This episode is so fucked up i don't even know how to process it. Legitimately terrifying in a way Doctor Who episode rarely are. The psychological warfare in this episode is so deeply unsettling.
The supporting cast really carries here. They're painfully frustrating but in a deeply human way. This episode is structured brilliantly; we we the ast them as normal people A family on vacation, the under appreciated research assistant and old professor, the divorcee on her first solo holiday. And the episode devolves them to their base selves through fear and paranoia brilliantly. Also i loved them being saved by the Stewards sacrifice. INit only do i love it when someone other than the Doctor saves he day but it ties her line about it being "her responsibility to keep everyone safe" really well.
This was also a great episode for Ten's character. While other episodes have chastised the thrill he sees in danger (Tooth and Claw, The Unicorn and the Wasp etc.) I loved seeing the deadly consequences his posture had here. All of the things the Doctor used regularly to gain people's trust were thrown back at him. And his arrogance and curiosity damned him.
How fundamentally helpless the Doctor is is great. Ultimately the Doctor's strength his his voice and his mind. Given how many of the Doctor saves come from him talking his way out of danger of taking that away from him was a brilliant concept perfectly executed. How fucked up everything is is punctuated was the conclusion. he seems so violently shaken by the experience in a haunting way.
@tshepiso_21 Also this is one of the few episodes of Doctor Who I've noticed the direction being particularly effective. It was a great emphasis on the building fear and paranoia by Alice Troughton
Review by TshepisoBlockedParentSpoilers2023-11-01T17:04:34Z
This episode is so fucked up i don't even know how to process it. Legitimately terrifying in a way Doctor Who episode rarely are. The psychological warfare in this episode is so deeply unsettling.
The supporting cast really carries here. They're painfully frustrating but in a deeply human way. This episode is structured brilliantly; we we the ast them as normal people A family on vacation, the under appreciated research assistant and old professor, the divorcee on her first solo holiday. And the episode devolves them to their base selves through fear and paranoia brilliantly. Also i loved them being saved by the Stewards sacrifice. INit only do i love it when someone other than the Doctor saves he day but it ties her line about it being "her responsibility to keep everyone safe" really well.
This was also a great episode for Ten's character. While other episodes have chastised the thrill he sees in danger (Tooth and Claw, The Unicorn and the Wasp etc.) I loved seeing the deadly consequences his posture had here. All of the things the Doctor used regularly to gain people's trust were thrown back at him. And his arrogance and curiosity damned him.
How fundamentally helpless the Doctor is is great. Ultimately the Doctor's strength his his voice and his mind. Given how many of the Doctor saves come from him talking his way out of danger of taking that away from him was a brilliant concept perfectly executed. How fucked up everything is is punctuated was the conclusion. he seems so violently shaken by the experience in a haunting way.