#praxeus? too many dead birds :(

[doctorwhoisadhd]

partners in crime is literally the ultimate feelgood episode like other episodes of doctor who that are as good have bits that are too spooky or upsetting or whatever to make them count as feelgood episodes but genuinely partners in crime is 1) dumb enough 2) funny enough 3) heartwarming enough to make the vibes FULLY immaculate and frankly i love it

[ssaalexblake]

I actually do think 13′s decision to partner Graham and Yaz was highly tactical oh her part, she sent Ryan off on his own to south america seemingly with no worries (potentially a questionable decision, but she’d not think that because Ryan’s questionable decision of ignoring the quarantine sign in the abandoned and creepy hospital is the Exact same thing she’d have done, so obviously That’s fine), but still, he had the sense to safely collect crucial evidence in solving the mystery and helped somebody who was in trouble and distress. All in all, her decision was, for the most part, solid. 

She also chose to go alone to Madagascar and send Graham and Yaz off together to Hong Kong. She did this despite other pair offs being possible. She could have sent one of them off alone and paired up with the other, she could have sent one of them off solo and paired ryan up in a duo. She didn’t though. 

Yaz and Graham as a pair are, actually, a pretty good balance. Graham’s gotten a bigger sense of adventure since he started but he’s not foolhardy or going to take absurd risks unless he has to. The flip side to that, of course, is that while he’d be trusted to be sent off alone to an unclear situation without getting himself hurt, that nice funny scene with him getting the directions wrong with the upside down phone tells us he doesn’t necessarily have the technology smarts for the investigative work they’re meant to be doing. 

Yaz, however, Does have those smarts. On the flip side, she definitely Will take absurd risks to achieve what she wants to even if it’s a dangerous decision. It’s not that she’s unaware it could potentially be dangerous, it’s that she deems the risk worth it. When she decided to use the teleport with Gabriela there is a moment where she acknowledges they could end up Anywhere, and while the events of Spyfall aren’t mentioned... It was a callback to that alright. Hell, even their teleport to orphan 55 that went so horrible wrong could be on her mind here, too. 

Point being, she knows this, is scared, does it anyway. Takes somebody else with her into the danger. 

That’s just. Worrying. 

So, Yaz asks 13 to stay behind and check something out... And she who let Yaz and graham go off on their own a few hours previously to investigate is suddenly looking Very nauseous at the idea of Yaz going off without her. I mean, the stakes have been raised since she first sent them off together, but the real difference here is Graham isn’t there with his acute preservation instincts to keep her safe. 

There are Many ways this all plays into the layers of Yaz’s characterization, she’s intensely ambitious but it appears to be more praise motivated than for the sake of what she’s trying to do in itself. Yaz is Very interested in earning those points and gold stars from 13, when Ryan gets his dead bird victory and Yaz’s underwater cave discovery is treated with passive aggression from a 13 who was acting that way herself because she was worried Yaz almost got herself killed. She even said so, admittedly in kind of a jerkish way, but Yaz instead focuses of disappointment at not beating Ryan and entirely disregards that 13 was stressed at the idea of her dying. 

And the point behind mentioning that is, honestly, i think 13 is more than aware of all of this. Yaz going off and doing something dangerous is why she didn’t want to leave her in hong kong, Yaz proved her Right. 

13′s absolutely in her own head in s12 and was hiding behind 18 layers of obfuscation in s11, and it’s made it kind of hard to clock how much attention she’s paid to her companions, but i’m pretty sure she’s, not ignoring them, but in some ways not acknowledging them because it’s just easier for her that way for a bunch of different reasons. 

Yaz has a blatantly clear crush on her. Yaz blatantly thrives under her praise. Yaz obviously takes risks she really shouldn’t, and i think Praxeus is very much 13 showing her hand that yeah, she does actually know that. Her careful choice of pair ups, her disinclination to let Yaz go off alone and her anger when she finds out Yaz knowingly did something risky. Her refusal to praise That. All clue ins, 

I guess what i’m saying is, 13 may not acknowledge that she knows her fam very well or even seem like she does, but they were very much right when they said in spyfall part two that she knows everything about them, because she really Does, even if it’s only clear when she’s carefully maneuvering them. Because she designated those assignments very carefully to suit her in Praxeus, and then it all caved in on her. 

[ryttu3k]

Part 2 of my season 12 reaction posts! Find part 1 (Resolution of the Daleks to Fugitive of the Judoon) here!

Praxeus

Thoughts on Doctor Who - Praxeus!

OKAY FIRST. THANK YOU, SHOW, FOR FIXING A BIG ISSUE I HAD WITH THE FIRST SEASON. So they were doing a thing where they’d introduce incidentally queer characters, have a female character mention her wife, stuff like that, only for them to die. This episode had Jake and Adam, married/separated/it’s complicated couple, who face huge amounts of danger, who both come close to dying, but who survive! And have a Big Damn Kiss! And walk off together holding hands! They survived!!

Plotwise, I enjoyed it a ton while watching, although in retrospect it did feel a bit free of danger. The companions were never in true peril because the Doctor can home in on them automatically, and we never got the true scale of the risk of infection, since the only people we saw get infected were in isolated areas. I would have liked to see, for instance, the threat of Praxeus spreading beyond just the very Hitchcockian birds; all of the peril was on an individual level.

Good message, if unsubtle. Mind you, that’s kind of Doctor Who’s thing, and it pisses off conservatives, so all for it, really XD (They must have loved the core relationship in this episode, too!) Like. Subtle doesn’t work. There are literally climate change deniers that exist. Sometimes you actually do have to tell a message with all the finesse of a sledgehammer because .

(Side note, I was deeply concerned when I saw the cowriter was the guy who did the hot mess that was Kerblam!, so at least this was just an unsubtle and kind of questionably written story instead of an actively harmful one.)

The companions: Ryan seems a fair bit more confident on his own? His initial scenes with Gabriela showed that he’s starting to work well even without backup, and picking up the bird proved to be a damn good call. Yaz and Graham were a fun pair, and Yaz got a lot to do when she and Gabriela (again!) got to explore, and I can definitely understand the conflict between curiosity/doing what’s right and safety when it came to the teleport scene. She does seem to be bordering on the reckless. Intriguing!

Minor plot snag - Graham knows how to set up an IV, presumably because of the shitload of time he spent in hospital! …And yet he doesn’t know what a pathogen is?

Friend note!

“fun fact about graham seemingly not knowing what a pathogen is! in my reading of the scene, i saw it as graham knowing what one was. with "Well, I’m glad you asked that…!” he seems like he’s actually sort of pleased with himself, like he’s about to launch into an explanation, and then IIRC there’s a very brief shot at Ryan giving him a Look and Graham immediately changes tone to “…cause I didn’t want to look stupid.” he immediately changes from boosting his own ego to bolstering ryans and im love"

In which case, good shit gooood shit.

SFX - the infection was creepy as shit. The very obviously puppet bird near the lab was hilariously bad.

