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"The Power of the Doctor" - Post-Viewing Thoughts and Reflections
I've given myself a couple of days to let the episode sink in, as a lot happened and there was a fair amount I was surprised by (and a couple of things that people theorized that I'm surprised came to pass). Overall I was pretty happy with it even though it suffered from some of the same writing pitfalls as the rest of the Chibnall era, but this definitely erred on the better side.
Doctor exit stories are actually a harder sell for me. The only one in the Classic series that really impressed me was The Caves of Androzani (though I enjoyed The Tenth Planet and The War Games as otherwise normal stories). In the modern series the only one that really blew me away was The Parting of the Ways, mostly because of how streamlined and well executed it was. The majority tend to fall somewhere in the middle of "it was fine, and I really liked parts of it, but it's not my first choice as an episode to rewatch." The Power of the Doctor pretty decidedly falls into this category for me, along with the likes of The End of Time (people remember how great specific scenes and sequences were, but not how weird and messy other parts were), and Twice Upon a Time (a strong performance by Capaldi that was muddled by a seeming lack of direction outside specific thematic elements). I bring up these comparisons because this episode didn't do what I had expected it to do, which is what The Time of the Doctor did: Cram in a bunch of storylines and lore at the very end in order to wrap everything up, to the detriment of everything and everyone.
It is very clear from my predictions post that I expected this episode to go further in on the Timeless Child storyline, specifically with the fob watch playing a key role in the regeneration. I had this theory mostly because there were several returning elements from Series 12 and Flux advertised in the trailers - specifically The Master, The CyberMasters, Ashad (the Lone Cyberman), and Vinder. The return of Jo Martin was also implicitly confirmed by comments during interviews from when Flux was airing. However, the Fugitive Doctor's appearance was more akin to a cameo, and the other elements ended up being utilized in a completely different way. I had assumed Thirteen's regeneration would be caused by the fob watch because I in no way predicted what the Master's plan was. I have mixed feelings about this as I think it's better that they went in this direction, but it also kind of feels like they left the Timeless Child arc incomplete in a way that will probably stick out on rewatch considering how much real estate it took up the past two seasons. Part of me kind of wonders if Russell will pay it lipservice by bringing back the fob watch to "fix" the regeneration cycle and have David turn into Ncuti, but I highly doubt that will happen (even though that plot beat would open the door for Jo Martin in the 60th which I would ADORE).
I also expected Bel and Karvanista to appear because they were with Vinder at the end of Flux, but I also expected him to play more of a narrative role than he ultimately did. In my initial post-episode tweets I mentioned that his presence "felt more like a solution to a logistical problem ("Yaz needs someone to talk to for this stretch of the episode") rather than a genuine desire to use the character" and it's a take I stand behind. I've seen theories that his role may have been initially set up for Jack before John Barrowman burned all his bridges, and it seems plausible, but I'm glad we got Vinder and this episode struck a balance between older characters and new ones introduced in this era. As much as I would've liked to see Bel, Karvanista, and Osgood in this story there really wasn't room for them, and the only character whose absence I truly felt was Ryan's.
Speaking of absence, I kind of figured Dan would be sidelined most of this story just based on promo, but I didn't expect him to leave ten minutes into the story but I actually really liked it creatively. It sets up some nice foreshadowing for the episode's end and the way Ace and Tegan are used in this story, and allows him a goodbye scene of his own without it needing to be shared with Yaz or Thirteen. It does make me wish even more though that more time and resources were put into Legend of the Sea Devils. I also get the criticism some people have that this episode didn't focus as much on the romantic aspect of Thasmin as the last two did, but considering how it ended I thought they took the right approach. My only critique of Yaz's ultimate exit is that I think some of the subtextual reason for leaving should have been vocalized more. Mandip is a great actress but the burden shouldn't be entirely on her to sell that beat, especially with how well she was utilized in the rest of the story. I know Russel is (rightly) gonna start with a clean slate, but if any character from this era deserves a return in the future it's Yaz. A very open-ended, Classic Who ending for a major character that we haven't really gotten in New Who.
