Actor playing Doctor Who Engages in Peculiar Countdown for Show's Final Sequence
In the latest episode of "Doctor Who," titled "Wish World," stunning parallels are drawn with last year's episode, "The Legend of Ruby Sunday." Both episodes serve as penultimate installments of their respective seasons, feature the return of a classic Doctor Who villain, and resolve season-long mysteries. Unfortunately, they also share a problematic similarity: both episodes are essentially prolonged waiting games, building anticipation for a final, cliffhanger reveal.
"Wish World," however, suffers from a more pronounced issue. Unlike "The Legend of Ruby Sunday," the audience is already aware of the moments building towards Sutekh's return. In contrast, "Wish World" is structured around the Doctor's anticipated encounter with the resurrected Rani, revealing little new information. This arrangement creates an unusual experience for the audience before delving into the show's mechanics.
The eponymous world of "Wish World" introduces a contemporary Earth on the brink of destruction but existing as an alternative dimension, courtesy of a magical baby picked up by the Rani in medieval Bavaria. The baby, the seventh son of a seventh son of a seventh son, grants the Rani the power to manipulate reality as she sees fit. Noted Utter Bastard Conrad from "Lucky Day" appears as the benevolent dictator overseeing this alternate world, broadcasting from a bone palace in London, determining the fate of everyone and everything within it.
The main characters, the Doctor and Belinda, also known as Mr. John Smith and his wife Belinda, respectively, live a modern nuclear family dream with their baby daughter Poppy. Belinda enjoys her role as a stay-at-home mother, while Mr. Smith works at UNIT, now functioning as a unified insurance team rather than a defending force against alien threats. This overtly heteronormative existence carries a creepy undertone, with characters often commenting on the role of women as good daughters, wives, and mothers.
Conrad's bigotry is further demonstrated by his disregard for disabled individuals, leading to an underground society being virtually invisible in the world he has created. Ruby Sunday, unaffected by the world's abnormalities, collaborates with Shirley and her friends in the disabled camp to unravel the true nature of the situation.
"Wish World" seems to lose direction midway, focusing on the Doctor's gradual realization of the artificial nature of the world and his encounter with the returned Rani. The episode's tension dissipates as the audience is already aware of the characters and their roles. The investigation by Ruby Sunday and her companions comes to a sudden halt, leaving them to look up at the bone palace as it looms over London.
The Rani, stationed in the aforementioned palace, spends much of the third act actively trying to get the Doctor to recognize her manipulation of the world. However, this lengthy exposition fails to generate any real tension or mystery, resulting in the audience being left waiting for the Doctor's enlightenment.
Finally, in the last moments, the episode introduces another mystery reveal: the Rani's countdown to May 24 has been powered by collecting doubts from those who question Conrad's reality, including the Doctor, to further charge the Vindicator. This revelation ultimately opens a gateway to a dimension where Omega, co-founder of Time Lord society, awaits.
The episode concludes with Earth collapsing into the underverse, seemingly erasing everyone but the Doctor, Conrad, and the Ranis from existence, including Belinda. The Omega reveal comes as a surprise but feels somewhat forced, given the episode's emphasis on the Doctor's encounter with the Rani.
In essence, "Wish World" is a disappointing episode marked by a compelling concept that is largely abandoned in favor of a ticking clock leading to the reveal of Omega. Future episodes may help retroactively justify this story's direction, but for now, the potential payoff remains uncertain.
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- Besides the similarities in structure, "Wish World" and "The Legend of Ruby Sunday" were watched on different screens, as viewers tuned in to Gizmodo for their latest technology news, keeping an eye on upcoming movies-and-tv releases in the entertainment industry.
- As technology continues to evolve, the Doctor, much like the characters on our television screens, found himself navigating through a contemporary world in "Wish World." In this case, the Doctor'sSubsequent encounters unfolded in a world controlled by Conrad, who broadcasted from a bone palace in London, reminiscent of technology moguls wielding power behind the scenes.
- In the future, fans can anticipate eagerly awaiting the next season of Doctor Who, catching discussions and theories on entertainment websites like io9, while enjoying mind-blowing technology advances unfolding in the real world, not so different from the alternate dimension portrayed in "Wish World."
