Between this and The Well, I’m so glad that we’re getting some fresh blood writing for the show
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One other point, I did not expect Yo-Yo Ma to be referenced in an episode set in Lagos!
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This thread really managed to cement in my head what I thought about the episode. It’s not a top drawer episode for me. Something just felt a little too vague and I wasn’t entirely convinced by the ‘I’m Anansi - actually no I’m not, I’m just a human who built a web’. I felt the motivations/identity of the Barber was just a bit too nebulous. I also felt the customers became a bit too much like background characters as the story progressed, especially once Belinda arrived - even Omo and I would have liked them to be involved more.
But the atmosphere, the overall concept, 15, Anansi’s daughter, THE FUGITIVE!!, the previous Doctors (do you think they make sure every one appears so no part of fandom gets offended. I was getting a bit concerned we hadn’t seen Colin until right near the end of that sequence).
The tying in of black hair culture rooted in their slavery passing escape routes from mother to child, slave to slave - was inspired and the sequence in the maze and ‘brain’ room was beautiful. (I would love to know if there were any easter eggs on the shelves).
Fascinated to know the significance of the spooky girl (was it Poppy??).
Yeah. I actually think this will be one which goes up in my estimation when I watch it away from the season but for now it’s 3.5 but could easily hit a 4.
One thing I will say though - it might be my aging ears, our slightly low-tech TV set up or something - but did anyone else struggle to hear the dialogue particularly in the early scenes in the barbershop when the Doctor first entered?
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It says Poppy in the credits!
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I’ve been having that problem throughout this season in dialogue scenes with music added. The soundtrack has been far, far too loud in this series and swamps the dialogue for me quite a bit.
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This is a problem with a lot of telly nowadays but this was the first Doctor Who it I really struggled with.
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One of the problems is that as TVs get thinner so do the speakers inside, & therefore the sound quality is not as good.
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Loving how much Jo Martin is interviewed here!
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WOW THAT IS ANOTHER 9/10 FOR ME!!!
I was so impressed and the story telling was beautiful. The visuals and soundtrack extremely stood out to me too
We are on a 5 amazing episode streak so far!
Bring on The Interstellar Song Contest 
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One thing I will say is that I wish they hadn’t had a shot of the spider in any of the trailers, especially the Next Time one. Can you imagine how brilliant that reveal would have been without it? Ane the Next Time one quite clearly had the barbershop on the spider’s back so that sort of spoiled that bit which is a shame as it was a brilliantly Doctor Who sort of idea.
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Saved the photos 
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Wrote a review on here. I liked it in some ways, but it didn’t really capture my interests other than having a giant spider, which is always a plus.
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Does anyone else find the “that might be finished one day” line a bit… too on the nose a bit cringe? It may just be me
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Got my rewatch, I think that’s a great episode there. Not sure if I like this one or The Well better, but I think so far this season we are so back.
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I liked this one. I liked the story about Belinda. It’s just very different. And that’s a good thing. And we have a little more lore on the Fugitive Doctor, that was interesting. The hair map was a brilliant idea. The actual Story Engine looks cool and my first thought when it opened up was “Yggdrasil”. I loved the clips of past Doctors.
I’m not sure what I think about this. It’s very good, different, but that’s a good thing. It was really fun, brimming with great ideas, different ideas. This is what the show needs. New writers to bring new ideas to the skeleton that is Doctor Who. Break the formula, the mold that the show seems to stuck in, without losing the essence of the show
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i feel a bit underwhelmed to be honest, I was really excited for this episode but Im disappointed that it involved the pantheon of gods storyline. Similarly to Lux, i really do think that this story would’ve been better and less convoluted if it hadn’t included the gods at all. I’m definitely going to have to rewatch this because i just felt a bit confused the entire time? Its the sort of episode that has so much information crammed into 45 minutes that its overwhelming. great soundtrack and visuals though.
i really wish we saw more of Belinda too, especially with her not being in the last episode. I really like her and this many companion lite episodes in such a short season is really sad to me
I have enjoyed this season a lot but I really wish there were more sci fi stories like the Well. i just want more aliens and spaceships! i didnt like last weeks episode much either so hopefully next week is good??
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It involved the gods of various mythologies, but not the Pantheon in the sense of RTDs Pantheon, which is rather a different thing. Doctor Who is no stranger to saying the various gods of mythology were real, see what was done with Sutekh and the Osirans, how they were just powerful space beings who became worshipped by the Egyptians, at least before RTD decided to retcon that. I think this episode fits in more with that approach than the Pantheon arc that RTD is doing.
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It was the fact that he felt used. No attempt to warn him. His refuge, his safe space and little home outside the TARDIS no longer safe. A person he trusted and saw as a friend seeing him as a solution first and foremost. I loved that moment.
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Yes it was my understanding that Omo didn’t necessarily summon him to help them, but because he knew the Doctor could power the engine and they could go home. He wasn’t asking for help but for someone to replace them so they could leave. He was being selfish.
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I took this as the Doctor’s storytelling being the most vivid because of his Time Lord background. The link with the machine made everything even more real, so the images on the window became HD … a window on reality. Makes sense to me.
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