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I think this episode is like Tenet, It’s complicated and mysterious and by the end you just feel stupid for not understanding the very VERY vague messages
We never get to learn any more than Ruby herself get's to know. She doesn't get answers, we don't get answers. I do have a feeling some of this is going to play out in the finale. Especially something Mrs Flood said about it having nothing to do with her.
My explanation. Supernarural bleeding in. The doctor stepped on a fairy circle with real supernatural power. He got banished. Ruby got cursed. She got cursed to grow old and eventually become the old woman. Able to warn herself a bit earlier. The fairy circle mentioned mad jack as a clue to give ruby something to do to redeem herself. We will never know what the woman was saying to get them to hate young ruby. Thats the mystery. And 73 yards is just a ln arbitrary distance where you can see shape and movements, but not face.
I feel like the curse was a failsafe of the circle, basically to lock Mad Jack back up, then go back and make sure he isn't released at all. What a strange and fun episode that goes a long way to give us insight into what type of person Ruby is without The Doctor.
I think it's also something to do with Ruby's Birth feeding into the Fairy Circle's powers as well, we know something extremely powerful was present and it's likely reacting the whole time to the powers of the Fairy Circle, breaking when Ruby's about to die, allowing a chance to erase the paradox created.
This episode for me is up there with Blink, Midnight and Turn Left for me, especially in terms of (almost) dystopian/uncanny valley creepy. Mind you, with It Follows being one of my favorite horror films this episode has a similar vibe. It is definitely an episode that leaves a lot of questions, and 100% agree it will not be to everyone's liking. If nothing else, this episode was fantastic for Millie's character-performance and these one-character episodes (like Blink and Midnight) where the focus was on one central character to give them room to breathe.
I feel like leaving things left to your own imagination is far more horrifying than having absolutely everything revealed/explained - I imagine this also needs multiple viewing to fully appreciate it personally I loved this episode. The tone especially Doctor who does horror so well and it rarely seems to dig into its roots and go for it. - Russell’s already said you’ll never know what she’s actually saying and that kinda adds to the horror aspect.
I mean for a clown who needs everything to be spoonfed to him, it's obvious how he'd hate this episode. Dude actually had to use his imagination, or try to in his case, to understand what the episode was doing and how it balances Ruby as a character. He's the sort of person who needs everything explained in a very sci-fi way. It's hilariously stupid.
I was alone and quiet and fully absorbed in the episode. I wonder if talking about the episode in real time with the lights on bright dampens the effect of the show.
Theres a difference between no having some things explained and not having anything explained. The show gives no explanation to why the loop started or what broke it. So you leve the episode with nothing satisfying happening. You could have not watched the episode at all because it was essentially pointless. The stepping on and off the fairy circle isnt an explanation either, if that was the cause of the whole thing, what was different in this version of the loop where ruby now changes things to stop him stepping on it.
@@charg1nmalaz0r51 What broke it is she heard the woman say “don’t step” and Ruby stopped the Doctor from breaking the circle. Ruby had just enough residual awareness to change things.
@@charg1nmalaz0r51 Not everything in this universe is going to make sense or be reasonable. I just watched Logopolis. A civilization existed that used the power of mathematics to reshape reality. The Master thought that was just their folklore and introduced silence to their world for a few minutes. He intended to hijack their system for his own purposes and instead destroyed them and nearly doomed the universe. If a Time Lord can’t fully comprehend everything that’s going on in their universe, what hope do we as human viewers expect to understand. And Ruby wasn’t really in a position to figure it out so unless she could collaborate or gain the resources necessary to figure out how an apparently supernatural force operates, we’re not going to figure it out. This type of horror operates on the mystery of the unknown. Understanding how or why is antithetical to the nature of the story.
I usually agree with your guy's opinions, but I think this is one where I unfortunately don't. This was one of my favourite episodes of all time. Just absolutely stunning. I think what's tricky is that a lot of media nowadays kind of spoils us as the audience and always spells everything out. And honestly, not everything needs one. This was a highly experimental episode and honestly, Doctor Who is at its best when it's being experimental (Scherzo and The Natural History of Fear comes to mind). This episode did very well with keeping its folk horror roots while remaiming very eldritch. And that's what dealing with the fae should feel like. Dangerous and malicious and beyond comprehension. I also have a few theories about what the figure would say to people and what she represented. This was also one of the few pieces of media that left me speechless for a while after the episode ended. I just kind of sat in front of my tv processing for a few minutes before moving in with my night. Anyways at the end of the day, it's Doctor Who and even though you guys may not have liked it, that's absolutely fine. I hope you guys enjoy the next episode more! And as always, I live your reactions! Have a lovely night! ❤
This clown ass hat of a dude has been hating on Doctor Who doing supernatural or folk lore stuff ever since Ruby's first episode. Dude can't handle not being spoonfed and this is a prime example of that. He's become more and more stupider with his takes and that's nothing new.
@darkglasses87 They're Eighth Doctor stories, that are audio only. Scherzo includes Eight and his companion Charley in a white void. A place where all of their senses are cut off, all except for hearing. They're then hunted down by a creature made of sound. Here, rhe Doctor and Charley struggle with themes or mortality, love, and fear of what comes next for them. The Natural History of Fear is another audio only adventure that's very reminiscent of Ray Bradbury's works (especially Fahrenheit 451). It's also a very Doctor-lite episode where the Doctor and companions only appear for about 2-3 minutes of a two-hour runtime. Questions are illegal here. Are you a good citizen? Do you love the State? Because the State loves you. It has a very small cast and the actors of the Doctor and Co each play different characters throughout the story. I don't want to spoil too much because the plot twist is one of my favourites of all time.
This episode felt like it could be a black mirror episode. I loved the vibe it gave. it was a lot of fun. This MAY connect to the wider story which would obviously make people rate it higher but if this is standalone. then it just has questions that obviously wont be answered.
I don't understand the obsession with wanting to get all the answers all the time. Some stories don't require that - on the contrary, if you take away the mystery, their effect diminishes.
My initial reaction after watching this last night was ‘I think I like it.’ The more I think about it, the more I really like it, much like my reaction to The Devil’s Chord. For me, it’s the scene where Ruby looks down from her flat window at The Woman after defeating Roger Ap Gwilliam and she says ‘Can you leave me alone now?’ Then it cuts to 40 years later. It’s devastating. My reading of the episode is that The Woman is the personification of Ruby’s guilt and shame that she is burdened with. She feels like something is wrong with her, otherwise why would her birth mother abandon her on a church doorstep? Ruby feels like she must have done something wrong, or that there’s something inherently wrong with her for someone to do that, which is a motif repeated throughout the episode when the Hiker, Josh and Carla run away, abandoning her like her biological mother did. This guilt haunts her for her whole life.
Aside from the central mystery, I am still fascinated by the fact that Sian Phillips (in her beret) is in this and there's been zero word about it. It's almost the equivalent of Star Trek putting Meryl Streep in a part and NEVER interviewing her.
There were a couple news items about her being in it months ago. She’s in her 90s now and seems to be in finer fettle than I expected. Maybe she can’t be bothered with doing press at her time of life? 🥰
Obviously respect the feelings you guys have on this one, I think this will be divisive for a fair few people, but I think it pays to be less literal minded about it, or at least for me it did, I'm kind of cool with basically having nothing answered, I think that leans into the magical folkloric themes. I will say I think the politics side was slightly weaker, but I enjoyed the aha moment of Ruby using the 73 Yards to get Roger.
I agree with you about the mystery of the whole thing, honestly the lack of answers made it feel a little like the episode Midnight with David Tennant- that creature should not have logically existed, there was no explanation of what it was or what it wanted and that was never explained and personally I really enjoyed that. Sometimes I think for a more horror story the unknown is far spookier than having things spelled out for us.
@@bunnyslippers5183 the difference with midnight was that creature specifically doing what it was doing because that's what it did and it was kind of explained as that's how it takes over. I'm not a massive fan of that episode. But this episode is more like a child's story that doesn't really make any sense. Example why does the creature have to be 73 yards away
@@CyberSlammer2024 I can see your point although I do, respectfully, disagree with you. Personally I don’t mind a bit of mystery in an episode, perhaps we’ll get answers in a later episode as they all seem to be building to something but perhaps we won’t. Seeing as they seemed to be going down the fairy circle route perhaps that’s why it felt a bit like a childish story to you? Most fairy stories have a childlike quality to them after all (though they can quickly get SUPER dark.) often when it comes to fairy folklore as well a lot of things go unexplained, people just shrug and go “fairies, you know.” And that’s all you get. Though I can see how this style of story telling isn’t for everyone and you’re definitely not alone in how you’re feeling about it. Just personally for me I liked it.
@@bunnyslippers5183 yes it's clearly appealing to some people maybe it's a younger crowd?? I think a lot about the people prefer the proper science fiction like logopolis etc. I don't like silly supernatural. I've never liked cartoons Harry potter or lord of the rings type stuff it's just fantasy and it bores me. As you say it's just taste. I also hope they do answer all of this changing direction by the end of the series. If they don't and it's just the way things are I suspect they are going to lose over half of their audience. The viewing figures are not looking good so far. People just want a man in the police box having adventures in Time and space. They could have made just a separate series with another time lord like Romana dealing with fantasy in e space. But for me they are changing it too much. I will certainly see this series out but if it doesn't work out won't be back. I didn't bother with Jodie Whittaker's last season I thought she was horrendous as the doctor so was the writing lol
Actually enjoyed this episode, and it does keep you thinking after the fact, but it's because I have still too many questions that I feel could have been answered. Maybe that's the point and the show will revisit this before the end of the season to tie it all together? Shout out to our weekly "Twist" too 😊
Sometimes you’ve just got to enjoy the ride even if there are more questions at the end than there are at the beginning and I certainly enjoyed this ride! Creepy, tense, heartbreaking in a few places. It’s certainly not the first time Russell T Davies has left things unanswered and allowed the audience to reach their own conclusions. After 14 years, I still don’t know who the woman talking to Wilf throughout ‘The End of Time Parts 1 & 2 was’ and I know that I never will. I’ll definitely be watching again several times and seeing if I can pick up something I missed the first time around.
