Written by Steven Moffat
Directed by Julie Anne Robinson
The Doctor (to Ruby): "We're all dead eventually. There's hardly any time when we're not dead."
Can you believe it's been a whopping seven years since we last had a script from Steven Moffat? Okay, nearly six and a half years but even still, I've missed seeing a story from the man and this is the first of two we can expect from him this series.
So far we've done space stations with snot monsters and talking babies and 1963 London with Maestro. Now it was time for a planet and some Marine Anglicans. Yup, definitely a mix of Steven Moffat's greatest hits on display here.
Taking place on Kastarion 3, the episode opened with two soldiers - Carson (Majid Mehdizadeh-Valoujerdy) and the blinded Father John Francis Vater (Joe Anderson). Within seconds, Carson was immolated after stepping on a smart mine and the Villengard sponsored Ambulance (Susan Twist) murdered the latter. If you think that was shocking, wait for it.
Appearing a lot freaking earlier than expected of course was Varada Sethu. Nope, not as forthcoming companion Belinda but as the only female Anglican Marine, Mundy Flynn who was flirting with Canterbury James Olliphant (Bhav Joshi) when she wasn't looking after Vater's daughter, Splice (Caoilinn Springall). Expect the word "Daddy" to be heard a lot in this episode, courtesy of Splice.
What of the Doctor and Ruby? Well, they landed on the planet and the Doctor landed on a smart mine, which also forced both him and Ruby to improvise in order to prevent the planet from blowing up. Fortunately there was some help from an AI John Francis Vater who said "Kiss Kiss" so often, he might as well have been flirting with the Doctor. I might be exaggerating a smidge there.
Anyways, the tension of this episode really built up with the Doctor being openly scornful towards Mundy's faith while a plan between Ruby and Mundy went horribly wrong and the former was killed by Canto. Ruby's death of course didn't stick but it definitely upped the tension between everyone as the homicidal Ambulance came very close to immolating the Doctor and the planet.
If you've seen many an episode in the revived series, then the power of love saved the day. Yes, its an overused trope in the series but it doesn't mean its not effective or touching when needs be. John Francis Vater certainly saved the day, Ruby got revived and both her and the Doctor took in a gorgeous view before leaving Splice and Mundy to move on.
- Lesbians were mentioned in a story the Doctor had about a previous smart mine encounter underwater, John Francis's parents and the cheeky comment of Ruby and Mundy getting married.
- Other Moffat tropes included the mention of fish fingers and custard as well as the President and his wife. Four incarnations later and the former's still his favourite meal.
- Not only does Ruby not have a next of kin but her death triggered the snow again and a single snowfall remained after her and the Doctor left. This was also her first planet adventure.
- At least this time both the Doctor and Ruby were directly looking at Susan Twist's guest character. Hopefully that means moving that element forward now.
- Standout music: The Doctor sang The Skye Boat Song to calm his nerves. The Master previously played that song on a recorder in The Power Of The Doctor.
- Chronology: It's been six months for the Anglican Marines on Kastarion 3. In general, it's October 5087. Ruby "died" at the age of 3082.
Boom certainly was a hell of a return for Steven Moffat. Small scale with a great guest cast, serious tension and maybe Ncuti Gatwa's best performance yet. There were times where this could've easily been a story with the 11th Doctor/Amy or the 12th Doctor/Clara but for a 15th Doctor/Ruby adventure, it's going to be a fan favourite.
Rating: 9 out of 10
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