@@timelordvictorious For him that’s not really established, on the contrary he’s the only one who seems actually happy to see that The Doctor is trying to help him save Lindy. A big thing this episode establishes about Ricky September is that he IS the only person in Finetime who’s actually vastly different from all of the rest of the denizens of the colony in that he doesn’t live his whole life within his bubble but instead uses it solely to upload his videos for his followers and then spends the rest of his time reading with a particular interest in history. It’s why he’s able to easily walk without his bubble directing every step and is fully aware of what’s going on with everyone being killed by the slug creatures and had formulated the escape plan to save whoever he could. Ricky September reminds me of Shardovan from “Castrovalva” in that he’s a part of this world yet also separate from it. He knows something’s wrong with it and thus does what he can to not become too much of a part of it similar to how Shardovan refused to participate in Castrovalva’s “hunts” as he knew that there was in fact no true history behind them and suspected that their entire world was manufactured somehow whilst everyone else there just went along with it. That’s what makes his death at the end so tragic as he was the only one that would’ve truly been worthy of saving…
This is another one of those episodes I want to rewatch already. It makes sense she immediately swiped on The Doctor when he was trying to help her at first. It took Ruby bugging her just to get the girl to accept help at the start. There’s probably other clues I missed. A fantastic moment for Ncuti as The Doctor at the end. This reminds me of the 10th Doctor begging Davros to accept his help at the end of S4. The 15th Doctor here takes it a step further by asking the racist kids if they would ALLOW him to save them. Told them they could think anything they want. He would DO anything they want. The Doctor was ready to help people who think he’s scum in any way possible. Even if it meant humiliating himself. The Doctor has been a white person for the last like 5,000+ years of his life. Many faces. None black. This is the first time he’s experiencing this type of racism. I think that’s what the laugh from Ncuti was at the end. He’s realizing how absurd this is as someone who has been both white and black.
Oh there were definitely other clues. "I just thought you looked alike," "he's not as dumb as he looks," the criminal accusations, the disgust at him being in the same room as Ruby. I actually missed her immediately blocking him as being a clue at first.
@@Tenebrio-Morio for sure I missed the more subtle hints earlier and put it down to stupid rich kid, damn does it all cascade given that ending context. All the way through though I did wonder, why are all the characters white? This is supposed to be the far future, racism really hasn’t died out at all? Then I got the ending.
As bad as these people and their way of life is, the Doctor clearly still wanted to save them. He was crying because he was powerless to stop an entire society from dying out. He might be a good man who wants to save lives. But he’s not a god. He can’t change an entire society or their way of thinking. These people chose their own fate because they were too set in their ways to accept the Doctor’s help.
Exactly this. Their hateful beliefs were more important to them than being taken somewhere safe. And god, didn't it just throw the uniform whiteness and richness of the society into terrible stark relief...
@@Pooter-it4yg He's *begging* these people to let him save them. He's desperately trying to preserve the last remnants of a society, and they're rejecting him because of the colour of his skin. Are you telling me you wouldn't be completely overwhelmed with despair and rage in his place?
The difference between this an orphan 55 is “Show don’t tell”. The episode never actually uses the word “race” and yet the racism is there all along. They portrayed racism so subtly we didn’t notice, until the shocking reveal.
I haven't had this strong an emotional reaction to an episode since Vincent and the Doctor, and a completely different reaction it was. Raw, yes, the perfect description.
I realized within the first 5 mins of episode that the Doctor was the only black character. I didnt imagine she was being rude to him *because* he was black, as Ruby was a lot more condescending towards her from the start than the Doctor was, so I imagined it was more Ruby talked in her language. I think she did call Ruby stupid a couple of times? am I misremembering? the ending was awesome, and I love that it was so intentional and they did something with the fact that yep, everyone not the doctor was white.
She was insulting to Ruby, because she 'wasn't in her circle', i.e., she was a 'servant'. It was their JOB to rescue them, so Ruby was also 'unworthy'. Disgusting nepo kids!
@@scottboswell6406 this is what i was assuming. Like "oh, a random other person i dont know that wants my attention. I ll treat her according to how much she enterteins/serves me"
@@alejandrogangotena9033 me too. she treated ruby like rubbish because she was beneath her in social status. and yes, lindy did call ruby stupid multiple times.
