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Where do I start?
We saw this days ago, and I'm still trying to think what to say! It shouldn't have worked, I think. If I poke at the logic, though, I don't quite puncture it. It's like gelatin. I just get stuck!
Yet "73 Yards" hit the right notes for me: a bit creepy, increasingly sad, and surprisingly satisfying at the end considering that I have no idea how any of this worked.
I asked myself and Brilliant Husband many questions, and we even came up with a few answers, so my entry is entirely Q&A:
Was Out-of-Focus Old Woman some future Ruby?
I think not. She didn't look like the future Ruby that we did see. I think she was probably some kind of non-human entity: an elf, fairy, or something else conjured up by the circle.
Why did the Doctor disappear?
BH has an answer for this one: he accidentally paradoxed himself out of existence while the paradox resolved. Telling Ruby what was going to happen did it. The second time, he stops himself before he completes the thought.
Will the Doctor ever watch his step?
Probably not.
Will the Doctor be more careful about what he says?
Probably not. After many Doctors who wouldn't explain when they should, we have a Doctor who can't keep his mouth shut!
What did the old woman say?
It doesn't matter. It wasn't the words; it was some power she had. No words alone would have made Ruby's mother treat her that way.
Is Ruby awesome?
Absolutely! I thought that the Doctor would reappear at some point, until Ruby had to celebrate Christmas alone, and then I realized she wouldn't see him again until it was all over, whatever that meant. I felt worse and worse for her as her relationships all fell apart. I thought Kate would save the day, or at least help! I felt more betrayed by Kate leaving her than by the Doctor disappearing, even though I don't imagine Kate really had control over the situation! And then I thought it would end when Roger ap William resigned, but it didn't! It seemed so unfair that she had to live decades alone! I felt her pain as she let the other intern be taken in by ap Williams, and I couldn't disagree with her choice, really. But I also felt her triumph as she single-handedly brought the man down, giving up everything and risking her life to do it. And then she had no recognition, because few people ever recognized the danger, and she still had the curse.
Ruby has already made her way pretty high on my list of all-time favorite companions.
Why did she have to live decades alone?
Because the writers are cruel.
We saw this days ago, and I'm still trying to think what to say! It shouldn't have worked, I think. If I poke at the logic, though, I don't quite puncture it. It's like gelatin. I just get stuck!
Yet "73 Yards" hit the right notes for me: a bit creepy, increasingly sad, and surprisingly satisfying at the end considering that I have no idea how any of this worked.
I asked myself and Brilliant Husband many questions, and we even came up with a few answers, so my entry is entirely Q&A:
Was Out-of-Focus Old Woman some future Ruby?
I think not. She didn't look like the future Ruby that we did see. I think she was probably some kind of non-human entity: an elf, fairy, or something else conjured up by the circle.
Why did the Doctor disappear?
BH has an answer for this one: he accidentally paradoxed himself out of existence while the paradox resolved. Telling Ruby what was going to happen did it. The second time, he stops himself before he completes the thought.
Will the Doctor ever watch his step?
Probably not.
Will the Doctor be more careful about what he says?
Probably not. After many Doctors who wouldn't explain when they should, we have a Doctor who can't keep his mouth shut!
What did the old woman say?
It doesn't matter. It wasn't the words; it was some power she had. No words alone would have made Ruby's mother treat her that way.
Is Ruby awesome?
Absolutely! I thought that the Doctor would reappear at some point, until Ruby had to celebrate Christmas alone, and then I realized she wouldn't see him again until it was all over, whatever that meant. I felt worse and worse for her as her relationships all fell apart. I thought Kate would save the day, or at least help! I felt more betrayed by Kate leaving her than by the Doctor disappearing, even though I don't imagine Kate really had control over the situation! And then I thought it would end when Roger ap William resigned, but it didn't! It seemed so unfair that she had to live decades alone! I felt her pain as she let the other intern be taken in by ap Williams, and I couldn't disagree with her choice, really. But I also felt her triumph as she single-handedly brought the man down, giving up everything and risking her life to do it. And then she had no recognition, because few people ever recognized the danger, and she still had the curse.
Ruby has already made her way pretty high on my list of all-time favorite companions.
Why did she have to live decades alone?
Because the writers are cruel.
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It was implied it was future!Ruby at times, but it could be read as it being some other entity. I thought they were going there with the setup of the fairy circle, even if the locals were taking the piss out of Ruby about it.
From what I understand, the writers intentionally made it where the audience wouldn't hear what the woman said. This way, you can imagine it to be whatever you want that would be so bad that Ruby's own mother would act horrified by her and kick her out. I prefer the idea it wasn't really human words that did it, but some sort of fairy magic.
Whatever spell she was under seems designed to keep her isolated. Surrounded by people, yet unable to make any real connections. Does sound like something the Fae would do for their own mysterious reasons. Some of the stories I've read imply that making Ruby live alone for decades would be relatively tame for them.
It was great seeing Kate in this this, and for a moment, it seemed like she had a plan to deal with the woman and help Ruby. Alas, no.
Ruby's self imposed mission to take down a politician after a random comment by The Doctor makes total sense. In the context of the show, this is how it usually goes traveling in the TARDIS: figure out who the bad guy is, deal with bad guy, The End. She was doing good and following his example, but alas, it wasn't truly her mission.
I've read we had this "Doctor-lite" episode because Gatwa was wrapping up previous commitments. Understandable, but a bit disappointing when the season is already so short.
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I think Kate did have a plan, and a good plan, but it involved no one hearing the woman. The soldiers didn't follow her no contact order. Did no one have sound protection? Or did her power work through any protection they had!
I've read we had this "Doctor-lite" episode because Gatwa was wrapping up previous commitments. Understandable, but a bit disappointing when the season is already so short.
Oh, that does make sense! I'm mostly liking this season but can hardly believe they only made eight episodes!
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I was really thinking Kate would figure out the proper way to deal with the Old Woman, but simply not wearing hearing protection after being told her speaking to people would drive them away was a big hole in the plan. Though would the "spell" still have worked anyway? Or at least they could have made there be a way around it, such as the UNIT team being protected, but Kate and anyone else listening in would not have been. Then Kate could have ordered them to take off the protection.
I haven't heard how many episodes we'll get next season, but I've read RTD basically saying this is how many they could make this time with Disney money. I'm not sure if that will change, since a lot of that money went into the new TARDIS set and the like that will be used again. He could also just mean that's all they could manage with scheduling issues, such as Gatwa's prior commitments.
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I hope we'll get more next season, but as far as I've seen, I feel like they've had as many good episodes as some previous seasons, which is, sadly, a low bar.
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As with previous seasons, I find myself saying I love the cast, but the plots are lacking or nonsensical. I know it's Doctor Who, and I'm perfectly fine with a monster in a rubber suit and what have you, but it just feels like they haven't put 100% into things this year. I'm hoping that the infusion of Mouse Money helps free up the writers to do more interesting things, but I worry it'll just go to fancy special effects instead.
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That is an excellent way of putting it, and I quite agree: I'm also not sure how it worked for me, but it did!
It did seem pretty unambiguous to me that the woman was Ruby herself, though, or some kind of projection of her. Possibly the only thing in the episode I didn't think was ambiguous! Even if the how and the why and everything else about it are opaque.
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