It was bugging me that I recognised the barmaid in Wales & I was sure it was from an earlier Who episode but I couldn't remember which one so I had to do a google search & she was actually from the Torchwood episode Countrycide where she played one of the villagers.
@@marshsundeen I hadn't noticed that but now you have mentioned it I am sure that it was. I was too busy trying to remember where I had seen her that I never even thought about the pub.
Classic fantastical novels usually left readers with a doubt, a mystery, an uncertainty at the end without explaining everything rationally, it's pretty much tradition and it's nice to see tv writers embrace it
Robert asking "What happens if she flies?" shows that they talk so much they do not pay attention, as he asked it immediately after Ruby had that conversation with Kate from U.N.I.T.
So you're telling me that you notice every single detail from a show the first time watching? Because most people are gonna miss little things here or there, it's not a big deal.
@j.diamond6014 it has nothing to do with brain rot, you definitely do not notice every detail in a single watch , people who actually breakdown shows have to watch in slow speeds to notice every detail .
My interpretation is that in the original timeline (that Ruby returns to at the end) Roger was going to be a bad prime minister who brought the country to the brink of nuclear war, but not over it. When the Doctor broke the circle, it started a new timeline. It freed "Mad Jack" who banished the Doctor and inhabited Roger ap Gwilliam (who they had just been talking about) and made him "mad". The difference between just avoiding nucluer war and actively starting one. Ruby saved the world in the new timeline and went back in the end to stop the new one from ever being started. As far as the "how" and "what was she saying" - in the end it's Doctor Who and it's magic and I don't think we need to know anything else besides that we should maybe avoid fairy circles.
It was all Ruby. Stepping on the fairy circle unleashed Mad Jack (evil PM) upon the world. The "73 yards" lady was Ruby's superpower trying to correct the timeline. They ran because of Ruby's fear of abandonment. In the end, Ruby resets the timeline so they don't unleash Mad Jack. Love the exploration of Ruby. Lots of creepy moments. Ruby's mum with some sad punches to the gut. Ruby's pretty badass, resolute against those guys with guns.
I honestly can't remember loving a story this much since Family of Blood. Loved it. All 4 episodes so completely different-amazing for a 60 year old show.
The Doctor accidentally broke a shrine aka a fairy circle that had bound "Mad Jack" a dark spirit, breaking it created a tangent timeline where Ruby is "cursed" with "keep at a distance" "semper distance" curse and the old woman apparition whom will say something only terrifying to the person that tried to talk to them (probably the old woman would say "keep away from Ruby or you will die a horrible death and your world will cease to exist" or something similar to that). The Doctor like the other people were compelled by the curse to absolutely keep their distance from Ruby with no way to resist. He was likely locked himself in his Tardis and suspended in time. The old woman was the spirit of Ruby whom skipped backward in the tangent timeline until she returned to the start to whisper "don't step" into Rudy's mind
Also you have to remember all the episodes weve had, the super beings from the pantheon, the superstitions coming to life is all because of the doctor. 14 induced salt at the edge of the universe allowing folk like maestro, the toymake and whoever else to come through as well as folklore and superstitions to come alive. Its all relatef and will come back to the finale.
Maybe I have to rewatch it then. Didn't like how they resolved it. I agree it can be entertaining to rewatch complex or detailed stories and discover another layer or foreshaddowing etc.. but this episode just fell short at the end for me.
@@christianschmid1440The Doctor started the time loop, when he stepped on the Fairy Circle. The Loop finally broke, when dead Ruby was able to tell her younger self, to not break the circle. It was another Timeline.
It seemed liked timelines were crossing in that pub scene. Intense fear of witchcraft and Mad Jack and then it was just a joke. It didn't feel like a joke when they were saying it and the camera work was different.
The best episode since Capaldi. Masterful storytelling. Genuinely scary at times. And questions raised that will clearly play into the finale. We don't need to be given instant answers and gratification for everything; more complex, thought-provoking and sophisticated ideas come from open endings. Modern internet/smartphone culture is totally ruining some people's capacity for suspense.
@@IceMetalPunk I didn't say it was new. I was suggesting it was a downside. I know Blink has it and it's a reason it's not a good Dr Who story to recommend to first-time viewers. 73 Yards at least has the companion.
You’re right we don’t always need instant answers and having complex and thought provoking ideas is great. We just didn’t vibe with the episode at all and that’s okay. - Vanessa
Here’s my theory for the episode and what I think is happening!!! I think when they went up to the old ruby the old ruby’s face turned young and that scared everyone away I think this worked especially with rubys mum with tuff love I think older ruby told her mum she needs to run away and never see her again to keep her safe this would explain why her mum pushes ruby away by saying something so opposite to who her mum is by saying she’s not her real mum this is enough for ruby to feel abandoned and stay away from her mum allowing the timeline to remain the reason mad jack and all the others ran away is because they also saw old ruby’s face turn younge I think old ruby can also send information through peoples minds because she interacted with them when she was younger so older ruby told unit that she needed everyone to leave her younger self so she can stop mad jack who will cause world war 3 and fix the timeline. in the end ruby dies and her spirit goes back in her younger self, preventing the doctor to step changing the timeline back to normal!!!
Because he missed a key part of the story. Ruby did nothing to resolve the time loop. It just resolved itself magically out of nowhere. With a story like this, she had become the old lady before, but could not communicate with her younger self. Ruby did nothing in her travelling to become the old lady again to change that fact. So why did the loop end. It was a really good concept, it was good all the way until that last 5 minutes when it just magically resolved itself with no input from the doctor or millie
@@charg1nmalaz0r51 It's not an infinite time loop like that, though. It was just two loops, and always was (would be? will be? must have been? wibbly wobbly tenses). Before Ruby even sees her older version in the second loop, she already said she'd been to Wales three times (instead of two) -- she already had memories from the first loop. It was already on its way to resolving itself.
This fantastic episode is really exposing the sci-fi / fantasy divide. Some DW fans are desperately trying to connect all the dots and find the answers to every question. RTD basically wrote an urban fantasy time loop poem.
The problem is for 60 years Doctor Who has been science fiction not fairy fantasy. It's not a musical either. It's a bit like suddenly saying coronation Street is now going to be a horror movie for over 18s. Some will love it but most will hate it. There has to be at least a reasonable explanation for a story otherwise anyone could write anything and just go 'it's magic'
@@CyberSlammer2024the reasonable explanation is that The Doctor released magic on the world by sealing the Toy maker in salt. The Doctor released an evil entity (Mad Jack) on the world by stepping on a Fairy Circle. Ruby continued it by reading the notes there. She then had to deal with her fear of abandonment, and defeating the politician. Once Ruby dies, she becomes the entity, and is able to warn young Ruby to not break the Fairy Circle.
@@marshsundeen how does she go back in time and why does she have to wait until she is dead to travel back? And why does she have to be 73 yards apart from her old self
The Doctor said that that prime minister brought the world ho the brink of nuclear, then he stopped. Brink being the keyword there. Which tells me that what Ruby did to stop him had already happened, so the future is safe.
it's amazing how you 2 and other UA-cam bloggers are making all your fellow happy and giving fans a chance to review the show they are asking for and you decide on to watch on
Watched this episode at 8 am this morning and was on edge until the revealing of Ruby being the phantom, which had me think of Rose being behind the bad wolf arc.
This episode feels like "Turn left", but rather than an entity, it's a folklore trap. I think that the ending can be left up to debate, but it does generate questions as to why Ruby then had the ability to warn herself at the beginning of the episode." I believe that she needed to get into the folklore and finally understand that the "trap" wasn't really a trap, but rather a way for her to return to the present while also learning what her life could have been like without the Doctor.
1.) This is a step to further show who Ruby is and what Maestro said when they found her hidden song...or 2) It was a trap set up by "The One Who Waits" for the Doctor but it caused a paradox that combined the two time lines to collide on Ruby and she was able to break it upon her death in the alternate timeline. Moral of the story is.....I think...to loosely quote Rowan Atkinson when he did a parody of Doctor Who, "They'll Explain Later".
How did Ruby contact Kate? - How did the doctor disappear - Was it a closed loop? How did Ruby change things at the end of the episode - Why couldn’t Kate contact 14 to help? - Why did the TARIDS lock itself? Really could have used her to help lol Literally NOTHING was explained lol Also, how did ruby manage to measure 73 yards when the woman always moved. You’d never get a fix on her. Unless she had a tape measure that was 73 yards long LOL!
UNIT literally has a building in the centre of town. It says UNIT on it, so she probably went to that building spoke to someone about her issues and was fast tracked onto Kate. Mad Jack or the curse or a combination of the two probably got rid of him first, get rid of the most dangerous advisory and the world is your oyster. Old Ruby managed to get a faint message to the other Ruby, you hear her whisper it in her mind. Why would she? This thing had affected her and UNIT, she clearly can't bare Ruby nor doesn't want to do a thing to help her, why then would she go to 14 and beg him to help Ruby? Why? What changes if Ruby is allowed into the TARDIS? it's not as though she can fly it? nor does she really know what anything can do? You literally saw Ruby has an app on her phone displaying how many meters something is. On the football pitch, when she was backing up?
