Major spoilers ahead!
The penultimate episode of this season of Doctor Who is finally upon us. It’s been a fairly strong season so far, with only a slight wobble with episode four, but this episode and the next is where it all matters.
Last season was criticized for a weak finale. The Disney+ era was touted as an era that would steer clear of relying on the show’s long history to be friendly to newcomers to the franchise but ended with the return of an obscure villain who made a single appearance in the show in the 1970’s, that all but the most hardcore Doctor Who fans would have a difficult time recognizing.
Following last week’s reveal of The Rani, a popular villain from the 80’s era of the show who only appeared in two episodes, this week’s episode doubles down on this decision with a potentially bigger reveal.
ORWELLIAN DREAM
From the start of the episode, we are dropped into the middle of Wish World. We find the Doctor, as John Smith, and Belinda married with a child and with no recollection of their travels among the stars.
There is something off about the world. There is an unnatural uniformity, with doubts causing mugs to “slip” through tables and break – something considered a common occurrence, yet stronger doubts result in late night calls to the police.
The world is evocative of George Orwell’s 1984. The different and disabled, like previous companion Ruby Sunday and UNIT Scientific Advisor Shirley Bingham, go unnoticed by the world’s inhabitants, their non-conformity allowing them to find relics that have slipped through from the real world.
It’s an interesting premise and set up for a world, setting up Ruby and Shirley leading the charge to find the Doctor, return his memory and bring down the regime of Conrad, returning villain from episode four, who serves as Prophet and God in this world, while The Rani runs things in the background.
The problem though is that this concept isn’t really explored more than on a surface level and is likely to be scrapped entirely in next week’s episode anyway. It’s a shell to force The Doctor into a position of weakness and set up for the final few minutes of the episode where plans are revealed and the proverbial excrement hits the fan in time for a bombastic final episode.
It’s a growing pet peeve of mine, that either seasons of shows, or in this case the first of a two-part episode, are written in a way to be purely set up for what is to come next. Previous seasons of Doctor Who have handled this much better, with the first episode of a two- or three-part episode holding up on its own as an episode with a twist or dramatic moment serving as an enticing cliffhanger for the next episode.
Wish World is not an episode that holds up by itself, and I don’t think it even does that much of a good job concealing the fact that it is purely set up for the next episode, with all roads leading to the last 5-10 minutes of the episode. It’s disappointing that much of the episode amounts to nothing by the end of it, you could remove the last 10 minutes of the episode where everything is revealed it would likely make just as much sense without the added context of the previous 30 minutes.
Here though, the stakes ramp up significantly as the Doctor and The Rani finally come face to face. The scenery is thoroughly chewed in this episode, but it’s hard to deny the electrifying presence Archie Punjabi has when on screen. The trio of the current Rani, Mrs. Flood Rani and Conrad works really well. I certainly enjoyed Conrad much more in his appearance here than I did during his introduction in Lucky Day, and Mrs. Flood’s enjoyable comic relief provides some needed balance for the group.
Perhaps next week will see some of these elements return, retroactively providing some additional context and making this set up a little more worthwhile. However, with how the episode ended and with the “Next time on…” that was uploaded to the Doctor Who YouTube channel, I think this is unlikely.
NOT QUITE LAST OF THE TIME LORDS
So, last week saw the return of two characters from the shows history that long-time fans of the show have been eager to see return. The Rani, who served as the main antagonist for this week’s episode, and The Doctor’s granddaughter Susan. We only saw a single glimpse of Susan this week, instead being teased of the return of another fan favorite villain. Omega.
With The Rani intending to use the God of Wishes to break Omega free from the Underverse, the show has once again fallen back on nostalgia from the Classic era of the show, despite the intention the ensure the current run is as accessible to new fan as possible. Omega, is at least a returning villain that is more widely known, having appeared twice previously in the classic era of the show, and having been mentioned a number of times during the modern era of the show.
First appearing for the iconic first episode of the shows 10th season, The Three Doctors, Omega was a villain that required the combined efforts of three Doctors. Personally, I love that Omega could return, however, it is a return that I worry is difficult to get right in the context of the episode. If The Rani succeeds and Omega does return, then it threatens to overshadow The Rani and her return. If Omega doesn’t return, then the tease feels like a waste of the character, only there to entice fans and hype the finale. We’ll have to wait for next week’s finale to know for certain, but for now, it does leave The Rani somewhat overshadowed playing the lackey of a greater villain, rather than standing out on her own in an episode that up to that moment, she was stealing with her charming performance.
Omega is a huge villain for the show bring back. Omega, Rassilon – who has appeared many times in the show – and a figure known as The Other who in Doctor Who’s nebulous expanded media, which is generally all considered canon, is frequently portrayed as various incarnations of The Doctor, is one of the founding members of Time Lord society.
It’s a little disappointing though, that a villain of such stature would only be teased in the final moments of an episode, with the potential to not even properly return. It feels like a missed opportunity to have not had Omega’s return more heavily teased throughout the seasons, much like The Rani’s was teased through the various cameos of Mrs. Flood. Sure, the various dealings The Doctor has had with the pantheon of Gods have teased the return of a member known as The One Who Waits, but there was little to suggest this was Omega, and the mentions were infrequent enough that there is only a brief mention that he is The One Who Waits right before the reveal of Omega, and it relies on the surprise of the reveal rather than there being any kind of buildup and emotional resonance beyond nostalgia.
James Pardon/BBC Studios/Disney/Bad Wolf
END OF THE WORLD AS WE KNOW IT
As the episode ends with The Doctors doubt overwhelming Wish World and breaking reality apart to reveal the Underverse beneath it, I couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed with how the episode turned out. As I sit writing this review, with Omega’s last appearance in the Fifth Doctor episode Arc of Infinity playing on the TV, I am excited for what next week’s episode The Reality War has to offer.
Wish World though is probably the weakest episode of the season so far. At its core is an interesting premise for an episode with which basically nothing is done, instead the premise is used only as window dressing. It sets up a world in which The Doctor is powerless to make the final reveal feel more threatening, but at the expense of the rest of the episode.
As an episode, Wish World would have benefited from a reduction of stakes in its final moments, it set up a fantastic premise of The Doctor’s allies seeking him out and a way to revert the world back to what it was. The stakes are smaller, but more personal and interesting but instead Russell T Davies chose to throw it all away at the last minute in favor of a threat to reality itself – something we’ve already seen from Davies in Series 4’s finale.
As a penultimate episode for the show, and as an episode in its own right, Wish World fails to meet the quality of the rest of the season. It’s pure set up for next week, with some interesting premises, good writing and performances and a nostalgia fueled reveal at the end, but ultimately, it’s lack of substance and refusal to follow through on its own ideas thoroughly holds it back.
The Review
MIDDLING
