I skipped
the usual Sunday Who Review because I knew this episode was coming up later in
the week (note: though I’ll keep the Sunday Who Review tag, I’ll move my Doctor Who posts to Mondays for the rest
of the season, to give me more space to digest the episodes before writing them
up.) Doctor Who is back! Last season
was a little lackluster for me, but, while this episode still has some of the
same issues, it definitely kicks off the new season with a bang.
The
Doctor and co. get called in by MI6 to help investigate the mysterious murders
of a number of intelligence agents from all over the world. Their mission takes
them across continents, involves secret codes and fun spy gadgetry, and
features the gang putting on their best duds to infiltrate a swanky party and
corner their prime suspect.
The first
half of this globetrotting Doctor-Who-does-James-Bond story is fun, with some
cheeky sendups, good creepy moments, and Who
antics with a splash of spy savoir faire. I enjoy everything about Yaz and Ryan
hamfistedly attempting to be spies, and who wouldn’t love the Doctor in a tux
at a casino-themed birthday party, playing snap at the blackjack table?
We don’t
know much about our aliens du jour yet. Thus far, tbey’re pretty shadowy, which
isn’t exactly out of the ordinary for this era of the show (see also, those
floating rags from “The Ghost Monument” and the Thijarians from “Demons of the
Punjab” – we’ll see if these guys wind up being more like the former or the latter.)
They give good menace but don’t leave a lot to hold onto. Fortunately, we also
have tech mogul Daniel Barton (played by Lenny Henry,) who seems somehow
connected to the mystery that surrounds them. “Evil tech billionaire” is
getting to be a trope in genre fiction, but Henry plays it well and keeps the
character interesting.
The
episode features a couple other notable guest stars. Stephen Fry shows up for a
hot second (someday, all the British actors I love will have wound up on Doctor Who,) and Sacha Dhawan gets a
more substantial role as O, a former MI6 agent with ties to the Doctor. Dhawan
isn’t a stranger to the Whoniverse, having previously played classic Who’s first director, Waris Hussein, in An Adventure in Space and Time, but this
is the first time he’s appeared on the show proper, and he does a terrific job.
For those keeping score, Dhawan is the fourth History Boy to appear on Doctor Who, and already, he’s given
James Corden’s Craig a run for his money as my favorite yet!
Admittedly,
the episode garners a lot of good will from fine guest stars, winking spy
references, and the fact that it’s been so long since we had any new episodes.
That doesn’t negate some of the wonkiness in the plot, however. Like many
Chibnall stories, it feels a little half-baked at times and doesn’t always hang
together. And while I’m of course thrilled to have the Doctor back on my
screen, I feel like she doesn’t get the chance to be as fully impressive as I
know she can be, which is frustrating. Thirteen consistently brings the Doctor’s
quirkiness and sense of wonder to the table, but while I know she’s entirely
capable of being every inch the wandering little hero that her predecessors
were, it seems she doesn’t always get the opportunity to do so.
That
said, the final scenes have me thoroughly excited for part 2, so the episode
most certainly delivers on that front. I’m trying to remember the last time a
cliffhanger in a Who two-parter got
me so hyped, and honestly, it might go all the way back to “The Pandorica Opens”
in series 5. Not that there haven’t been good ones since then, but this is
major, “shouting at my TV and hand-flapping” major. Hopefully, part 2 makes it
pay off while tightening up the looser aspects!
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