.

Afterwards, Yaz asks why Karvanista was so angry. 13 finally opens up to her, last-minute character growth to make her regen more tragic:

13: We used to travel together. When I was Ruth. Remember her?

Yaz: Of course.

13: We were... sort of time spies together. For Division.

Yaz: The people who sent the Weeping Angels after you?

13: And the Judoon after Ruth. But my memory of that time was taken and I don't want it back. I want to focus on now. On our moment. On you. And Dan-

Dan, from the doors: You don't have to come back for me.

13, closing her eyes. Taking a steadying breath: Oh. Right then. OK.

13 REPLACES DAN'S HOUSE because leaving him homeless is careless and callous.

13: I get it. Life's important. Home's important. Speaking of…

[She produces Dan's miniaturized house on a little metal disc]

13: Just press the button and this should take care of itself. That, or you'll be transported to the moon. Worth a shot though, eh?

Dan: You just had that in your pocket ready to go?

13: I knew you'd ask to go back eventually, Dan. When you did... I didn't want to be holding you hostage.

After Dan leaves, instead of an out-of-nowhere rogue Dalek, 13 is contacted by the Order of the Custodians, the group from 11x11 Resolution, who guarded the divided pieces of a Dalek Scout for centuries. Being dedicated to fighting Daleks, they're investigating an incursion on Earth

The Cyber-planet is a dead, Cyber-converted Gallifrey, after 12x10 The Timeless Children

The Ux is hooked up to the planet in the same lab Tecteun experimented on the Timeless Child in

The Master is using the Ux to maintain his cyber-constructs like Tim Shaw did his fortress. By saving the Ux again 13 comes full circle from her first series.

As a young, omnipotent alien all-but alone in the universe, the Ux is a direct parallel to the Timeless Child. In a way, 13 is saving her younger self

Once they've found the Ux, 13 calls Karvanista & co to retrieve him. Karavanista comes alone (Karvanista > Vinder). After crashing he reports to Mark Addy’s character from 11x10 The Battle of Ranskoor Av Kolos, via video screen. He promised to keep the Ux safe after that episode

Karvanista recognises the Master’s perverted TARDIS exterior. It brings back bad memories.

The Master & Nikola Tesla

Ra-Ra-Rasputin is great, but I’m swapping the Master taking over the Winter Palace for Wardenclyffe, the power station from 12x4 Nikola Tesla’s Night of Terror

We open on Tesla, years after we met him, stumbling out of the realtor’s into the rain. Wardenclyffe is being foreclosed and he is penniless

Tesla walks down an alley and in a flash of light is transported to the Kassavin’s dimension from 12x1-2 Spyfall. 

Tesla: What- where am I? Fascinating. What manner of construction is this? [hears rustling] Who’s there? Did you build this place? Please… you should know this isn’t my first time meeting creatures from beyond. If… If you want my help, my skills… perhaps a deal could be negotiated.

Distorted voice: Want your help? No no, I am going to help you, Nikola Tesla. With my help, your skills will change the universe.

Tesla: This place… did you build it?

Voice: No. But I was once trapped here, for an eternity or two. I picked up a few things. 

Tesla: Who are you?

Voice: I am the Doctor.

Tesla: Doctor?! You’ve come back for me- Is being trapped here why you never came back? [the Master appears] ...You are not the Doctor

Master: Not yet. But you’re going to help me with that.

He hypnotizes Tesla into building the cages that will force 13 to regenerate.

13’s favorite historical figure making the thing that kills her is a huge personal blow. The Master rubs in 13’s face that by ‘abandoning’ Tesla & letting history take its course, she let this happen.

Ryan & Graham replace Ace & Tegan

Ace & Tegan were the best parts of PotD imo, but bringing in Classic companions last-minute doesn’t help tie up 13’s era 

Because I cut Rasputin, swap the missing paintings for tech-savvy Ryan investigating a sudden acceleration in Earth's technology. 

He tours VOR (Daniel Barton’s Google stand-in tech company from 12x1 Spyfall). At the end of that story Barton went on the run, so without him the company should have collapsed. Instead it’s leading a worldwide tech revolution.

