*Spoilers!*
All right—this is a bit backward, since I posted my spoilery thoughts on “The Reality War” not long after the finale. Some of the questions I asked after this episode were answered with that one (for good or ill,) while others weren’t really addressed. Still mad about “The Reality War,” by the way. But let’s look back on “Wish World.”
As I said in my original review, the Panjabi Rani’s characterization veers a bit Master-ish at times, but on the whole, I think Archie Panjabi does capture the Rani’s cold, clinical vibe. And although it’s weird that a scientist like her would be going in so hard on the growing supernatural side of the plot, the way she goes about it is very Rani.
The brightly colored police state of the Wish World is a regressive fantasy of heteronormativity and rigidly enforced gender roles. It’s maintained by Conrad’s mind, and any instance of doubt weakens the integrity of the wish, so much so that tea mugs will fall straight through the table. People euphemistically refer to these moments as “slips,” cleaning up the broken ceramics with plastered-on cheerfulness and getting out a new mug from the cupboard filled with them. “Don’t worry, it’s only natural,” Belinda’s mom insists. “Easily undone and easily fixed.”
Obviously, this is a bad time for our heroes, but this unstable world is more than a trap for the Doctor, Belinda, and company. Rather, it’s the specific conditions the Rani needs for her latest venture. In order to reach Omega in the Underverse, she needs to peel back the very skin of reality itself. And how to do that? With doubt. She wants the Wish World to be “full of mistakes” because, despite the dystopian policing against doubts and questions, that’s exactly what she needs. As the Doctor and the humans feel the wrongness of the world they’re inhabiting and begin to question it, they inadvertently create cracks in the Wish World, which in turn only amplifies the doubts. Create enough of it and the Wish World falls apart, punching a big enough hole through reality that the Rani can reach through to Omega. And look, I know how things turn out with that in “The Reality War,” but that is such a cool concept and feels like such a Rani thing to do!
While the Panjabi Rani plots the objective and the Mrs. Flood Rani does the legwork, Conrad does the wishing. After seeing his hard-right heel turn in “Lucky Day,” it’s really interesting to see him working for the Ranis. The conspiracy theorist podcast bro has become the seemingly benevolent god of the Wish World, the sweetest-faced Big Brother you’ve ever seen smiling at you from your TV. Given that we know how mercenary and underhanded he is, it’s immediately unsettling to see him in this happy-shiny position, and somehow, it’s even more unsettling to see him off-camera. When Mrs. Flood comes to check on Conrad, he acts like a slightly confused little boy eager to please his mommy. He sounds sort of like a character in one of the children’s stories he reads on the airwaves. “It’s such a lot of hard work, all the thinking,” he admits. “Sometimes I forget about the weather, and—and South Africa gets flooded.” Mrs. Flood croons in reply, “Oh darling, you’re worn out.” It’s kind of fascinating, and this shift never really gets explained to my satisfaction. Is Conrad’s personality being affected by the wish too? We know his mom was mean and hurtful—is he falling back into old fawning behaviors to win the Rani’s approval? Is this who Conrad has been under the facade of the big bad redpill guy all along? We don’t learn what this is about.
I still think it’s kind of a dodge that Conrad’s world is full of sexism and homophobia but no racism. I understand that they’re different kinds of bigotry—when someone falls outside prescribed gender roles and heteronormativity, a police state can force them to attempt to perform that. The Doctor and Belinda are brainwashed into a “perfect” marriage with an adorable daughter, and Belinda’s mom and grandma are already preparing to “drum” the cheekiness out of Poppy. Independent women and queer men can be forced into cookie cutter boxes, even though it’s wrong, and part of the conflict becomes seeing how the characters begin to jar out of step with those around them. With racism, BIPOC people could be forced to perform white adjacence, packaging themselves in a way that’s non-threatening to whiteness, but with the exception of white-passing folks, you couldn’t actually perform being white. So if racism was a major factor in the Wish World, it wouldn’t be used in the same way, and arguably it would’ve put the Doctor and Belinda on the margins of the story, pushing Ruby even more to the forefront (though what would’ve happened to her family?) But it’s still a dodge that a world with rampant sexism and homophobia has no racism.
That said, I’m interested in how another aspect of Conrad’s prejudices works against him as it operates within the wish. As Ruby remembers flashes of the real world, she meets others who experience the same thing: a group of disabled people living in a homeless encampment. Their theory is that, because Conrad’s wish is sustaining the world and disabled people are largely invisible to him, they’ve escaped his notice and are thus less affected by the Wish World. This allows them to plot against him.
Lastly, Rogue! I’m not as big a fan of him as some, but I do enjoy Jonathan Groff and he certainly doesn’t deserve to be trapped in a Hell Dimension. (Look for him, Doctor!) While his appearance is almost comically out-of-left-field, it’s fun to see him pop up again, and I like his message for the Doctor. If I think about it much more, I’m going to get mad about the events of the season finale again, so we’ll leave it there. Hi, Rogue! Bye, Rogue!
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