Apparently the filming was tricky because it was super windy so all the shorts of Thirteen with her hair Like That weren’t planned, it just kind of happened. Love a fluffy ruffled Thirteen.

So anyway. People calling for more plot focus - literally this is the Doctor trying to distract herself and not focus on the plot! This is her avoidance tactic! Emotional honesty? Who’s she? She’ll get back to it eventually, but for now she needs a distraction after being punched in the emotions. Give her that for one episode, c'mon.

Ryan: “…I do a lot of running.”

Graham: “Whatever is giving off those weird readings… is on the other side of that wall!” Yaz: *silently turns scanner around* Graham, not skipping a beat: “…is on the other side of that door!”

Yaz: “I don’t want you to panic, but… we followed one of those things through a teleport and now I think we’re on an alien planet.” Thirteen: “…well, you don’t do things by halves!”

Thirteen: “That’s why you smell of dead bird! I thought you’d changed your shower gel.”

Thirteen: “I’m having half a thought. Ooh, this one tickles!”

Thirteen: “What can I say? I’m a romantic~”

In conclusion, Doctor Who said gay rights.

-

Can You Hear Me?

Thoughts on Doctor Who - Can You Hear Me?

Trigger warning for discussion of depression and suicide.

You know you're in for a wild ride when iView warns for horror themes instead of science fiction themes.

Overall: at first impression, it felt sort of mashed together? There's 14th century Aleppo, and there's 21st century Sheffield, and there's a deep space station, and there's creepy monsters and dream villains; I do kind of wonder why Zellin targeted a random girl in Aleppo as source for his pet monster, although targeting people like Ryan's best friend makes sense if he's deliberately trying to lure the Doctor to him.

The theme, on the other hand, of mental health resiliance and reaching out, was done incredibly well. Oh yeah there'll be more comments about it - the Guardian described it as 'adventures in Wokeness' - but damn, sometimes you need to hear it. I loved getting more of Yaz' backstory, about being a desperate teenage runaway at the point of being suicidal, and her reunion with the older woman legitimately made me tear up.

But like, goddamn. Her nightmare - she's still hearing that. She's still hearing her sister saying that she should "do it right this time" and that this time she won't call and that no one is coming and holy fuck. God this makes so many of Yaz' scenes incredibly painful in retrospect, knowing that she was at that point only three years before and that she's still dreaming that shit! It makes her recklessness terrifying!

Ryan's nightmare, and his experience with Tibo - it's quite reflective of the Doctor, too. She wasn't there, and Gallifrey burnt. And Ryan is realising this now, and really thinking about the potential future in Orphan 55. I think this is absolutely foreshadowing Ryan leaving at the end of the season (there's been a lot of speculation given Tosin's new TV role), and I think Ryan and Yaz' discussion at the end of the episode was a definite hint in the direction of Ryan choosing to going back to Earth.

Would have really liked Graham, during his talk with the Doctor, to gently remind her that she can talk about her own problems, although I can understand the narrative choice on why she didn't (although, yeah, would have been good for Graham to ask). Because, yeah, if anyone needs a sympathetic ear (...sans fingers) or a shoulder to lean on, it's her!! The entire theme of this episode was like... reaching out. Conquering your fears with the help of others. Sharing your fears to lessen them. Getting help. And the Doctor deliberately... not doing that makes it into an actual Thing that I think is going to seriously be addressed by the end of the season.

It's been such an ongoing theme. A bunch of episodes have started with an obviously depressed Doctor. The Fam has tried to raise the issue multiple times and have discussed it amongst themselves even more. Scenes like Yaz' reaction after being abducted in Spyfall (...which makes her, "I thought I was dead" part even more worrying) and being comforted by Ryan, not the Doctor... her whole reaction to Graham being like, "I'm glad you talked to me but I literally can't do the same in return" - if it's not addressed by the end of this season, it's at least going to have to be an ongoing theme, because it's becoming very deliberate now.

An interesting note: the actor who played Zellin (an immortal manipulator of nightmares) also voiced the Remnants (who were the first to mention the Timeless Child in The Ghost Monument). Coincidence or deliberate?

Assorted thoughts:

"I'm still quite socially awkward." There's socially awkward and there's emotionally repressed... (I saw a description of it on Tumblr as 'weaponised dissociation' and... yeah. And also yikes.) Also the way she was so closed in on herself, basically hugging her arms to her body! On a semi-related note, talking to herself in Aleppo was a bit depressing. Like it's continuing the theme of The Doctor Does Not Like Being Alone.

The finger thing - ew ew ew ew it's in their EARS ewww D:

Stylistic comment: the traditionally-styled animation for the Immortals' game was gorgeous.

"Try not freak out, yeah, but you're on a floating space platform trapped in a gravitational pull between two colliding planets."

"Thanks for lending a helping hand!" Companions just being, "...Doctor p l s."

On an old lore note, loved the callback to Eternals, Guardians, and the Toymaker! On a concerning note, man, the Doctor has so many issues with immortals. They abandoned Jack, there was the punishment they gave the Family of Blood, they had those Issues with Ashildr (from what I've read), now this, an eternal punishment with no chance of redemption, perhaps because she knows what immortality does? Parallels with the Doctor as quasi-immortal too, which Zellin even pointed out.

"You're wrong about humans. They're not pathetic. They're magnificent. They live with their fears, doubts, guilt. They face them down everyday and they prevail. That's not weakness. That's strength. That's what humanity is."

(Contrast: "That's what humanity is." The Doctor isn't human. She's not prevailing against her fears, doubts, and guilt.)

In conclusion, literally everyone but the creepy immortals needs a hug.

-

The Haunting of Villa Diodati

Thoughts on Doctor Who - The Haunting Of Villa Diodati!

tfw you think you're just going to get a nice spoopy historical and instead get major plot?

Overall impression: Well, Jack is going to be pretty miffed, given that the Doctor had to do precisely what he didn't want to happen - giving the Lone Cyberman what it wanted. To save Shelley, and also to save the future, although that does bring up the question on if the death of one person can rewrite the future, why doesn't that apply to literally everyone? Fletcher the valet and Elise the nurse died too, do their deaths have the same impact? Either way, the Doctor takes the Cyberium for herself - then realises that the Cybermen are inevitable, and returns it. And now she's trying to go and stop them. So... a bit conflicting in the message there, I think.

Yeah. Bit of a Trolley Problem there.

The characters were really fun. I did enjoy seeing Mary's sense of morbidness, but also her kindness and sympathy towards the Cyberman; you can see the foundations of Frankenstein there. I'm seeing some criticism of how Byron was portrayed as a coward, but eh. Nice little callback to Ada. Also I love how one of the rules was 'no one snog Byron'. Put that dirty boy back, you don't know where he's been! Glad Claire realised that too, although historically, she was already pregnant with his daughter at that point (and that didn't go well at all)... Either way. Good display of all these bright young reckless things.