The Doctor said on the brink of nuclear disaster. If Ruby had not taken this alternative timeline the disaster would been more than just on the brink. How that part of the timeline stands but the rest doesnt, I will tell you later ( no I wont ). Wibbly wobbly, timey, wimey.
@@MrStephenLodge i think PM jack was supposed to happen, the prime minister is supposed to be get nuclear weapon, the old timeline i think that he will resign, but the new timeline still get weapon but we dont know what will happen. its like a paradox with alternate timeline, its like they let us see 2 timeline,
Many thanks to Vanessa and Robert! ⏳ I *love* all the episodes to varying degrees, but the esoteric episodes like this are particularly fascinating. 🔸 Since it was mentioned, be sure to get Vanessa to react to AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON (1981) in a video!
Here my theory. This is Timeline A. In this Timeline The malevolent spirit called Mad Jack was trapped in the fairy circle. We have seen this before with The Toymaker is trapped in a box and bound in salt. When The Doctor broke the fairy circle he released Mad Jack who first erased The Doctor from the timeline (Remove your most dangerous adversary first) took over Ap William and groomed him to lead the world to global annihilation. But the creator of the fairy ring had placed a fail safe. The herald that would be used to stop Ap William achieving his aim, using Ruby as that herald as we know she is some kind of meta human. Then when Ruby is old, she becomes the herald and the loop starts again. For all we know this has happened a million times This time she is able to influence young Ruby, to stop The Doctor from stepping on the fairy ring, Mad Jack, is never released, the herald is never created, the loop breaks and now we are in Timeline B. I could be a million mile off but this is why I love this episode. There is no wrong explanation, but I can see that a lot of people will hate it as the solution was not bottle fed to them and it's open to interpretation.
This is by far my favorite episode of doctor who in years. Incidentally, win Ruby prevents the doctor from breaking the circle. It also, he erased the old woman from existence. Because the old woman was ruby, Who would have been stuck in a time loop. By not breaking the circle that loop was essentially Prevented.
So far this season has been one of the best and it's barely even started. The arc with Ruby is just so damn interesting and confusing and intriguing. Not to mention this Doctor is AMAZING
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i think that thing the dr stepped on, cause something to happen, and in the end, being her, she was able to stop him from stepping on the circle...and when the older self disappeared, the timeline corrected itself. I do wonder why always 73 yards,,andn am wondering if that was to mean alll will close in 73 years,,,if thats how much time had passed.
This episode was brilliant honestly I always love the companion-sided episodes but i HATEEE that time gets reversed and no one knows what they’ve been through except the viewers lol. 10/10 regardless
@@Spoon_Loves_Nutella well no because after she sees the old woman the second time, the doctors still talking about the prime minister and the nukes and she now no longer goes down the path to stop him lol
I liked the premise, but I think it was just a little under-explained. I saw someone compare what Old Ruby was saying to what the Midnight creature looked like, something we don't have to know, but given that it was literally her, I don't know, it feels weird. Either this episode is completely standalone (in which case I think it will be regarded as a weaker episode in this series) or it's yet another piece to the larger puzzle of Ruby herself (in which case we need to wait to give final judgment). Right now, I'm waiting to see, because it's leaning towards the latter with Ruby double-taking at Susan Twist's character, asking if she knew her; with another pop-up of Mrs. Flood; and Kate mentioning that maybe this was a timeline centered on Ruby (I got heavy Turn Left vibes with UNIT here). tl;dr I'm reserving final judgment on this one until we know better how it all fits in.
Oddly enough this was my favorite episode of the season so far. The first with some real story telling, real mystery. I think this could set up Ruby dropping herself off at the church.
The end of this was pretty painful as my mum went into dementia care last year. And it's tough. And I know the way carers talk to the elderly, when they are probably not as far gone as we like to think.
I don't think everything needs and explanation, it makes it even creepier not knowing what the old woman was saying, like in Midnight when we didn't know what that thing was. But i also think that maybe some of this would be explained when Ruby's origen is revealed. I wonder if any human stepping in that circle could go back or just Ruby because of how "special" she seems to be. It was creepy, visually stunning and also devastating. Ruby facing abandonment over and over again and living with that constant reminder that everyone she loves would leave because of her or so she thinks, as someone mentioned in another comment, that woman at 73 yards could be just the reflection of the guilt and shame she feels for her mother's abandonment.
This episode is so emotional. Especially the end. Just showing how it passes how life passes. How literally she was in the same place her whole life, alone. This transition is so brutal with different actress. This is a really intense episode emotionally and I am not that resistant. I am actually very sensitive. So it is hard
I agree with Robert and Cruella (That is a homage to Cruella, right?) that this was a very dissatisfying episode. In two senses: if the old woman was Ruby herself, why was everyone so terrified of her? And secondly, if the timeloop was cancelled, then that means Roger still becomes Prime Minister. Which I guess he does, as the Doctor remembers it always happening. Now, because The Maestro was also terrified when looking inside Ruby, perhaps the reason everyone in this episode was terrified of seeing Ruby does get answered in the season finale, but then this episode should have been slated to be just before it. Otherwise "don't step on the grass" or "don't break the circle" simple isn't very terrifying and shouldn't be causing people to run away in stark terror, regardless of whether there's magic or sci-fi behind it. And where did the Doctor go? Too many unanswered questions. This party is ruined.
i don't need an explanation here, just a more fulfilling climax, i've heard comparisons to midnight, and sure we ultimately don't learn whats going on but midnight takes you on a satisfying ride, i feel like this episode only started cooking as it gets ready to end
I'm not sure we're really meant to dig too much into what literally occurred. But my interpretation is that, in Timeline B, Doctor B actually did actually release the malevolent spirit called Mad Jack, who first got rid of the main thing in his way (The Doctor) and then inhabited the mind/body of Roger ap Gwilliam. (Roger is eventually nicknamed Mad Jack, because of the spirit within him making its negative influence known.) Meanwhile, as the episode suggests, the fairy circle has a sort of fail-safe built-in: The Herald. Ruby B becomes the Herald, a self-fulfilling prophecy in which she protects the world in The Doctor's absence and attempts to warn her younger self. Her success in signaling Ruby A from Timeline A (the proper show timeline we've been following the whole time) erases/at least makes moot Timeline B. Timey-Wimey might mean that alternative timeline versions of The Doctor and Ruby actually forged this fairy circle (intentionally or no). I think the thematic of the episode is the most interesting/relevant aspect to the series going forward. Ruby's (and perhaps The Doctor's as well) existential fear of abandonment. The nagging anxiety that while things are good now, somehow... someday... the people you love most may reject you. That the love you have today may be transactional or even fleeting. Or worst yet, that the people who've left your life in the past saw something in you so horrific/terrible that they were justified in leaving you. And now the rest of the world can see it too. With this season focussing on Ruby and The Doctor as kindred spirits with major questions about their original home/parentage, I thought this was a fun, if slightly "Turn Left"-coded, episode to dig into that deepest fear through Ruby.
One of the best episodes in ages. Millie Gibson was brilliant in this story. That said, I was glad the Doctor wasn't in it much. Ncuti is a lovely guy but hes just being himself so I'm not really a fan but this was an outstanding episode. Best one since Midnight.
I figured that this was just one more step in the story of Ruby, and so didn’t expect a nice neat bow at the end of this particular episode. I’m assuming (hoping?) all will be revealed by the end of the season. Although, the mystery of Clara went over two seasons, so maybe not🤦♀️🤔
My take on the timelines - I think Roger being a dangerous PM who takes the world to the bring of nuclear disaster is something The Doctor is aware of from future history, and it is something that he is destined to intervene in himself in his own future (like how he was always aware of the destruction of Pompeii, but only when he gets there does he realise that he was destined to be the one who caused it to save the world). But when he steps on the circle and vanishes, it starts a dangerous timeline in which he will not be there to stop Roger. So it's up to Ruby to stop Roger and save the world because she is the only one with the foreknowledge of it. She then becomes Old Ruby who goes back in time to haunt herself and warn herself to stop The Doctor stepping on the circle. Now that The Doctor never disappears, Old Ruby never haunts her, and Roger will need to be stopped by The Doctor one day.
I really liked this episode, i thought the strange, unsettling feel of it fitted perfectly with old folklore stories about stepping into Fairy Circles - the Doctor Who version of 'A Field in England'
73 Yards is like a call back of The Curse of Clyde Langar from the Sarah Jane Adventures, but it works on a much higher level. It's definitely on my Top 10 list of New Doctor Who since 2005. 11 out of 10 👌
And this is my top 10 list. It's just a snapshot and not a ranking. - Turn Left - Don't Blink - The Girl in the Fireplace - Partners in Crime - 73 Yards - Silence in the Library/Forest of the dead - The Day of the Doctor - The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances - The End of Time 1&2 - A Christmas Carol
This is exactly what I felt after watching the episode. It was like a more nonsensical version of Turn Left. Which, I mean, I love Turn Left, but part of what made it so great is that we've already seen how things were supposed to go in the first place, making it easier to grasp what went wrong in the alternate timeline and what Donna had to do in order to fix it. In 73 Yards, not only was the thing initiating the alternate timeline in the first place was basically "magic"; but, we also don't really get any explanation of what's actually supposed to happen. It just leaves us having to guess too much, which is a problem RTD's resolutions often have sadly. Millie did amazing in carrying the episode, and I loved the vibe and setting overall. I even liked the twist of Ruby being The Woman - I just wish there was a better explanation for how she went about "fixing" the timeline, what actually happened after she did, and why people ran away from her older-self in the first place. I mean, like you've said, if Ruby was the one to stop the Roger ap Gwylliam, what happens in the restored timeline where she doesn't? I can accept that maybe stepping on the shrine was the thing that made him become Prime Minister in the first place (releasing "Mad Jack"), but then, the Doctor was talking about him almost causing Nuclear war BEFORE ever stepping on the shrine. Is it just because he's the Doctor and could somehow sense the aborted timeline? Who knows. Unlike the well-thought out writing of Turn Left, we never got any explanation of how older-Ruby went back in time to become The Woman in the first place, or how and why she was able to teleport/keep exactly 73 yards away. Also, what could she possibly say to cause so many people to run away from her? I can MAYBE buy UNIT stepping back once they realise she's older Ruby, cause they don't want to mess with the timeline.. But, what made her own Mum run and turn on her? Or got perfect strangers to run away screaming? Oh and also, what even caused the Doctor to disappear? That wasn't explained at all as far as I can tell.