It’s not just VOR; history itself is changing. Technological advancement is accelerating decade by decade. The microchip was invented 30 years early etc

After leaving, Ryan hosts a group video-call: Graham is investigating the missing Seismologists with the Three Idiots Roaming from 12x6 Praxeus. At the end of that story they left to travel the world and protect it from environmental disaster, so they fit well for the volcano subplot

Travel-vlogger Gabrielle is with Graham (she and Ryan are dating, building on the suggestion of flirtation in Praxeus, and Graham jokes about it) while couple Jake and Adam are investigating elsewhere. 

Reuniting with the Fam & the Daleks’ trap

13 remarks on Earth’s accelerating technology seeing UNIT’s new building. It’s part of a chain of cutting-edge facilities across the globe, designed as refuges for humanity in the event of another disaster like the Flux

13 & Yaz awkwardly reunite with Ryan, who has traced the acceleration of Earth’s technology back to a now super-successful Nikola Tesla in the 1920s. He shows them several newspaper articles, starting with NIKOLA TESLA’S NIGHT OF TERROR!, that show Tesla’s fall into ruin after they left him. A somber moment. But then Tesla re-emerges with a new ‘business partner’; the Master. The final article shows them taking over Thomas Edison’s factory 

Graham contacts Ryan; he and Gabrielle have followed their lead on the Seismologists to a university; we watch them enter via Gabrielle’s camera, when they’re captured by the waiting Master

13 books it over there, high-tension, but the Master is just waiting for her to arrive.

UNIT arrives from another of their brand new facilities

Graham goes to UNIT with the Fam and the captured Master, but Gabrielle stays behind to help UNIT with the dead seismologists. She gives Ryan a parting kiss that Yaz makes fun of. He notes how much closer she and 13 are, which shuts her up

At UNIT, the Order of the Custodians call 13: They’ve infiltrated the Dalek base in the Bolivian volcano, unaware the Daleks are using them as bait.

In the Volcano, the Order try to give 13 a Dalek-killing chemical weapon they developed testing tiny samples of the Recon Scout mutant, when the trap is sprung

The Order are killed. Instead of trapping 13 in a Dalek casing a mutant puppeteers her, one of Chibnall’s best gimmicks

13 gets the Order’s Dalek-killing weapon to Yaz as she’s captured, and Yaz flees to the TARDIS as the Daleks open fire. The Order’s weapon will replace Ace’s Nitro-999 later

Cyber-Attack & the Master in Wardenclyffe

No miniature Ashad: Instead the Cybermen appear like the Kassavin did in 12x1 Spyfall, in a blaze of white light, and invade from that pocket-dimension

This is how they appear on every floor at once: Army of Ghosts callback!

The Master escapes and travels to 1920s Wardenclyffe, where 13 is held captive

On using Tesla:

13: You’re telling me our Great and Powerful Master needs a lowly human inventor to work on his machines?

Master: Of course not.

13: Then why go to all the trouble of enslaving Tesla?

Master: Why? Why use one of your favorite scientists? The inventor after your own hearts, who you fought side-by-side with before abandoning him to the cruel fate history dictated? I found him penniless and alone! Your fault. You had the power to step in, the power to save anyone. Everyone! But you never had the vision to. 

Like international broadcasts, the forced regeneration is the cliffhanger for Part 1

PART 2

The Master-Doctor 

The Master possesses 13’s body, calling back to the TV Movie. This is so Jodie can play the evil Master-Doctor, showing off her range and giving her more screentime in her final story (plus Sexual Tension with Yaz)

Expand the Master-Doctor’s rampage. The Master brings the hypnotized Tesla along to restrain Yaz.

She leads a jailbreak, blowing a hole in the Judoon prison from 12x11 Revolution of the Daleks. Angela the Angel abducts a Judoon through the flickering lights; the P'Ting eats one of the guard's guns.

Master: This is payback for locking me up! [to the escaping prisoners] when you're out there spreading chaos through the universe, tell them the Doctor sent you!

Then, the twin planets he visits are the ones from 12x7 Can You Hear Me?

Yaz watches helplessly as the Master introduces the planet’s peoples to the two evil gods- the enemies who affected Yaz most- and promises they will be just and noble rulers. She then encourages the gods to 'play' with her gift. 

The TARDIS jumps forward in time to show the planets a war.

Yaz overpowers Tesla to lock the Master out

Fugitive Doctor: Guardian of the Edge

The Classic Doctor cameos were great but I’m cutting them for the same reason as Tegan & Ace. 

