Doctor Who: Flux 13x06 Thoughts
Dec. 16th, 2021 08:01 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
iariaEpisode 6: The Vanquishers
Well. It was pretty in-line with the rest of the season.
+ I enjoyed the split Doctor interacting with herself. The idea of splitting her up so she could be a part of multiple different groups/subplots was a great idea and tied the episode together really well. The Doctor saying "I have a crush on her" about herself amused me. I do wish we'd have had a serious moment between them.
+ Yaz's expression when she sees the Doctor again after years and then when the Doctor hugs her was really lovely. I loved that the Doctor stopped herself before really getting into the questions so she could hug Yaz. It was a nice reunion.
+ Bel's smile when she realised why the Doctor crashed into the Sontaran base was great. She was so impressed and it was adorable. Being impressed by the Doctor while being brave, curious, determined, and kind - she would have been a great Companion. I'm a bit sad that we'll never get it.
+ "I approach everything with caution. Or abandon. One of the two." LOL.
+ I also loved this line by the Doctor: "You're on my list. It's a big list. More of a book. More of a series of books. Well, a small library."
+ I liked the Bel/Vinder reunion and I loved them exiting the show with Karvanista on his ship. That's a trio I'd enjoy seeing more of.
+ I did like that Diane got to be smart and work to save herself. Her "So I interfered" and her working out how the environment she was stuck in worked (and how to get out) was excellent.
+ I was amused by the Sontaran's offering an alliance (that they intended to betray) to everyone except to the Rutans. Because apparently they are the worst. Now I want to meet them.
+ I liked the Doctor choosing to entrust her memories to the TARDIS.
+ The Doctor's annoyed realisation that the Grand Serpent was trying to kill and her "how rude" reaction amused me, as did the other Doctor showing up to tell him to "please stop torturing me. like immediately".
+ Time/'the Saviour' destroying/'ascending' Swarm and Azure as the ultimate method to defeat them was a let down. It felt contrived. Just - why??? Also why would it then let the Doctor go. Not even simply let her go but first giving her warning and then healing/putting her back together. Very lacklustre end.
+ The episode doesn't answer at all how everything was fixed post-Flux. In the previous episode the Doctor seemed to imply that she could reboot this universe from Division but we don't actually see it? And while Earth is apparently back to normal all the Lupari are still dead so not all the effects/deaths caused by the Flux were undone. Considering that the Flux laid waste to the entire universe this is a slight cause for concern. I assume most of the worlds/civilizations were saved but if the reset button was hit then why are the Lupari still gone? Or, what about all those people 'saved' by Passenger, for example? Even for Doctor Who this felt sloppy.
+ The Doctor turning the Sontaran's plan against them and letting the Flux destroy them (after it has destroyed the Daleks and Cybermen) to defeat the Flux was fine except of how it made me immediately think of a) the Doctor's fury at the British commander destroying that small Sontaran fleet earlier in the season, and b) the Doctor needling the Grand Serpent about his genocides this episode.
+ I'm sad that the Lupari species was wiped out. Not fair. I wanted more of them. I didn't like how they were basically non-characters and that their deaths didn't have any weight to them despite their actions being essential to the survival of both Earth and the universe as a whole. Where it really falls down for me was with Karvanista who had his entire family/species killed, was infuriated and vowed revenge and got it, and then seemed to be pretty much as always. There was no emotional pay off there.
+ Speaking of emotional pay off - between Karvanista revealing he was a Companion from her lost lives and the eradication of his species (which the Doctor has been through a couple times) we were really missing a Doctor/Karvanista moment at the end.
+ There were a lot of characters and it didn't feel like they were utilized very well. Diane in particular kind of felt a bit pointless overall. Everything she did, others could have done and I was left wondering why she was in this story. I think it would have helped if we'd seen more of her during previous episodes and/or were given a reason for why she was even taken by Azure.
+ While it was great to see Kate again her return felt a bit unnecessary overall. She didn't really do anything or add anything significant to the story, not only on a plot scale but also on a character/relationship scale and I was disappointed about that.
+ Yaz felt very sidelined again. She was one of the many, not contributing anything significant. Like, at the very least I was surprised we didn't get more of a reaction from Yaz over the two Doctors. When she saw a Doctor being held prisoner I would have expected her to run to her side.
+ I wasn't a great fan of the return to frantic cuts between a dozen different groups.
+ So sad about Jericho. He was lovely. On one hand, his death felt like the writers thought there needed to be one 'good guy' death and he was the chosen sacrifice. On the other hand, his final moments were really well done.
+ I'm not sure I entirely buy the Doctor's choice to not open the watch and retrieve her memories considering how hard she's been chasing after them. But at the same time I can also see how having them in hard could cause her to second guess her desire to know and choose to deal with them another day.
+ "There was a time when I'd do anything for you. But you left me." ... so basically Karvanista was a Companion? I really want to know more about their shared past!
+ "Beware of the forces that mass against you and their master." Every time I hear 'master' I immediately think The Master but this is absolutely foretelling the return of the Master right? Right? I really hope we see him again. And I really hope it's Dhawan!Master again. Or maybe we can have another Master reunion. That would be fun.
+ A Kate/Yaz discussion about the Doctor, about aliens, and maybe about Yaz's plans post-Doctor (UNIT?) would have been great. It could have been Yaz/Jack Part 2 and with her time on the show winding down Kate could have been a great person for her to talk with in order to begin that process. Yaz seems like one of those Companions who has to be forced to leave the Doctor but I would love if she got to make the choice instead.