What's worse than being unable to save an entire race of people? Having an entire race refuse to allow you to save them. In the past the Doctor even saved the Darleks from total extinction.
Nail on the head. Doctor Who has hit on this theme many times, with TheDoctor having reject Timelord society and the Daleks literally beimg racism weaponized, but this episode found a new way to approach it.
@@eastlynburkholder3559 maybe but they'd still refuse to be saved, and at some point no matter how badly you want to help them you have to just acknowledge they won't let you.
When the episode started, I thought Lindy was a bit intolerable but i came to have sympathy for her because she looked like she was waking up to a world she had been conditioned not to see or interact with Even her stupidity with the lack of arrows I brushed off, because I thought if she's so used to having these arrows that tell her how to move she clearly doesn't know how to interact with the world without them Then Ricky September became a real person, and he was more independent, able to think on his own, showing heroic qualities when he led Lindy and when he fought off the dot for her Even after Lindy betrayed Ricky, I still thought maybe she can see how horrible that is, what a truly tragic and yes selfish decision that was, that she might have some regret over it, and it was at that point despite the evidence being clear throughout, that I saw just what a superficial character she was, having learned nothing And then rejecting the Doctor clearly because this version is one with black skin, and I left the episode of two minds One, thinking screw her I hope she dies out there in the forest, she probably will But two, thinking just how deeply she had been programmed, there was just no ability within her to be anything but a selfish vain sheeplike person I did wonder if Ricky would have been as prejudiced against the Doctor as the rest, but sadly we'll never know
Given how much Ricky September reads books about the past and homeworld, I think he would've known in depth about other races. At worst, he'd be overly investigative of the Doctor(like "wow a real black guy")
Ricky was very much like the Doctor, using similar words in saving her. I think that was deliberate because we could see Lindy accept him and then reject later the Doctor, when the only difference was the skin colour.
We didn’t see but it’s safe to assume that they did. These people didn’t know how to walk without the dot an hour ago. You really think they have any idea how to survive in the wild?
I didn't, I agree with The Doctor that they still had inherent value as human beings and that its a tragedy they are dying. Even if you want to say racist lives have no value, they are young enough that its still fairly possible they could have been deprogrammed if taken to a healthy place and worked on for awhile. Its not lie most of them had actually committed any crimes yet at this point. It bothers me how many people who are against racism are so quick to judge human lives as not having value. Isn't the point of not being racist acknowledging that humans have inherent value?
@@hexx3dd Yeah, they are definitely dead. They probably aren't even going to get eaten by anything, they will probably just realize they have no idea how boats work then capsize themselves and drown because they can't swim either.
There's a saying that there's a day in every black kid's life when they realize they're black (meaning they experience racism towards them for the first time). This is that day for the Doctor. They realize the white privilege they've had for millenia is gone. There's no more punching racists, and there are some people that won't let the Doctor save them. I absolutely LOVE that that day for the Doctor happens in a futuristic episode and not in a historical. I can imagine the Doctor reflecting on the events of Human Nature, Thin Ice, and Rosa in a different light because they've now experienced what they put all of their black companions through. Ruby immediately is disgusted and heartbroken, which is perfect. As the white child of a black parent, she would have witnessed microaggressions towards her family and had to exercise her own white privilege on behalf of her family.
I really appreciate this observation. I remember feeling very uncomfortable with the Doctor seeming so unaware of the potential for racism or racial violence against his companions in those episodes. It makes sense that they have a lot to process, now experiencing it firsthand. Also, I think even Ruby didn’t realize until the end that the Doctor was being rejected because of racism. She really breaks down at the end when the reality hits them both, and she reaches for him as if she wishes she could shield and protect him, but knows she can’t. I had the impression she assumed her advantage in talking to Lindy was because she kept things lite and calm and her tone friendly. I can imagine her saying, “Let me try, Doctor. I get it how Lindy wants to just escape into happy thoughts in the Bubble, I’ve used social media that way too sometimes. You can’t sound too urgent or upset, or they’ll just switch you off.” I imagine that she hoped the future had left racism behind.