13’s personality has been buried deep in the Doctor’s subconscious, where she meets the Fugitive Doctor, also repressed long ago. The Fugitive is our Guardian of the Edge, trying to save 13 from the same fate that befell her

The Fugitive shows 13 a flashback of the ‘reality’ behind the last part of the Brendan visions in 12x9 Ascension of the Cybermen- namely his memory being wiped, which wasn’t covered in 12x10 The Timeless Children

The Fugitive has her regenerations reset by Tecteun, in the same lab she experimented on her in as a child, the same one the Ux is being held in on cyber-Gallifrey

Tying up more of the loose ends from the Timeless Child arc leaves a blank slate for the next era. I don’t like the arc but the least Chibs could do is clean up his own mess before leaving. 

Fugitive: And now the Master has stolen Mother’s favorite punishment-

13: Don’t call her that.

Fugitive: She might be dead and she might’ve been a monster, but Tecteun is all we had. Now he’s out there making a monster out of us too, just like she always wanted-

13: Tecteun was not my family. We make our own family, you and me. Everywhere we go. Speaking of which… 

Cybermen and Daleks

Keep the hologram implants, letting 13 have final moments with Ryan & Graham

Graham gets Tegan’s job helping Kate fight the Cybermen at UNIT. 

It'd be cool if Ashad confronted Graham about his cancer

Ashad: You think you are rid of it but the traces linger. The ultimate betrayal of the flesh. Does the thought of it returning keep you up at night? We can free you from that fear!

Graham: Fear of death is what makes us human. It's what makes us value our time. Sure I suffered. But I found meaning in it too. I fell in love. You'll never know what that's like. And I feel sorry for you.

I was always bothered by the contradiction of the Daleks trying to destroy Earth when the Cybermen want to convert it. So, my adjusted Cyber-plan is to take over the new UNIT strongholds across the globe. When the Daleks blow the volcanoes, people will evacuate to the UNIT strongholds where the Cybermen will be waiting to convert them

(I basically stole Harmony Shoal’s plan from The Return of Doctor Mysterio but shhhh) 

Meanwhile, the Three Idiots Roaming feel the volcanoes start to activate, and lead the evacuation of people living nearby to the UNIT strongholds, but the Cybermen are waiting and trap them

 Ryan gets Ace’s role, parachuting off the roof (a big moment highlighting his dyspraxia). 

Yaz collects him and they save the Three Idiots from the UNIT stronghold, letting the evacuees flee.

Yaz drops Ryan and the Idiots under the volcanoes, using the Order of the Custodians’ anti-Dalek weapon to fight them as Ace did

Meanwhile, once Graham saves Kate from conversion she self-destructs all the UNIT strongholds around the globe, stopping the Cybermen

Saving the Doctor

Karvanista gets Vinder’s role shooting the Master. He also comes face-to-face with the hologram of the Fugitive, his Doctor.

THASMIN KISS immediately after Yaz saves 13, when her guard is down in her post-regeneration haze, overcome with joy at being alive again. This makes their parting more tragic, but 13 doesn't look cruel like she would for initiating that intimacy when she knows she's dying, opening a door she knows she can't go through

After 13 has been saved, the Fugitive-hologram and Karvanista have a heart-to-heart like 5 & 7 do with Ace & Tegan in the original, giving him closure & resolving his bitterness.

Once freed from the Master's hypnotism, Tesla goes in the TARDIS and helps fix Karvanista's ship while 13 deals with the Master's TARDIS.

Once free, the Ux destroys the Cyber-constructs grafted onto Gallifrey’s architecture

Instead of the ‘what a universe. I’ll never understand it’ line, 13 looks back: We get brief flashes of Tecteun's experimentation on the Child and the Fugitive's forced regen, which both took place here. 13 finally makes peace with that loss and leaves it behind

The lasting effects of the forced regeneration are what kill 13. Like slow radiation poisoning.

Thasmin & Demons of the Punjab Callbacks

THASMIN HUG. 13 removes the hologram implant from Yaz, but then gifts it back to her as she leaves- the same projector she had in 13x5 Survivors of the Flux.

 She says "This is us. Our moment in time.", calling back to the watch from 11x6 Demons of the Punjab

It'd also be nice to call back to 13’s speech on her family from 11x1 The Woman Who Fell to Earth:

Yaz: I'm not sure I can do this without you. You helped me.. helped me learn who I am-

13: And now you know. You don't need me, Yaz. I needed you in the end. Look at everything you did today, on your own. You saved me. You led everyone. Just- carry me with you, if you can. Just do that. What I would've thought and said and done. Make that a part of you. So I might be going from the universe, but I'll never be gone from you, eh?

