This Was Meant to Be the Bad One (Dot and Bubble Review) 

Shockingly good? Shockingly bad? Neutrally mixed? Let me know!

The inability to walk without the arrows isn’t particularly unrealistic. A large chunk of our brain’s sense of balance comes from our visual system establishing a horizon. Her brain has adapted to using the arrows and the bubble grid for that reference. At uni, I did an experiment on this as part of my biopsychology course. It takes about 20 to 30 minutes for the brain to adapt when you shift the orientation of the horizon and during that time you can’t walk in a straight line and feel motion sick/dizzy.

As a Black person, this was incredibly done as an episode exploring not just racism but white supremacy. And I'm glad Russell wrote it, as a white man. Because to be honest, having the onus to talk about these things constantly put on us, it's good to have it recognized that racism and white supremacy are white people issues.

[non-black POC opinion] i think it's really important that the episode showed that the homeworld was overrun by the slugs and destroyed... not only does the doctor want to save the residents of finetime because the doctor wants to save everyone, there's a personal aspect to it as well what w/ him being the last of the timelords again. they are the last living people of their world and they're all going to die because they can't see beyond their bigotry and prejudice. i really appreciate that rtd isn't just saying "racism is bad" with this episode, but also "racism is stupid" and "racist societies are inherently destructive and will eat themselves alive". as well as the fact that this was a story set in the future, so there's also "racism still exists and is not just a thing of the past". it's a vast improvement on social commentary from the chibnall era, and it's an impressive amount of nuance given to the topic considering he's a middle aged white man and also the fuckups he had in his first era w/ mickey and martha. next time it's addressed i would really like a writer of color handling it though

I identified with the slugs more than that vacuous creature...

I really liked Lindy in that "oh she's so out of her depth I can't wait to see her rise to the occasion" way, and that moment of her betraying Ricky shook me to the core. It made me realize that maybe I was only rooting for her because of her place as the protagonist and not because she was actually capable of growing as a person. It was such a good and surprising twist on the classic "we're following this bystander instead of the Doctor" story, I'm really glad this exists.

Can't think of a time when I've watched Doctor Who before and literally said 'Let them die' in reference to the humans.

As a WOC, I liked this episode solely in the sense that it's actually what experiencing racism is like. Russell said in the behind the scenes video on the DW channel that people kept asking him about a Black version of The Doctor going to the past experiencing racism, and Russell thought what about now and how he could still experience racism now. This episode is very much like what racism is now. It's people making these off-putting rude comments and valuing a white person more than you and all of these awful little interactions that once you're able to put them together you realize you're not the problem, the problem is that the reason the other person is acting like and and treating you like that is because they're racist. I don't know if Russell consulted with any BIPOC folks in writing this, I'd hope he did, but it's not far off from what current racism looks and feels like.

Not an original thought but honestly the best thing about this ep wasn’t just ‘racism bad’ but ‘racism really fucking stupid’

The Doctor challenging his belief of saving people due to an inherent feeling of justice, now THATS what I call an INNER CONFLICT

Literally true. I meant into this thinking it would be generic "social media bad" stuff but it actually went deeper

I, too, thought Ricky Spetember was secret evil.

I was really not on board in the first half.. I laughed at some of the absurdist stuff but I thought it was being unnecessarily mean to Gen-Z and teenage girls specifically.. which is fairly well-trodden ground and is basically what Black Mirror devolved into But that ending, good lord.. it feels like the one where the message is the most subtle which I loved, and an actual satisfying twist

I had a thought that The Doctor would face racism now due to being in a non-White regeneration, but assumed it would be set in the past like the 40s or 50s. Seeing it happen here in the future with a cruel twist ending just makes it even more unsettling. None of those people are going to survive.

Its disturbing how the usual suspects dont understand the point of the ending with this one, genuinely a shocking twist, but its unsurprising that they see it as preachy when its a subtley told message about important issues that could continue to plague society all the way into the far future.

I don't read their helplessness as a "phone bad" thing. With a reveal it becomes preposterous that they feel superior to the Doctor while they couldn't even walk without a bubble.

What does it say that throughout my first watch I just kept thinking “ooooh Russel did NOT think about the optics of that line!”? Number one concern was that the white writer may have written some things that others might perceive as racist.