So this whole episode (which I loved) relies heavily on 2 conversations to explain the lore, I believe. The Semper distans conversation and the Timeline conversation with Kate. On Semper distans. The whole spell seems to revolve around it. Mad Jack is sealed in the liminal space or semper distans between worlds by the circle. When broken he is released. This gets into the timeline conversation because the main timeline is the one with Old Ruby. Mad Jack is always supposed to become prime minister, the Doctor is always supposed to break the circle. It is through the spell and ruby that a branch timeline is created which is where we end. This is why the Doctor talks about Roger BEFORE breaking the circle. The reason people are freaking out when they see old ruby is in my belief because when she is taken back, we never see her die but she is approaching death. One could say she is Semper distans to death. Therefore people are seeing something beyond horror really. They are seeing a person neither alive nor dead. They are seeing the approach of death, which is why it is always following Ruby, because it is Ruby. This is a fail safe against Mad Jack as the witch/wizard who created the circle obviously as some connection to the ‘inbetween’ as they were able to seal Jack there.
I think Davis is just the more "adult" writer. I enjoyed this episode so much more than the first ones. I am watching Who since I was in my 20s, now in my 40s, I think 20 year old me would have liked the Moffat style more, but "adult" me prefers Davis' episodes better.
I really loved this episode, and I got this episode. I love episodes like this that make you think, and I love episodes where they are open-ended and you don't get all the answers.
I absolutely loved 73 Yards. I've not been feeling Millie's performance & character until "Boom" & now "73 Yards" but here she was incredible 👏 There was honestly 4-5 episodes worth of story here though that really could have been developed & expanded on. I seriously would have ended the episode when Ruby said she was going to save the world & told the old woman to come with her. That kind of ending would have created tons of suspense & a week of debate (maybe in the old 13 episode format maybe) You don't get many answers in the episode but it made me "feel" more than any Doctor Who episode has in a long time & left me shell-shocked after. It's an episode which stays with you & you really felt for Ruby. It's incredible to think what Old Ruby could possibly have said to make everyone run. Another appearance by Susan Twist but this time Ruby noticed her but it would seem that's now lost because of the aborted timeline? Can "Mad Jack" Roger Ap Gwilliam really be done? It would be a waste of a villain if so. Sooo many questions. The implied "Trumpian" abuse of "Marti Bridges" gave me shades of "Lucy Saxon" & do I need to remind people that Harold Saxon's party was "The Albion Party" Hmmm.. (but that could just be another kick to our British Conservative party AKA The Tory's) Kate said something interesting about Ruby's timeline " I think this timeline might be suspended along your event" too, it's always nice to see her but that wasn't a throw-away line! I have my theatre tickets for the finale in Britain & I hope some of the events here will make more sense in that 2 part finale. A captivating episode!! 🥰
Well some people need things to make sense, Millie did nothing to change the outcome of the loop she was clearly in. So why in this version could she speak to younger Millie to stop him standing on the circle. She did nothing to escape the loop, it just broke itself
@@charg1nmalaz0r51 what makes you think it was a loop? it clearly was some sort of branched timeline, that thing still happened to another Ryby. There is something about Ruby that is doing this
I think the dont step is relevant. First the stepping on a butterfly changed time, devils chord hmmm lol, step on a mine last week, step in the circle changed timeline again...just a thought
I really liked the episode, but do not understand what old Ruby was saying to frighten everyone. Another Reactor thought it was about being afraid people would find out your hidden secret and loved ones will reject you. Others say it is about Fairy magic time loops, and being afraid of being alone, until you accept that you are your own company. I will look forward to seeing the behind the scenes.
In Unleashed, RTD apparently said that he will never reveal what Old Ruby was saying. The actress had some generic lines but they weren't what the character was saying, and he refuses to tell.
I'm not sure it's what she was saying so much as simply what she was. She was some out of time being and however she was created she needed to exist long enough for Ruby to become her and prevent herself from creating her in the first place. She probably had something like a perception filter that gives you the creeps
I’m still not convinced it was old Ruby. Something else entirely. We all have “what if” scenarios that we regret and want to go back and fix. Regrets we carry for life. What if you could? What if that manifested itself into something or someone. What if it stalked you in the way that regret lingers until your dying breath. And upon that dying breath, it takes you back. It gives you one chance to fix it. That’s my interpretation anyway.
I keep going back and forth on this episode. While I love the idea of a folklore mystery where not everything is explained, I think personally I just needed a little bit more explained. Like maybe getting the why but not the what or vice versa. And other thing that caught my attention was there was no title theme this time. Already a hint it'd be different?!
I watched this episode 3 times and I have some thoughts. There are many things in this episode that weave with so many things we’ve seen so far for example, the rope and knots in the fairy Circle was very much like the knots on a troll ship. There was also accidentally stepping on something on causing a complete butterfly effect which change the world much like we saw when ruby stepped on the butterfly. The doctor stopped lizard Ruby from existing by bringing back the butterfly and Ruby was able to stop this future from happening by going the long way around. I also think it’s highs and wet the ability to change of memory lake with the doctors memory of seeing the ruby left on the church steps was slightly changed. I personally have a feeling this episode is going to make a lot more sense at the end of the series much like the episode silence in the library didn’t fully make sense until we realized who River song really was. I really enjoyed this episode I enjoy delayed gratification and I think that’s what this episode is it’s piece of a larger puzzle.
As someone who loved Legion, I'm more than comfortable not getting all the answers. I loved this episode, and I actually think explaining everything in stone would have cheapened it. (BTW, never watch Legion if you're not happy without all the answers. You'd hate it.)
Consider it a bit like episodes like "Midnight" where we never learn what the creature actually was. We never learned here why did The Doctor disappear? Why did everyone get scared and abandon Ruby? How did it all happen. How did the woman (old Ruby) end up going back in time to stop The Doctor stepping on the circle? I love a mystery episode where we don't learn what was going on. I'd love answers and also don't want answers. My best guess for The Doctor disappearing is whatever it was had to get rid of him because he would have been unaffected if he went up to the woman (old Ruby) and talked to her. As to why Ruby couldn't get in the Tardis, no idea why that happened. So many mysteries unanswered.
Jessie Gender really clued me in to this, but the entire episode feels like a metaphor for being "different". Gay, trans, disabled... that sort of thing. The idea of people finding out about you/your secret and immediately rejecting you is something Ruby goes through and given how RTD has been feeding more gay/trans messaging since he came back, it feels like that's what the point of the episode was. With a bit of "don't be a gun-ho, sexual assaulting politician" thrown in. Because it's still RTD.
Everybody was saying that RTD2 would be completely fresh. It just isn't. Russell knew full well if he started from scratch there would be howls from a significant part of the fandom. So it's a sequel. Interestingly, having hung around this show since the seventies, I am less bothered by Execs coming in and just changing the whole thing. But I guess even I feel the pull of 'recent' nostalgia.
I really liked the episode. There's stuff here that didn't quite make sense. It may never make sense. But I still enjoyed the ride. Millie Gibson gave an awesome performance this week.
After re-watching this episode I am now 100% convinced Ruby = The One Who waits. The One Who Waits is this powerful being that both The Toy Maker and his daughter Maestro was terrified of. 73 Yards Away Mysterious Woman Ruby in my opinion id Ruby unleashing and using her powers. Why is Ruby called/referred to asThe One Who Waits? She waits her entire life to A) Possibly be reunited with The Doctor. B) Discover who her birth parents are. C) Reconnect with her adopted mother. D) Prevent Mad Jack from becoming Prime Minister of England and using Nuclear Weapons (something Maestro would have loved as it was music to their ears) or E) All the Above. We have assumed that The One Who Waits is the Big Bad of the Season. But which characters have actually warned The Doctor (14 and 15) about them? The Meep ( a villain character) The Toy Maker ( a villain character) Maestro ( a villain character) Now why was Kate and Ruby's adopted mother afraid of young yet to use or know about her powers Ruby? Well if you saw the being that uses and controls Fear and Terror like how The Toy Maker uses and controls Play and Maestro uses and controls Music; you'd be afraid of Ruby also. But again I could be way off; but that's my crazy theory. Ruby is The One Who Waits and her Power or the Realm/Sphere she controls is Fear/Terror.
Loved this episode 10/10, atmospheric, unnerving, heartbreaking. The sort of tale where not having answers add to the mystery. This story joins a small band of episodes called don’t know what the fuck is going on but I love it. Includes Listen and Heaven Sent in Nu who and Warriors Gate, Kinda and Ghost Light in classic who.
I don't think it was her before the death, It was a sort of possession, trying to draw everyone away from her until it could finally take host. Then that is when old ruby freed the curse and told her not to break it. in turn stopping mad jack from being awakened, and her having to live this life of misery. That's my thoughts on it anyway, would love to hear a different prospective.
