Series 13 of Doctor Who kicked off with a universe ending Halloween apocalypse with new monsters the Lupari, converging on earth. At the end of it all, I had a mild headache.
It could be because there was so much going on. I felt like I’d been dumped in at the middle or end of a story rather than a beginning. It could also be the fact that the soundtrack was far too loud almost drowning out the actor’s words at times. I had to stick the subtitles on to see what was being said.
I’m sure it will all make sense over the coming weeks and we will see solo stories that will weave their way to this universe ending cataclysm.
Dan’s story
One story that seemed to be the main focus of this episode, outside of the cataclysmic flux, was the introduction of Liverpudlian Dan Lewis. Unemployed Dan likes to pretend he’s a museum guide when he’s not volunteering at the food bank. Money is obviously tight for him as we see his empty fridge and bare cupboards. Despite this Dan manages to have some treats ready for when the kids come trick or treating.
The only hint that it was Halloween were the scenes at Dan’s house. When a Lupari named Karvanista breaks into Dan’s home, he thinks he’s an aggressive trick or treater but it’s not until he’s kidnapped that he realises something else is going on. Dan’s introduction and his designated dog monster’s attempts to save his life were my favourite parts of the episode. The discovery that the Lupari’s are basically man’s best friend and they aren’t fond of us, was amusing. I especially liked it when Dan stroked his fur.
Yaz and the Doctor
Now that Ryan (Tosin Cole) and Graham (Bradley Walsh) have left the Tardis, it seems the writers can finally focus on Yaz (Mandip Gill) and give her more to do. Whilst she seems to have a quick grasp of alien technology, managing to free Dan from his cage without harming him, she is still not able to get the Doctor to open up. This is a thread that ran through the previous season. The Doctor keeps secrets which Yaz finds frustrating. I hope they don’t intend to keep this up throughout the season, as getting information out of Thirteen is like pulling teeth. It makes it feel as though Yaz doesn’t trust the Doctor and if that’s the case, why travel with her? Maybe it’s the dialogue.
Admittedly, the Doctor was freaked out a lot throughout the episode which would concern me but she’s the Doctor. She’ll figure it out eventually.
Who or what is Swarm?
There was a lot to dissect in this episode, as so many plot points were introduced. The most intriguing is Swarm (Sam Spruell). Trapped by the Division (Time Lord Black Ops) since the dawn of the universe, he manages to escape and absorb the life force of one of the Division operatives. We see him rejuvenate and change his appearance saying he is renewed at last. This begs the question, is he a Time Lord or Time Lord adjacent?
In the discussion between Swarm and the Doctor, he claims they are old enemies who have been battling for ages but she doesn’t know him. Is he from her Timeless Child past? The Doctor has been ignoring this part of her past life but I think it will definitely be explored in the coming weeks and I’m, here for it!
Story threads
I have so many questions after watching this episode. What do the Sontarans have to do with anything?
Then there’s Claire (Anabel Shcoley) who meets the Doctor and Yaz for their first time but not her first time. When the Weeping Angel shows up and takes Claire her story starts to make a bit of sense. She talked about taking the long way round to get home. The way she handled the Weeping Angel showed that she had either encountered them before or knew what to expect. Obviously, at some point, the doctor will go back in time and meet Claire.
Then there was Dan’s friend Diane from the museum who was dragged into that creepy house. What was that about?
The Doctor and the Tardis don’t seem to be in alignment. There was the unexplained dripping goo and the constant bickering. The doors blowing open at the end almost felt like the Tardis was deliberately letting the flux in but was probably a major malfunction.
We get brief glimpses of Vindor (Jacob Anderson) as the outpost he is manning is in the path of the flux. I was expecting the Tardis to jump to where his pod had ejected but instead, we see the flux and get a cliffhanger ending. Maybe next week.
The biggest question of all is, what was the guy in Liverpool 201 years prior banging on about?
Here’s a mind frak for you. What if the series continues to play backwards so that the last episode is the start of the story? It would be different but I hope they don’t do that.
Genny
I enjoyed this episode but agree there was a lot going on. I like your idea of the episodes playing backwards. I’m sure they could make it work. I agree about the sound effects. It was far too loud in places.