You make some good points, I would only point out that in human history white racism against black people is not the only form of racism that has existed. As for the Doctor enjoying white privilege, it may exist on Earth for certain time periods but out in the cosmos it is rather limited especially when faced by the ultimate racists of the universe, the Daleks.
Why single out black people though? What about gay or trans people? Do they not have a similar "day"? What about poor working class kids? Do they not wake up one day and realise they are different from other people? It seems your theory is skewed to present a particular narrative, especially since in the modern western world there is nothing special about being black. There was a time (30+ years ago) when racism existed that could hold back black people. However, that is not the case today and that fact is obvious - black people are represented in all roles in society: engineers, scientists, lawyers and judges, doctors, musicians, film stars, sporting heroes, etc. etc. There has never been a better time in history for young black people - they can be whatever they want to be - they just have to put in the hard work like everyone else.
Yes. In thinking about this, the racism takes him by shock... but its not why he is so dismayed... I get a lot of sense as this season progresses that this doctor has been doing a lot of damage control. It started with the goblins, he thinks he beat them, then it turns out he didnt when Ruby is erased from existence... he then has to go back and fix it... the same thing has happened here, he needed to rescue these people, and assumed he could, and he even succeeds, but then loses anyway, by the rejection of those people, it is here that racism effects him personally and is the first time it has become an actual struggle for him. He did not expect it and seems to be really broken over it. we have not seen the deeper context yet.
Just because the character we follow isn't a good person doesn't mean they aren't the protagonist. "Protagonist" just means main character, and has nothing to do with morality. E.g. Walter White is the villian of Breaking Bad, but he's still the protagonist. Same goes for Tony Soprano from The Sopranos.
@@christopheralthouse6378 protagonist come from the ancient greeks. in the greek plays, things would start with the chorus and the first person to step out from the chorus was the protagonist. the word literally breaks down to the first to suffer - Proto Agonist.
Did anyone else notice when Ncuti spat on his coat when he was showing his frustration? He was putting so much of himself into the role. Quite the actor.
Ncuti has officially had what I call his "Capaldi moment". For Pcap it was in the Zygon Inversion. For Ncuti it was this scene. I thought this was gonna be fuller but OMG I was so wrong.
When you think about it, they HAD to do an episode about racism, this was Russell expressing comentary on his casting of Ncuti who's performance was outstanding and seems to get better every week but I have to admit it left me shook. 😅
I think the radical left are more of an issue than the racists - they are stuck in echo chambers where radical left ideology is infesting schools, healthcare and everyday life way more invasive than racist dribble 😂
@@UranusMcVitieFish-yd7oqthink you missed the point in that we now have a black doctor and the concept had to be done at some point. By god did they do it well.
@jayanderson9375 and every episode, even once in this one, has to have some sexual statement or commentary. I remember when it was all about the conflict and the struggle to survive. Instead we get the doctor and Ruby fighting over who gets first date with Ricky September, I just couldn't give a fuck about that and it has nothing to do with the plot. Besides, when did the doctor start being sexually distracted over just saving peoples lives. Wouldn't see Tom Baker doing that shit.
I thought it came clear when The Doctor knew she'd only listen to Ruby to gain trust. This dealt with racism very well and less in your face than Rosa.
I totally agree with you on Rosa, the execution of it was just a bit too on the nose for me and feel like 13’s line at end about how she changed the universe felt like a bit of an over exaggeration if I’m honest. To me what worked better with this is that it was just one of many fatal flaws with both Lindy’s character and the rest of Finetime as a society rather than just being the main focus of the story with nothing else being allowed to take centre stage all while being done in a very non-polarising way you could kind of leave open to interpretation
Me and my mates thought the slugs looked great! I loved that the script portrayed the racism without explicitly saying it. We all found it a real stunner. And just like in Space Babies, the Doctor tries to save the monsters.