We can't always be fed the answers. We're going supernatural; a supernatural era that even UNIT has to adapt to - as you say, in the wake of The Toymaker. Explicable isn't on the cards. This is not scientific territory. This is strange-fi not sci-fi. And I like it. I like having more questions than answers with a great story that doesn't conclude with certainty. And Ruby has learned something - subconsciously. Not unlike Turn Left, this is a road to the never-was, but just because it doesn't make sense doesn't it isn't filled with answers to questions we didn't even know to ask.
This episode made me feel like it was a revamped version of "Turn right". Like you said, there are a lot of unanswered questions, and whilst RTD often answers rhem down the line (and replaces them with other ones), i just feel this time, those questions will remain unanswered. Its not a *bad* episode, because it delves into Ruby a little bit and how she'd react to things, but its definitely not this seasons best so far by quite a way. Hopefully, this is an outlier and better episodes are ahead.
Few things. The way they were in the pub its most likely to do with the Welsh and english divide than anything else I think time has bent around ruby and time passed for the one who waits with the secret song inside her. I think its clearly going to come back to this like kate said about tinelines something is bending time around ruby and shes powerful to fight it each time. I honestly think this episode is a mix of the curse of Clyde Lange(sarah jane adventures), turn left and blink. So i definitely disagree and think this is a top tier doctor who episode. I 100% think something will come out of this episode like normally RTD sets something up in the middle of the series directly for the finale so. P.s Vanessa your hair was 🔥
::NEXT EPISODE:: Doctor Who 14x5 REACTION @ ua-cam.com/video/jFuZtfsDIz8/v-deo.html
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This video is awesome
I thought it was fantastic
I think this episode is like Tenet, It’s complicated and mysterious and by the end you just feel stupid for not understanding the very VERY vague messages
😭
@@ChaosCreator4395 Its so bad, lazy writing and leaves more questions then answers I wasted my time watching this
We never get to learn any more than Ruby herself get's to know. She doesn't get answers, we don't get answers. I do have a feeling some of this is going to play out in the finale. Especially something Mrs Flood said about it having nothing to do with her.
I thought that line was a little out of place
@@liam3791 Nah, its clearly foreshadowing that she is pretty important
@@danielkiran8174 More than likely
Exactly the beauty of Doctor Who is it's ability to embrace interpretation and imagination and not have all the dots joined together.
My explanation. Supernarural bleeding in. The doctor stepped on a fairy circle with real supernatural power. He got banished. Ruby got cursed. She got cursed to grow old and eventually become the old woman. Able to warn herself a bit earlier. The fairy circle mentioned mad jack as a clue to give ruby something to do to redeem herself. We will never know what the woman was saying to get them to hate young ruby. Thats the mystery. And 73 yards is just a ln arbitrary distance where you can see shape and movements, but not face.
I feel like the curse was a failsafe of the circle, basically to lock Mad Jack back up, then go back and make sure he isn't released at all.
What a strange and fun episode that goes a long way to give us insight into what type of person Ruby is without The Doctor.
I think it's also something to do with Ruby's Birth feeding into the Fairy Circle's powers as well, we know something extremely powerful was present and it's likely reacting the whole time to the powers of the Fairy Circle, breaking when Ruby's about to die, allowing a chance to erase the paradox created.
They showed what the woman was saying on Doctor Who Unleashed on BBC3 directly after the episode.
@@pobstrelthey showed what the script said and what the actress was saying, but we don’t actually know what the character was saying
This episode for me is up there with Blink, Midnight and Turn Left for me, especially in terms of (almost) dystopian/uncanny valley creepy. Mind you, with It Follows being one of my favorite horror films this episode has a similar vibe. It is definitely an episode that leaves a lot of questions, and 100% agree it will not be to everyone's liking. If nothing else, this episode was fantastic for Millie's character-performance and these one-character episodes (like Blink and Midnight) where the focus was on one central character to give them room to breathe.
I feel like leaving things left to your own imagination is far more horrifying than having absolutely everything revealed/explained - I imagine this also needs multiple viewing to fully appreciate it personally I loved this episode. The tone especially Doctor who does horror so well and it rarely seems to dig into its roots and go for it. - Russell’s already said you’ll never know what she’s actually saying and that kinda adds to the horror aspect.
I mean for a clown who needs everything to be spoonfed to him, it's obvious how he'd hate this episode. Dude actually had to use his imagination, or try to in his case, to understand what the episode was doing and how it balances Ruby as a character. He's the sort of person who needs everything explained in a very sci-fi way. It's hilariously stupid.
I was alone and quiet and fully absorbed in the episode. I wonder if talking about the episode in real time with the lights on bright dampens the effect of the show.
Theres a difference between no having some things explained and not having anything explained. The show gives no explanation to why the loop started or what broke it. So you leve the episode with nothing satisfying happening. You could have not watched the episode at all because it was essentially pointless. The stepping on and off the fairy circle isnt an explanation either, if that was the cause of the whole thing, what was different in this version of the loop where ruby now changes things to stop him stepping on it.
@@charg1nmalaz0r51 What broke it is she heard the woman say “don’t step” and Ruby stopped the Doctor from breaking the circle. Ruby had just enough residual awareness to change things.
@@charg1nmalaz0r51
Not everything in this universe is going to make sense or be reasonable. I just watched Logopolis. A civilization existed that used the power of mathematics to reshape reality. The Master thought that was just their folklore and introduced silence to their world for a few minutes. He intended to hijack their system for his own purposes and instead destroyed them and nearly doomed the universe.
If a Time Lord can’t fully comprehend everything that’s going on in their universe, what hope do we as human viewers expect to understand. And Ruby wasn’t really in a position to figure it out so unless she could collaborate or gain the resources necessary to figure out how an apparently supernatural force operates, we’re not going to figure it out.
This type of horror operates on the mystery of the unknown. Understanding how or why is antithetical to the nature of the story.
I usually agree with your guy's opinions, but I think this is one where I unfortunately don't. This was one of my favourite episodes of all time. Just absolutely stunning.
I think what's tricky is that a lot of media nowadays kind of spoils us as the audience and always spells everything out. And honestly, not everything needs one.
This was a highly experimental episode and honestly, Doctor Who is at its best when it's being experimental (Scherzo and The Natural History of Fear comes to mind).
This episode did very well with keeping its folk horror roots while remaiming very eldritch. And that's what dealing with the fae should feel like. Dangerous and malicious and beyond comprehension.
I also have a few theories about what the figure would say to people and what she represented.
This was also one of the few pieces of media that left me speechless for a while after the episode ended. I just kind of sat in front of my tv processing for a few minutes before moving in with my night.
Anyways at the end of the day, it's Doctor Who and even though you guys may not have liked it, that's absolutely fine. I hope you guys enjoy the next episode more! And as always, I live your reactions! Have a lovely night! ❤
This clown ass hat of a dude has been hating on Doctor Who doing supernatural or folk lore stuff ever since Ruby's first episode. Dude can't handle not being spoonfed and this is a prime example of that. He's become more and more stupider with his takes and that's nothing new.
What is Sherzo and the Natural History of Fear?
@@darkglasses87They’re wonderful 8th doctor adventures! Both relatively early Big Finish dramas.
Ghost Light vibes for sure!
@darkglasses87 They're Eighth Doctor stories, that are audio only.
Scherzo includes Eight and his companion Charley in a white void. A place where all of their senses are cut off, all except for hearing. They're then hunted down by a creature made of sound. Here, rhe Doctor and Charley struggle with themes or mortality, love, and fear of what comes next for them.
The Natural History of Fear is another audio only adventure that's very reminiscent of Ray Bradbury's works (especially Fahrenheit 451). It's also a very Doctor-lite episode where the Doctor and companions only appear for about 2-3 minutes of a two-hour runtime. Questions are illegal here. Are you a good citizen? Do you love the State? Because the State loves you. It has a very small cast and the actors of the Doctor and Co each play different characters throughout the story. I don't want to spoil too much because the plot twist is one of my favourites of all time.
This episode felt like it could be a black mirror episode. I loved the vibe it gave. it was a lot of fun.
This MAY connect to the wider story which would obviously make people rate it higher but if this is standalone. then it just has questions that obviously wont be answered.
It’s like if blink and black mirror has a baby.
The funniest part is that next episode preview also has a HUGE black mirror vibe and aeshetic lol
"Albion, wasn't that the kingdom in Fable?" Historic name for Britain. Often used when people want to sound old-timey.
Learn something new every day.
Or "Make Britain..... Great Again".
They tend to use that name whenever they do stories based on Arthurian Legend.
@@zvimur”Only Britain is great!” - The Doctor
And in Arthurian legend
I don't understand the obsession with wanting to get all the answers all the time. Some stories don't require that - on the contrary, if you take away the mystery, their effect diminishes.
My initial reaction after watching this last night was ‘I think I like it.’ The more I think about it, the more I really like it, much like my reaction to The Devil’s Chord.
For me, it’s the scene where Ruby looks down from her flat window at The Woman after defeating Roger Ap Gwilliam and she says ‘Can you leave me alone now?’ Then it cuts to 40 years later. It’s devastating.
My reading of the episode is that The Woman is the personification of Ruby’s guilt and shame that she is burdened with. She feels like something is wrong with her, otherwise why would her birth mother abandon her on a church doorstep? Ruby feels like she must have done something wrong, or that there’s something inherently wrong with her for someone to do that, which is a motif repeated throughout the episode when the Hiker, Josh and Carla run away, abandoning her like her biological mother did.
This guilt haunts her for her whole life.
Aside from the central mystery, I am still fascinated by the fact that Sian Phillips (in her beret) is in this and there's been zero word about it. It's almost the equivalent of Star Trek putting Meryl Streep in a part and NEVER interviewing her.
