Doctor Who: Can You Hear Me? review
Can You Hear Me?
The seventh episode of series 12. Team TARDIS faces their fears as they confront a powerful being. But that is jumping ahead. The Doctor drops the 'fam' off in Sheffield, and then investigates something in 14th Century Aleppo. The set up was very good, especially when it came to the dream creatures that were made real. (But still unreadable with the sonic, which should be called a scanner, rather than a screwdriver at this point.) More on the dream concept below. The Doctor picks up someone and returns to Sheffield...
In Sheffield, issues are afoot. Ryan finds that his friend Coco is struggling with bad dreams, which are having effects on his self esteem. That Ryan would ask him to seek help for that is considerate, and believable. (What people should do in similar situations). Yas and Sonya celebrate the anniversary of Yas returning after running away one time. (Seems Sonya is having dreams also, but the theme of Yas' experience is an important part to the episode. More on it below.) And Graham has a vision...
(This part was done rather well.) Which leads to the discovery of a station near two planets that are about to collide, but have stopped just beforehand. Investigating, the quintet finds people held in suspension, and separated fingers... (Quite creepy!) The Doctor finds a man who calls himself Zellin (which she thinks is mythological). It is revealed that he is responsible for the dreams that have been plaguing the others (and the creatures in Aleppo), feeding off fears. Similar to the Eternals, Guardians and the Toymaker.
An especially apt reference. I can definitely see the similarities between this and Enlightenment. Zellin and Marriner are 'cut from the same cloth' as it were. The former feeding off fears. The latter feeding off Tegan's imagination. (And she found it very creepy too...) The companion's fears. Ryan about his friend. Yas flashing back to when she had run away. Graham worrying about his cancer possibly coming back. And the Doctor, thinking about the Timeless Child (That is definitely leading somewhere.)
However, the Doctor manages to outwit Zellin and his companion, in a typical Doctorish way. The endings with Yas giving the other policewoman the 50p and the Doctor's awkward response to Graham's concerns about the cancer returning were done well. With the latter, it is within her character, and it's a way that someone on the autism spectrum may respond, which I can certainly relate to. Overall a very good episode. 9/10.