My most consistent criticism of this season of "Doctor Who" has been that it's been focused on its seasons arc, at the expense of the individual episodes somewhat. So, here we land at the two-part season finale where many of these seeds begin to grow fruit.
The Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa) or rather John Smith, wakes up with his wife Belinda (Varada Sethu) has breakfast and then heads to work at UNIT - an insurance company. The London he inhabits is a peaceful place, provided you don't come to doubt the authenticity of it. Ruby Sunday (Millie Gibson) is one such doubter and, having met a group of differently abled resistance fighters, led by Shirley (Ruth Madely), plots to interrupt the streaming feed of 'storyteller' Conrad (Jonah Hauer-King).
My "Doctor Who" knowledge doesn't, if I'm honest, go back that far - only really to the 2005 reboot. So, I didn't know who The Rani was when she was revealed last week. Whilst I love both Archie Panjabi and Anita Dobson - I'm yet to see much to distinguish this character from The Master - who you might recall in an earlier finale, enslaved much of the planet from a base high above London. The breaking of the fourth wall remains an unanswered question though, as it doesn't seem like she's still capable of doing so. I did like the other call backs in this episode though, with Susan Triad making a reappearance alongside a small, but pivotal, cameo from Jonathan Groff's character Rogue.
Fun and dramatic as though this episode was, I can't say I totally followed exactly what The Rani's plan is. I get the end goal, I just don't understand how this alternative world, or the doubt aspect, fits into it at all.
I've said before that first halves of two-part season finale's often can flatter to deceive a bit, and that fear remains for this one, but until I've seen next weeks episode I won't know for sure.