Yaz, huffing through tears: What would the Doctor do?

13: What would you do?

As I’ve cut the Classic Companions, I’m replacing the Companion support Group with Yaz’s anniversary dinner with her sister Sonya from 12x7 Can You Hear Me, commemorating when she ran away as a teen.

In contrast to the lonely, somber affair of that episode, this time Yaz has invited Ryan, Graham, Dan and Diane round, as well as her parents and grandmother

Ryan's dad Aaron could also show up since he never appeared again after Resolution

13’s ‘Fam’ has become Yaz’s extended family and support network, highlighting how much she’s grown

We leave the companions with a similar sentiment to Graham’s idea of telling stories from the original. Yaz is ready to open up to her family and tell them about her time with the Doctor.

Intercut 13 leaving the TARDIS with Yaz calling back to Ryan’s opening line from 11x1 The Woman Who Fell To Earth:

Yaz: So tonight, we want to tell you about the greatest woman we ever met. Smart. Funny. Caring… Special. Proper special. 

The Thijarians are there to witness 13’s regeneration. They exchange a look of understanding with her before she goes

The story now ties in plot-threads from Series 11 (Demons of the Punjab, The Battle of Ranskoor Av Kolos & Resolution), Series 12 (Nikola Tesla's Night of Terror, Praxeus, Can You Hear Me? & Revolution of the Daleks, as well as The Timeless Children) and Flux (Karvanista). Paying these plot threads off retroactively gives the era thematic unity, validating viewers’ investment. 

As it was, PotD’s refusal to resolve anything made the whole thing weaker and less worth investing in overall.

art credit to @lostcosmos and @softest-butch!

EDIT: I have now written a fic exploring some of these ideas, linking the Chibnall era together and giving the characters more closure. Check it out if you'd like!

[ssaalexblake]

Literally everything in 13's era comes down to choices and personal agency in the face of people trying to rip your personhood away, be it small instances against an individual or in the face as something as large and faceless as an empire, and people spend so much time looking at the controlling people and the empires in this era and the inescapable circumstances of the characters that they manage to totally miss that the point is that the characters all have agency and make choices Anyway Despite their circumstances.

It's why it both baffles and doesn't surprise me that people miss that Bel and Vinder are parallels of 13 and Yaz, Vinder's entire story is about existing in the clutches of an empire and the choices that affords him anyway. It's about how he does the right thing against insurmountable power and is punished for it and the corruption stands, how what he did did Nothing but it was the right thing to do anyway, and how this is literally just what happens with the doctor and gallifrey over and over again. How they stand up to the empire and they beat the doctor down and punish them to cow them and that it never works because they never stop fighting back.

Bel spends all of Flux looking for Vinder who was taken from her for Disobeying The Empire or whatever you want to call it, was held prisoner for disobedience and along the way she stops to help people and try and solve a few problems in the universe because she's a good person and she Can. 13 is taken prisoner by the division for disobedience and her Poor Choices messing up Tecteun's plans so much that it's the doctor's fault, apparently, that she's having to destroy the universe. Meanwhile Yaz is out there helping save the universe while looking for and worrying for 13, exactly like Bel. Both couples even have holograms.

Vinder is like, a small case study on 13. His small arc is a portrayal of 13's on the whole. Both are discussing how much agency we do in the end actually have to be our own people in the face of those who would control us. Be it one person (texteun, snake man) or their overall power structures (division/gallifrey, the empire snake man was in charge of).

All of this is about agency. It's about choosing who we are in unfortunate circumstances instead of ideal ones. It's about the choices being the most important thing we have. It's about how Vinder had a choice to shut up and live in privilege as a high ranking soldier and chose to rock the boat and was punished and how he knew it was a big risk doing it. It's about how the doctor could have lived in the glory of the great empire of gallifrey but instead chose to point out their hypocrisy and wrongdoing and was punished for it over and over. It's about how Tecteun literally Says the doctor's Choices to value life and be good is what caused her to hate them and find them nothing but a thorn in her side.