I left a comment on another channel, but I wanted to put it here to mention something I took away from this episode. Its not really a "social media is bad" episode, but instead a commentary on echo chambers. The bubble bounces all the same thoughts of entitlement, privalidge and narcisism. All those people in that bubble came from one privalidged position. Now, I dont want to go down a negative rabbit hole, but you can apply this theme to all those channels constantly shouting "woke" about Doctor Who. Those hatefull channels surround themselves in an echo chamber of privaldige, and when they see something which is not aligning with their narrow mindset, whether its someone who is LGBTQ+ or of a different ethinicty or culture, then they are considered a threat to their echochamber that should be punished or hidden or ignored. When Finetime have to drop the bubble, they are disgusted to be in the same room as someone from another background, and dont give them any kindess or acceptance. Even Ricky was considered expendable, as his differences were exploited.
@@TheManInBlueFlames Left or Right, no matter background, both sides have their own echo chambers. Entitled people exist in every community. It's a fact, wherever you will go, there will always be someone who thinks they know better. The episode can apply to anyone, I just find that in my viewing, it stood out that it felt very linked with the very real problem of discrimination by those anti-woke RU-vidrs.
@@DalekCaanOfSkarowell russel probably meant it as a jab at the right(aka anyone who critiques/mocks his new era of doctor who and says its not doing well)failing to realise hes in his own delusional echo chamber where he think he knows best like retconning davros to never be in a wheelchair because disabled people as villians is bad(guess drag queens as villians are fine though?) or the sonic needed to be changed because it looks like a gun? Sure sounds like a guy in his own delusional BUBBLE lol.
@@gman6532there’s a difference between saying an episode is bad and saying that 15 isn’t the Doctor because he’s black and gay. And these anti-woke mfs tend to intertwine the two
I enjoyed this episode, and the more i think about it the better it seems. The metaphors in the story that you mentioned all seem a bit on the nose, but it works well. (Head in a bubble, blocking out real world issues with social media, etc) i think the bluntness of them plays to the episodes advantage. Actually, even though the themes and metaphors are fairly obvious, i personally didn't really see them until after the episode was over. it all just kinda flowed together well enough that i went along for the ride of the episode and took it all in before analyzing it. Which I think is nice that the episode was able to evoke that response in me. As a POC i liked the ending, i thought it was unexpected and sad. Interesting idea that the Doctor met these people now. its his first time being a black man in 2000 years or more, and he immediately runs into this. None of his previous incarnations would have 'failed' to save these people. Any of the previous incarnations may not have ever even discovered that this society was bigoted at all. What would these people think if they knew the Doctor was a face changer? How would that effect their view of him? IDK, just felt that was an intriguing ending. The main girl's devolution into villain was well done. Her killing September like that was heavy in the moment. At first it felt cowardly in a moment of weakness... but immediately after its revealed that shes cowardly and deceitful as a characteristic. Shes more aware of her actions and circumstances than i previously realized. When she says "this might be the best day of my life" it initially felt callous but born from stupidity and thoughtlessness. Until the end where its revealed, she's more aware of the gravity of the situation than i initially believed and her comments earlier can now be attributed to callousness due to malice and a lack of empathy. She's unabashedly selfish and cruel. Very nice way of recontextualizing some of her lines and actions throughout the episode.
That ending was amazing. The dots didn't learn hate because the society was very vapid and obnoxious. They learned hate because the society was built on hate.
Great post. I think the on the nose, unsubtle commentary on social media was brilliant because it made the racism throughout the episode more subtle by comparison. Much like micro-aggressions in the real world. You often wonder if a comment is due to race or just because the person is a jerk. In hindsight, however, when all of the comments and actions can be viewed as a whole and in context of a more overt racist act, you wonder how you could have missed the earlier racist statements and actions.
I just saw the episode, but a few hours ago I saw the title of this video before watching the episode and I went into it like "ok, there's gonne be a shocking moment, watch out for it", and as I watched the episode and saw Lindy sacrifice Ricky to save herself I thought "yep, that must be the moment, can't get worse than that, right?" ... My stars I was SO wrong! How can they be that desperately intolerant they won't even let him save them?!
The slug creatures were *very* Doctor Who. They reminded me of creature effects in the show from the mid 70s, updated for the 21st century. Such a treat!
This has been one of the best episodes of the new series. Very Black Mirror. I loved the social commentary and how technology and algorithms are flattening culture, and how this really brings that out.