(And yes, they were young. Byron was the eldest at 28. Shelley was 23, Polidori was 20, Mary and Claire were just 18. And while Claire lived to 80 and Mary to her 50s, the three men all died young, too - Byron at 36, Shelley at 29 - yes, from drowning, Polidori at just 25. Also wasn't mentioned that Polidori also created something on that Dark And Stormy Night along with Mary's Frankenstein - he wrote The Vampyre, the first modern vampire story!)

The Lone Cyberman (and I am deliberately using that instead of 'Ashad') - creepy as shit. Not just the whole Frankenstein look, but the way he acted! Not emotionless and blank, but actively manipulative and sadistic! Mary showed empathy and he actively threw it back in her face! I mean, yikes.

House was terrific and also spooky as hell. (Am lowkey miffed that no one went "VIBE CHECK!") The jumbled layout was quite Castrovalva, and I actually really dig that Graham got to see some actual ghosts. Ghostly sandwiches!

I think we got actual confirmation here that Yaz does have feelings for the Doctor? (Bleeding Cool News is pretty sure that it was for Ryan, but... lmao no.) BBCA twitter certainly thinks so!

Claire: "His answers only increase the enigma." Yaz: "I know someone like that." Claire: "This enigmatic person of yours... would you trade them for reliable and dull?" Yaz: "My person's a bit different..."

I MEAN.

(It got deleted. So. There is that.)

Thirteen: "Hmm. Fourteenth... no. Fifteenth century... touch more umami." (Doctor, have you been playing Detroit: Become Human again?)

Mary: "I don't think they're really from the colonies!" Byron: "No, she... is from somewhere much, much stranger." Polidori: "The North."

Thirteen: "YOU HAD ONE JOB."

Cyberman: "You appear courageous. But your vital signs betray a heightened state of anxiety." Thirteen: "Or as I like to call it... Tuesday."

Thirteen: "Yeah, 'cause sometimes this team structure isn't flat. It's mountainous, with me at the summit, in the stratosphere, alone. Left to choose. Save the poet, save the universe. Watch people burn now, or tomorrow. Sometimes even I can't win."

Claire: "You pursued Mrs Doctor without a care for my presence, belittled my thoughts and opinions... and then proceeded to use my person as a human shield." Byron: "...And?" Claire: "And the spell is broken... my lord." Polidori's face: "haha you fucked up dude"

Next week: Shit Hits The Fan.

-

Ascension of the Cybermen

In lieu of a proper post for Ascension of the Cybermen, here are a list of questions we need an answer for.

Will Graham and Yaz survive, on a giant carrier full of Cybermen?

Who is Brendan, and what is his relevance to the story?

What is the Boundary?

How is Gallifrey in the Boundary?

How was the Master in Gallifrey, and not trapped by the Kasaavin?

Who is Ko Sharmus and why am I getting Yana vibes?

Who is Ashad and what is his story? (And why is his theme such a literal banger?)

Is he an actual Cyberman? Because I'm totally getting this impression he's human in armour?

How did Brendan survive being shot, and why did his non-ageing father and mentor do that?

Why did it look like a chameleon arch?

Is Ethan's tech-savvy just warzone familiarity or something more sinister?

Are there any other large human populations left?

Was I detecting a hint of romantic tension between Graham and Ravio?

What's up with Yaz?

Why did the Cyberium get sent to that time period?

Who or what is this alliance Jack is a part of?

How do the Time Lords and the lie of the Timeless Child come into it?

WHO THE FUCK IS BRENDAN?

-

The Timeless Children

WELL THEN.

While I gather proper thoughts on The Timeless Children, here are the questions I had from Ascension of the Cybermen, now with answers!

Will Graham and Yaz survive, on a giant carrier full of Cybermen?

Yup! Disguises for the win!

Who is Brendan, and what is his relevance to the story?

Brendan is a filtered overlay memory of one of the Doctor's former lives.

What is the Boundary?

An anomaly, as far as I can tell.

How is Gallifrey in the Boundary?

No idea!

How was the Master in Gallifrey, and not trapped by the Kasaavin?

No idea!

Who is Ko Sharmus and why am I getting Yana vibes?

A big damn hero.

Who is Ashad and what is his story? (And why is his theme such a literal banger?)

We're still not actually sure. Either way, he's an action figure now.

Is he an actual Cyberman? Because I'm totally getting this impression he's human in armour?

Yeah, sort of.

How did Brendan survive being shot, and why did his non-ageing father and mentor do that?

Because Time Lords.

Why did it look like a chameleon arch?

It's probably related technology! If the chameleon arch rewrites memories, this one just wipes them.

Is Ethan's tech-savvy just warzone familiarity or something more sinister?

Just warzone familiarity. Poor li'l bean.

Are there any other large human populations left?

Possibly! If the Boundary really did send them to random places, there still could be surviving pockets elsewhere in the universe.

Was I detecting a hint of romantic tension between Graham and Ravio?

Maybe a bit XD And now they're all on Earth, who knows?

What's up with Yaz?

Who knows?

Why did the Cyberium get sent to that time period?

Ko Sharmus sent it. Didn't send it far enough.

Who or what is this alliance Jack is a part of?

Same organisation Ko Sharmus is part of. Also, young!Ko Sharmus/Jack please.

How do the Time Lords and the lie of the Timeless Child come into it?

In so many ways.

WHO THE FUCK IS BRENDAN?

The Doctor!

More thoughts later!

-

Thoughts on Doctor Who - The Timeless Children.

...Actually, first thought is the title. Timeless Children? Hmm.

Anyway. That is... sure a literally mind-blowing revelation for the Doctor, yes! Like, damn, the discovery that you're not even the species you thought you were, that your adoptive parent spent lifetimes abusing and experimenting on you, that your memories were routinely erased by people you thought you could trust (including your adoptive parent), that you're literally the progenitor for your entire species, that you've lost who knows how much time and who knows how many memories... yeah. Damn.

What's an appropriate birthday present for someone turning ten million?

Also, huh. Amidst all the old lore and casual mentions (like Borusa!) that got mentioned - were they taking hints from the Cartmel master plan? About the Doctor being some kind of founding figure for Gallifrey? Not exactly written as Cartmel had it, but that big main concept of the Doctor as a sort of... foundation piece of Time Lord culture was still actually there.

Brain of Morbius Doctors confirmed, I guess. I guess even Four was going, "...the fuck?"

Cybermen = still scary. Regenerating Cybermen = felt somehow obscene. Like, no, that's just fundamentally not right. Like the TARDIS responding to Jack by noping the fuck out kind of not right. God. And the Master was completely and utterly magnificently batshit, like, more than usual, come on, dude, you know they'd kill or convert you the second you turned your back.

Still. Deeply, deeply entertaining to watch just from a villain perspective, completely Chaotic, and like... I do understand where he was coming from? His entire life is a lie. His entire life is because of the Doctor, who, I think it's fair to say, he has Complicated Feelings regarding. (Their entire interaction this episode was a giant power play. Like damn guys just get into BDSM and leave the would-be genocide and universal takeover.)