Literally everything this era comes back to choices we have in poor circumstances. From Graham choosing to stay by Ryan's side when he could so easily have been consumed by his own grief, even when Ryan didn't even like him, because nobody else would make that choice, it's about how because of this Ryan helps the man scared of becoming a father in tsuranga conundrum and tells him he just need to Be There because of Graham's choice. It's about how in it takes you away Hanne's dad Chooses to abandon his disabled daughter because of his grief and how this has negatively affected Her. It's about the doctor's Choices forever spoiling Tecteun's grand plan, not their existence. It's about the master's choice to make the secrets he learnt about Him causing ruin, it's about Yaz choosing over and over again to try and be more than she is and build herself up to greater heights, it's about Every choice made from every character, be it good or bad.

The doctor is their own creation. They choose over and over again to be good, even when it's not natural. 13's Choice to put on a chipper front in s11 and be as good a person as they can be was a choice that led directly to Yaz's choice to act like the very best of the doctor, and the list of people Yaz has helped because of that is Long. None of this happened because of who the doctor naturally is... It happened because of who she chose to be.

"a pebble tossed from a beach can become a tsunami on the other side of the world"

[duran-duran-less-official]

Stream-of-consciousness: Once, Upon Time

Do we REALLY have time or mental space for another random character to be introduced? We already have on-the-ground perspectives for consequences of the Flux, do we need another one? Why do we need THIS one? Why is this the most interesting story you could tell in the aftermath of Swarm's time-snap?

One thing I really don't like about Chris Chibnall's approach to character development is the ... not the way it's mundane, just the way it has absolutely no bearing on the plot. Sci-fi works best when it's metaphorical for or analogous to something, and that goes for the character development plots too. "My fairytale romance involves a guy who agrees with everything I say and can never properly talk back to or over me because he has a stutter" (Forest of the Dead, 2008) has some bearing on a plot where a computer is trying to generate perfect generic lives for people to live in while conserving hard-disk space. "So, how come you never married?" has no bearing on a plot where day randomly becomes night and swarms of mysterious creatures eat survivors of a temporal flux. But these kinds of conversations happen all the damn time in Chibnall's work and they almost never relate in any way to the overall themes or narrative beats of the rest of the episode. It's maddening. There's a reason most other TV shows don't do character development like this, and it's because actual normal small talk which is there for small talk's sake is actually boring as hell to watch.

That said, I do enjoy the way that the main characters are experiencing alternate lives that they might have once led, with the rest of the cast playing supporting roles they didn't used to have. Interestingly, The Doctor's experience of time seems to be in her role as part of The Division - that mysterious Gallifreyan organisation from Season 12 - with Yaz, Dan, and Vinder playing the roles of fellow Division operatives. That is one of the first genuinely cool moments of the series so far.

So I guess that confirms the only available theory we could have had up to this point: If the Doctor can't remember the time she is experiencing and everyone else can, then it must be from her time in The Division that she can't remember. If she encountered those weird disintegratey beings - Ravagers - as a member of The Division, that's why she can't remember them. At least we get to see Jo Martin's Doctor again.

Bel's story is the least interesting and gets the most fanfare (she has her own font for location subtitles!)

Chibnall has learned to write a clever line here and there! The Doctor being replaced by the Ruth/Jo Martin Doctor to say the line "Erasure of identity" is very smart, and even under the circumstances, almost funny.

The Great Serpent thing seems... emotionally charged, but not something we as the audience need to be invested in. Vinder is a second-tier supporting character. This is like if a third of The Ghost Monument had been taken up with showing the actual Stenza invasion that killed Angstrom's wife.

Dan was really shortchanged by having essentially no introduction to anything before being plunged headlong into definitely the weirdest plot that the revived Doctor Who series has ever done. Everything he does breaks suspension of disbelief because he never had a plausible adjustment period.

Mind you, Yaz is not faring much better having had the benefit of two seasons with The Doctor, because she spends all of her time being condescended to by Thirteen.

Ah Christ, Bel and Vinder are going to come back for future episodes, exactly what I didn't want as a resolution from that little subplot.

Chris Chibnall is reusing one of the fandom's least favourite powers that a Weeping Angel has ever had. Way to validate Steven Moffat's more objectionable moments, I guess.

Overall this was easily the best episode of Flux so far but systemic issues plague the writing so badly that I'm highly doubtful it's going to get any better than this.

