Doctor Who Series 2 (15), Episode 7 Review: Wish World - I Wish That It All Ends Neatly
- doctorbrick
- 1 day ago
- 5 min read
Updated: 6 hours ago
What did you think of this episode?
Sonic!
Good!
Bumpy-wumpy!
Exterminate!
This was a slightly different first part of a finale than RTD has ever given us before, and I'm not fully sure how I feel about it yet.
I think a lot of it comes down to expectations, and I went into this expecting the usual, a world slowly but surely sinking into shit, before the music escalates and the drama cranks up and a big reveal leads to a big cliffhanger. I was expecting an RTD first parter, and I think we got a Moffat second parter. Does that make sense?! I'm thinking the pre-titles randomness, the alternative reality, the questions and mysteries, the ending that didn't hit quite as hard as an RTD one but were still good all the same…
Let me get a few issues out the way as well.
“Snip, bloody snip.”
First, no Ncuti as the Doctor in this episode, not the proper Doctor anyway. I have vibed with Fifteen so much, I miss the Doctor. That's pretty much another episode to add to the list of Fifteen not being seen much, joining 73 Yards, Dot and Bubble and Lucky Day.
Secondly, can Omega and the Rani spark enough interest? They aren't the Daleks, Cybermen or Master are they? Ironically, all the older fans who have turned on the show, are getting the classic villains they have craved. I'm not hot on my classic Who, but I have seen The Three Doctors and Time and the Rani, and both of those didn't leave me wowed by their villain. RTD has a bad habit of over hyping everything up, he makes you expect too much. I know that's part of his job, but I won't lie, after what he said I was kind of hoping Missy would rock up, or the Daleks, not bloody Omega. I had this issue with all the build up and redacted stuff before Wild Blue Yonder, I was expecting Smith and Capaldi, I got another Tennant and Tate. Which was a problem, because Wild Blue Yonder was brilliant, and I was still a trifle disappointed because of what I thought might happen didn't happen! Maybe that is more on me than Russell though.
I'm not sure on Conrad! I loved him in Lucky Day, I brought the whole grifter schtick, but here, is it a bit OTT? I thought he was more of a YouTube prick, a modern twat who spouts hate and lies for a few quid, not a stuffy, posh Tory prick who hates gays and thinks women should be chained to the kitchen sink. It kind of diminished him in a way. Can you count going from Nerdorotic to Rees-Mogg as being diminished?!
Oh and one final thing, I didn't realise who the fuck Poppy was until after the episode, I thought I had seen her in something but couldn't put my finger on it. Maybe I just blocked Space Babies from my mind, maybe I don't pay enough attention.
“Well, you're my child in a manner of speaking, it could be said, that you sprang from my loins.”
This was pure Doctor Who. One minute it looked stunning, the next it looked a bit ropey and camp as fuck. That's Doctor Who, that's why we love it right? What other show gives you huge walking fossils, London falling into the underworld, a creepy laughing baby, and a Time Lady flying around the sky with some slightly dodgy effects? The answer is of course, no other show is like Doccy Who!
I thought we might have more of Archie Panjabi and Anita Dobson than we got, but I enjoyed them when they were on screen. Panjabi in particular is very, very watchable. However, I'm just not sure the Rani is doing it for me, it all felt a bit anticlimactic.
I cannot put my finger on this episode, it definitely needs its part two to give a full judgement on it. There is so much going on. There are so many threads, and I'm not sure I'm as invested in them as I should be. Is Omega the boss? Why is he back? How is the Rani back? What's happened to Conrad? What the fuck has Mrs. Flood been up to for the past two years? Is a God better than a Dalek invasion?
Poppy’s going to be Susan isn't she? Or some weird reason that'll reset everything? I'm concerned about how it will all pan out anyway! Please don't be rubbish! Please, please, please!!
I'll stand by it though - Ncuti just hasn't had the iconic villains to battle against, and no matter how brilliant his run has been this will always be a blot on it. If he ended series 1 fighting Daleks and series 2 fighting Missy and the Master, well I think that changes the whole dynamic of both series greatly.
Everything feels a bit rushed. Rogue being another good example of this. Where did the love come from? They only knew each other for a couple of hours, now he is in some form of hell thing. This also shows in all the flashback things we get the past two series. It seems to flashback to events from 10/20 minutes ago. I don't need to see the Doctor and Belinda with Poppy to know the Doctor and Belinda were with Poppy earlier in the episode. This happened a lot in the remake of the Daleks serial last year - am I missing something? Is this because the youth of today are thick as fuck? Is it because the audience isn't trusted to remember something from ten minutes ago? I am confused why it keeps happening.
"The doubts are the whole point."
I feel like I am moaning about this episode a lot, I'm not sure why. It just didn't feel quite right. It was different, it was fun, but Belinda and the Doctor weren't Belinda and the Doctor, and a lot was thrown at me. There is only one way to tell if this was a good episode, and that will be after next week. Fingers crossed!
I enjoyed it, I just didn't get end of season vibes from it.
I am going to have a stressful Saturday next week, and I pray we get a good finale to make it all worthwhile. I'm at a wedding until ‘5ish’ then I'm going to have to shoot back home before hitting the cinema. The likelihood being that I miss the replay of Wish World but all being well get there in good time for Reality War.
It won't be quiet, it won't be safe, and it won't be calm. But I'll tell you what it will be. The trip of a lifetime!
What did you think of Wish World? Could you not have wished for a better episode or are you keeping your fingers crossed and wishing that next week is a whole lot better? Let me know in the comments below.
RATING: Bumpy-wumpy!
BEST LINE: "You recognised your husband's doubt because you've been expressing doubt yourself. That's what it does, Mrs Smith, it contaminates. It breeds. It festers. And it's my job to cut it out! My job, and my very great pleasure."
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