Tecteun = Rassilon, I'm assuming. Goddamn. Like they were a pompous abusive asshole from the outset, this just kind of makes it worse. I also wonder if Rassilon chose the Master specifically to get the drums because he was friends with the Doctor? That actually may have been something the Master worked out himself, too. I mean, I'd be pissed off as well :-\

Also, how many people know about this? I assume Gat knew, since she was implied to be responsible for the mind wipes, but was it like... a super tightly-held secret or was it something a lot of higher-ups knew? Because that's fucked up tbh

Thought on the Master. Okay, he's hugely furious that he's been lied to, that the entire origin of his people is based on a lie, that his greatest friendrivalloveenemy is incredibly special and that a part of her is in him and not in the fun way, but like... I'm also wondering if he's looking at the Time Lords, the way they turned him into their puppet, how they drove him insane for their own purposes, then looked at the Doctor - someone who has also been used, abused, experimented on, manipulated, controlled, and went, "No. This is an injustice and the Time Lords need to be punished for it."

Oh, saw a nice theory regarding the TARDISes - Ruth!Doctor had the original busted police box TARDIS. When she was eventually taken in to be mind-erased, they sent the TARDIS off to storage to be eventually repaired. The Doctor manages to steal that one, goes to Earth, and it immediately gets stuck again because it's still broken. Explains how Ruth!Doctor can have the police box while also being pre-everything.

I really want the Doctor and Jack to sit down and have a nice chat about being timeless undying constants of the universe. Also for Jack to get one of the spare TARDISes around. Be kinda funny if he got the Master's old one, given the Year That Never Was, but it really is just sitting there. (Poor TARDIS stuck as a tree on a random wartorn planet in the far future, though!)

Also, Jodie was fucking magnificent in this episode. The hurt, the absolute fury, the almost glee when she's telling the Master he can't break her, her refusal to press the button at the end (so much like Nine's "coward or killer?" moment!)... just... so good.

Beautiful post I saw here on Tumblr - the Doctor as the Timeless Child, making the choice to help.

Amazing post here on Tumblr about abuse and repressed memories. Even if the Doctor doesn't remember it all, the abuse they underwent at the hands of a beloved parent figure still informs a hell of a lot of their behaviour, but it doesn't define them. The Doctor's need to run = informed by abuse. The Doctor's desire to help crying children = informed by abuse. The Doctor being an inherently good person = being their own person, no matter what their upbringing, no matter what their past was. They made the choice to be the Doctor, and that's a hell of an important thing.

Extremely painful post I saw on Tumblr about the Doctor being 'hip with the kids' by calling her companions her Fam but hell if they're not more family to her than her actual adoptive mother ow my heart.

Also, the scene between Yaz and Graham was so sweet <3 I do want to see Yaz, at some point, admit that sometimes she's so terrified she can barely move, and to tell him what she came so close to doing when she was sixteen, and Graham to just go, "Yeah, but you keep going." Also I'm trying not to think about how Yaz would respond to the Doctor going off on a suicide mission when Yaz was suicidal just three years earlier because ow my heart. She knows that Ko Sharmus went after her, she knows the Doctor might be alive, but either way, she's just seen someone she loves leave with the intention of dying (and Ko Sharmus too, actually). Someone please give her a hug. Actually please just let the Fam have a big group hug in general.

"Have you ever been limited by who you were before?" "Huh. Now that does sound like me talking."

So, remaining questions to be answered next season!

What actually is the Doctor? Since they were found near the Boundary, they could be from anywhere. It's fair to say they now are recognised genetically as a Time Lord, but what were they originally, why were they abandoned in the first place, and are there any more of their original people out there?

How do the Remnants know about the Timeless Child, or were they just picking up on that unconscious knowledge from the Doctor's own mind?

Like... we're generally under agreement that the Master, the eternal cockroach, survived, right? Despite definitely being lowkey suicidal like oh, was hoping the Death Particle would kill me? Like the Death Particle was made by the Cyberium, it could have gone, "Nah, keeping this one."

What's going on with the Kasaavin? Remember them? Still out there, stationed all through time and space? And are we going to see Daniel Barton again?

Is something going on with Yaz?

Will the Fam stay on? (I personally think Ryan will elect to stay on Earth to account for Tosin Cole's new TV role, and if Graham and Ravio enter a relationship, he might too.)

When will we see Jack again? If he was connected to the Lone Cyberman arc, that seems... pretty conclusively finished, unless we're going to learn more about it?

Is it Christmas yet?

............so the Christmas/NY special is going to start with Jack using his vortex manipulator to bust the Doctor out of prison and get back to the Fam and it'll never be mentioned again, right.

"At least buy me diNNER!!"

[upslapmeal]

Praxeus

Don’t know if it’s just because I’m tired but I just kinda...don’t have a huge amount to say about this ep 

(watch me now say a lot of stuff)

I see we’re starting with Mr Misfits plot device character crashing a spaceship

we get our Big Font Location for Peru but not the two previous scenes? rude

every scene deserves a Big Font location

are there not....other places to camp? that aren't filled with rubbish?

I’m just now hoping this ep doesn’t end with a direct-to-camera speech about how we’re killing the planet again

ok so the guy who crashed is........texting? shop guy?

......is he just going to believe it's him? texting? post-crash??

just an unknown number texting and claiming to be someone who just crashed in from space nbd nothing suspect there

idk it may well be him but it just seems a weird bit of communication 

a wild Ryan appears!

just hopping in a flight over to Hong Kong, over to an unknown number, no biggie

aaand a wild Yaz and Graham!

now I’m imagining that guy carrying on trying to knock down the door like Charlie and the pirate/private door in It’s Always Sunny while Graham and Yaz just watch

“nobody's doing anything” “apart from you......the police” yougotmethere.jpg

oh that covering in teeth-scales thing was a bit creepy

“with the understanding that that was pretty alarming.....don't be overly alarmed” if that doesn't sum up the show then

“there's also a talking cat in Ontario but I've ruled him out for now”

there's definitely a creepy factor to this ep

Jamila's eyes opening suddenly like that made me jump

“it's on the other side of that wall.......it's in the other side of this door” me reading a map

glad Mr Door-Kicker got his door kicking done for the day

pew pew pew

gas mask-adjacent costume: *exists in a dw ep* me: are you my mummy?

“focused too much on that cat” relatable

ooh I like that version of the TARDIS theme with Ryan and Gabriella

Yaz getting to go and be detectivey!

but why didn't she mention going back while they were...y’know.........still in the building

Thirteen is definitely having thoughts abut Yaz going off into danger like this

I feel like this would be a more concrete moment in Yaz’s arc if we were actually getting proper textual companion character-focused writing

and an arc at all really

I love the companions but it’s just not really felt as though the show’s been told....from their perspectives? idk

I have many thoughts that are best saved for another post when I’m not half asleep

“he's not the first person to die like that today” I mean.....he’s not the only person but he was the first (that they found at least)

“that's why you smell of dead bird!”

nobody knowing about this vlog channel is like reverse Harriet Jones

Yaz going off on her own mad teleportation adventure!

although given the fact that these creatures needed breathing apparatus on earth I wouldn't have thought going to where they came from would be the best idea?