Well. It was pretty in-line with the rest of the season.
+ I enjoyed the split Doctor interacting with herself. The idea of splitting her up so she could be a part of multiple different groups/subplots was a great idea and tied the episode together really well. The Doctor saying "I have a crush on her" about herself amused me. I do wish we'd have had a serious moment between them.
+ Yaz's expression when she sees the Doctor again after years and then when the Doctor hugs her was really lovely. I loved that the Doctor stopped herself before really getting into the questions so she could hug Yaz. It was a nice reunion.
+ Bel's smile when she realised why the Doctor crashed into the Sontaran base was great. She was so impressed and it was adorable. Being impressed by the Doctor while being brave, curious, determined, and kind - she would have been a great Companion. I'm a bit sad that we'll never get it.
+ "I approach everything with caution. Or abandon. One of the two." LOL.
+ I also loved this line by the Doctor: "You're on my list. It's a big list. More of a book. More of a series of books. Well, a small library."
+ I liked the Bel/Vinder reunion and I loved them exiting the show with Karvanista on his ship. That's a trio I'd enjoy seeing more of.
+ I did like that Diane got to be smart and work to save herself. Her "So I interfered" and her working out how the environment she was stuck in worked (and how to get out) was excellent.
+ I was amused by the Sontaran's offering an alliance (that they intended to betray) to everyone except to the Rutans. Because apparently they are the worst. Now I want to meet them.
+ I liked the Doctor choosing to entrust her memories to the TARDIS.
+ The Doctor's annoyed realisation that the Grand Serpent was trying to kill and her "how rude" reaction amused me, as did the other Doctor showing up to tell him to "please stop torturing me. like immediately".
+ Time/'the Saviour' destroying/'ascending' Swarm and Azure as the ultimate method to defeat them was a let down. It felt contrived. Just - why??? Also why would it then let the Doctor go. Not even simply let her go but first giving her warning and then healing/putting her back together. Very lacklustre end.
+ The episode doesn't answer at all how everything was fixed post-Flux. In the previous episode the Doctor seemed to imply that she could reboot this universe from Division but we don't actually see it? And while Earth is apparently back to normal all the Lupari are still dead so not all the effects/deaths caused by the Flux were undone. Considering that the Flux laid waste to the entire universe this is a slight cause for concern. I assume most of the worlds/civilizations were saved but if the reset button was hit then why are the Lupari still gone? Or, what about all those people 'saved' by Passenger, for example? Even for Doctor Who this felt sloppy.
+ The Doctor turning the Sontaran's plan against them and letting the Flux destroy them (after it has destroyed the Daleks and Cybermen) to defeat the Flux was fine except of how it made me immediately think of a) the Doctor's fury at the British commander destroying that small Sontaran fleet earlier in the season, and b) the Doctor needling the Grand Serpent about his genocides this episode.
+ I'm sad that the Lupari species was wiped out. Not fair. I wanted more of them. I didn't like how they were basically non-characters and that their deaths didn't have any weight to them despite their actions being essential to the survival of both Earth and the universe as a whole. Where it really falls down for me was with Karvanista who had his entire family/species killed, was infuriated and vowed revenge and got it, and then seemed to be pretty much as always. There was no emotional pay off there.
+ Speaking of emotional pay off - between Karvanista revealing he was a Companion from her lost lives and the eradication of his species (which the Doctor has been through a couple times) we were really missing a Doctor/Karvanista moment at the end.
+ There were a lot of characters and it didn't feel like they were utilized very well. Diane in particular kind of felt a bit pointless overall. Everything she did, others could have done and I was left wondering why she was in this story. I think it would have helped if we'd seen more of her during previous episodes and/or were given a reason for why she was even taken by Azure.
+ While it was great to see Kate again her return felt a bit unnecessary overall. She didn't really do anything or add anything significant to the story, not only on a plot scale but also on a character/relationship scale and I was disappointed about that.
+ Yaz felt very sidelined again. She was one of the many, not contributing anything significant. Like, at the very least I was surprised we didn't get more of a reaction from Yaz over the two Doctors. When she saw a Doctor being held prisoner I would have expected her to run to her side.
+ I wasn't a great fan of the return to frantic cuts between a dozen different groups.
+ So sad about Jericho. He was lovely. On one hand, his death felt like the writers thought there needed to be one 'good guy' death and he was the chosen sacrifice. On the other hand, his final moments were really well done.
+ I'm not sure I entirely buy the Doctor's choice to not open the watch and retrieve her memories considering how hard she's been chasing after them. But at the same time I can also see how having them in hard could cause her to second guess her desire to know and choose to deal with them another day.
+ "There was a time when I'd do anything for you. But you left me." ... so basically Karvanista was a Companion? I really want to know more about their shared past!
+ "Beware of the forces that mass against you and their master." Every time I hear 'master' I immediately think The Master but this is absolutely foretelling the return of the Master right? Right? I really hope we see him again. And I really hope it's Dhawan!Master again. Or maybe we can have another Master reunion. That would be fun.
+ A Kate/Yaz discussion about the Doctor, about aliens, and maybe about Yaz's plans post-Doctor (UNIT?) would have been great. It could have been Yaz/Jack Part 2 and with her time on the show winding down Kate could have been a great person for her to talk with in order to begin that process. Yaz seems like one of those Companions who has to be forced to leave the Doctor but I would love if she got to make the choice instead.