I quite agree. Definitely not only a commentary on race in the end, which was very subtly done, Chibbnall eat your heart out, however also a pretty accurate reflection on the younger generations and the reliance on social media and tech. I really hope that when I have kids I can impress upon them in a positive way that nature is also important. Spending time in nature and to always question things. Not to take them at face value and to be well read and well rounded as individuals. I do worry that people are becoming more shallow, especially in the west and less tolerent of difference and disability for example. All in all, a great episode
What I enjoyed in terms of social commentary is the fact that the villain was “eating the rich” so to speak they were well off people literally being eaten 😂 I loved it the black mirror element was superb
It’s, too often true like a certain orange menace who won’t serve prison time no matter how many felonies he is convicted of. All because he’s a ruthless bad guy
At first, for me, felt like a boarding school (but without the learning part, just hedonism😝). Very rich parents (as imature and entitled as their kids) not knowing how to cope with them and solving the problem in the most easy and expensive way. But then, we've got a "twist" and a shocking revelation. Good episode with a brilliant ending!
That, and “voodoo.” Very specific words. Words that were fairly common in racist language during the Civil Rights era in America, and I’m sure elsewhere.
The protagonist can the villain. The protagonist means the character that drives the story forward (also not necessarily the "main character"0. The perfect example is Thanos as the protagonist of Infinity War.
It reminded me of Gridlock too where they can’t get away from the freeway and the police don’t answer. And then the turn left all the time. Was also reminded of Barbie with brushing teeth - and how do they eat? And how were they made and what happens when they turn 28 and before 17?
I knew that the show would have an episode dealing with The Doctor's Blackness, and I'm glad that RTD did it with a scalpel rather than a sledgehammer. I had to reexamine all of the interactions the kids had with The Doctor after the big reveal. When I realized they were ostracizing him for his race, and not just because he was unknown to them, it made me sad.
I think most of us were expecting the Doctor’s first brush with overt racism would be in a historical setting on Earth, but setting it on another planet and futuristic setting was so much more powerful, and sad to know that all of the prejudice and racism we see now will likely be around in the far future.
One of the best dr who episodes ive seen in about 10 years, but ive just seen another channel slaughter it because it was "woke" and the main character wasnt likeable 😂😂 yeah no shit that was the point
@@maxvickrey4357 they said "I can't believe people would forget how to walk without instructions" and "I forgot the main characters name because I wanted them to die" and they didn't see the irony there at all
yeah, its kinda like paul ryan's favorite band being rage against the machine until they "went political" rage against the machine's first line from their first single was "some of them that work forces are the same that burn crosses" rage has always been woke just like doctor who, and while it is sad that there is systematic misjustice, it is much sadder to sleep on it. i do think who fell off a little for awhile, i wasn't the biggest fan of capaldi as the doctor (loved him as malcom tucker though) and i skipped his last season and 13's first season. i have been catching up a little though. i thought 13's second series was super spotty, i adored spyfall but orphan 55 was possibly one of my least liked episodes of new who. i love doctor who addressing climate change, but orphan 55 was just so badly written. but it's almost like these people see any recognition of systemic injustice to be heavyhanded clumsy attempts like orphan 55 was. thats not true, doctor who has been doing social commentary well (and unwell sometimes) longer than most of its fans have been alive.
it's nice that they are noticing susan twist in the episodes and I also noticed that in the end of the story they could all just walk normally without any problem
Lol. WhoCulture Does anyone actually watch that still? unfortunately they can't form an opinion if it hit them over the head with a hammer. That's why I subscribe to Rich Huddson. He has a waaay more balanced view of things. Unfortunately he's not posted any of the new season reviews so far though which is sad
Hope the boat sinks , a terrific episode really well written with a commentary of where the next generation is heading , really nuanced pointers and the ending was so shocking . Great acting by all the cast , Ncuti at the end was terrific .
One thing that I'm intrigued by is RTD said he had this idea in 2010 or 2011, I can't remember but he had dinner with Moffat and Karen and spoke about this idea. I'm trying find a good way to word it. I wonder how it would have played out in 2010-11 with Matt Smith and Karen and how much was changed with Ncuti being cast. Like would the original idea just have been "outsiders bad?"