There were a couple news items about her being in it months ago. She’s in her 90s now and seems to be in finer fettle than I expected. Maybe she can’t be bothered with doing press at her time of life? 🥰
Obviously respect the feelings you guys have on this one, I think this will be divisive for a fair few people, but I think it pays to be less literal minded about it, or at least for me it did, I'm kind of cool with basically having nothing answered, I think that leans into the magical folkloric themes. I will say I think the politics side was slightly weaker, but I enjoyed the aha moment of Ruby using the 73 Yards to get Roger.
You can't really set up questions in a narrative to never answer them.
I agree with you about the mystery of the whole thing, honestly the lack of answers made it feel a little like the episode Midnight with David Tennant- that creature should not have logically existed, there was no explanation of what it was or what it wanted and that was never explained and personally I really enjoyed that. Sometimes I think for a more horror story the unknown is far spookier than having things spelled out for us.
@@bunnyslippers5183 the difference with midnight was that creature specifically doing what it was doing because that's what it did and it was kind of explained as that's how it takes over.
I'm not a massive fan of that episode.
But this episode is more like a child's story that doesn't really make any sense.
Example why does the creature have to be 73 yards away
@@CyberSlammer2024 I can see your point although I do, respectfully, disagree with you. Personally I don’t mind a bit of mystery in an episode, perhaps we’ll get answers in a later episode as they all seem to be building to something but perhaps we won’t. Seeing as they seemed to be going down the fairy circle route perhaps that’s why it felt a bit like a childish story to you? Most fairy stories have a childlike quality to them after all (though they can quickly get SUPER dark.) often when it comes to fairy folklore as well a lot of things go unexplained, people just shrug and go “fairies, you know.” And that’s all you get. Though I can see how this style of story telling isn’t for everyone and you’re definitely not alone in how you’re feeling about it. Just personally for me I liked it.
@@bunnyslippers5183 yes it's clearly appealing to some people maybe it's a younger crowd?? I think a lot about the people prefer the proper science fiction like logopolis etc. I don't like silly supernatural. I've never liked cartoons Harry potter or lord of the rings type stuff it's just fantasy and it bores me.
As you say it's just taste.
I also hope they do answer all of this changing direction by the end of the series.
If they don't and it's just the way things are I suspect they are going to lose over half of their audience. The viewing figures are not looking good so far. People just want a man in the police box having adventures in Time and space.
They could have made just a separate series with another time lord like Romana dealing with fantasy in e space. But for me they are changing it too much.
I will certainly see this series out but if it doesn't work out won't be back.
I didn't bother with Jodie Whittaker's last season I thought she was horrendous as the doctor so was the writing lol
Actually enjoyed this episode, and it does keep you thinking after the fact, but it's because I have still too many questions that I feel could have been answered. Maybe that's the point and the show will revisit this before the end of the season to tie it all together? Shout out to our weekly "Twist" too 😊
Sometimes you’ve just got to enjoy the ride even if there are more questions at the end than there are at the beginning and I certainly enjoyed this ride! Creepy, tense, heartbreaking in a few places. It’s certainly not the first time Russell T Davies has left things unanswered and allowed the audience to reach their own conclusions. After 14 years, I still don’t know who the woman talking to Wilf throughout ‘The End of Time Parts 1 & 2 was’ and I know that I never will. I’ll definitely be watching again several times and seeing if I can pick up something I missed the first time around.
It was bugging me that I recognised the barmaid in Wales & I was sure it was from an earlier Who episode but I couldn't remember which one so I had to do a google search & she was actually from the Torchwood episode Countrycide where she played one of the villagers.
Thanks - I knew I knew her from somewhere.
Another Reactor mentioned it was the same Pub too.
@@marshsundeen I hadn't noticed that but now you have mentioned it I am sure that it was. I was too busy trying to remember where I had seen her that I never even thought about the pub.
Classic fantastical novels usually left readers with a doubt, a mystery, an uncertainty at the end without explaining everything rationally, it's pretty much tradition and it's nice to see tv writers embrace it
RTD said its his favourite thing he's ever written
Better than It's a sin????
So glad I wasn't the only one watching this going "this is very American Werewolf in London" !
Indeed, if only the pub was called Yr oen a laddwyd
Robert asking "What happens if she flies?" shows that they talk so much they do not pay attention, as he asked it immediately after Ruby had that conversation with Kate from U.N.I.T.
It's a reaction video, they're meant to talk
So you're telling me that you notice every single detail from a show the first time watching? Because most people are gonna miss little things here or there, it's not a big deal.
americans man
@@lewisharvey9109 i do actually - my brain is not rotted
@j.diamond6014 it has nothing to do with brain rot, you definitely do not notice every detail in a single watch , people who actually breakdown shows have to watch in slow speeds to notice every detail .
My interpretation is that in the original timeline (that Ruby returns to at the end) Roger was going to be a bad prime minister who brought the country to the brink of nuclear war, but not over it. When the Doctor broke the circle, it started a new timeline. It freed "Mad Jack" who banished the Doctor and inhabited Roger ap Gwilliam (who they had just been talking about) and made him "mad". The difference between just avoiding nucluer war and actively starting one. Ruby saved the world in the new timeline and went back in the end to stop the new one from ever being started. As far as the "how" and "what was she saying" - in the end it's Doctor Who and it's magic and I don't think we need to know anything else besides that we should maybe avoid fairy circles.
It was all Ruby. Stepping on the fairy circle unleashed Mad Jack (evil PM) upon the world. The "73 yards" lady was Ruby's superpower trying to correct the timeline. They ran because of Ruby's fear of abandonment. In the end, Ruby resets the timeline so they don't unleash Mad Jack.
Love the exploration of Ruby. Lots of creepy moments. Ruby's mum with some sad punches to the gut. Ruby's pretty badass, resolute against those guys with guns.
I honestly can't remember loving a story this much since Family of Blood. Loved it. All 4 episodes so completely different-amazing for a 60 year old show.
The Doctor accidentally broke a shrine aka a fairy circle that had bound "Mad Jack" a dark spirit, breaking it created a tangent timeline where Ruby is "cursed" with "keep at a distance" "semper distance" curse and the old woman apparition whom will say something only terrifying to the person that tried to talk to them (probably the old woman would say "keep away from Ruby or you will die a horrible death and your world will cease to exist" or something similar to that).
The Doctor like the other people were compelled by the curse to absolutely keep their distance from Ruby with no way to resist. He was likely locked himself in his Tardis and suspended in time.
The old woman was the spirit of Ruby whom skipped backward in the tangent timeline until she returned to the start to whisper "don't step" into Rudy's mind
Also you have to remember all the episodes weve had, the super beings from the pantheon, the superstitions coming to life is all because of the doctor. 14 induced salt at the edge of the universe allowing folk like maestro, the toymake and whoever else to come through as well as folklore and superstitions to come alive. Its all relatef and will come back to the finale.
Father's Day, Turn Left, Woman Who Waited. Wibbley Wobbly, Timey Wimy.
Loved it, things start to become clearer on a repeat reviewing. I like that not everything is immediately apparent.
Maybe I have to rewatch it then. Didn't like how they resolved it. I agree it can be entertaining to rewatch complex or detailed stories and discover another layer or foreshaddowing etc.. but this episode just fell short at the end for me.
@@christianschmid1440The Doctor started the time loop, when he stepped on the Fairy Circle. The Loop finally broke, when dead Ruby was able to tell her younger self, to not break the circle. It was another Timeline.
It seemed liked timelines were crossing in that pub scene. Intense fear of witchcraft and Mad Jack and then it was just a joke. It didn't feel like a joke when they were saying it and the camera work was different.
This was David Lynch levels of weird, I liked it.
Did you spot the Reverend Mother Mohiam?😅
@@zvimur lol
The best episode since Capaldi. Masterful storytelling. Genuinely scary at times. And questions raised that will clearly play into the finale.
We don't need to be given instant answers and gratification for everything; more complex, thought-provoking and sophisticated ideas come from open endings. Modern internet/smartphone culture is totally ruining some people's capacity for suspense.
Was very good but the Doctor was barely in it.
@@flaggerify That's not new; it happens often enough that there's a term for it. It's a "Doctor-light" episode, like Blink for instance.
@@IceMetalPunk I didn't say it was new. I was suggesting it was a downside. I know Blink has it and it's a reason it's not a good Dr Who story to recommend to first-time viewers. 73 Yards at least has the companion.
@@flaggerify You think Blink was a bad episode? A lot of people would strongly disagree with that...
You’re right we don’t always need instant answers and having complex and thought provoking ideas is great. We just didn’t vibe with the episode at all and that’s okay. - Vanessa
3:26, Siăn Phillips. 91 years strong. "The Spice extends life and consciousness".
She’s amazing 🤩
Here’s my theory for the episode and what I think is happening!!!
I think when they went up to the old ruby the old ruby’s face turned young and that scared everyone away I think this worked especially with rubys mum with tuff love I think older ruby told her mum she needs to run away and never see her again to keep her safe this would explain why her mum pushes ruby away by saying something so opposite to who her mum is by saying she’s not her real mum this is enough for ruby to feel abandoned and stay away from her mum allowing the timeline to remain the reason mad jack and all the others ran away is because they also saw old ruby’s face turn younge I think old ruby can also send information through peoples minds because she interacted with them when she was younger so older ruby told unit that she needed everyone to leave her younger self so she can stop mad jack who will cause world war 3 and fix the timeline. in the end ruby dies and her spirit goes back in her younger self, preventing the doctor to step changing the timeline back to normal!!!
