This thread contains open SPOILERS for the episode THE DEVIL’S CHORD, and any previous episodes. Please only discuss this episode here, use the other threads for discussions about future episodes.
As we’re getting ready to watch the first few episodes of 15’s era, I thought I’d get discussion threads ready for them, so we’ve got one consolidated place to discuss them.
Second episode of this season is “The Devil’s Chord”. If you want to discuss the first one, head to the other discussion thread.
There’s a trailer here:
This’ll be posted a few hours before the episode, so you can speculate and such before it comes out here. Since you’ve presumably already watched “Space Babies” at this point, you can reference events in it, but the main discussion in this thread should be for the Devil’s Chord.
The episodes should be on iPlayer and Disney+ at midnight BST on May 11th, or 4 pm PST/7 pm EST in the US. Space Babies will air on BBC One at 6:20 pm BST May 11 as well, and The Devil’s Chord at 7:05 pm BST.
Just for fun, add your rating here (after you’ve watched it):
While better than the first, this episode had its ups and downs. The idea of taking music from people was good, but it was too ‘magic’ which isn’t my thing.
I think I’m tapping out for the rest of this season. Will catch up at a later date.
This story was exactly what I expected of it. It was too predictable, there was no “twist at the end”. There were very good parts to it but perhaps a bit run-of-the-mill story wise.
Do we agree that the odds for Susan coming back are rather significant?
The thing that stands out is the performance of Maestro - and I’ll stand by what I said earlier about the preview, I think that is bad acting. That role definitely called for 110% but was delivered at 300%. I can see how it would probably appeal to some, but I don’t count myself one of them.
Initial reaction rating at 2,5/5
We’ve had 6 RTD penned episodes in a row now, so I’m really stoked to see what Mr Moffat has got for us in a week
No mention of Ian dancing to “Ticket to Ride” in the Chase
I also really enjoyed this one, though the general tone of this era so far is exactly what I expected from RTD2. I feel like I’m watching a series 1 rehash all over again, down to the phoning mums from space and people being eaten by things
So I finished The Devil’s Chord and… it was better than I was expecting, but I don’t know, it’s still not grabbing me like I was hoping. I liked that Lennon/McCartney were the solution, and the musical duel was a lot of fun. Maestro was an interesting villain, and the biggest thing I was trepidatious about. Politics aside, I’m just not a fan of drag as an art form. I just don’t like it. So having a drag star front and center had me nervous. And it worked, just. I am eternally grateful though that this is a one off villain though. I liked the tackling of Susan and the big Pyramids of Mars reference. In the end, it was good, and the Doctor and Ruby were great. Didn’t care the “twist” at the end, but then again, I don’t like the big musical dance numbers so, there’s that. So, I’m still interested to see how the season plays out, but I’m not having as fun as I was with the specials.
Much to my surprise I did prefer this episode to the first one (& from the trailers it was the one I was expecting to hate!) but why on Earth did they have to ruin it with that ridiculous ending?
This just doesn’t feel like Doctor Who any more I’m afraid
Liked this one a lot more, very fun and surprisingly tense. Maestro was a great villain, though I feel they’d be more impactful if we hadn’t seen the Toymaker so recently. The mystery surrounding Ruby seems to go deeper and deeper, and we seemingly got confirmation that the one who waits and the Toymaker’s legioms are all part of this elder gods pantheon. Also, Susan Twist shows up again, the other Susan is namedropped and there’s always a twist at the end…
The season seems to be kicking into gear, really looking forward to next week.
I love the concept of a big dance number at the end and even liked a lot of the choreography, but man they really made one of the most boring songs possible for it IMO.
LOVED THIS ONE which isn’t surprising even a little because i love episodes where everything goes bonkers like this and the Giggle, i love a music theme, i love fourth wall breaks, and i especially love a big hammy villain who chews the scenery and laughs and screams and terrorizes everyone. i am so big on DW having magic in it. or at least things incomprehensible enough to be thought of as magic. it feels correct.
I’m liking the reoccurring stuff so far this season of stories/contrivance/formula and music… it really is reminding me of what i’ve seen of the Eighth Doctor Adventures and the way DWs form as a fiction series kind of gets addressed in those books. SO interested to know where all of this is going.
also i will admit when i saw the double decker bus with the number 77 parked in the background of ruined london i really did think it was a 22, and after how much I’ve been joking about Iris showing up in the new series i almost lost my mind.
5/5 for me BABY Maestro you are my everything…mwah
I think this story had a disadvantage from before it was released. The basic storyline was revealed through the trailers and RTDs “need to explain stuff”, and all released on Instagram and the like.
“You won’t hear Beatles music but there’s a reason for it”, it’s not a great leap of logic to say that something has happened to music.
Music based villain is shown in the trailer + when Jinxx Monsoon was announced to be in the show.
We see them dancing “in the rain” in the Trailer, so we know music comes back at the end of the story.
And then the two previews released the day before basically robbed us of any shred of mystery - I will have to avoid any of these released for the remaining stories.
Ncuti and Millie were great together, they really got that mischievous best friends vibe going for them.
And praise be to WOTAN that Maestro wasn’t a thinly veiled “Delgado-esque” disguised name for the Master.
Didn’t really like it. There were a lot of fun ideas they went for presentationally, and I thought Maestro was really good in two moments in particular, but otherwise the episode was a bit of a shambles.
Two things outside of that that really annoyed me: The Doctor just being able to “mute” the world with the sonic because sure? As well as the Doctor knowing Maestro’s name without ever actually hearing or being told it. I caught that immediately.
Maybe it’s something they’ll come back to - I doubt it - but I didn’t like how the plot was never actually resolved. Sure, music came back, but it was established in the first part of the episode that history was altered in 1925 and that’s something they never go and fix. Is the logic meant to be that Maestro’s work is retroactively undone? I can’t imagine them coming back to it because the episode is already teasing so many other things for the finale.
I did not miss the RTD approach to series arcs of throwing in names and buzzwords that will eventually mean something in the finale. Baffling to me that he’s doubled down and is building up so many plot threads to come together at once because his finales have always suffered with less. I feel like Maestro doesn’t really get to shine because a lot of their scenes are overtaken with talking about the Toymaker and teasing futute plot threads.
The ending scene is a farcical bit of fun on paper but it goes on for way too long, gives me too much time to plant my “no fun allowed” sign in the ground.
This part feels natural to me. Noise-canceling headphones work by sending out sound that cancels the outside noise, this felt like a super version of this.
