The Whittaker / Chibnall era stumbles to the finish line in this frenzied episode. After three clumsily iconoclastic seasons, this finale is saturated in nostalgia, with cameos that, while welcome, distract from the Thirteenth Doctor's own story. After watching this episode, my takeaway was not "What a nice swan song for Thirteen," but instead "It sure was nice to see Ace and Seven together again."
Chibnall's run tried so hard to be socially relevant, but was always too inept to do it well. It still makes me chuckle that by retconning the Doctor's origins, the creative team made her into a literal Ubermensch, someone special not because of her actions but because of her genetic inheritance. "The Power of the Doctor" also bumbles in its weak attempt, making the episode's macguffin an energy source that manifests itself as a Black child. This energy source ends up killing Thirteen. I doubt this analogy was intended.
Likewise, since at least the 2021 "festive special," the series has teased a deeper affection between Thirteen and Yaz. Many fans looked forward to learning whether their evident attraction to each other would be resolved. Nope. They get ice cream. The idea of a companion support group is pretty great, although any member of Thirteen's "fam" would have the same complaints: She always yelled at us, she seemed to get innocent people killed an awful lot, and she would sometimes look slightly off-center to the camera and preach to the audience.
As usual for this era, the plot is nearly impossible to follow, frenetically paced with occasional breathless explanations from the always-irritated Doctor. Sacha Dhawan, who has been consistently entertaining as the Master, is given one final humiliating sequence with his cringeworthy "Rasputin" dance. Seeing UNIT in action again was nice. The Cybermen are once again hilariously ineffective, more window dressing than actual threat. Amid all the chaos is Thirteen herself, who should resent that her swan song barely focuses on her.
Chibnall's run tried so hard to be socially relevant, but was always too inept to do it well. It still makes me chuckle that by retconning the Doctor's origins, the creative team made her into a literal Ubermensch, someone special not because of her actions but because of her genetic inheritance. "The Power of the Doctor" also bumbles in its weak attempt, making the episode's macguffin an energy source that manifests itself as a Black child. This energy source ends up killing Thirteen. I doubt this analogy was intended.
Likewise, since at least the 2021 "festive special," the series has teased a deeper affection between Thirteen and Yaz. Many fans looked forward to learning whether their evident attraction to each other would be resolved. Nope. They get ice cream. The idea of a companion support group is pretty great, although any member of Thirteen's "fam" would have the same complaints: She always yelled at us, she seemed to get innocent people killed an awful lot, and she would sometimes look slightly off-center to the camera and preach to the audience.
As usual for this era, the plot is nearly impossible to follow, frenetically paced with occasional breathless explanations from the always-irritated Doctor. Sacha Dhawan, who has been consistently entertaining as the Master, is given one final humiliating sequence with his cringeworthy "Rasputin" dance. Seeing UNIT in action again was nice. The Cybermen are once again hilariously ineffective, more window dressing than actual threat. Amid all the chaos is Thirteen herself, who should resent that her swan song barely focuses on her.