I absolutely loved this episode, I don't understand people saying that nothing was explained like RTD never did a story arc before.
Because he missed a key part of the story. Ruby did nothing to resolve the time loop. It just resolved itself magically out of nowhere. With a story like this, she had become the old lady before, but could not communicate with her younger self. Ruby did nothing in her travelling to become the old lady again to change that fact. So why did the loop end. It was a really good concept, it was good all the way until that last 5 minutes when it just magically resolved itself with no input from the doctor or millie
@@charg1nmalaz0r51 It's not an infinite time loop like that, though. It was just two loops, and always was (would be? will be? must have been? wibbly wobbly tenses). Before Ruby even sees her older version in the second loop, she already said she'd been to Wales three times (instead of two) -- she already had memories from the first loop. It was already on its way to resolving itself.
@charg1nmalaz0r51 It wasn't a Groundhog Day time loop, but not every time loop is. It was a branched timeline. It's a different thing.
Seems like people are torn on this one. I really loved it, personally.
This fantastic episode is really exposing the sci-fi / fantasy divide. Some DW fans are desperately trying to connect all the dots and find the answers to every question. RTD basically wrote an urban fantasy time loop poem.
The problem is for 60 years Doctor Who has been science fiction not fairy fantasy. It's not a musical either.
It's a bit like suddenly saying coronation Street is now going to be a horror movie for over 18s. Some will love it but most will hate it.
There has to be at least a reasonable explanation for a story otherwise anyone could write anything and just go 'it's magic'
@@CyberSlammer2024the reasonable explanation is that The Doctor released magic on the world by sealing the Toy maker in salt. The Doctor released an evil entity (Mad Jack) on the world by stepping on a Fairy Circle. Ruby continued it by reading the notes there. She then had to deal with her fear of abandonment, and defeating the politician. Once Ruby dies, she becomes the entity, and is able to warn young Ruby to not break the Fairy Circle.
@@marshsundeen how does she go back in time and why does she have to wait until she is dead to travel back?
And why does she have to be 73 yards apart from her old self
The Doctor said that that prime minister brought the world ho the brink of nuclear, then he stopped. Brink being the keyword there. Which tells me that what Ruby did to stop him had already happened, so the future is safe.
"This timeline might be suspended along your event."
Exactly
it's amazing how you 2 and other UA-cam bloggers are making all your fellow happy and giving fans a chance to review the show they are asking for and you decide on to watch on
Watched this episode at 8 am this morning and was on edge until the revealing of Ruby being the phantom, which had me think of Rose being behind the bad wolf arc.
This episode feels like "Turn left", but rather than an entity, it's a folklore trap. I think that the ending can be left up to debate, but it does generate questions as to why Ruby then had the ability to warn herself at the beginning of the episode." I believe that she needed to get into the folklore and finally understand that the "trap" wasn't really a trap, but rather a way for her to return to the present while also learning what her life could have been like without the Doctor.
The timing of this episode is so ironic since the prime minister of the uk called a general election a few days before
1.) This is a step to further show who Ruby is and what Maestro said when they found her hidden song...or 2) It was a trap set up by "The One Who Waits" for the Doctor but it caused a paradox that combined the two time lines to collide on Ruby and she was able to break it upon her death in the alternate timeline. Moral of the story is.....I think...to loosely quote Rowan Atkinson when he did a parody of Doctor Who, "They'll Explain Later".
How did Ruby contact Kate?
- How did the doctor disappear
- Was it a closed loop? How did Ruby change things at the end of the episode
- Why couldn’t Kate contact 14 to help?
- Why did the TARIDS lock itself? Really could have used her to help lol
Literally NOTHING was explained lol
Also, how did ruby manage to measure 73 yards when the woman always moved. You’d never get a fix on her. Unless she had a tape measure that was 73 yards long LOL!
UNIT literally has a building in the centre of town. It says UNIT on it, so she probably went to that building spoke to someone about her issues and was fast tracked onto Kate.
Mad Jack or the curse or a combination of the two probably got rid of him first, get rid of the most dangerous advisory and the world is your oyster.
Old Ruby managed to get a faint message to the other Ruby, you hear her whisper it in her mind.
Why would she? This thing had affected her and UNIT, she clearly can't bare Ruby nor doesn't want to do a thing to help her, why then would she go to 14 and beg him to help Ruby?
Why? What changes if Ruby is allowed into the TARDIS? it's not as though she can fly it? nor does she really know what anything can do?
You literally saw Ruby has an app on her phone displaying how many meters something is. On the football pitch, when she was backing up?
Unit is always keeping an eye on the doctor, it was a year after he disappeared so of course they would go to his last companion to ask questions
The Doctor said on the brink of nuclear disaster. If Ruby had not taken this alternative timeline the disaster would been more than just on the brink. How that part of the timeline stands but the rest doesnt, I will tell you later ( no I wont ). Wibbly wobbly, timey, wimey.
Old Ruby stops the doctor from stepping on the circle - thus preventing mad Jack from being unleashed thus preventing the need for Ruby to stop him
@@RS-kt5po But the Doctor mentioned the PM that almost blew up the world before he broke the circle. Dont think we are meant to understand it all. LOL
@@MrStephenLodge i think PM jack was supposed to happen, the prime minister is supposed to be get nuclear weapon, the old timeline i think that he will resign, but the new timeline still get weapon but we dont know what will happen. its like a paradox with alternate timeline, its like they let us see 2 timeline,
@@MrStephenLodge maybe because that timeline still exists until the doctor doesn't step on the circle?
Many thanks to Vanessa and Robert! ⏳ I *love* all the episodes to varying degrees, but the esoteric episodes like this are particularly fascinating. 🔸 Since it was mentioned, be sure to get Vanessa to react to AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON (1981) in a video!
Here my theory. This is Timeline A. In this Timeline The malevolent spirit called Mad Jack was trapped in the fairy circle. We have seen this before with The Toymaker is trapped in a box and bound in salt. When The Doctor broke the fairy circle he released Mad Jack who first erased The Doctor from the timeline (Remove your most dangerous adversary first) took over Ap William and groomed him to lead the world to global annihilation.
But the creator of the fairy ring had placed a fail safe. The herald that would be used to stop Ap William achieving his aim, using Ruby as that herald as we know she is some kind of meta human. Then when Ruby is old, she becomes the herald and the loop starts again. For all we know this has happened a million times
This time she is able to influence young Ruby, to stop The Doctor from stepping on the fairy ring, Mad Jack, is never released, the herald is never created, the loop breaks and now we are in Timeline B.
I could be a million mile off but this is why I love this episode. There is no wrong explanation, but I can see that a lot of people will hate it as the solution was not bottle fed to them and it's open to interpretation.
Exactly my thoughts. I only wonder if the different timelines still exist side by side or timeline B is just timeline A before the stepping.
Bubble Universes are certainly something. This episode was very interesting.
This is by far my favorite episode of doctor who in years. Incidentally, win Ruby prevents the doctor from breaking the circle. It also, he erased the old woman from existence. Because the old woman was ruby, Who would have been stuck in a time loop. By not breaking the circle that loop was essentially Prevented.
Went over my head a bit, or else I need to watch it again. In any case I suspect the season finale will make everything clear.
The first episode of the two part finale is titled "The legend of Ruby Sunday". I suspect many questions will be answered in that episode.
So far this season has been one of the best and it's barely even started. The arc with Ruby is just so damn interesting and confusing and intriguing. Not to mention this Doctor is AMAZING
Moral of this story is look where your walking. The Dr needs another button for fairy circle, as in the butterfly compensator on the Tardis console.
3:14 omg you nailed it
Wikipedia:
Albion is an alternative name for Great Britain. The oldest attestation of the toponym comes from the Greek language. It is sometimes used poetically and generally to refer to the island, but is less common than "Britain" today. The name for Scotland in most of the Celtic languages is related to Albion: Alba in Scottish Gaelic, Albain (genitive Alban) in Irish, Nalbin in Manx and Alban in Welsh and Cornish. These names were later Latinised as Albania and Anglicised as Albany, which were once alternative names for Scotland.
New Albion and Albionoria ("Albion of the North") were briefly suggested as names of Canada during the period of the Canadian Confederation.[1][2] Francis Drake gave the name New Albion to what is now California when he landed there in 1579.
It is also the land in the Fable games.
i think that thing the dr stepped on, cause something to happen, and in the end, being her, she was able to stop him from stepping on the circle...and when the older self disappeared, the timeline corrected itself. I do wonder why always 73 yards,,andn am wondering if that was to mean alll will close in 73 years,,,if thats how much time had passed.
This episode was brilliant honestly I always love the companion-sided episodes but i HATEEE that time gets reversed and no one knows what they’ve been through except the viewers lol. 10/10 regardless
Ruby seems to have some sort of lingering memory of the events, so I don't think it's as straight forward as time being reversed
@@SeanS102 Agreed. It felt more like an "alternative time-stream" thing to me.
Yeah but they still manage to stop mad jack from happening at least.
@@Spoon_Loves_Nutella well no because after she sees the old woman the second time, the doctors still talking about the prime minister and the nukes and she now no longer goes down the path to stop him lol
I liked the premise, but I think it was just a little under-explained. I saw someone compare what Old Ruby was saying to what the Midnight creature looked like, something we don't have to know, but given that it was literally her, I don't know, it feels weird. Either this episode is completely standalone (in which case I think it will be regarded as a weaker episode in this series) or it's yet another piece to the larger puzzle of Ruby herself (in which case we need to wait to give final judgment). Right now, I'm waiting to see, because it's leaning towards the latter with Ruby double-taking at Susan Twist's character, asking if she knew her; with another pop-up of Mrs. Flood; and Kate mentioning that maybe this was a timeline centered on Ruby (I got heavy Turn Left vibes with UNIT here).
tl;dr I'm reserving final judgment on this one until we know better how it all fits in.