Sacha Dhawan sexy. I wish we saw more of him in this era but what we got from him was great. His performance in this episode specifically helped sell this incarnation of the Master, even if its still not a clear line from Missy. I thought the Daleks and Cybermen were used well enough without swallowing the story, which was a pleasant surprise to be honest. I also thought Kate got a stronger showing than I thought she would, and I'm glad Jemma Redgrave still seems to have enthusiasm for the role so many years in. I'm also glad that she got to go inside the Tardis and really enter that same pseudo-companion space that her father occupied.
Now I had heard rumors of some of the past Doctors shooting something for this episode but I had dismissed them, mostly because I couldn't think of any way this could be a multi-doctor story that would make sense. And some minor questionable cgi aside, they more than justified it, and that whole sequence was so fun to watch even though I'm still not that familiar with the Eighth Doctor. The scene with Five/Tegan was everything I didn't know I wanted, and the Seven/Ace scene was almost at that level (only let down by the intentionally ambiguous nature of Ace's departure). I can't even imagine what watching those scenes would've been like for people who watched Classic Who in the 80s and 90s. I'm also so glad these actors got a chance to shine here after being kind of shafted during the 50th anniversary.
As far as things I disliked about this episode, there's not a lot I can directly poinpoint to be honest. I already said I had mixed feelings about the lack of Timeless Child storyline, but ultimately I think the weakness of this story is the weakness of this era: Chibnall's writing. This era has had flashes of brilliance, usually at the hands of other writers (Rosa, The Witchfinders) but also through Chibnall's pen (Fugitive of the Judoon, most of Flux) but a lot of it has been let down by inconsistent character writing and clunky dialogue. I know Moffat's dialog has been criticized for being very self-indulgent and flowely, but this era tended to have the opposite problem. I think this episode manages to hit the mark with the dialog in scenes where it really mattered (The Five/Tegan and Seven/Ace conversations, Thirteen and Yaz's final conversation, Thirteen's regeneration) but a lot of other conversations feel underwhelming, and its apparent just how much of this era has been elevated by actors rising above mediocre material.
Overall though, I'm coming away from this story with positive feelings. This era was rocky but enjoyable, and I'm excited to see where the show goes from here (even if I'm decidedly not excited about the distribution deal with Disney). I'm planning on rewatching all of New Who next year and I'm interested to see how my impression of this era may evolve and change as a part of that, and maybe someday I'll overcome the bad Switch controls and finish The Edge of Reality. Until then, we have a bit of a wait until the 60th, but I'm interested to see what we may get between now and then.
Doctor exit stories are actually a harder sell for me. The only one in the Classic series that really impressed me was The Caves of Androzani (though I enjoyed The Tenth Planet and The War Games as otherwise normal stories). In the modern series the only one that really blew me away was The Parting of the Ways, mostly because of how streamlined and well executed it was. The majority tend to fall somewhere in the middle of "it was fine, and I really liked parts of it, but it's not my first choice as an episode to rewatch." The Power of the Doctor pretty decidedly falls into this category for me, along with the likes of The End of Time (people remember how great specific scenes and sequences were, but not how weird and messy other parts were), and Twice Upon a Time (a strong performance by Capaldi that was muddled by a seeming lack of direction outside specific thematic elements). I bring up these comparisons because this episode didn't do what I had expected it to do, which is what The Time of the Doctor did: Cram in a bunch of storylines and lore at the very end in order to wrap everything up, to the detriment of everything and everyone.