I think you summed it up perfectly. No one had high hopes for this episode, bit of a goofy name and the concept did look like it was very much going to be one dimensional and slating social media. But how it was a commentary on echo chambers and people that surround themselves like that was so clever. The twist didn't shock me as much as other people but very much agree that on repeat viewings there is going to be a lot of moments or lines that stick out so much more.

This episode was surprisingly much better than expected and I love the design of the slug monsters

This is a great depiction of how we deal with racism. The fact we can see it in our face up close and not recognise it tells a story. My semi negative was the death of Ricky. It made Lindy irredeemably. The problem is it gives an impression that only irredeemable people can be racist. The truth is everyday people who seemingly nice people can hold racist views.

I've rewatched all the episodes this series, but this was the first time I went back and watched that last scene 3 extra times in the few hours after my first watch, followed by a full rewatch before Saturdays rewatch. For the foreseeable future I'm addicted to an episode of Who again. I've really missed this feeling

In my opinion the first half of the episode was just okay standard Doctor Who AI turns evil but the twist that Lindy was willing to betray Ricky and all the citizens of Finetime are racist pieces of sh*t who would rather doom themselves than let a black person help them made it amazing. Speaking of racist pieces of sh*t as mentioned before it is because of you I know Lawrences Fox exists I want to thank you for that because I just learned what a miserable life he is living. Even though I'm atheist I want to bless you in the name of all gods.

It’s funny how RTD has said that episode 4 was the best thing he had written when I think this episode is the one that actually stood out to me the most in this series. Boom is still probably my favourite so far but this is the one that i think best showcases the potential of this new era and what they can do with Ncuti’s Doctor going forward

This was a very The Rings of Akhaten-type episode. It was just an average enjoyable episode and then right at the end, the Doctor gives a performance that I will come back and watch for years.

My hot take is that this is my favourite episode of the series so far. I didn’t expect to like it either but I like it the more I think about it.

Admittedly I was the oblivious white girl who didn't realise that Lindy was being racist at the end until twitter pointed it out. But after a rewatch it makes so much sense. I think this episode is a great fun watch which has produced a lot of fun and interesting conversations amongst the Doctor who community.

i love how finetime is basically just vault 29 from fallout

I do think it’s interesting that a number of reactors and reviewers only got the racial aspect after going on Twitter. That’s more interesting, as Joe said. He excused the protagonist’s behavior toward the Doctor until having it spelt out and looked back. I think this episode reveals more about the viewer who didn’t see or recognize the prejudice or even the parallels with what Ncuti is getting outside of the show via the rage baiting channels on social media. His reaction at the end was perfect because it’s the senselessness and frustration racism causes. Here’s a thought experiment, there are times when folks of colour get treated this way but also have to convince the dominant culture of what is happening to them. The Doctor’s physical reaction is how it feels….utterly helpless and maddening. No words can describe.

people thinking the ending coming out of nowhere are telling on themselves a lil bit.

I took the walking thing as rich kids having their entire lives planned out for them so straying from the path their parents set is confusing but maybe im reading to much into it lol

I was in the same boat. I was expecting this to be trash, but it ended up being one of my favorites. This had my favorite moments from Ncuti and helped cement him more as the Doctor for me. I actually like it more than Boom. 73 Yards is still my favorite of the season, but honestly I'm really glad to have enjoyed the bulk of the season.

I have to say, I really liked the big twist. That twist, of course, being 15 minutes in, is me suddenly realising im actually getting really invested into this episode.

I watched it after it aired on tv cause i missed it so i had a good almost 24 hours of small spoilers and stuff. So i knew going in it was about more than what i was thinking initially, and i guess i was worried that that was gonna weaken it for me, but if anything, i think it added to the experience! Knowng how awful she is at the end kinda highlights the microaggresions she throws at the doctor throughout the episode

When I was watching and that reveal came I literally said, “Oooooh, they’re racists.” And my mum commented, “I’d wondered why they were all white.”

Thank you for putting these videos out every week, really enjoying listening to your commentary and analysis of each episode as they come out.

2:14 I agree. Like it was rather in your face about it but the part where the girl looks to her left and sees a monster eating someone then starts scrolling through her dot to distract herself was too real even if it was an extreme example.

I loved this episode, it was the first one i considered rewatching

I juust realised the poetry of the ending. These people are so unprepared that they have zero chance of surviving on their own in the wild. While staying in their little bubble about what their society deems appropriate, they walked straight into the waiting jaws of death just like they'd been doing with the slugs

I saw someone say that the "not being able to walk without the bubble" wasn't her literally not being able but her not wanting to be without her bubble and looking for an excuse and I think that might be the intention

I like that discussions of racism aren’t limited to historic episodes, like racism is solely an issue of the past.

