This is another puzzling episode from Chris Chibnall. Again, he chose to rework concepts done far better by his predecessors; probably unwise to do a different take on the majestic Heaven Sent, only with more characters and less emotion.
About those characters. Why is every Chibnall character, perhaps with the exception of Dan, so unpleasant? Aisling Bea is a fine comedic actor, but her lengthy pre-credits sequence consists of her being rude and angry with her mother and a guy who just wants to be friendly. That guy, Nick, is given a bizarre backstory, and describing him as a weirdo stalker sure seems appropriate.
The Thirteenth Doctor continues to be terribly written and unsympathetic. Is there ANYTHING likeable about this Doctor now? She's recently committed genocide and is celebrating by going to the beach. She consistently puts people in jeopardy, but unlike previous incarnations who "got clever" yet regretted manipulating their friends, Thirteen just yells her cohorts into following her orders, which often make no sense. Her jokes fall flat, she has one scrunchy facial expression, and her "big Doctor moments" come off as pompous and pat. The low point of this episode was her inspirational speech, which felt like something a middle school PE coach would say to a volleyball team.
About those characters. Why is every Chibnall character, perhaps with the exception of Dan, so unpleasant? Aisling Bea is a fine comedic actor, but her lengthy pre-credits sequence consists of her being rude and angry with her mother and a guy who just wants to be friendly. That guy, Nick, is given a bizarre backstory, and describing him as a weirdo stalker sure seems appropriate.
The Thirteenth Doctor continues to be terribly written and unsympathetic. Is there ANYTHING likeable about this Doctor now? She's recently committed genocide and is celebrating by going to the beach. She consistently puts people in jeopardy, but unlike previous incarnations who "got clever" yet regretted manipulating their friends, Thirteen just yells her cohorts into following her orders, which often make no sense. Her jokes fall flat, she has one scrunchy facial expression, and her "big Doctor moments" come off as pompous and pat. The low point of this episode was her inspirational speech, which felt like something a middle school PE coach would say to a volleyball team.