The Reality War has landed: Our review!

Daniel’s Thoughts

Sigh, Where to begin? The series overall had a great opening, gripping and entertaining us with a string of brilliant episodes. We reached the first installment of the season finale, and it had me excited to see the return of not only the Rani but also the Doctor’s granddaughter, Susan. However, having her back felt like a complete waste of our time and, worst of all, hers! It’s a bit of an insult to Carole Ann Ford, who originated the role!

It has come to my attention that the original planned closing scene of this story/series was to be the Doctor and his friends dancing at a club, celebrating their victory against Omega, the Rani, Mrs. Flood, and Conrad, whilst a smiling Susan watches from afar, thus setting up the story arc for Series Three. Two seasons, TWO! We were teased of her return, and what did we get?! Brief appearances in the Doctor’s psyche and on his television in the Wish World. That’s it! The Reality War has left a foul taste in my mouth.

The only way I could describe the two season finales we’ve had is, “you’re doing great! Amazing! Brilliant! And then… you’ve ruined it!” The story itself was enjoyable, but the fact that questions are still remaining unanswered annoys me.

Eighteen episodes we’ve had with Ncuti Gatwa, and now he’s gone. Fifteen is as dead as the proverbial doornail! Or is he? The fact that Poppy is now Belinda’s daughter, after six episodes of her being eager to get home to her PARENTS, just doesn’t make sense. The fact that it was her “daughter” being the reason to get home on time still begs the question: has the Doctor rectified this universe’s reality? The fact we still don’t know who exactly is “The Boss?” Still casts a shadow over this era of Doctor Who.

I do think Gatwa doing only two series is far too short a run. His portrayal of the Doctor in this series was amazing. You could really feel that he was starting to get into his stride; I’d go as far as to say he had at least ONE more series in him. But alas, it wasn’t meant to be! He didn’t even face the Daleks – a CRIME! He’s the first NuWho era Doctor not to face the Metal Warriors of Skaro! Though we did technically see the Daleks in this episode, it was stock footage from the serial “Day of the Daleks.”

The Reality War was a lot to unpack. With Gatwa gone from the show, I can’t help but feel a sense of grief, like I’ve lost a family member. Yes, those of us in the know, upon stumbling across those LEAKS, were well aware that his Doctor was to regenerate into Billie Piper. It’s the fact the BBC and Davies DIDN’T announce the fact that Gatwa was to step down from the show. But IF you pay close attention to the closing credits, she isn’t credited as “The Doctor!” Instead, it states “Introducing Billie Piper.” Is the Doctor THAT hung up over his ex that he has to become her?

Both Russell T Davies (who currently isn’t in my good books) and Billie Piper haven’t really stated whether or not she’s portraying the 16th incarnation of our benevolent Time Lord. So, what exactly is going on?! Where is this show going? And could the closing scene be the nail in the coffin for Doctor Who?

With the closing events of “The Reality War” happening, I can’t help but feel as though we could potentially be seeing Gatwa making a return AFTER he’s done his stint in “The Importance of Being Earnest.” I just feel that something is afoot. Questions have still remained unanswered. I don’t think we’ve seen the end of BOTH Ruby and Belinda. Davies can’t leave them there like that; the way their time with the Doctor has come to a close just doesn’t make sense. The situation with “mavity” instead of “gravity” still needs to be rectified!

Build-up: good! Conclusion: a lot to be desired!

Jack’s Thoughts

Firstly, I feel as though Omega was a bit wasted, but hopefully, we see him return properly in the future. The Rani, in my opinion, was defeated too easily.

I loved the inclusion of The Time Hotel; I thought it was a very nice touch and a clever way to bring back a character from a previous episode.

Now let’s talk about returning Doctors! In a brilliant turn of events, the 13th Doctor (Jodie Whittaker) got pulled from her timeline to try to convince the Doctor out of what he was about to do. It was a brilliant scene and very emotional for long-term fans of the show to see them interact.

Having the opportunity to experience the final moments of season 2 in the cinema was truly an absolute pleasure – the scale and spectacle were incredible on the big screen.

Lastly, I’m so happy that Billie Piper gets her chance to play the iconic role! To say a childhood me was screaming and crushing hard at the reveal is an understatement. The only other thing that I have a slight problem with is that I believe the whole “get Belinda home” plot felt a bit wasted in the end.

Overall, my thoughts are overwhelmingly positive for the season as a whole, with only a few minor negatives. I’m really excited to see what the future holds for the show!

Amber’s Thoughts

Belinda was unfortunately wasted as a character in this episode; she was reduced to just being Poppy’s mother. Other than “The Robot Revolution,” there wasn’t really any urgency in her getting home. It was a bit disappointing, as I was looking forward to a character who genuinely didn’t want to be with the Doctor.

I think that the Rani and Omega were a little wasted as well. There was so much set up, and they were barely seen. The Rani died, and Omega was trapped again extremely quickly. We had seen Mrs Flood every episode this series and she just left? The Rani had a huge reveal in The Interstellar Song Contest and she just died? So much build-up for such a quick resolution, it makes me think that the regeneration ending was a change from the original script.

Despite my issues with the regeneration being this episode, I loved the scene, seeing Joy as the Christmas star was a nice callback and felt very poignant. It did feel like we didn’t really get the chance to truly meet this incarnation of the Doctor since it was so short-lived, which is a shame for Ncuti Gatwa’s fantastic portrayal. I loved him as the character but 18 episodes? Really? Such a shame and wasted potential.

Speaking of Joy, seeing Anita and the Time Hotel was a very nice callback. Anita mentioning “The Boss,” first brought up in “The Star Beast,” was interesting, although we still know nothing of this mysterious figure. It’s starting to become a little boring, it was set up almost 2 years ago and nothing has come of it.

And now, for the obvious: “Billie Piper” is back. I saw all the rumours, but I thought it was just that – a rumour. I’ve thought about the idea of the Doctor taking the face of a former companion, but I didn’t think it would actually happen. It feels a little odd to have, especially since we recently had David Tennant return as the Doctor. Once again, it feels like we are too focused on the past. However, in the credits, it only said “Introducing – Billie Piper” whereas before, any new Doctor or any actor playing the Doctor is credited as “The Doctor.” It makes me think: is she actually the next Doctor? This deliberate ambiguity certainly adds to the mystery. My personal theory is that this is something to do with “Bad Wolf” from series 1. Rose became the Bad Wolf after looking into the Heart of the TARDIS, and The Doctor used regeneration energy onto the TARIDS, could this face be the result of messing about with the TARDIS?

Speaking of other Doctors, Thirteen! I absolutely love Jodie’s Doctor; seeing her again was a joy. I loved seeing her return, probably my favourite scene in the entire episode. Her appearance was a welcome surprise and provided a fantastic emotional beat.

On the topic of returning characters, It was a shame that Susan didn’t end up returning; she had been seen in the previous two episodes, but she wasn’t mentioned once here. Although there was a lot going on in this episode, I can see why it might have been forgotten. But not a single mention?

All in all, I did like the episode, but I can’t help but think that Ncuti Gatwa was wasted as the Doctor. He had so much potential, and we barely got to see any of it. I think that this latest era, while it has some of my favourite moments, could have been so much better. In all honesty, I think that what Doctor Who really needs is a showrunner who has never written or only written a few episodes for Who before.

Images courtesy of BBC Pictures