It's of course easy to read the racism in Lindy, but maybe its just me but I read it more as a class thing specifically within the text of the episode (while the episode acknowledges the racial aspect). I imagine the idea would have been largely the same, having the focal character heel turn towards the end, but having Ncuti adds so much to the execution.
I don't know if I am reading it correctly but I think she easily sacrificed September because he was different. I think that society don't like difference. He wasn't in the bubble, he preferred to read and study
@Volcanopyre I think she was definitely more stand-off once she learned he just used the bubble for a few minutes a day rather all day. I'm imagining the 2011 version would have been more a class society or something. I dunno I was getting like Gossip girl/mean girl vibes off from a few scenes. I think that's the beauty of the ending how it never says racism or simple classisum or simply don't trust outsiders
I feel like I was the only one who felt something was off with Lindy when I first saw her interactions with other and realised everyone sounded posh and they weren't mixed with people of colour.
Man, I genuinely loved this episode (although it did leave me confused at first). I hated Lindy because I've met people like her before, but I was rooting for her to get out and become a better person through adversity. It's actually really wild how the episode tricks you into thinking she might change because of what genre Doctor Who is. It often shows the best of humanity, and gives you the perception that with the right influence, people can always be redeemed, but then it snaps you back to reality in this episode and reminds you that while everyone has the capacity for change, not everyone is willing to change. I remember even hearing the "I thought you just looked like the other guy" and thinking, "did- did they just?" But when the final scene happened, it took me an embarrassingly long time to figure out what was going on. Had to rewatch the scene because I couldn't for the life of me understand why they wouldn't take the Doctor's Help. Was it ego? Was it because they're outsiders? And then it hit me. And man did that suck to see, but it was easy to accept, all things considered. If Lindy can murder someone in cold blood to save her own skin, she could definitely have an issue with the color of other peoples' skin. Speaking of- Justice for Ricky! He would've been open-minded enough to travel with the Doctor. It likely would have been touch and go because you don't unlearn prejudice over night, but the man clearly had an extremely open mind by Finetime standards. If any of them could, it would've been him, which makes his death all the more tragic. Over-all, aside from Boom (written by Moffat), I was a little let down by the writing on episodes 1-3 from Russel, but with 73 Yards and now this episode, I'm thinking, "Yeah, now THIS is the guy who brought Doctor Who back in 2005". Idk, it seems to me that Russel had a lot of great ideas for Doctor Who episodes that had been well thought through, but when it came to how to start the new series, his ideas seemed undercooked. Glad he's back firing on all cylinders, though, because this is properly great.
I was on edge with this episode. I was shocked when Lindy cut off the very person who helped her to safety! Once again in many ways a reflection of our society. 😢
I may be a minority here but to me this was better than 73 yards. my only complaint thus far of this season is i feel its WAY to short. I want to see more of 15!!!!
Looking back on this episode I think it was really smart that RTD chose to write so many humiliating and pathetic moments for these characters, especially Lindy, considering the reveal. It makes it more enjoyable on rewatches lol.
Lovely social satire of the utter obsession/dependence with "social meedja" - and folk literally walking around in a "bubble" looking at their devices - to such an extent they've forgotten how to walk...Again, very nice digs at a those individuals who are crass, superficial self-centred and hedonistic... Well done RTD !
100% it only hit me 2nd rewatch just how vile these people were. It's the inane chatter makes you zone out. The 2nd watch it really hits you apart from Ricky they had no redeeming qualities at all. I really wanted the biggest Mother slug to emerge from the Water and just take them all out. When you think this was his 1st day and this was his first performance he's nailed this.