Don't worry, I'm not an oblivious white guy, but definitely felt like one at the end of this episode. I'd noticed that everyone in the bubble was white, but then thought maybe I'd just seen it wrong and didn't really think about it again until the end. I hope those people on the boat experience a similar fate to the rich people at the end of 'Don't Look Up.'

Her last name is Pepper-Bean. Like Mrs Bean, Donna's teacher!

I enjoy how annoying and at times insufferable Lindy Pepper-Bean is because on a first watch, there's an expectation she would get some growth and become more likeable, but then the twist of the episode completely pulls the rug out from under you.

I have seen every episode of this series twice - once at midnight when it drops, then once the next day with my family - and every single one has gotten better on rewatch (which is really impressive in its own right) but none more so than this one!

I will agree, the twist didn't come out of nowhere. Lindy betraying Ricky might have, but she was shown to be a horrible person so it's not that surprising. I'll admit, even after the credits rolled, I missed the racism part, but I can see it in retrospect. I think I might've changed how the slugs and the Bubble were linked. I feel the explanation for the alphabetical killing was a bit overdone, just like explaining the Bogeyman was, but the racism was underexplained. Maybe having the Dots directing people into the slugs would've been a better monster justification, but that could have been too close to ATMOS back in Series 4.

For the walking, I think that may be like it's for us if we'd walk on a path in these turning tunnels where you can't stay up straight because your eyes tell you need to turn to the side. Their nervous system isn't used to seeing anything but the bubble, it's sensory overload.

I think we already know that she retains SOMETHING from 73 Yards because in the first scene she says she’s been to wales twice but at the end in the new version of the same scene she says she’s been 3 times and the can’t really remeber when the 3rd was.

I didn't like Lindy from the start. She was annoying and really hard to root for. But I figured she would probably have some redemption by the end, so I went with it. Then she sold Ricky out. I literally yelled BITCH at the tv. As bad as I felt for Ricky, I felt more satisfied that I was never meant to like this person at all. This episode is far better on a rewatch. But I feel really stupid, for a whole lot of reasons. The line about not recognising The Doctor because she thought he just looked the same, I chalked it up to her being an idiot. But it's so blatant that _I_ then felt like the idiot for brushing it off like that. So many other little things are recontextualised and it works great. But the thing I feel most stupid for was that I knew. I was aware of the leak that the episode would end with the reveal of them all being racist. I had ignored that outright because I thought it was some crazy fake leak, possibly made up by someone trying to shit on the shows "wokeness" or something. It sounded that way to me. "There's going to be an episode where The Doctor lectures a bunch of racists at the end." I thought there was no way. And technically, it wasn't. Because it wasn't a lecture. It was The Doctor desperately trying to be The Doctor and save them. Not only was I wrong to think this moment wouldn't happen, it worked out far better than I ever would've thought.

That the racism wasn't called out was a bold move, I think. Ruby recognised it and didn't see the point to trying to talk them around and The Doctor didn't care but wanted to help. I wouldn't mind betting RTD lobbed that in there as some sort of, "So, what do you have for this, anti-wokers?"

I'm glad we're starting to get past this #RIPDoctorWho trend that has been forced on us and we can finally just enjoy the show at face value and not have to bat off all the people who just want the show to die because it represents everything they hate in the world.

I am really hoping we get some sequel episode to this. The Finetime kids are clearly have a lot of racism and general prejudice in them however they are also products of a very sheltered life. Would be intersting to see them in a few years with some of them realising they where bastards and trying to make some sort of amends while others may double down on their bad world views. The GOAT Ricky September proves that some of these kids may have potential for redemption. Lindy would double down on her views and would make a great antagonist in some sequel episode.

I was so oblivious to the racism theme that even when my wife and I were discussing it at the end and she pointed out that they rejected the Doctor because he was black, I STILL didn’t think that’s what they were doing - I thought they were rejecting him because he wasn’t from their society and therefore they didn’t trust him (I was COMPLETELY oblivious to the fact that a character referred to the TARDIS very deliberately as “voodoo” as a racial pejorative). I even still didn’t fully appreciate it when my wife pointed out that she’d realised that everyone on the planet was white (a connection I’d utterly failed to make). I thought that it was commenting on the fact that rich families are often white due to inherited wealth from exploitative ancestors and STILL didn’t straight away think that they were saying “this is a planet full of racists!” Even though it turns out that the episode was screaming this at me VERY loudly. Suffice to say, I’m feeling very, VERY stupid and wondering how I failed to make the proper connections and what that says about me as a person…

I feared it would be a new "Space babies". But this episode was great. The three last episodes has all been wonderfuly dark.