“wow so you were quite the catch then” Graham having all the good lines this ep

but Graham ‘has spent a lot of time in hospital’ O’Brien would definitely know what a pathogen is

a whole load of what Thirteen is saying isn’t making any sense to me so I’m glad the fam are asking questions but also no need to make them not know stuff they really would

brains...plural?

“I’m not full of plastic” “full of something”

“well I am here for you guys you know” I don't really get what's happening but I love Ryan

The Doctor getting to be an actual doctor!

someone say well done to Yaz!

RIP cool scientist lady

if the Doctor’s telling him to flip switches to release the antidote is that the sort of thing autopilot would have done?

and everybody lives! except all the people that died!

I don’t really get the people saying this ep was preachy?

like Orphan 55 was....Too Much but this ep was just an alien bacteria that lived off plastic (I think? again wasn’t following it 100%), and they use earth to experiment bc there’s a lot of plastic

throw in a bit of teaching kids about microplastics and animals eating plastic and the big collections of plastic in the ocean

but it was just part of the plot and never felt preachy?

the show has always involved some level of topical stuff and honestly an episode mentioning that there’s loads of plastic in places it shouldn’t be isn’t like.......hitting viewers over the head or anything

me kinda wanting to ignore Orphan 55 v me feeling as though the fam dealing with all this pollution should have some connection emotionally to what they experienced on Orphan 55

Next week it looks as though we’re back to the big stuff and it’s time for the fam to 🎵face their fears (run with scissors) 🎵

[lucyreviewcy]

Doctor Who - Series 12 “Praxeus”

Three separate incidents are tied together by a mysterious space plague. The Doctor and her gang team up with a vlogger, a policeman, some scientists and an astronaut to figure out what’s going on. Oh, and the birds are going a bit weird. 

This storyline might have been interesting, except the episode is once again bogged down in moral lessons about the environment. Even the truly awful “Kill the Moon” with its unnecessary abortion debate was more subtle than Chibnall’s secular Sunday school stories. At least in regular Sunday School you sometimes get a colouring sheet. 

This episode added even more characters into the already too-busy TARDIS, some of whom I liked and some of whom (Policeman and Astronaut) didn’t really need to be there (Vlogger - what was her purpose?). There were many moments which had me shouting at my screen in a bad way, but the point where the baddie was revealed to be micro-plastics definitely engendered the loudest serving of abuse. I know that the world is coated in plastics, I know we have a responsibility to use less. Children know: last year I remember my 9 year old nephew complimenting his mum on her use of plastic-free wrapping at Christmas. These stories are all over the news, they’re everywhere. No, change is not happening as fast as it needs to. Perhaps this is a lesson to us all: our plastic consumption has gotten so bad that it’s now infected the storylines of what were once perfectly serviceable TV programmes. 

Whittaker’s delivery has become repetitive and dull. She shouts the moral with enthusiasm, between attempts at humour which fall flat because they’re so conspicuously placed to lighten the tone. She simultaneously manages to have too little humanity and be too preoccupied with the current issues affecting the human race. Her Doctor hasn’t been given a chance to be fun, and even Peter Capaldi was more sensitive when characters died in front of him. We laugh at how much time David Tennant spent saying “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry...” but at least he cared. Whittaker reacts to onscreen deaths like they’re a bit inconvenient. 

Showing us dead birds filled with plastic is redundant at this stage, we’ve all seen this on Newsround, Planet Earth, and Blue Planet. There is no subtlety left in this version of Doctor Who. The vegetables have not been smuggled into the tomato sauce, it’s just big chunks of raw carrot for Sunday dinner. Mmm. 

[findingyouagain]

𝚃𝙷𝙴 𝙻𝙰𝙳𝚈 𝚃𝙷𝚁𝙾𝚄𝙶𝙷𝙾𝚄𝚃 𝚂𝙴𝚁𝙸𝙴𝚂 𝚃𝚆𝙴𝙻𝚅𝙴 𝙾𝙵 𝙳𝙾𝙲𝚃𝙾𝚁 𝚆𝙷𝙾.

𝚂𝙿𝚈𝙵𝙰𝙻𝙻   ,   𝙿𝚃 𝙸   (   𝟷𝟸.𝟶𝟷   )    :   the lady   &   the doctor are fixing the tardis up in a shop in sheffield while ryan   ,   yaz   ,    &   graham are doing some errands at home before they head off onto another adventure.   after growing concerned about their companions’ tardiness   ,   the doctor calls them to see where they are   ,   but as the doctor hangs up   ,   mi6 pulls up with the fam in tow.    they lady is rather miffed about being picked up in this manner   ,   &   as they drive to an unknown destination   ,   the doctor begins to question the agent driving them.   the agent is killed by a laser from the gps   ,   &   the two time lords just barely manage to destroy the machine before it kills anybody else.   c interrupts them   ,   wondering what is going on   &   claims that mi6 had nothing to do with the assassination attempt.   they drive the car to mi6   ,   &   the lady gets upset that they’re taking the car that tried to kill them back to mi6 instead of calling an uber   ,   picking up the tardis   ,   &   taking that to mi6 instead.   when c mistakes graham for the doctor   ,   the lady snorts   &   tries to muffle a laugh   ;   however   ,   when c mistakes the doctor for the lady   ,   she gets offended    &   responds with a   “   she wishes   ”.   as c debriefs them about the attacks on different spies from across the globe   ,   the lady makes a face when the doctor mentions o for the first time.   (   she just doesn’t vibe with him.   it’s instinctual.   for all for all intents   &   purposes   ,   o seems friendly enough   &   the doctor gets along right well with him over whatsapp.   they even have inside jokes   ,   mostly outdated memes that they don’t realize are outdated bc time travelers   ,   but inside jokes nonetheless.   is lady jealous   ?   nah   ,   she doesn’t get jealous.   right   ?   )   things have become quite serious when c gets assassinated in front of their eyes   ,   &   the gang makes a hasty retreat to the tarids.   they nearly don’t escape though when one of the luminous creatures manages to breach the tardis shell   ,   but the doctor’s quick to dematerialize   &   put them into the vortex.   they decide to split up   :   ryan   &   yaz will go undercover as journalists to gather intel on barton while the doctor   ,   the lady   ,   &   graham will go meet up with o to see what he knows about these alien creatures.   again   ,   the lady is clearly a bit unconformable around o   ,   but she realizes that she can’t really show it because o has given no reason to distrust him.   he’s helpful   &   friendly   &   he gets along great with the doctor.   he’d make a great companion if they didn’t already have three.   (   the lady will never admit that she considered he could be a companion at one point.   never.   ever.   ever.   especially after they found out o’s the master   ).

