The Reality War is the eighth and final episode of the new season of Doctor Who. It stars Ncuti Gatwa as The Doctor and Varada Sethu as Belinda.
Spoilers ahead!!
General Thoughts
Overall, I found myself disappointed with this episode. I didn’t like how everything was resolved, which in the case of Omega, happened so quickly I wondered why he even appeared. There were a few things in this episode that I liked, such as the return of the Indigo device, Ruby’s mom looking after baby Desiderium and Jodie Whittaker’s surprise cameo as Thirteen.
But, hardly any of my questions from the last episode were answered. Also I feel like the biggest problem with this episode is how the characters were treated.
Character Issues
Firstly, the Rani and Mrs Flood felt wasted. There was a lot of build up, only for the Rani to be eaten by Omega and for Mrs Flood to disappear. I am glad she escaped though, since I liked her and she seemed more cunning than the Rani.
Secondly, Belinda’s character was ruined. She suddenly wants to go everywhere with the Doctor and spends a lot of the episode in a box with a child who is suddenly her entire world. This ruined her character, espeially at the end whent he Doctor changes reality just so Poppy is Belinda’s real child, which she never had before and never explicitly said she wanted before Wish World.
The Doctor himself felt very off in this episode, from ignoring Ruby’s concerns and not listening to her when she insisted that there was a child who just disappeared, to him wanting to change reality itself just for a child who never really existed.
Anita was amazing. I love Anita, I’m just sad that the show decided to have her be super in love with the Doctor still until she saw him with Rogue. I also wished she had more to do that literally just keeping a door open.
UNIT
UNIT were used very well in Wish World to show how the world has changed. It also showed how big the threat of the Rani and Conrad were that UNIT couldn’t fight it was was also converted into what Conrad wanted them to be.
Music
Murray Gold produced some beautiful music for this episode, even though it’s not Dugga Doo. However, many times throughout the episode, the music started to swell and build up. However, it felt hollow, as the episode didn’t feel like the characters triumphing over the villains at all.
Regeneration
Personally, my favourite thing about this regeneration was Jodie Whittaker returning as the 13th Doctor. I loved her doing the classic “You’ve redecorated, I don’t like it” line. I loved both her and Fifteen joking about how they thought Tennant would show up. Though, it would make sense for him to have shown up this time, unless he was away with Donna on holiday in the Tardis because Donna misses everything somehow.
Billie Piper’s return feels even more like a grab for views and for nostalgia than Tennant’s return, since at least with him there was the excuse of the 60th anniversary where previous doctors do return. It does feel like a very last minute decision. My only hope is that she wasn’t credited as ‘The Doctor’ and might be Bad Wolf or the Tardis instead.
Overall Thoughts on The Reality War
Overall, I did not enjoy this finale. It felt messy, rushed and disappointing. I guess I will have to wait and see what happens next. Though, I am very sad that Ncuti Gatwa didn’t get another season as the Doctor.
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Want to read another of my blog posts about Doctor Who? Check out my thoughts on the last episode, Wish World here.