An unexpected banger of an episode. Stuff that happened and that was said in the episode hit me like a brick after the ending, honestly. In terms of the main theme of the episode, it definitely did what Rosa completely failed to do back in 2018 in the Chibnall Era.... which was praised at the time? (but hey at least Chibbers didn't write it by himself!!!). In terms of Ruby and the Doctor, it STILL feels like we barely know them as characters- what with the speedrun of The Doctor's backstory in Space Babies, Ruby's brief introduction in TToRR, episodes where they're both out of the picture for most of it, the weird dynamic of instant best friends, Ruby getting a TARDIS key straight away- it still leaves a lot to be desired but that might be because of the reduced episode count and everything being VERY experimental in terms of a new era of the show? Perhaps everything feels a bit of for a plot reason?

"he's probably not gonna sing in the episode" famous last words

I like how the messaging in this is so subtle that it doesn't hit you until the end. I mean in retrospect there were Red Flags that when you rewatch become much more noticeable.

Lmao love the Community reference, I’ve been watching through the show for the first time while this new Doctor Who season has been coming out and I love it

This one is my favourite yet! I have also been super excited for Boom and 73 Yards for weeks, but had no expectations for this, and had a much much better experience watching this one. The structure and pace was just better / more balanced. The feeling that parts of the script were left underdeveloped, that has been present in every RTD 2 ep yet including everything through the 60th specials to Boom & 73 Yards, was finally gone! Every element of plot in the episode finally felt adequately explored at worst, and done exceptionally at most parts of the episode. The commentary evolving from one on "social media echo-chamber bubbles" to "politically charged segregationist bubbles" basically was handled with grace. The slow, subtle, careful revealing of Lindy going from an assumed innocent damsel in distress to "entitled rich bitch" was done astonishingly well, the episode kept on giving us little clues about how shallow and self-obsessed, and it all just seemed like weird little character quirks until the dot went off on Ricky. Speaking of which, Ricky bloody September! What a wonderful wonderful bit of the episode. First we think he'll just be the "insert social media celebrity character here" present in every tv show that does the "sci-fi commentary on social media" bit. Then we think he'll be the perfect Prince Charming love interest of the story, then he turns out to sorta be the perfect companion the Doctor could have, brave, curious, selfless, clever, charming, quick on his feet, etc. Really gave me Astrid Peth vibes too, stuck in a life he doesn't feel he belongs to, is a much more contemplative and introspective thinker than the people he is around etc, and of course, the end he meets. Seemingly unlike most people, I also loved what the origin / reason of existence for the slugs turned out to be. An AI, working on pure cold logic and without the heroic human ideals the Doctor lives by, coming to the conclusion that the segregationist, separatist community they serve are evil bastards that need to be taken down; and doing it in a way clever enough that at the end of it the AI wouldn't be blamed for rising up against its "masters", but it would be seen as a natural disaster of sort is brilliant already. A machine realizing if they gotta take a society of humans down, they gotta do it in a way where they would neither be caught during it, nor would have people come after them afterwards is on its own a concept strong enough to hold together a whole episode of Doctor Who. But the Slugs, beings the machine creates, that seem like natural native lifeforms of the planet the colony is set up in, being not only perfect weapons for the machines planned genocide, but also perfect clean-up is the cherry on the sci-fi cake! That's why the dot doesn't just attack people, the slugs get rid of the bodies, digest it. If it weren't for the Doctor, all that was gonna be left would've been a ghost town, overrun by "nature". And oh the town, Finetime being a dull, boring, unimaginative town; the facade of the perfect town, not even being a thing that had any effort put into it outside of the peoples lives inside the dot and bubble, even without any slug or ai shenanigans. The whole project full-on clearly being a cheap scam to get a few quids off of ritch dickheads, like what most private schools have become, or what most of these "work and travel" schemes are. Only interesting and desirable to the rich and ignorant, simply because they got convinced by corporate-speak, not because anything in Finetime has any actual merit. Explored throughout the episode through Doctor and Ruby questioning Lindy, trying to understand, what the purpose, appeal, and function of finetime is, just to realise the point is there is no point in Finetime existing. No reason, no benefit. Corporate just had to tell the racists they could give their kids a place segragated from all they disapprove, filled only with what they approve; and voila, cash has been made 😂 Ncuti gave his as yet best performance in the small time he had, and we got to see a side of The Doctor we don't often see; "angry and not able to do anything about it" angry not at the "villain" of the episode but at the people he's trying to save. Frustrated that when people raised in their own bubbles, go into fight or flight mode, their prejudices and belief in their own superiority will overshadow anything he can say or do. You can help someone, only as much as they let you. If their shitty little echochamber is what they turn to, what they try to seek comfort in, what they use to cling to life; you cannot change in a moment, how their mind has been conditioned to work for years. Genuinely think this has become one of my alltime favs, up there with Midnight and Planet of the Ood!