𝚂𝙿𝚈𝙵𝙰𝙻𝙻   ,   𝙿𝚃 𝙸𝙸   (   𝟷𝟸.𝟶𝟸   )   :   picking back up where spyfall pt i ended   ,   to be added.

𝙼𝙴𝙰𝙽𝚆𝙷𝙸𝙻𝙴 𝙸𝙽 𝚃𝙷𝙴 𝚃𝙰𝚁𝙳𝙸𝚂   :   the doctor   &   vida try to make sense of her amnesia.   vida gets acquainted with the tardis   &   the concept of time-travelling.

𝙽𝙴𝚆 𝙰𝙳𝚅𝙴𝙽𝚃𝚄𝚁𝙴 #𝟶𝟹𝟽   :   to be added.

𝙾𝙿𝚁𝙷𝙰𝙽 𝟻𝟻   (   𝟷𝟸.𝟶𝟹   )   :   to be added.

𝙽𝙸𝙺𝙾𝙻𝙰 𝚃𝙴𝚂𝙻𝙰'𝚂 𝙽𝙸𝙶𝙷𝚃 𝙾𝙵 𝚃𝙴𝚁𝚁𝙾𝚁   (   𝟷𝟸.𝟶𝟺   )   :   to be added.

𝙽𝙴𝚆 𝙰𝙳𝚅𝙴𝙽𝚃𝚄𝚁𝙴 #𝟶𝟹𝟾   :   to be added.

𝙵𝚄𝙶𝙸𝚃𝙸𝚅𝙴 𝙾𝙵 𝚃𝙷𝙴 𝙹𝚄𝙳𝙾𝙾𝙽   (   𝟷𝟸.𝟶𝟻   )   :   while chilling in the tardis console room   ,   the fam questions what the doctor is searching so intently for on the monitors.   reluctantly   ,   the doctor admits to looking for the master.   yasmin asks if that’s where the doctor goes when she leaves them alone exploring   &   can’t be found later   ,   but the doctor replies that she goes home by herself when she does that   ,   something that surprises everyone but especially vida.   if the doctor was going home so often   ,   why doesn’t she take vida with her   ?   wouldn’t going home help jog some of her memories   ?   defensively   ,   the doctor says they ask too many questions before being interrupted by a warning transmission by the judoon.   they manage to slip past the enforcement field   &   land in gloucester   &   begin to investigate.   early on in the investigation   ,   graham seemingly gets left behind but actually ends up on a spaceship with captain jack harkness   ,   who mistakes graham for a new incarnation of the doctor.   vida goes looking for graham while the doctor   ,   ryan   ,   &   yaz make a deal with the judoon to investigate the apartment where they believe the fugitive resides.   inside   ,   they find ruth   &   lee   ,   who they try to convince to explain why the judoon are looking for them.   while searching for graham   ,   vida gets transported onto the spaceship   &   is greeted by jack    (   ———   “   hey little lady   ,   did ya miss me   ?   ”   ).   she unfortunately doesn’t really remember him because of her amnesia   ,   but it seems there’s clearly a faint recognition of the immortal.   not long after   ,   ryan   &   yasmin are also transported onto the ship       ,   frustrating jack because he can’t seem to get a clear hold on the doctor’s person to teleport her as well.    meanwhile   ,   lee has been killed by gat   (   the woman who contracted the judon   )   ,   &   the doctor   &   ruth are on the run from the judoon.   after it is revealed ruth is actually the fugitive   ,   she disrespects a judoon by removing its front horn but claims to not have any idea why the judoon are after her.    back on the spaceship   ,   jack is having to leave before nanogenes kill him for stealing the ship they’re on.   he sets up the coordinates so they can all teleport back safely   &   leaves the four of them with a message for the doctor   ———   (   don’t give the lone cyberman what it wants.   at all costs   ).   the doctor   &   ruth head to ruth’s childhood home   ,   a lighthouse   ,   &   the doctor tests ruth’s memory on the drive.   once they reach the lighthouse   ,   they split up   ———   ruth towards the fireplace   &   the doctor upstairs to the light.   there   ,   she notices an blank grave   &   runs back down to investigate it.   meanwhile   ,   ruth is inside   &   begins hearing voices as she fixates on a fire alarm on her wall.   she breaks the glass   ,   &   she transforms back into her time lord state.   at the same moment   ,   the doctor digs up enough soil from around the grave   &   finds a sign that says police public call box.   ruth reveals herself as the doctor   &   before more can be explained    ,   teleports the two of them into her tardis.   after explaining how she is the doctor as well   ,   the doctor   &   ruth bicker over who is who in their timeline   ,   but they are interrupted by gat   &   the judoon who tractor beam them onto their ship.   the doctor reveals that she’s also from gallifrey   &   that the gallifrey in her time is destroyed   ,   twice   ,   so ruth   &  gat must be from her past.   ruth tricks gat into firing her weapon   &   thus killing herself.   ruth drops the doctor back off in glouecester   ,   where she meets back up with yasmin   ,   ryan   ,   vida   ,   &   graham.   vida is very concerned at how sad   &   confused the doctor looks   ,   &   while ryan   &   yaz question where she’s been   &   what happened to ruth   ,   vida rushes forward to hug the doctor.   back in the tardis   ,   the doctor   &   vida sit on the steps   ,   holding hands   ,   as everyone explains what the others missed out on.   they reassure the doctor that they do in fact believe in her   &   trust her   ,   no matter what’s going wrong with the timelines.

