Can You Hear Me?

A recurring theme with this series is the episode's tendency to start with a certain degree of interest before it completely derails because it spirals into a pool of not knowing what is going on.

This episode continued this disastrous trend for the show. It appears to me that the writers combine several episodes into one, because the standalone episodes are somehow even worse than what gets produced, and when they do produce what gets recklessly thrown into the pot, it's a complete shambles.

Can you hear me? had good concepts with poor execution. The flow of the episode was nonsensical, from going to a ship of prisoners in one scene, then finding out one second later that they've randomly decided to take over the planet. It's painful to watch (and even more painful to write about) because it's immensely confusing and aimless at the same time. The fact Jodie is being used to describe the plot, rather than having it being told through what's shown on screen, is definitive of this episode being the worst assembled of the season.

For an episode which began with SUCH promise, it's a tremendous shame that "Can You Hear Me?" suffers from one of the most rushed, pitiful, underdeveloped resolutions seen on the show since Series 7's "The Power of Three" in 2012 (in case anyone's forgotten THAT magic wand / sonic screwdriver ending - also coincidentally written by co-writer Chris Chibnall).

However, the story's not without its moments & we're treated to a number of genuinely great sequences which aid in providing some much needed character development for our main companions, finally fleshing out their backstories - making them seem less painfully two-dimensional.

Hence, though certainly not perfect, this week's installment does have some appeal - though its inconsistencies somewhat mire the overall viewing experience as it struggles to strike a healthy balance between the two: character / plot.

A cunning pair of gods or immortals, play games with the mind and its portals, sticking fingers in pies, any orifice they prise, you'd cry if it didn't make you chortle.

Couldn't wait until this episode was over. It was so boring. The doctor needs a makeover and get some new clothes. The companions need to be terminated, now that could make a good episode. Perhaps one of the earlier companions could be bought back. Bring back some earlier villains too. Make this show fun to watch again!

I mean. It was really interesting episode. The different one. But in a good meaning :) And we have finally got some storyline for companions which is obviously step forward.