Me and a mate watched it in the woods expecting the next ‘Love and Monsters’ and I was honestly astounded how invested I was. The twist was great, the execution was really stellar, performances were brilliant and the messaging was done in a surprisingly nuanced way that we’d never seen before. Loved it. Genuinely my favourite episode of the season.

I held off on watching this episode until today because I honestly thought I wasn't gonna like it at all, but now I'm surprised to say it's probably my second favorite of the season behind Boom and above 73 yards. This season really keeps on surprising me, because I feel like it just keeps getting better and better.

I feel like we needed one more scene where we see that fate of the racist nepo-baby ‘survivors’ as they immediately meet their doom once they leave the Doctor behind

i think the thing with the ending that surprised me is that they actually acknowledged the racism. and not just in a "oh that must be hard for you. anyway!.." kinda way

I was so proud of myself to see the twist half way through, really surprisingly enjoyed it

"Dot and Bubble" goes so much harder than it has to, and had some genuine moments of cover your mouth horror. Fantastic episode.

I feel like everyone’s series ranking top 3 is gonna be a tight race between Boom, 73 yards, and now this!

Ricky September was such a fascinating character and so cleverly written. He is written exactly as The Doctor would be written :- the way he talks to Lindy, the secrets he kept from her to keep her level headed, the speeches, promising to get her out safe, his calm competence. And when Lindy is with him she acts like any companion would act with the Doctor. Lindy treating him differently totally differently to the real Doctor when they are essentially the same character in every way except from skin colour is so good. He represents the safe, white Doctor that certain people were upset at not getting, and Lindy represents the bigotry of accepting one but not the other.

I loved this episode in the first 5 mins such a tense and exciting but funny story, and that twist and ending was shocking in the best way possible trully one of the most unique and experimental episodes of the show and one of my favourites

When they mentioned the ages of 17-27 i thought that was going to be the twist, that the slugs were killing them off because their age in the bubble was up. Still makes more sense than the alphabetical list thing. It feels like something that forgot to be changed from an early draft.

Didn't expect this episode to be my favourite episode in the season so far. Was it the best? No I dont think so, but did it suprise me in ways I wasnt expecting and keep me HELLA engaged. YES. I fully get the criticism that maybe the first time the Doctor is racialised (in universe AND for the audience) should have been done by a black writer. But seeing the Doctor racialised like that for me came as a huge shock. And it made for something completely unique that I've never seen in Who before. It hurt to watch, I felt a LOT. Looking back at the episode too, the breadcrumb trail of a society built on racist values is obvious but I'm enjoying seeing how much I missed. Because of that, it's my favourite of the season so far. Also again, a shout-out to how wonderful it is to have someone discuss media in such an engaging way that isnt full of hyperbole and having to have the hottest take. Just to have an honest discussion about what we love is wonderful. Thanks JBoi.

Ruby remembered, emotionally, being in Wales three times at the end of "73 Yards," rather than two at the beginning, so it makes sense that she would recognize Susan Twist even if she doesn't know from where. Edit: 25:20 - I actually think this episode rises above "Boom." Pretty easily, honestly lol.

