I'm very surprised that they've managed to win me back over in just two episodes! If only Chibbers run could've been like this from the start.
This was great! A slew of hilarious moments. All of the characters were entertaining. The villains were delightfully horrible. Whittaker was on fire. And the ending left me frothing for next week. Yay!
Who needs weapons and technology when you've got Frying Pans. Whac-a-mole!
Accents are getting worse!
Another British hotel full of aliens I see Lol.
Excellent. Fantastic portrayal of the Sontarans - arguably the best of the current era - and the Crimean War is a perfect backdrop for them - great visuals with the work of director Jamie Magnus Stone, and the humour that the Sontarans have always had comes through. Chibnall's fantastic at writing classic monsters + historicals so classic monsters + historicals is a match made in heaven, and although his storyline was rather short this week almost echoing The Lie of the Land with the suburban fighting of the Sontarans straight out of The Stolen Earth (and the parents/companion dynamic too!), Dan is already becoming a favourite. The set-up with Swarm and Azure is brilliant - just hope it sticks the landing with both of them. Jodie Whittaker is at her best in the confrontational scenes with the Sontaran/British General - and playing to the Sontarans weaknesses is classic Doctor Who.
my sister hates Dan so much idk why but it’s really tickling me (i just wanted yaz and the doctor to be on their own and also kiss but i do also feel happy that they’ve been doing fun stuff together for ages)
I'm crying. I love everything about this season.
Also shout out to Dan & his fam for being purely delightful.
THE GOOD: ‘DOCTOR WHO: FLUX - WAR OF THE SONTARANS’
Story & Characters: :slight_smile:/:slight_smile:
Look & Sound: :heart_eyes:/:heart_eyes:
Feel & Emotions: :slight_smile:/:slight_smile:
Novelty & Memorability: :slight_smile:/:slight_smile:
Expectations & Replay value: :slight_smile:/:heart_eyes:
OVERALL FEEL: :slight_smile:
THE GOOD:
I love how well this episode ties into the opener and the remaining episodes, while telling a self-contained story. Dropping Sotnarans as enemies in the middle of the Crimean War is a creative use of a great alien species and an interesting historical setting, and while all of that is going on, we also delve deeper into the time and space bending phenomenon that is the Flux.
While this is very much meant to be another historical adventure, it has a very unique aspect to it in the form of a secondary narrative told in the present on Earth and in space. It also remains faithful to the Sontarans, while using them in new and interesting ways.
The music is a huge step-up from the previous series. It’s majestic and builds up the mood perfectly, and it blends wonderfully with the polished visuals, lavish sets, and flawless costume and make-up work (look at those war-torn Sontarans, straight from the Classic series!).
Jodie Whittaker is on fire here, and I like how Chibnall allows her to show her darker and more manipulative side. She is a mix of Ten and Seven here, and it’s interesting to watch.
A 60-minute runtime means the three main characters can be dropped into three separate settings and be developed properly. There’s time to get to know Dan’s parents, there’s time to form some good old Sontaran banter, and there’s time for Yaz to do her best to be a Doctor when there’s no Doctor around.
The Sontarans are finally more than just bumbling buffoons - they are brutal, menacing, and effective, which is a nice change of pace from the Moffat era.
The Swarm is so creepy and here we get more clues as to who he (it?) is. There’s a history here that we don’t know anything about yet.
THE BAD:
The Dan and Yaz parts of the plot don’t get very much attention and don’t develop much throughout this episode, but I suspect we will see them developed further in the coming episodes. Still, these scenes feel somewhat detached from the overall experience and aren’t all that interesting.
The Sontaran part of the plot is wrapped up fairly hastily, to give room for the final scene and cliffhanger.
FAVORITE MOMENT:
The biggest battle this series has ever done.
43/50 = GOOD = RECOMMENDED!
Will this season really be a good one? I'm so exciteeeeed <3
Shout by jameszBlockedParent2021-11-07T19:20:29Z
Solid follow up episode, I did enjoy the Sontaran in the Crimean War plotline, but the highlight for me was the temple, it’s very intriguing. I also have to say Yaz is fantastic this season. I love Azure and Swarm as villains. Dan was so great this episode, he’s a natural and he just got here. That cliffhanger was so abrupt though, lmao