[doctormastertardis]

Chris Chibnall - 3 Stages

I want to talk more about Chibnall, because I never really was into Thirteen's era when I first watched it. The first series lacked that "oomf" for me. I'm watching it the second time, and here are my thoughts:

13, SERIES 1: *****5/10

"Demons of Punjab" was obviously the best of the entire first series. No need to reiterate this. I think everyone can agree. I certainly enjoyed "The Witchfinders" if only for Alan Cummings? And "It Takes You Away" fleshes out Ryan's emotional backstory, which I appreciated from a humanistic viewpoint. "The Ghost Monument" could have been better, but the TARDIS team felt very inorganic at the time that it made me care less about the story. And the last two episodes were forgettable.

13, SERIES 2: *******7 /10

For me anyway, the series didn't pick up until the Nikola Tesla episode. I love the addition of Fugitive Doctor! <3 In hindsight, I was too harsh on Chibnall regarding the Timeless Child arc. He is expanding the lore, and you know what? THAT IS CREATIVE AND REVOLUTIONARY. I personally think Fugitive Doctor is THOUSAND TIMES better than War Doctor, no offense to John Hurt (yes offense to Steven Moffat)... "Haunting of Villa Dilladotti" was undoubtedly the best episode of Series 2. The way "The Timeless Child" was written was total shit. But I liked the concept. The finale was forgettable. Truly, I don't remember it.

13, SERIES 3 & SPECIALS: ********8/10 (EDIT: 9/10 after re-watch)

What a magical jump!. I think it's mainly because Chibnall produced The Flux in a cinematic manner. I love ALL the additional characters like Dan, Karvanista, Bel, Vinder, Snake dude, Swarm, Azure! If I can compare this series to another medium, I would say it is like... a very colorful comic book in TV form. The Flux series introduced us to the Division, too, which is again something I didn't appreciate the first time around. Now, I'm sooooo here for it. The lore. The everything!!

Probably because I know that RTD is going to come up with an arc that will PULL Chibnall's era back into the audience's point of interest; I have trust in RTD; he knows how to weave in Classic Who essence in New Who, and now I think he is going to do the same BRIDGING the gap between him and Chibnall. It's going to come full circle, watch.

[armageddon-generation]

Tie-ins that would've made The Power of the Doctor a better finale for 13's whole era:

Karvanista & The Battle of Ranskoor Av Kolos

Swap the space train in the opening for Karvanista, Bel & Vinder's makeshift family, transporting the cargo on behalf of the Coalition of Galaxies from The Battle of Ranskoor Av Kolos. Karvanista recognises when the Cybermasters regenerate.

Bel: Being boarded by Cybermen once was more than enough, thank you very much.

When 13 sends Dan to stop the ship crashing he gets to spar with Karvanista again

Dan: Hello, Muttley my son. It's been a while

Karvanista: Just what I need. Leave, you'll only make everything worse-

Dan: Rubbish, I just need to wave my space wand and-

[the ship accelerates]

Karvanista: Space wand'? Bloody useless! In my day she didn't need that rubbish.

Dan: Eh?

He is still bitter- he doesn't want to be saved by 13 and when she fails to stop the Cybermasters he rips into her.

13: You're working for the Coalition of Galaxies now? Why?

Karvanista: Because two-thirds of the universe got destroyed and then suddenly reappeared after weeks of chaos. They need all the help they can get, and you certainly weren't offering, were you?

Karvanista has a heart-to-heart with Dan after his near-death experience, encouraging him to leave 13 before she leaves him, or before he has some unresolvable trauma. A moment of closure for their relationship.

Afterwards, Yaz asks why Karvanista was so angry. 13 finally opens up to her about her history, some character progression at the end of her era.

13: We used to travel together. When I was Ruth. Remember her?

Yaz: Of course.

13: We were... sort of time spies together. For Division.

Yaz: The people who sent the Weeping Angels after you?

13: And the Judoon after Ruth. But my memory of that time was taken and I don't want it back. I want to focus on now. On our moment. On you. And Dan-

Dan, from the doors:: You don't have to come back for me.

13, closing her eyes. Taking a steadying breath: Oh. OK.

13 REPLACES DAN'S HOUSE because leaving him homeless feels careless and callous.

13: I get it. Life's important. Home's important. Speaking of...

[She produces Dan's miniaturised house on a little metal disc]

13: Just press the button and this should take care of itself. That, or you'll be transported to the moon. Worth a shot though, eh?

Dan: You just had that in your pocket ready to go?