It is very clear from my predictions post that I expected this episode to go further in on the Timeless Child storyline, specifically with the fob watch playing a key role in the regeneration. I had this theory mostly because there were several returning elements from Series 12 and Flux advertised in the trailers - specifically The Master, The CyberMasters, Ashad (the Lone Cyberman), and Vinder. The return of Jo Martin was also implicitly confirmed by comments during interviews from when Flux was airing. However, the Fugitive Doctor's appearance was more akin to a cameo, and the other elements ended up being utilized in a completely different way. I had assumed Thirteen's regeneration would be caused by the fob watch because I in no way predicted what the Master's plan was. I have mixed feelings about this as I think it's better that they went in this direction, but it also kind of feels like they left the Timeless Child arc incomplete in a way that will probably stick out on rewatch considering how much real estate it took up the past two seasons. Part of me kind of wonders if Russell will pay it lipservice by bringing back the fob watch to "fix" the regeneration cycle and have David turn into Ncuti, but I highly doubt that will happen (even though that plot beat would open the door for Jo Martin in the 60th which I would ADORE).
I also expected Bel and Karvanista to appear because they were with Vinder at the end of Flux, but I also expected him to play more of a narrative role than he ultimately did. In my initial post-episode tweets I mentioned that his presence "felt more like a solution to a logistical problem ("Yaz needs someone to talk to for this stretch of the episode") rather than a genuine desire to use the character" and it's a take I stand behind. I've seen theories that his role may have been initially set up for Jack before John Barrowman burned all his bridges, and it seems plausible, but I'm glad we got Vinder and this episode struck a balance between older characters and new ones introduced in this era. As much as I would've liked to see Bel, Karvanista, and Osgood in this story there really wasn't room for them, and the only character whose absence I truly felt was Ryan's.
Speaking of absence, I kind of figured Dan would be sidelined most of this story just based on promo, but I didn't expect him to leave ten minutes into the story but I actually really liked it creatively. It sets up some nice foreshadowing for the episode's end and the way Ace and Tegan are used in this story, and allows him a goodbye scene of his own without it needing to be shared with Yaz or Thirteen. It does make me wish even more though that more time and resources were put into Legend of the Sea Devils. I also get the criticism some people have that this episode didn't focus as much on the romantic aspect of Thasmin as the last two did, but considering how it ended I thought they took the right approach. My only critique of Yaz's ultimate exit is that I think some of the subtextual reason for leaving should have been vocalized more. Mandip is a great actress but the burden shouldn't be entirely on her to sell that beat, especially with how well she was utilized in the rest of the story. I know Russel is (rightly) gonna start with a clean slate, but if any character from this era deserves a return in the future it's Yaz. A very open-ended, Classic Who ending for a major character that we haven't really gotten in New Who.
Sacha Dhawan sexy. I wish we saw more of him in this era but what we got from him was great. His performance in this episode specifically helped sell this incarnation of the Master, even if its still not a clear line from Missy. I thought the Daleks and Cybermen were used well enough without swallowing the story, which was a pleasant surprise to be honest. I also thought Kate got a stronger showing than I thought she would, and I'm glad Jemma Redgrave still seems to have enthusiasm for the role so many years in. I'm also glad that she got to go inside the Tardis and really enter that same pseudo-companion space that her father occupied.
Now I had heard rumors of some of the past Doctors shooting something for this episode but I had dismissed them, mostly because I couldn't think of any way this could be a multi-doctor story that would make sense. And some minor questionable cgi aside, they more than justified it, and that whole sequence was so fun to watch even though I'm still not that familiar with the Eighth Doctor. The scene with Five/Tegan was everything I didn't know I wanted, and the Seven/Ace scene was almost at that level (only let down by the intentionally ambiguous nature of Ace's departure). I can't even imagine what watching those scenes would've been like for people who watched Classic Who in the 80s and 90s. I'm also so glad these actors got a chance to shine here after being kind of shafted during the 50th anniversary.