𝙿𝚁𝙰𝚇𝙴𝚄𝚂   (   𝟷𝟸.𝟶𝟼   )   :   the gang splits up as they investigate multiple alerts across different continents of the earth.    ryan heads to peru where he finds gabriela   ,   whose friend jamila has gone missing from their camp site.   in hong kong   ,   yasmin   &   graham are looking into unusual energy patterns coming from a building when they run into detective jake willis   ,   whose searching for missing astronaut adam lang.   meanwhile    ,   the doctor   &   vida are on a beach in madagacar   ,   where they spot a man drowning in the ocean.    they call for help   ,   &   aramu   &   suki   ,   scientists working on a water filtration system    ,   come to their aid aramu   &   suki.   they rescue the man   (   zach olson   )   from the water   ,   but he unfortunately dies   ,   exploding into a shower of dust.   over the course of the episode   ,   the gang tries to make connections between a missing submarine   ,   the dead naval officer   ,   the birds acting abnormally   ,   &   the active alien tech.   ryan contacts the doctor   &   vida   ,   &   they arrive in peru just as jamila is dying in a manner identical to zach.   bringing gabriela along   ,   they all leave to hong kong to check on yasmin   &   graham   ,   who have found adam hooked up to some serious alien technology   &   suffering from the same affliction jamila   &   zach were.   they manage to escape   ,   but yasmin insists on staying ot investigate the technology in the facility.   gabriela offers to help her   ,   &   the doctor reluctantly leaves them behind.   suki   &   aramu call the doctor   &   inform her the birds are acting strange in madagascar   ,   so the gang travels back to the island   &   makes use of suki’s lab to analyze the bird ryan picked up back in peru.   back in hong kong   ,   yasmin   &   gabriela discover the panel in the warehouse was a teleport   &   it takes them to what appears to be an alien planet.   at the lab   ,   the doctor is trying to think of how to stabilize adam.   while the doctor brainstorms out-loud   ,    ryan   &   graham ask what a pathogen is   ,   &   vida explains that it’s the thing that makes you sick   ———   germs   ,   viruses   ,   bacterium   ,   etc   ———   before turning to ryan   &   joking with him about his knowledge of biology   (   ———   “   i thought you were good at biology   ,   ryan   ”   ).   the doctor’s eyes widen   &   snap over to vida at this comment   ,   wondering if lady’s memories were coming back or not   ,   but there’s no time for her to focus on it as she   &   suki begin working on trying to make an antidote.   meanwhile outside   ,   graham counsels jake about his marriage   /   separation with adam.   aramu is killed trying to keep an eye on the birds.   yasmin calls   &   reveals that they found the missing submarine but might that be on an alien planet.   she also informs the doctor that the lab in hong kong was sending data to two locations   ———   one in the middle of the indian ocean   &   the other in madagascar   ———   ,   causing the doctor to realize suki is behind the praxeus infection.   suki teleports away   &   the gang has to hastily escape to the tardis   ,   avoiding the infected birds on their way.   they fly to where yaz   &   gabriela are   ,   at the bottom of the middle of the indian ocean.   suki dies of praxeus after being further infected.   the antidote the doctor made works   ,   &   adam is healed.   but the gang has to stop the infection from spreading everywhere else   ,   so they set suki’s ship to pilot itself into the atmosphere   &   explode   ,   spreading the antidote into the atmosphere.   the autopilot fails   ,   however   ,   &   jake rushes off to pilot the ship himself.   the doctor manages to save him last minute by materializing around him.   &   they drop adam   ,   jake   ,   &   gabriela back off in madagascar.

𝙼𝙴𝙰𝙽𝚆𝙷𝙸𝙻𝙴 𝙸𝙽 𝚃𝙷𝙴 𝚃𝙰𝚁𝙳𝙸𝚂   :   tip-toeing around their growing affections for each other   ,   the doctor   &   vida share a moment alone in the console room    ,   which leads to the doctor attempting to teach vida how to fly the tardis.   questions about the doctor’s driving skills are brought up   ,   &   flirtation ensures.

𝙽𝙴𝚆 𝙰𝙳𝚅𝙴𝙽𝚃𝚄𝚁𝙴 #𝟶𝟹𝟿   :   to be added.

𝙲𝙰𝙽 𝚈𝙾𝚄 𝙷𝙴𝙰𝚁 𝙼𝙴   ?   (   𝟷𝟸.𝟶𝟽   )   :   to be added.

𝙼𝙴𝙰𝙽𝚆𝙷𝙸𝙻𝙴 𝙸𝙽 𝚃𝙷𝙴 𝚃𝙰𝚁𝙳𝙸𝚂   :   in a brief interlude before the doctor takes everyone to lake geneva 1816   ,   vida tries to make sense of the memories she saw during her nightmares.

𝚃𝙷𝙴 𝙷𝙰𝚄𝙽𝚃𝙸𝙽𝙶 𝙾𝙵 𝚅𝙸𝙻𝙻𝙰 𝙳𝙸𝙾𝙳𝙰𝚃𝙸   (   𝟷𝟸.𝟶𝟾   )   :   the doctor   &   the fam travel to visit mary shelley   &   lord byron.

𝙼𝙴𝙰𝙽𝚆𝙷𝙸𝙻𝙴 𝙸𝙽 𝚃𝙷𝙴 𝚃𝙰𝚁𝙳𝙸𝚂   :   after regaining her memories   ,   the lady heads to her room to change clothes before their battle with the cybermen.   crying ensures   ,   &   the lady   &   the doctor share a small moment together.

𝙰𝚂𝙲𝙴𝙽𝚂𝙸𝙾𝙽 𝙾𝙵 𝚃𝙷𝙴 𝙲𝚈𝙱𝙴𝚁𝙼𝙰𝙽   (   𝟷𝟸.𝟶𝟿  )   :   to be added.

𝚃𝙷𝙴 𝚃𝙸𝙼𝙴𝙻𝙴𝚂𝚂 𝙲𝙷𝙸𝙻𝙳𝚁𝙴𝙽   (   𝟷𝟸.𝟷𝟶   )    :   click ��𝚎𝚛𝚎

𝙼𝙴𝙰𝙽𝚆𝙷𝙸𝙻𝙴 𝙸𝙽 𝚃𝙷𝙴 𝚃𝙰𝚁𝙳𝙸𝚂   :   the doctor   &   the lady reconcile over the events of the finale before the judoon arrest the doctor   &   sentence her to life in prison.

𝚁𝙴𝚅𝙾𝙻𝚄𝚃𝙸𝙾𝙽 𝙾𝙵 𝚃𝙷𝙴 𝙳𝙰𝙻𝙴𝙺𝚂   (   𝟷𝟸.𝟷𝟷   )   :   new years special.

𝙽𝙴𝚆 𝙰𝙳𝚅𝙴𝙽𝚃𝚄𝚁𝙴 #𝟶𝟺𝟶   :   to be added.

𝚂𝙴𝚁𝙸𝙴𝚂 𝟷𝟸 𝚂𝙿𝙴𝙲𝙸𝙵𝙸𝙲 𝙷𝙴𝙰𝙳𝙲𝙰𝙽𝙾𝙽𝚂.

more to be added.

[cwalshuk]

Doctor Who review - Praxeus

Spoilers! Obviously.

If you haven’t watched the sixth episode of the 2020 series, then go watch it now. Seriously.

This episode is a globetrotting story, which sees the Tardis Team split up to try to get to the bottom of some mysteries involving a missing astronaut, a stricken submarine and some angry birds.

There are basically only two ways to start a Doctor Who episode - with The Doctor, or without. If you start it with The Doctor, then we're probably following the events at the same pace as the companions (if there's any). If we aren't, then we really have to care about whoever’s on screen instead.

In Praxeus, we are introduced to a whole bunch of people across the planet, some of whom eventually get picked up in the Tardis. If you can remember everyone’s names after one watch, without subtitles, then congratulations. But for me it was a little disorientating. Now, last week’s was quite a lot too, but at least it had calmer points. With Praxeus, you have to keep everyone and everywhere you see in mind from the second the title sequence ends to the second the credits roll. As it turns out, this jumping around the Earth, meeting others on their own travels, helps disguise the villain of the episode. So, to summarise - clever, if you can keep up.