13: I knew you'd ask to go back eventually, Dan. When you did... I didn't want to be holding you hostage.

Replace the being of pure energy with the young Ux from The Battle of Ranskoor Av Kolos, who went on to travel the universe. The Master uses him to construct his cyber-planet like Tim Shaw did. By saving them again 13 comes full circle from her first series.

Once they've discovered the Ux hooked up to the cyber-planet, 13 calls Karvanista & co. Karavanista comes alone. When he crashes he reports in to Mark Addy’s character from Ranskoor, who appears via video screen. He promised the Ux he would keep them safe

Karvanista recognises the TARDIS exterior, and that it's been perverted- it brings back bad memories.

The Master & Nikola Tesla

Ra-Ra-Rasputin is a great moment, but I’d swap the Master taking over the Winter Palace for him taking over Wardencliff, the power station from Nikola Tesla’s Night of Terror, in the weeks before it shut down. The Master took advantage of Tesla’s desperation with an offer to fund him. Then he hypnotises Tesla into helping him build the cages that will force 13 to regenerate.

The Master kills Miss Skeritt

Getting 13’s favourite historical figure to build the thing that kills her is a huge personal blow. The Master rubs in 13’s face that by ‘abandoning’ Tesla and allowing history to happen as it should, she let this happen.

(This would require the missing paintings plotpoint to be cut- instead Ace could be investigating a sudden acceleration in Earth's technology, which she traces back to a now hyper-successful Nikola Tesla in the 1920s)

The Master-Doctor

The traitor Dalek is the last surviving mutant from Revolution of the Daleks, justifying why it wants the ‘original’ Daleks dead

Instead of trapping 13 in a Dalek casing, use one of Chibnall’s best gimmicks- a Dalek mutant that puppeteers her

When the Master becomes the Doctor, insert a scene of him causing a jailbreak, blowing a hole in the side of the Judoon prison 13 was held in in Revolution of the Daleks. An Angel abducts a Judoon through the flickering lights, the P'Ting eats one of the guard's guns.

Master: This is payback for locking me up. [to the escaping prisoners] when you're out there spreading chaos through the uuniverse, tell them the Doctor sent you!

Then, the twin planets he visits are the ones from Can You Hear Me?- Yaz watches helplessly as the Master summons the two evil gods from their universe and encourages them 'play' with the planets. They agree, and then the war begins.

The Master brings the hypnotised Tesla along as a 'companion' to restrain Yaz

Fugitive Doctor Resolution

Karvanista is the one to threaten & shoot the Master. He also comes face-to-face with the Fugitive, his Doctor.

As 13 leaves the mindscape with the Guardians of the Edge, the Fugitive apears and says she's glad she could help save 13 from the same fate that befell her

After 13 has been saved, Karvanista and the Fugitive hologram have a heart-to-heart like 5 & 7 do with Ace & Tegan, giving him closure & resolving his bitterness.

THASMIN KISS immediately after Yaz saves 13, when her guard is down in her post-regeneration haze, overcome with joy. This makes the ending more tragic, but 13 doesn't look cruel like she would for initiating that intimacy when she knows she's dying, opening a door she knows she can't go through

When they meet Graham again, instead of saying 'She's still not explaining anything, then?' he notes how much more open 13 is and is happy for Yaz.

After being freed from the Master's hypnotism, Tesla joins them in the TARDIS and helps 13 rebuild Karvanista's ship.

Thasmin & Demons of the Punjab

THASMIN HUG GODDAMN IT. 13 removes the hologram implant from Yaz, but then gifts it back to her as she leaves- the same projector she had in Survivors of the Flux. She says "This is us, forever. Our moment in time.", calling back to the watch from Demons of the Punjab

It'd also be nice to call back to 13’s speech on her family from The Woman Who Fell to Earth:

Yaz: I'm not sure I can do this without you. You helped me.. helped me learn who I am-

13: And now you know. You don't need me, Yaz. I needed you in the end. Look at everything you did today, on your own. You saved me. Just- carry me with you, if you can. Just do that. What I would've thought and said and done. Make that a part of you. That way... I might be going now, but I'll never be gone from you, eh?

Yaz, huffing through tears: What would the Doctor do?

13: What would you do?

When Dan arrives he is with Diane

The Thijarian Assassins from Demons of the Punjab are seen in the background throughout the episode, like the Ood in the buildup to The End of Time, and they exchange a look of understanding with her as she regenerates