"We'd know if we were vampires, right?"
We're almost at the end. So how was the penultimate episode of the season?
I thought this episode was all right. Once again, it's one of those eps that didn't wow me but it's not terrible, either. The season has been full of those, it seems. They did do a bait and switch in this episode. Going in, you think you're going to get a story about a scary monster in the woods, but instead, you get, well, I'm not exactly sure. A lonely universe who just needs a friend? It's certainly different. I'm sure if they had gone the monster route, it would have turned out that it was a confused alien or something and the Doctor would have found a way to talk to it and get it home.
I'm not exactly sure I completely understand what the Solitract is. Is it kind of like matter and antimatter and how the two can't exist or else there's an explosion? Is that why the Solitract was banished? But why did it reach out to a single father in the middle of nowhere in Norway? Or was the cabin a conveniently weak point that's always been there? And do anti-zones happen automatically when space time gets messed up or does some all powerful being or race put them in place? And how did Ribbons get there? The middle bit is kind of vague, like the writer wasn't too sure how to set everything up and so it all gets hand waved. Spectacle over logic. Though, once the gang does end up on the Solitract plane, you do get some lovely stuff with Graham and Grace, so the journey to get there is worth it.
We haven't really seen Graham dealing with his grief, since the team has been too busy going from adventure to adventure, so it's good that he does get a moment to face his uncertainties. But there was a lot of telling going on in that scene. The Doctor is lecturing everyone on what they need to do, so Graham doesn't naturally reject Solitract-Grace on his own. We also have the Doctor saying that Graham feels guilty about Grace's death, but I think that line would have made more sense coming from Graham. I also wish that Ryan had been in that scene so he and Graham could have faced the Solitract together. It would have made the scene at the end of the episode a lot better. Ryan finally calls Graham grandad, but the characters would have really earned that moment if they had showed more solidarity in the episode. Yet again, the show makes some odd choices about which Companion stays behind and which Companion stays with the Doctor.
And sad frog! What a truly bizarre set up. The Doctor chatting with a frog. The Solitract could have looked like anyone or anything in that moment, so, why not a frog. I'm always amazed when they make something fake or CGI look like it's really emoting. Too bad Chibnall is so set on not having any major references to previous seasons. I would have loved it if the Solitract had turned into someone from the Doctor's past.
Random: I love that Graham has taken to carrying sandwiches with him every time they leave the TARDIS. That strikes me as very him since he's the practical Companion. I see the Doctor's tendency to taste weird things is back. Is she sensing some psychic traces this time? Because how do you tell that something has a poor Trip Advisor score from just tasting some dirt? The idea that humanity goes to war with sheep just made me laugh. Did they rise up because they realized their wool was being used by knitters to make some stuff and they wanted a share of the profits? I wonder if they filmed the mirror world stuff normally and then just flipped the footage? Probably. That seems the easiest and the cheapest. Thank goodness the Doctor has an asymmetrical hair cut or you wouldn't have noticed something was up right away.
It's the finale next week. I hope it's a good one.
I thought this episode was all right. Once again, it's one of those eps that didn't wow me but it's not terrible, either. The season has been full of those, it seems. They did do a bait and switch in this episode. Going in, you think you're going to get a story about a scary monster in the woods, but instead, you get, well, I'm not exactly sure. A lonely universe who just needs a friend? It's certainly different. I'm sure if they had gone the monster route, it would have turned out that it was a confused alien or something and the Doctor would have found a way to talk to it and get it home.
I'm not exactly sure I completely understand what the Solitract is. Is it kind of like matter and antimatter and how the two can't exist or else there's an explosion? Is that why the Solitract was banished? But why did it reach out to a single father in the middle of nowhere in Norway? Or was the cabin a conveniently weak point that's always been there? And do anti-zones happen automatically when space time gets messed up or does some all powerful being or race put them in place? And how did Ribbons get there? The middle bit is kind of vague, like the writer wasn't too sure how to set everything up and so it all gets hand waved. Spectacle over logic. Though, once the gang does end up on the Solitract plane, you do get some lovely stuff with Graham and Grace, so the journey to get there is worth it.
We haven't really seen Graham dealing with his grief, since the team has been too busy going from adventure to adventure, so it's good that he does get a moment to face his uncertainties. But there was a lot of telling going on in that scene. The Doctor is lecturing everyone on what they need to do, so Graham doesn't naturally reject Solitract-Grace on his own. We also have the Doctor saying that Graham feels guilty about Grace's death, but I think that line would have made more sense coming from Graham. I also wish that Ryan had been in that scene so he and Graham could have faced the Solitract together. It would have made the scene at the end of the episode a lot better. Ryan finally calls Graham grandad, but the characters would have really earned that moment if they had showed more solidarity in the episode. Yet again, the show makes some odd choices about which Companion stays behind and which Companion stays with the Doctor.
And sad frog! What a truly bizarre set up. The Doctor chatting with a frog. The Solitract could have looked like anyone or anything in that moment, so, why not a frog. I'm always amazed when they make something fake or CGI look like it's really emoting. Too bad Chibnall is so set on not having any major references to previous seasons. I would have loved it if the Solitract had turned into someone from the Doctor's past.
Random: I love that Graham has taken to carrying sandwiches with him every time they leave the TARDIS. That strikes me as very him since he's the practical Companion. I see the Doctor's tendency to taste weird things is back. Is she sensing some psychic traces this time? Because how do you tell that something has a poor Trip Advisor score from just tasting some dirt? The idea that humanity goes to war with sheep just made me laugh. Did they rise up because they realized their wool was being used by knitters to make some stuff and they wanted a share of the profits? I wonder if they filmed the mirror world stuff normally and then just flipped the footage? Probably. That seems the easiest and the cheapest. Thank goodness the Doctor has an asymmetrical hair cut or you wouldn't have noticed something was up right away.
It's the finale next week. I hope it's a good one.