I LOVED THIS it was so intense!! The amount of limitations that were placed on it were great, the doctor cant move, theres very few characters and they spend most of the episode in one set and it works really well!
As an eda fan too, the captialism war stuff felt very anachrophobia!
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Loved it - this was the first time this series that I really felt like I was watching Doctor Who! Characters who came across as real people that we cared about - suspense, twists & turns - music used in a way that didn’t break the 4th wall - lots more hints about the Ruby mystery…and I loved the fact that the trailer (deliberately?) implied totally the wrong context for the line “I will blow this battlefield into dust… into dust!” so the actual meaning came as a genuine surprise.
The trailer for next week looked very promising too. I just hope last week didn’t put too many off from continuing.
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Was reminded of Genesis of the Daleks with the way he immediately stepped on a land mine
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Loved it. Definitely the best episode yet.
You could feel the pain in the Doctor and how he could be De bomb that destroy the world. Ruby was awesome and balanced afraid and brave perfectly. The thing that I had a little problem with was Monday and the child, I would have liked more emotions from them. Feet like they did not care that much when their loved ones died.
I give it 5/5 it might change in the future but that is my initial feeling.
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Wow, I truly hadn’t realized how much I’d missed Moffat. Absolute top marks on every other aspect too, what an amazing episode. It’s gonna be a highlight of this entire era for sure.
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This episode was the first Ncuti episode this season that I liked so far. Actually, not liked, loved! Everything about this episode, from the side characters, to the Doctor and Ruby, to the plot was absolutely amazing. I, like others, was hesitant about Moffats return and was scared of this story being too “Moffaty” in a bad way. Well, it was extremely “Moffaty” but in the greatest way. Confining the story to one area helped streamline the story greatly unlike the messy plots of Space Babies and TDC. Seeing Ncuti play a more serious and grounded version of the Doctor is much more preferable to the over energetic and over acted Doctor we see in both Space Babies and TDC. Another great part about this episode is the numerous call backs to previous Moffat episodes like fish fingers and custard, Villengard, Anglican Marines, and “the moon and the presidents wife”. These references never distract us from the plot and serve as great easter eggs for the devoted fans. Ruby’s mystery is also getting more and more interesting with her age being extremely high. Susan Twist also got a much bigger role this time and I’m very interested in what her role in the season ends up being. In conclusion, this episode has gotten me completely back on track with the season after 2 episodes that were, to me, incredibly boring and not entertaining. I’m really excited for 73 Yards and getting more of the mystery unraveled. I would probably give this episode a 5/5 stars.
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So, finally, we have Boom. Wow! Wow, that was good! For those who aren’t on board with the more fantasy/magical direction the season’s been going, here’s a brilliantly written, brilliantly acted piece of excellent hard sci-fi. I don’t really have much to say about this honestly. It was really good, showed a bit more range from Ncuti, had lots of Moffat references, though not a mention of a banana, and was a tense piece of drama. Yes, we got a very anti-capitalist message mixed in with an anti-AI message, but it was well-written and didn’t feel like it was forced. Let’s just say that I was very impressed by this story and look forward to the rest of the season.
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A somewhat middling reaction from me. I didn’t really feel this one as much as other Moffat scripts. What should have been suspenseful and tense episode kind of wound up being sort of noisy and crowded affair for me. Really not a fan of the kid character here. Ruby and the Doctor remain outstanding for me, but otherwise, this ranks just above Space Babies in my books. 6/10
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Interesting that you thought about it like that. I just thought it was high because they are in the future.
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Here I was theorizing Ruby being a timelord or something crazy like that 
. Should’ve remembered that’s how Amy’s age worked in The Beast Below as well.
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Basic thoughts about the episode:
Ok, my thoughts on this episode are is that its objectively the strongest episode so far. I think I like The Devil’s Chord more though that’s just cause I like Maestro/
Talking about Torchwood EU stories with a similar themes:
Although the talk about AI and algorithms ended up being kind of brief and a side point, it did remind me of some Torchwood episodes. Specifically Moderation and Doomscroll. Both of these I think show the danger of out-of-control algorithms better, to be fair these are in contemporary settings so it’s much more relatable. For those who care Moderation is about a news studio who’s chat moderation algorithm lets through very nasty things and attempts to kill a presenter. Doomscroll is about an AI-powered social media platform that kills it’s influencers and then deepfakes their content with sponsor-spots.
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Great episode!
It was a very Moffat episode, but it was also what I consider the best type of Moffat episode, one written with RTD as showrunner. I think the two of them working together tends to work very well.
Definitely my favorite of the three episodes so far. I’ll admit part of me picked at the fact that the Doctor was singing a song about Skye and wants to make that a reference to Sky in SJA…
I did also find the medical unit’s assessment of Ruby interesting. Yes, the age could be because of her being in the future, but it depends if it was pulling up records or calculating it based on analysis. I also thought it hanging up on her next of kin was interesting…
Very tense episode, great over all. And yes, I was reminded of Genesis of the Daleks, too. And the Tsuranga Conundrum…
Edit: Funny thing is that I did actually early on decide that there probably wasn’t an actual enemy, and I was right!
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Yeah, it’s this. Calendar age 3082 lines up with the October 5th, 5087 date that we see on Vater’s remains
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oh stop… I’m starting to get my hopes up for the Trickster and I have to stop so I won’t be disappointed 
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The best fifteenth episode i’ve seen so far!
Ncuti Gatwa really convinced me he is the doctor with this performance. He (and millie) were just astounding in this.
Having the doctor put in great danger and letting him work in one surrounding really did it for me. I love dr who eps with good tension.
Loved the concept of the vanguard and the ai of the late father hacking into it.
But there are still some things bothering me… ALL THE OTHER SIDE CHARACTERS!
That daughter was so annoying “daddy, i want my daddy DAAAADDDYYYY” THIS IS NOT “the empty child” GO AWAY!!!
The silly little love arc between that woman and the other guy “have you seen my tattoo?” What do you mean? Show us the tattoo! What meaning does it have? These two just felt like filler tbh.
Makes me more mad because the guy shot ruby.
This was a great story but it could have been faaaaaaarrr better. 6/10
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Haha, the best 15th ep so far and you give 6/10 I feel the same and I’d give 8/10. People do have different standards when rating. I often forget this when I look up rating scores for stories I haven’t started yet.
I feel you about all the other side characters there. Ah the kid’s behaviour really makes no sense and it’s driving me crazy. There’s a reason why the empty child’s always finding mummy, and this kid has zero background story besides she doesn’t like to brush her teeth and her mum is not around anymore?
I decided to not let the little love arc bother me too much tho… It’s kinda real. People don’t get the time and chance to say “I love you” in a war, and similarly we don’t have the time and chance to see this tattoo. It sucks but also works. In a way.
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The fifteenth doctor hasnt had a really good episode yet, they’ve been either bad or mediocre.
Certainly with some really good moments thrown in their but the overal majority isn’t really good yet.
By far, boom was the episode i liked the most because it felt like they took the show a bit more seriously. The fourth wall breaks and the world breaking rules began to get annoying for me.
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Well, I always try hard to not get annoyed by this show cuz it’s supposed to make me feel like a small kid. It really helps a lot with all these week eps we’ve got so far
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After seeing something about the music that plays in the Devil’s Chord from Ruby before the Carol of the Bells sounding like incidental music from SJA from a scene with the Trickster, I’m getting more and more on board with theories about the Trickster…
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it just makes so much sense… I’d take a name drop at this point, honestly.
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