There's been quite a few people with names related to the passing / measuring of time in this season. Ruby Sunday, Monday, September? What is this? This episode was brilliant ❤
From a theatrical standpoint, a protagonist can be a villain just as much as an antagonist can be a hero like magneto. I really think people need to get past the idea that the words mean one and the same but protagonist doesn’t mean hero. It’s usually the lead. The character that you follow. Just as the antagonist can be heroic. antagonist simply means against the protagonist. Not strictly villain
How in the fuck did this one little scene make me feel more for POC then the whole of the Rosa episode just shows what happens when u have a decent writer again
The whole episode felt very douglas adamsy, the being killed in alphabetical order, people so reliant on computers they've forgotten how to walk, very much the sort of satire he'd be writing if he was still with us
I enjoyed it, a nice simple Who monster story with a good bit of social commentary. I liked that the world was clearly a sci-fi allegory but relatable. Regarding Lindy I guess that was a comment on rich influencers who are fake woke on camera but vacuous snobby asshats IRL. I wasn’t sure if it was written as racism or class snobbery at the end, maybe both, but it was a good twist to leave us wondering if the ‘villain’ had been right all along.
Pretty dark episode. Basically, the dots n slugs killed off that entire race of people, right?? Also never expected the doctor to go “primary directive” at the end like that. Initially thought I was reading too much quiet racism in the episode at first, but then wow…no, I’m not going crazy they were racist. but still thought the doctor would save them from themselves. On a separate note, I’m still waiting for this doctor’s action hero moment-like was written for David and Matt’s first episode. Not seeing it so far this series.
I think they're trying to scale back on the action hero aspect. Every episode has the doctor need help to win. Without Ruby or the Beatles, the doctor would probably be dead. That's what I like about the doctor, he is very smart, but needs others to help him. Even in season 1, Nine needed Rose's help a lot of the time.
I have problems with some the of the acting and writing choices but that’s been the case since the first 60th special , however I loved that Ricky was betrayed like that because it was unexpected for the show and the realisation that the protagonist and honestly this society in general not worth saving after all made a brilliant ending
one other thing i wanna mention that i haven't seen talked about is, who has the technology to keep the tardis out? who has the technology capable of creating life forms from nothing with the sole purpose of destroying an entire species? Seems like the Dalek could be involved. It does kinda fit their MO as well
This was one of the places where the episode stumbled - it never actually establishes that dark skinned people exist in this species (there is a clear sign that they aren't human) in the first place. If you had seen an actual underclass of dark skinned people (like having Dr. Pee be dark-skinned), then it would have landed a bit better.
Since next week’s episode appears to be set in the past how will he be treated? I’ve theorized since Ncuti was cast that he might use a perception filter to make himself look like a white guy whenever needed.
This episode was by far the best at world building and plot advancement. This is the first episode of the season and possibly the new era where it felt like the plot moved in a logical sense and you didn’t have to stop and think why, and it’s the first time in a while where the risk felt dangerous and something could go seriously wrong. One of the best and most consistent scripts we’ve had in Doctor Who for a while. Plus the character building of 15 and Ruby at the end was shocking, but looking back it made absolute perfect sense. Maybe my favorite episode of the new era and leaves me very excited for Rogue
This is definitely one of the most emotional episodes I've seen in a long while. It is hard not to imagine all of the metaphors intended by this population of entitled, ignorant, and immoral people so convinced of their own superiority and righteousness that no amount of reality or facts will sway them from their views. Whether it is religion or politics or racism or bigotry of one stripe or another, I could not untangle the knot in my stomach that grew and grew until the very end.
7:48 To apply some rudimetary Computer Science, its possible they were almost performing a "linear search" on the list of all the people in Finetime, killing in alphabetical order ensures that nobody is missed.
Why are you surprised they'd address racism? This Doctor is the first Doctor we follow that isn't white (excluding the mystery black woman doctor we see for a hot minute.) Of course how he experiences the world would be different. Of course all of the people he goes to save would react differently than when he is a white man. It isn't shocking that while the previous Doctors would speak and everyone would line up behind them because obviously he should be in charge,; but when it is a black Doctor, he get mocked and ignored before they walk away to their doom. It would be surprising if RTD didn't acknowledge that.
It seemed like the elephant in the room that writers were too afraid to address, or that if there was a racism episode then it'd be more on the nose(i.e. the Doctor goes to early 1900s America)
Another moment that I think is a clue at the twist is how upset Lindsay was finding out the doctor and ruby in the same room like that made ruby ‘contaminated’ as they said at the end.