As far as things I disliked about this episode, there's not a lot I can directly poinpoint to be honest. I already said I had mixed feelings about the lack of Timeless Child storyline, but ultimately I think the weakness of this story is the weakness of this era: Chibnall's writing. This era has had flashes of brilliance, usually at the hands of other writers (Rosa, The Witchfinders) but also through Chibnall's pen (Fugitive of the Judoon, most of Flux) but a lot of it has been let down by inconsistent character writing and clunky dialogue. I know Moffat's dialog has been criticized for being very self-indulgent and flowely, but this era tended to have the opposite problem. I think this episode manages to hit the mark with the dialog in scenes where it really mattered (The Five/Tegan and Seven/Ace conversations, Thirteen and Yaz's final conversation, Thirteen's regeneration) but a lot of other conversations feel underwhelming, and its apparent just how much of this era has been elevated by actors rising above mediocre material.
Overall though, I'm coming away from this story with positive feelings. This era was rocky but enjoyable, and I'm excited to see where the show goes from here (even if I'm decidedly not excited about the distribution deal with Disney). I'm planning on rewatching all of New Who next year and I'm interested to see how my impression of this era may evolve and change as a part of that, and maybe someday I'll overcome the bad Switch controls and finish The Edge of Reality. Until then, we have a bit of a wait until the 60th, but I'm interested to see what we may get between now and then.
no subject
Yes, I think that's absolutely true. I'm very happy to have had this! BUt I do at the same time wish it had been written by someone else and the rest of it might also have been nearer that level, too.
(And even in Flux, the two strongest eps for me had co-writing credits, so I'm assuming I need to thank the co-writers for that.)
The Disney thing is worrying - although also presumably intended as a way to navigate the trouble the BBC are in, but, yeah. A rather disturbing move, really.
Still, as you say, it was a good note to end on! And I'm not someone who's been able to enjoy very much of this era at all, due to my long time Chibnall allergy and dislike of the TC thing.
no subject
From what I understand, Flux did has a writer's room of sorts but Chibnall did the bulk of the writing which is why he ultimately got the writing credits. I get why they got rid of the rule but sometimes I wish the show still operated under restrictions on how much the "showrunner" could write for the show proper. I don't expect there to be much carry-over from the Chibnall era to RTD2, but I would love to see Maxine Alderton (The Haunting of Villa Diodati, Village of the Angels) keep writing for the show in some capacity.
The Disney thing is worrying - although also presumably intended as a way to navigate the trouble the BBC are in, but, yeah. A rather disturbing move, really.
It seems like Disney will have some creative input on the show moving forward (x), which I'm not at all surprised by but BNF kept saying wasn't going to happen because there was "no way Russell would give up any creative control". Considering what's happening with the BBC currently I guess Disney is the lesser of two evils but I'd personally rather not have any evil involved tbh.
Still, as you say, it was a good note to end on! And I'm not someone who's been able to enjoy very much of this era at all, due to my long time Chibnall allergy and dislike of the TC thing.
I'm glad you enjoyed some of it! I wasn't around when RTD1 was airing but I remember a lot of people being very critical of Moffat's writing at the time, and I wonder what the reception will be for RTD2 considering the ways he has (and hasn't) grown as a writer. I didn't mind the TC thing so much, mostly because I loved Jo Martin in the role, but also because it all ended up feeling weirdly inconsequential? At the very least I hope it leaves the show open to some flexibility if it decides to go down certain avenues (*cough*Valeyard*cough*) that previously had some more rigid barriers for use.
no subject
Indeed!
I wasn't around when RTD1 was airing but I remember a lot of people being very critical of Moffat's writing at the time, and I wonder what the reception will be for RTD2 considering the ways he has (and hasn't) grown as a writer.
Tbf, hating the current showrunner is the fandom's favourite sport. I expect the RTD stans will be deeply annoying and still regard him as the show's one true creator, people will scream loudly across the internet and the rest of us will make what we can of it. I do hope we see more of his better traits than his worse, but I at least anticipate not being bored any longer!