Doctor Who Is Still Telling New Stories - The Story & the Engine Review
- doctorbrick
- May 12
- 4 min read
Updated: 2 days ago
What did you think of this episode?
Sonic!
Good!
Bumpy-wumpy!
Exterminate!
I needed to give this one a rewatch, and this is one episode I really did need to do that. I cannot work out if I am a fan of it or not though. I didn't think The Story & the Engine quite hit the heights of the past few episodes, but it looked stunning, and I love that Doctor Who is still telling different stories - lots of stories in fact!
I think currently, this is going into the same category I put Rogue - an episode I got completely confused with and didn't quite get, even though a lot of people love it. It is similar to Rogue in that it had a lot of parts I loved - but I cannot get past the fact that at points, I completely lost track of what the fuck was going on, I'm not 100% sure I know now to be honest.
I think in part this was down to the ending. The Barber was a bit of a dick on some vengeance mission, and the bloke he kidnapped gave him his barber shop for nothing and walked off? The woman who helped kidnap everyone was bowed down to by the remaining captors as if she was the best thing since sliced bread and everyone went on their merry way? I was confused.
The main bit that got me though was we had this amazing moment with the Doctor and Belinda in the TARDIS, talking about feeling at home with people, for the Doctor in Africa, and for Belinda in India. This then led to the Doctor being betrayed, leading to another Ncuti masterclass as he lost his shit at the guy who he thought was his friend. Yet after all that drama and amazing acting, the Doctor just lets him be at the end. All was forgotten.
I think if you chopped the last five minutes off this one it would be better. It all ended to nicely for my liking.
"In a time of slavery and great suffering, the slaves who broke their chains and escaped would return to try to free others. Slaves were not allowed to carry paper. They were always stopped and searched. But the women were very clever. They could make their hair into many shapes and patterns. And in one style, hair could be braided to the scalp, bending and curling like roads or paths. So the women would weave maps into their hair and pass it on - mothers to daughters, slave to slave, plantation to plantation."
This amazing moment also baffled me. It was a great moment as Abena weaved a map into the Doctor's hair, explaining the story of how slaves helped each other escape. It was brilliant. Yet, the Barber was just sat right next to them letting it happen, and when the Doctor set off to find the engine he looked shocked. Why? You were right there mate!
I am still racking my brains working this one out though. I may have missed a load of things, but as I was watching I didn't know the answer. The Barber - was he immortal? If he was immortal why was he immortal? Has RTD found Christ? I know he didn't write this, but he sure as hell gets a lot of 'Gods are good if you believe them' references in through the last couple of series. We even got bloody Bethlehem in at Christmas!
I actually happen to agree with that, but that is besides the point. I always had Russell down as not a huge fan of religion. Perhaps that is incorrect.
I never fully know why peoples faith in God is ridiculed. A lot of people do a lot of good in the name of their religion and God. Unbelievable things. Why is that bad? Of course, a few people do a lot of shitty things for the same reason, but that is true with anything surely?
There was also the reveal of an old Doctor - again I found this confusing. In the TARDIS the Doctor stated that he was the first black Doctor, and then when the Fugitive popped up the Doctor seemed to remember their story, so what the Doctor said was not true, nor did he believe it.
Regarding the Fugitive Doctor, it didn't do anything for me. It was a shock sure, but the Fugitive Doctor doesn't get my heart racing if I am being honest. This may be an unpopular opinion - but I think the Fugitive Doctor is a tad on the overrated side. Perhaps I need to listen to some Big Finish adventures?
The spider looked very cool, as did the picture frame with the stories coming to life in it.
I am sorry but this review is all over the place, but I think that is mainly down to me not following the story fully.
Summing it up, I will say it was a great setting, it looked amazing, the ideas were cool, the ending was dodgy, as were the Barbers intentions. The Fugitive Doctor didn't quite fit for me either.
Not a terrible episode, but certainly not one of my favourites. I am comparing this to other recent episodes, so maybe that is not fair. If a couple of moments landed better then I would have this as a mighty fine episode, it just didn't quite stick it though, but only just.
Have I been easily confused? Did you understand this a whole lot better than me? Let me know in the comments below.
RATING: Bumpy-wumpy!
BEST LINE: "You say you're not human? That's the most human thing ever Doctor."
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