73 Yards is the fourth episode in the latest season of Doctor Who. It stars Millie Gibson as Ruby Sunday and Ncuti Gatwa as The Doctor.
Spoilers ahead!!
General Thoughts on 73 Yards
In general, I like the ideas of this episode. It is an episode that focuses on the companion, similar to Turn Left, which focused on Donna. The episode does very well conveying a creepy and unsettling tone from the moment the Doctor steps on the circle, and it stays throughout the episode.
The music in the episode was amazing, I think it really added to the creepy vibes and made everything just a little more unsettling. Also, there is a nice visual of Ruby in blue tinted light being locked out of the flat she lived in with her mother and grandmother, which had very bright and warm lighting. There was also the reappearance of the snow, and I’m looking forward tot he explanation of why that’s happening.
Another thing I liked is Ruby apologising to Marti. Ruby didn’t interfere with Roger ap Gwilliam’s implied abuse of Marti, but she knew and chose not to offer any help of any kind. That is, until she uses the woman following her to make ap Gwilliam go insane. I like that Ruby apologises for her inaction to Marti directly, even though there was probably little she could do.
Characters
Ruby was really well written in this episode, I enjoyed her character’s journey and arc throughout, although I did have a problem with it. I loved her interactions with her mum, and how Ruby’s mum was so scared of Ruby she left. Also, I adore Ruby’s grandmother. Millie Gibson was fantastic as Ruby, especially considering she spends almost no time with the Doctor. She portrayed Ruby’s confusion and other emotions so well.
I liked the return of Kate Lethbridge-Stewart and UNIT, and thought the entire interaction between Ruby and Kate was amazing. It also adds to the scariness of the situation when the head of UNIT, who is now confirmed to have dealt with supernatural issues, is scared of this old woman who is exactly 73 yards away from Ruby.
This is the first time that Susan Twist’s character had been acknowledged as the same face reoccurring, and I’m curious what this will lead to.
Issues With 73 Yards
73 Yards, for me, has several issues. One is the connection between the fairy circle and ‘Mad Jack’. I can rationalise that the fairy circle punished the Doctor by removing him, and that Ruby’s punishment was that she was abandoned by anyone approaching the old woman who kept following her.
Mad Jack is supposed to be this force of chaos and danger that breaking the fairy circle released. It’s also hinted at that Roger ap Gwilliam, a politician who plans to launch nuclear missiles. I wish there was a clearer connection between ‘Mad Jack’ and its implied want of chaos and ap Gwilliam.
Despite my issues with this episode, I was enjoying it until the end. It was a little confusing and ambiguous. That’s not necessarily a bad thing in what is meant to be a creepy episode that leans more towards horror, as explanations can sometimes make things less scary. But, Ruby experiences all of these things, and has a good character arc, only for it all to be forgotten. Old Ruby somehow merges with the woman following her for all these years so she can warn her past self not to break the fairy circle. And it works, but in doing so, Ruby retains none of the character development and no memories of this alternate timeline, which makes it not matter in the end.
Other than the acknowledgement of Susan Twist reoccurring, none of the events make a difference to Ruby’s character arc. As of the time I’m writing this, the events of 73 Yards hasn’t been mentioned since. Nothing has had any impact on the plot. I don’t see the point in Ruby having to deal with all of this abandonment and isolation that she learns to live with (especially considering her backstory) when it means nothing.
Overall Thoughts
I like that this is more horror leaning and that it is something different for Doctor Who. However, the ending leaves me unsatisfied, unhappy, and annoyed. Which is a shame, because I was enjoying the episode until its ending.
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Want to read another of my blog posts about Doctor Who? Check out my thoughts on Boom here.