I kept hoping somehow the Doctor and Ruby would be able to sneak in and rescue Ricky last minute, but it didn’t happen. He didn’t even seem like the type the dots would hate. What bothered me more however was, if they couldn’t get in to Finetime, how did the Doctor and Ruby find out about Lindy to begin with? And what killed off everyone on the Homeworld?
In the image from homeworld, there is a slug. The point was that the older people living on homeworld were just as hated by the dots as the kids in Finetime.
It felt a lot like the way "Starship Troopers" had the humans invade a planet and get a horrific backlash from the original lifeforms on the planet. Like I said, it had that feel to it.
i didn't even realize that this was a doctor light episode until you just said! thats two in a row! both so good too, i think space babies is the only weak part of this season so far, if it keeps up this quality it might just match series 6 (2011) as my favorite who series!
Would it have helped or reduced the effectiveness of the episode for the prejudice to have been less "on the nose' and directed against some equally stupid reason for the racism like brown eyes or a shared birthmark of some kind (getting into Dr Seuss territory here) or handedness - like all lefties are inferior or despised. This Is supposedly about beings from a different planet, society, culture, socioeconomic reality. But this alternative approach could possibly very effectively demonstrate the unreasonableness of prejudice by Not being exactly the racism that we know but being something we haven't ever thought or lived around (and therefore something whose unreasonableness would seem very obvious to us earthlings.
That would certainly have been a braver choice, but it would also have needed a lot more spelling out. A strength of the episode is that, by picking an issue that we're all acutely aware of, they were able to deliver a plot twist without ever making it explicit, and get people rewatching the episode to reinterpret the earlier dialogue. But I would like to see them tackle types of prejudice that are not so firmly in the public consciousness - science fiction is made for that.
As someone who's VERY familiar with the UK class system, from public schools to Dagenham council estates. It's eerie how easily I could imagine meeting people like this. (just for clarity for non UK people, "public school" is where really posh kids go here in England, unlike state school) I'm from a pretty working class family, but I got into a very prestigious private school through a scholarship system as a teenager. This episode basically gave me war flashbacks 😆
You know...I kind of prefer the 3rd Doctor story that took place in an alternate universe where U.N.I.T. was made up of evil counterparts and The Doctor couldn't save them, he could only save himself, a lot better. Whatever this is, it's rubbish.
I thought during the whole episode that they were xenophobes, biggots to other humanoid species...not... racists... I thought the scream at the end was the desperation of not being able to save people because they think they know better... But it's not just that is it? Jeez, I'm gonna need a rewatch, a hard one for sure... cried already without the full understanding of it 😢
I think they were sent there to be eliminated. I think their society is advanced enough to recognize the stupid horrible people in a society, provided a place that would appeal to narcissistic, vapid individuals and still giving them a chance at redemption by helping others, using their intellect to become aware of their voluntary prison, etc. Ricky September, I think, would have redeemed himself, and notice how he’s one of the few people actually creating something (his songs) not just mindlessly consuming. The other trumpet player girl also made the final round we see. Perhaps the remaining challenges will weed out more. I think the Doctor and Ruby clearly interfered w/ this system as Lindsey what’s her face clearly wouldn’t have made it without their assistance (insistence) and didn’t deserve to. The episode IMO is clever as it looks like the fluff the true bad characters live by, but turns out to be much darker. The one possible bit of evidence against my theory they were sent here is Ricky finding the home world has a population of zero, with those Slug things clearly on the home world (they look like Fendahleen mated with Tractators, eww!). Could mean many things; their own agents of death ended up backfiring and killing the homeworlders, a faction of traitors could have betrayed the others, perhaps the bulk of the civilization isn’t aware of what the government(?) does to their vapid overly spoiled children, etc etc. very Black Mirror-esque and easily one of the best so far. Only 3 episodes left???
Strange how her mother was this person that's been in every episode so far? And this time the Doctor and Ruby realised. Who is she? I really hope she is The Rani or another time lord...definitely not The Master again!
As RTD got his juvenile humour, fillery episode out of the way first (i like Space Babies but get why people don't), people have been slow to come round to this season, but we've since had the best hit rate in good to great episodes since Capaldi's last (if not further back). I found the bug creatures creepy as heck, by the way. All those gloopy noises, and the rows of teeth...
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