Doctor Who Series 2 (15), Episode 8 Review: The Reality War - What?! What?! WHAT?!
- doctorbrick
- Jun 1
- 6 min read
Updated: Jun 10
What did you think of this episode?
Sonic!
Good!
Bumpy-wumpy!
Exterminate!
I have so many questions. Firstly - What? What?! WHAT?! This review is just going to me typing the first things that come into my mind, so apologies in advance, it won't make much sense!
Only Doctor Who can do this to me. Only the silly blue box show. I have so many issues, and I'll grumble on about them here, but ultimately I kind of liked this. I watched in the cinema and the contrast between last year was huge, there were gasps and cheers and a general buzz at the end. This was not the case after Empire of Death a year ago.
Now there are probably two big, blonde reasons for that buzz, but that's beside the point.
Firstly, let me talk Ncuti Gatwa. What an amazing Doctor he has been. Brilliant! Fantastic! Molto bene!
Did we have enough Ncuti? Nope! He has had a bit of The Giggle plus another 18 episodes, although he was barely in 3 of them. The faster pace, especially in his first series, has meant we never fully got to the bottom of him, we were starting to though.
I assume the plan wasn't always this, but with that said, the more I think about it, the biggest mistake of this new era was bringing David Tennant back for the specials. I'm sorry, but I just don't think they did anyone any favours. I think I would have rather the bigeneration happened in The Power of the Doctor and Ncuti and Jodie had a few adventures together in late 2023! Three extra hours of Ncuti would have made a whole lot of difference. The show would have been looking forwards not backwards.
I just don't feel we got the time with Fifteen that he deserved. This series felt like he was growing, he was becoming this amazing incarnation and then he was taken away from us before he fully hit his peak, when the audience knows their character, is fully on their side. I feel like I've been robbed of more Ncuti! I feel he had to live in a David Tennant shaped shadow, and I don't even think the specials were all that special. They could have looked forwards rather than backwards.
It didn't make any sense! I live in the UK so this wasn't an issue for me, but how does this sound?
Hi, welcome to Doctor Who season one, a new Disney show. To start off with you will see an old Doctor and an old companion, who has named her daughter after an even older companion. Oh yes, this show has actually been about for 60 years, this is in fact the third series 1 we have had. Do you want to check out the Doctor and companions we are rabbiting on about? Tough, you can't, it's not on our streaming platform.
Bonkers when you think about it! I have said it time and again, but Disney fucked up by rebranding it as a new series, they should of had 1963 and/or 2005 episodes signed and sealed and ready to go. Then by all means bring up Sutekh and Omega. There's a reason the Daleks, Cybermen and Master come back so much, and no matter how many times they do, how good or bad the stories they are in are, it's always a thrill, because they are iconic!
Poppy? Was I meant to care? Because I really didn't give a fuck what happened to her - however cute she was. I had no attachment to her, and I felt that Belinda and the Doctor's attachment to her was weird. Anyway, one thing is clear, I need to rewatch this. Was Poppy always Belinda's baby? Or was she made into her baby? Was Belinda made into a single mum who couldn't travel with the Doctor? Was Belinda's whole personality changed to be a mum? I was confused, and I cannot help but feel it was a shit ending for Belinda.
If there were little hints hidden away in the series that Belinda was a mum and wanted to get back for her daughter, who was actually her daughter, then I would have been all there for that. That wasn't what we got though, we got a rewrite of her history in a quick montage, there was no real build up to it that I was aware of. I miss a lot of things, so maybe I am wrong, I don't think I am though.
There really is nothing wrong with being a single mum by the way - my point is that where the fuck did it all come from? Belinda showed nothing during series 2 to suggest she wanted to have a child, there were no hints that I was aware of, and her life has suddenly been turned upside down. Also, was she not living with a load of student type nurses in the first episode? Again, there is no reason a child cannot be brought up in that kind of place, but the general vibe of that wasn't mum.
Yeah, I didn't like it. Belinda was done dirty!
"I wish for you to be happy."
UNIT? Why the fuck do we have all these characters chucked at us? Rose is a complete waste of space, there is no need to bring her back. Pointless. The same could be said of Mel and the Vlinx. Valuable time wasted with them, that could have been spent with the Doctor.
Shirley's side story of the disabled team and camp seemed to be forgotten about as well. Ruby was already having doubts before they met, so again, that all seemed rather pointless in the end.
Moan, moan, moan!! Ok, I loved the battle scene, UNIT tower looked fucking awesome, and the Doctor flying through London on the Rani's little flying thing, fuck yeah, so fun! The music, the joy, that is Doctor Who!
"Don't go in fear. Go with that lovely smile."
It was so lovely to see Jodie Whittaker again, and she delivered in her short time in the TARDIS. An adventure with Thirteen and Fifteen? Yes please! The two Doctor's who got the most shit, the two actors who have a torrent of abuse hurled at them, the two of them together in a beautiful moment. I loved it! I hate to be that person, but was Thasmin better handled in this 10 seconds than it was the whole of Jodie and Mandip's time in the show?! That's a discussion for another time.
The Rani, Mrs Flood, Omega? Well they were dealt with in quick time weren't they?
Why was Mrs Flood living next door to Ruby and Belinda? Why did she keep talking to the audience? Will we ever know?
Who is the boss? I pray that if a new series is made, the boss doesn't pop up randomly in each episode leading up to the finale. Surely they won't?
What else do I have to say about this episode? Ah, Anita, that was weird, she just had to keep a door open. It was fun when she rocked up right at the start though.
Ah yes, another grumble! When the Doctor tricked the Rani with the sonic, did I really need a recap of what had happened five or so minutes ago? This series repeats so many fucking things, I don't need a bloody reminder, just get on with it!
Oh and a special shout out to Millie Gibson who was amazing again. This ended up being more of a Ruby story than a Belinda one. Millie is so good though, and she has been a brilliant addition to the show, I really hope we haven't seen the last of her.
Conrad's ending was also a bit confusing. As brilliant as Millie and Jonah were - I took it as if Conrad was actually trying to be nice and that he wasn't all bad because he wanted everyone to be happy. So he got a happy ending. The bloke that shot someone in UNIT, lied, erased trans people, banned being gay, and made all women housewives. That guy got a happy ending because he was being nice? That guy? What the funk!
I honestly don't think I could rate this episode - I loved and hated it equally - a typical Doctor Who episode for a Whovian I guess. I do think Russell has massively cheated the two finales of late, pointing at a sign post and a baby we had no hint of throughout the series. I think those two points will ultimately sour Ncuti's time as the Doctor, which is a big shame, as the show has been bold, exciting and full to the brim of joy.
It was an absolute joy Ncuti. What an incredible Doctor, what an incredible actor, what an incredible person. Thank you so much for being part of the Whoniverse.
"Oh, hello."
Billie fucking Piper? This is wrong on so many levels, but I'm here for it, as always. I think I need a whole blog to unpack that, so I'll leave it be for now. What will the future bring? The God's of wishes and death only know!
Did you enjoy this? What are your thoughts on the ending? Have I got all the Poppy stuff wrong? Let me know in the comments below.
RATING: Good!
BEST LINE: "It has been an absolute joy."
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