I do have an issue with the companions though, and it's one the series has had before. After a while traveling with The Doctor, they can get used to the adventures. They can start picking up Doctorish habits, which can lead to dangerous consequences. In short, they get cocky. But even when this happens, they still have to ask questions. Sometimes it's fine, like asking who the Cybermen are, because that allows you to build tension, as with the exchange last week with Captain Jack. But when you are trying to convey the idea that the companions are experienced, giving them lines like ‘What's pathogen mean?’ ruins the illusion. How many unseen adventures have this Tardis Team been on? And they’ve not had that word mentioned once? I understand that the point is to get some Science into the show, so younger viewers learn a little. But it's inelegant. A minor quibble perhaps, but it took me out of the show. (I’d probably enjoy the show if I could watch it vicariously through a young relative, but they’re all too young at the moment.)

Anyway, back to the plot. We're introduced to British European Space Agency astronaut Adam Lang (Matthew McNulty), on a rough re-entry returning from the International Space Agency, travel vloggers Jamila and Gabriela discovering a Peruvian beauty spot is now full of rubbish, and ex-cop Jake Willis played by ‘that guy from that thing we watch’ Warren Brown, who's just learnt that Adam is missing, presumed dead, but then gets a text, apparently from him. That's four characters in three locations already before we see The Doctor.

Now, as I’ve said, one watch, quite confused. Perhaps we see The Doctor before Jake gets the text message, I’m not sure. In any case, Jake hops on a plane from the UK to Hong Kong as a result, where he meets Yaz and Graham. Meanwhile, Ryan’s in Peru investigating the bird attack, whilst The Doctor pops up in Madagascar, where she tries to help a US Navy Officer who has washed ashore with the same infection that killed Jamila. We don't really introduce the two characters who help The Doctor with poor Zach Olson, but this is deliberate because we're supposed to not notice until later. And anyway, Olson dies, so the fam start using their comm dots (remember those?) to share what they’ve discovered. Y’see, The Doctor had been trying to locate the source of some weird energy readings, so she sent her companions out on errands to help figure it out. Now they've got some information, The Doctor can start putting it all together. If only she had access to a well stocked laboratory…

Oh, wait! The Hong Kong bits! Yaz and Graham help Jake into a locked building (are those skeleton keys Yaz’s or The Doctor’s?), and we learn that Adam the Astronaut is being held there, by some shifty types in gas masks, and that he has the infection too! Also Jake and Adam are married but going through a rough patch. The gas mask people are aliens with deadly guns, but Jake has no trouble fending them off, even stealing a gun from one to shoot them. Having freed Adam, and with The Doctor and her Tardis turning up to investigate/save Adam, everyone piles into the Tardis. Ryan promises Gabriela that they'll stop whatever killed Jamila. Yaz makes a decision. She wants to stay in Hong Kong to investigate the aliens’ tech, having deduced its value during the earlier skirmish. Gabriela volunteers to stay too, as she's up for a fight. Everyone else pops back to the lab in Madagascar to help Adam.

I like that Yaz uses her skills, reading the aliens’ body language despite being under fire, and that she has the guts to stand up to the Doctor. Her little smile of pride when The Doctor agrees is lovely. It doesn't bode well though - see earlier about confidence in companions.

So now we’re cutting between the alien tech in Hong Kong and the lab in Madagascar. The rest of Team Tardis are put to task, with Suki Cheng (Molly Harris), the lab’s owner, deciding with The Doctor on a means of battling the infection. The ‘pathogen’ exchange happens here. Ryan gets to dissect a dead bird he’d picked up in Peru, Graham gets to show off his ability to set up an IV (presumably gained during his treatment with Grace), and Jake is there to support Adam emotionally (as best he can). All this business happens whilst Yaz and Gabriela decide to use a teleport they discover, assuming that a fleeing alien will be going somewhere worth investigating. Again, big, potentially dangerous decision there Yaz, and putting newbie Gabriela at risk too. But they do run it past the Doctor first, thanks, comm dots!

With all that going on, the Doctor’s less action-oriented lines are easily overlooked, especially when they are mostly asides to Suki and humblebrags. Sneaky stuff from writers Pete McTighe and Chris Chibnall. I must say, having Chibnall as a co-writer on this, having co-wrote last week's episode too, makes me wonder if some elements of this story are more relevant to the series plot than might first appear. Three new friends are waved off at the conclusion, promising to protect Earth, so probably.

But we’re not at the end yet! Yaz and Gabriela arrive in a weird, alien-looking location, the second of three places indicated by the alien tech. The fleeing alien got here, but no further. Somehow, Zach Olson’s submarine is here too.

Back at the lab, The Doctor’s piecing things together. Microplastics in the dead bird have an alien pathogen on them, which has spread among the world’s birds, causing them to attack Jamila, passing on the infection. There are great patches of rubbish floating in the oceans, says The Doctor, presumably that’s how Zach got infected? And Adam? Or did they get it via the birds? In any case, Suki and The Doctor have made a potential cure, it could stop the infection from killing more people, but they've no idea if it’ll work without testing it. Adam volunteers. Jake protests. Adam convinces Jake that it's the right thing to do. The Doctor realises that this is what the aliens were doing, using Adam as a guinea pig, a lab rat. Only without his permission. And the Madagascar lab has all the right equipment. It's the third location the aliens were using!

The Doctor confronts Suki, who, under questioning, reveals that she is one of the aliens, from a lab ship that crashed on Earth. They’d decided our plastic-filled world was an ideal place to grow the infection for testing. Planet as Petri dish! They’d tried to save their species but nearly wiped out ours in the process. Suki produces a device to teleport away, and everyone left at the lab pursues in the Tardis.

Unfortunately for Suki, she's tested the potential cure in herself, but not being human, it kills her. She doesn't get to escape in her ship, instead leaving The Doctor and crew with a useful cure-dispersal device, since Adam’s up and about again, cured!

Of course, it is Adam’s husband Jake who ends up at the ship’s controls when autopilot fails, feeling he needs to prove himself. Luckily, The Doctor can save him when the ship explodes.

Big hugs and goodbyes (and no mindwipes), leave Earth with a new trio of protectors, since Gabriela invites herself to Adam and Jake’s belated honeymoon.

With the confirmation of UNIT and Torchwood being gone, and Captain Jack off wherever after last week's episode, perhaps we’ll need them sometime soon.

(Presumably, going by her Tardis’s interior, The Doctor formerly known as Ruth thinks of the 60s or 70s as The Present when she’s on Earth - so could we count on her?)

This episode was a grower for me, looking back over this review from Friday’s perspective (and having seen it anew from various podcasters’ eyes).

I’m intrigued by the ancient setting teased for Sunday's episode, see you sometime next week!

No wait! Aramu, we hardly knew ye! As has been pointed out by other reviewers, it wasn't clear if he was an alien like Suki or not, and whether that matters is up to you, but it was cool to see what actor Thapelo Maropefela can do.