It's funny to hear everyone compare last week's episode to "Midnight" when in my opinion at least, this was the episode had more in common with Russell's earlier masterpiece. Obviously they aren't on the same level of quality, but the same scathing cynical nihilistic streak that ran through "Midnight" also runs through "Dot and Bubble", the Doctor getting confronted by a truly horrid and disgusting side of humanity and being left shaken by his experience while the repugnant human characters getting off scot-free . On the whole, I found myself enjoying "Dot and Bubble" a lot more than I expected to, largely for the same reason as everyone else did (the early reviews calling it "Black Mirror without the bite" didn't help). It's got a nice balance of goofy camp and a surprising amount of suspense, I actually found the slugs to be an unexpectedly effective menace, and really well-executed from a technical perspective. I also think it was a rather creative choice to have the protagonist be a very unpleasant and unlikeable character, in sharp contrast to other Doctor-lite protagonists, and Callie Cooke does a fantastic job at playing this vapid self-centred narcissist, it's the most I've found myself hating a fictional character in quite some time. And talking of excellent performances, Ncuti's work in that last scene is just exceptional, the way he goes from confident and charismatic, to desperately and futilely pleading to reason, and ultimately just succumbing to rage and despair at these people's ignorant stupidity and bigotry is just so powerful. We'll wait and see what happens by the end of the season, but based on this episode and "Boom", I think he may just end up being one of the best Doctors we've ever had

I think the designs of the monsters are something I havent seen a lot of appreciation for in the episode. Theres something unsettling about the way they're perfectly person shaped on the inside. It gives a very Amigara Falls (This hole was made for me) vibe. Plus the way that they dont really move that fast and yet theyre still a threat because no one looks away from their bubble gives a nightmare like quality. Like when youre trying to run in a dream and your legs just wont move.

I love how this episode taps into the biases of its audience and challenges then. Not in a preachy, patronising, way but in a truly striking way that is confronting and compelling. The more I think about this episode the more I like it.

Me and my partner were watching Fallout recently, a show that does that thing of making it very diverse ignoring any kind of relationship between ethnicity and class. As if racism never existed. So when this episode reached the moment where they say they are all rich kids we thought that it was great that Doctor Who was not ignorning that and that all those rich people where all white people. But we thought it was just a subtle codification, we were not expecting the show to go fully into that. To me it was my favourite 15th doctor episode. Which is a pretty high bar.

I love how so many people online are acting as if 60-year-olds aren't on their phones too.

Really lovely well-rounded review! I think it actually made me appreciate the episode even more, and I already had quite a positive opinion on it

Yippeeee

The racism twist didn’t make me think it was gen z, rather it was about people being stuck in political echo chambers online

I watched with my partner and after the cold open me and him were singing “phoooone baaaaad” over the theme tune cause we also thought it was gunna be a black mirror esque technology bad episode and by the end we were both very impressed with it.

Did anyone think it odd when the Doctor and Ruby finally stood face to face with Lindy Pepper-Bean? They stood at a distance from each other and didn't interact naturally. It was like they were filmed at different times and then put together later. Is this what happened?

All hail the true heroes of the episode, Star Trek's First Televised episode: The Man Traps! But seriously this one was incredible.

I thought I had the plot figured out nearly half a dozen times, only to have the story take a left turn.

something great about rickys hero moment is that, thats exactly how the doctor acts! when lindy meets him he talks to her the same way the doctor does/would, but because hes white she finds him heroic, not condescending.

Mixed race British person here. I think portraying racism in a futuristic setting is very important, and I don't mean scifi allegories for racism (not that those are bad, they definitely also tell us important things), but literal, human racism. Because (particularly in the uK) we often think of it as an in the past, solved problem, and we need to be reminded it's not, and that we need to keep educating ourselves or we'll start backsliding. I remember when Rosa was new people questioned why Krasko would be a racist in the far future, and thought the episode would be better without them. Those people need to open their eyes and look at racism in policing, politics and sport around them today. These episodes show us the bad future, but we can change it by standing against racism - sort of like Orphan 55's environmental message but without literally telling us the moral.

We all praise Ricky, but...he was still part of that society, and even he dismissed the doctor, displaying that he still held the same views as Lindy. There are signs that he could have been better, he could have been convinced to accept the help...but I feel he still wouldn't have been fully comfortable being near the doctor.

I agree; I thought this episode would be just okay and it ended up being so fantastic!! I didn't realize that they were racist until browsing reddit, which is so bad and white of me. The ending is explicit, yet I thought Lindy's society was just upset the doctor wasn't born there. Browsing reddit, I realized how much I missed, and I want to keep questioning my assumptions and look for hidden bigotry. Great stuff here, and the acting was soooo good.

This episode challenged a lot of my habitual assumptions and prejudices in such a way that was just so well executed. Holding a lens up to myself as I found myself cheering for Lindy’s potential growth with Ricky, despite literally nothing to support it, met with the jarring rug pull of his death was one of the few moments I’ve gasped at a show. Then to realize I hadn’t noticed the homogeny of the rich kids until the comment about getting contaminated, it was a powerful moment that I’m so glad I went into blind. I feel Ricky served the purpose of showcasing that these people aren’t incapable of being somewhat better or more aware; they just choose not to.

I dunno I felt like the Doctor did know she killed that guy lol

As far as the Doctor's leaps in ligic goes, i just put it down to us not seeing the setup from his point of view. I assumed there were other clues that he noticed off screen.

I’m a POC and I was reluctant to call it racism until the end. Had my eyebrow raised at some things Lindy said and was like nah it can’t be until the end were I had a text book pikachu face made sure everyone saw what a saw via the internet and was like damn guess I was right.

I definitely went into this episode with the attitude of "I'll watch it because I love DW, but I'm not particularly looking forward to this one" and was pleasantly surprised. I will be excited for this one when I do a full series rewatch I think, the only ep so far that I won't is Space Babies, so 4/5 is pretty good going. I was fearful that with the lower episode count any clangers really stand out, but so far it seems that "quality instead of quantity" is prevailing, which is really nice.

Love ruby and the doctor gushing over and bickering over Ricky Rip consent king Ricky 😔 he seems like a character that wasn’t “born and breed” like Lindy came up through his influencer role

Joe, once again I agree with you completely! Your thoughts are my thoughts and honestly when I release a video about the full season it's bound to be both redundant and derivative lmao! I was really impressed and surprised by this episode and a big reason for that was that I wasn't expecting such a cutting commentary on society and its future. I completely agree that this era is lacking diverse writers and this is not the story for RTD to write, but I cannot deny that there's genius throughout the episode. You'd expect an episode that tackles racism to be set in the past but I really liked that it was in an imagined future, that it was indicating a dark future for many attitudes that are perpetuated by certain groups today. That was wonderful, and the entire final scene was beautiful. Seeing the racists get carried off in a boat, imagery that harkens to many racist calls for immigrants to leave countries on boats, was so poignant, and executed with a lot of subtlety, as you say, not without much obvious dialogue, just done so incredibly. I was enjoying the episode a lot but those aspects really made me fall for it. Great stuff, the season has a lot of range and I'm having a blast with most of it!

“ just this one time, everybody dies”! -wow, what a counterpoint to the original! I was not that hopeful, but really liked it in the end. I kept waiting for it to be something more subtle than racism, but nope, pure George Wallace ( I’m generation Jones, 😎) level hate and alienation. I wonder if Ricky was also a racist? Are they all? In any case I didn’t see his death coming. She was worse than “just” a racist but I don’t know if it’s a total condemnation of a self absorbed generation. Again, are they all, like that? I remember in the seventies the criticism of the then current, “me generation”; the “greatest generation” harshing the Boomers? The fact that they didn’t even investigate the potential of the Tardis speaks to their cultural provincialism. Excellent episode and review, though your ageist, references to be people in their sixties was a wee bit grating 😎

A very pleasant surprise for me after most this series has left me cold. My favourite episode of this series in fact I don't think I've liked the show this much since Village of the Angels.

My viewing experience seems to be a somewhat different to a lot of you. I too didn't at all pick up on the race thing, but the class angle seemed very pertinent to me. I picked up that it was in indictment of how rich kids use social media quite quickly, and I wasn't terribly surprised when Lindy killed September. The twist at the end did surprise me tho One thing which really struck me was the way that Lindy used her being saved by September for social credit, even using her knowing him in that was after he died, felt incredibly real to me. That's what people like this do

The first couple eps didn’t jive with my sensibilities but I’m starting to think this season might be wonderful actually! I’ll probably like the first few when I rewatch.

I think this episode only works because of the twist. Without it would be boring commentary on look how stupid modern technology is making these youngsters (insert old aged voice here) But the twist absolutely transforms the episode. Also the racism/ lindy isn't a good person twist reveal was so well executed and written. Also I really like the working/original title for the episode "Monsters, monsters everywhere"

I loved the unleashed episode where they were talking about the terribly animated slugs as if they were impressive

oo another great review!