I must say, though, props to Millie Gibson. Her acting in this episode was top-notch.
Oddly enough this was my favorite episode of the season so far. The first with some real story telling, real mystery. I think this could set up Ruby dropping herself off at the church.
I really liked the Welsh taking the piss out of the English in this. We deserve it. Notwithstanding the fact my grandmother was a Griffiths.
The end of this was pretty painful as my mum went into dementia care last year. And it's tough. And I know the way carers talk to the elderly, when they are probably not as far gone as we like to think.
I think you'll find this is just the first part of something we'll come back to in the finale.
I don't think everything needs and explanation, it makes it even creepier not knowing what the old woman was saying, like in Midnight when we didn't know what that thing was. But i also think that maybe some of this would be explained when Ruby's origen is revealed. I wonder if any human stepping in that circle could go back or just Ruby because of how "special" she seems to be.
It was creepy, visually stunning and also devastating. Ruby facing abandonment over and over again and living with that constant reminder that everyone she loves would leave because of her or so she thinks, as someone mentioned in another comment, that woman at 73 yards could be just the reflection of the guilt and shame she feels for her mother's abandonment.
This episode is so emotional. Especially the end. Just showing how it passes how life passes. How literally she was in the same place her whole life, alone. This transition is so brutal with different actress. This is a really intense episode emotionally and I am not that resistant. I am actually very sensitive. So it is hard
I agree with Robert and Cruella (That is a homage to Cruella, right?) that this was a very dissatisfying episode. In two senses: if the old woman was Ruby herself, why was everyone so terrified of her? And secondly, if the timeloop was cancelled, then that means Roger still becomes Prime Minister. Which I guess he does, as the Doctor remembers it always happening. Now, because The Maestro was also terrified when looking inside Ruby, perhaps the reason everyone in this episode was terrified of seeing Ruby does get answered in the season finale, but then this episode should have been slated to be just before it. Otherwise "don't step on the grass" or "don't break the circle" simple isn't very terrifying and shouldn't be causing people to run away in stark terror, regardless of whether there's magic or sci-fi behind it. And where did the Doctor go? Too many unanswered questions. This party is ruined.
I had the exact opposite reaction. This was the first episode, this season, that finally felt like Doctor Who.
i don't need an explanation here, just a more fulfilling climax, i've heard comparisons to midnight, and sure we ultimately don't learn whats going on but midnight takes you on a satisfying ride, i feel like this episode only started cooking as it gets ready to end
I'm not sure we're really meant to dig too much into what literally occurred. But my interpretation is that, in Timeline B, Doctor B actually did actually release the malevolent spirit called Mad Jack, who first got rid of the main thing in his way (The Doctor) and then inhabited the mind/body of Roger ap Gwilliam. (Roger is eventually nicknamed Mad Jack, because of the spirit within him making its negative influence known.) Meanwhile, as the episode suggests, the fairy circle has a sort of fail-safe built-in: The Herald. Ruby B becomes the Herald, a self-fulfilling prophecy in which she protects the world in The Doctor's absence and attempts to warn her younger self. Her success in signaling Ruby A from Timeline A (the proper show timeline we've been following the whole time) erases/at least makes moot Timeline B. Timey-Wimey might mean that alternative timeline versions of The Doctor and Ruby actually forged this fairy circle (intentionally or no).
I think the thematic of the episode is the most interesting/relevant aspect to the series going forward. Ruby's (and perhaps The Doctor's as well) existential fear of abandonment. The nagging anxiety that while things are good now, somehow... someday... the people you love most may reject you. That the love you have today may be transactional or even fleeting. Or worst yet, that the people who've left your life in the past saw something in you so horrific/terrible that they were justified in leaving you. And now the rest of the world can see it too.
With this season focussing on Ruby and The Doctor as kindred spirits with major questions about their original home/parentage, I thought this was a fun, if slightly "Turn Left"-coded, episode to dig into that deepest fear through Ruby.
have a look at 'Doctor Who: Unleashed' - it was filmed end of 2022! so they are maybe 'secretly filming' somewhere for the episodes to be shown 2026!!
One of the best episodes in ages.
Millie Gibson was brilliant in this story.
That said, I was glad the Doctor wasn't in it much.
Ncuti is a lovely guy but hes just being himself so I'm not really a fan but this was an outstanding episode.
Best one since Midnight.
I figured that this was just one more step in the story of Ruby, and so didn’t expect a nice neat bow at the end of this particular episode. I’m assuming (hoping?) all will be revealed by the end of the season. Although, the mystery of Clara went over two seasons, so maybe not🤦♀️🤔
My take on the timelines - I think Roger being a dangerous PM who takes the world to the bring of nuclear disaster is something The Doctor is aware of from future history, and it is something that he is destined to intervene in himself in his own future (like how he was always aware of the destruction of Pompeii, but only when he gets there does he realise that he was destined to be the one who caused it to save the world). But when he steps on the circle and vanishes, it starts a dangerous timeline in which he will not be there to stop Roger. So it's up to Ruby to stop Roger and save the world because she is the only one with the foreknowledge of it. She then becomes Old Ruby who goes back in time to haunt herself and warn herself to stop The Doctor stepping on the circle. Now that The Doctor never disappears, Old Ruby never haunts her, and Roger will need to be stopped by The Doctor one day.
I really liked this episode, i thought the strange, unsettling feel of it fitted perfectly with old folklore stories about stepping into Fairy Circles - the Doctor Who version of 'A Field in England'
73 Yards is like a call back of The Curse of Clyde Langar from the Sarah Jane Adventures, but it works on a much higher level. It's definitely on my Top 10 list of New Doctor Who since 2005.
11 out of 10 👌
And this is my top 10 list. It's just a snapshot and not a ranking.
- Turn Left
- Don't Blink
- The Girl in the Fireplace
- Partners in Crime
- 73 Yards
- Silence in the Library/Forest of the dead
- The Day of the Doctor
- The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances
- The End of Time 1&2
- A Christmas Carol
Susan Twist is "The One who Waits". There is always a Twist in the end!! lol
The best episode so far and the only one out of the 4 we’ve seen that feels like doctor who
I think we're not done with this. It all feeds into the Ruby story.
This is exactly what I felt after watching the episode. It was like a more nonsensical version of Turn Left. Which, I mean, I love Turn Left, but part of what made it so great is that we've already seen how things were supposed to go in the first place, making it easier to grasp what went wrong in the alternate timeline and what Donna had to do in order to fix it. In 73 Yards, not only was the thing initiating the alternate timeline in the first place was basically "magic"; but, we also don't really get any explanation of what's actually supposed to happen. It just leaves us having to guess too much, which is a problem RTD's resolutions often have sadly.
Millie did amazing in carrying the episode, and I loved the vibe and setting overall. I even liked the twist of Ruby being The Woman - I just wish there was a better explanation for how she went about "fixing" the timeline, what actually happened after she did, and why people ran away from her older-self in the first place. I mean, like you've said, if Ruby was the one to stop the Roger ap Gwylliam, what happens in the restored timeline where she doesn't? I can accept that maybe stepping on the shrine was the thing that made him become Prime Minister in the first place (releasing "Mad Jack"), but then, the Doctor was talking about him almost causing Nuclear war BEFORE ever stepping on the shrine. Is it just because he's the Doctor and could somehow sense the aborted timeline? Who knows.
Unlike the well-thought out writing of Turn Left, we never got any explanation of how older-Ruby went back in time to become The Woman in the first place, or how and why she was able to teleport/keep exactly 73 yards away. Also, what could she possibly say to cause so many people to run away from her? I can MAYBE buy UNIT stepping back once they realise she's older Ruby, cause they don't want to mess with the timeline.. But, what made her own Mum run and turn on her? Or got perfect strangers to run away screaming?
Oh and also, what even caused the Doctor to disappear? That wasn't explained at all as far as I can tell.
So this whole episode (which I loved) relies heavily on 2 conversations to explain the lore, I believe. The Semper distans conversation and the Timeline conversation with Kate.
On Semper distans. The whole spell seems to revolve around it. Mad Jack is sealed in the liminal space or semper distans between worlds by the circle. When broken he is released. This gets into the timeline conversation because the main timeline is the one with Old Ruby. Mad Jack is always supposed to become prime minister, the Doctor is always supposed to break the circle. It is through the spell and ruby that a branch timeline is created which is where we end. This is why the Doctor talks about Roger BEFORE breaking the circle. The reason people are freaking out when they see old ruby is in my belief because when she is taken back, we never see her die but she is approaching death. One could say she is Semper distans to death. Therefore people are seeing something beyond horror really. They are seeing a person neither alive nor dead. They are seeing the approach of death, which is why it is always following Ruby, because it is Ruby. This is a fail safe against Mad Jack as the witch/wizard who created the circle obviously as some connection to the ‘inbetween’ as they were able to seal Jack there.
I think Davis is just the more "adult" writer. I enjoyed this episode so much more than the first ones. I am watching Who since I was in my 20s, now in my 40s, I think 20 year old me would have liked the Moffat style more, but "adult" me prefers Davis' episodes better.
I really loved this episode, and I got this episode. I love episodes like this that make you think, and I love episodes where they are open-ended and you don't get all the answers.
I absolutely loved 73 Yards. I've not been feeling Millie's performance & character until "Boom" & now "73 Yards" but here she was incredible 👏
There was honestly 4-5 episodes worth of story here though that really could have been developed & expanded on. I seriously would have ended the episode when Ruby said she was going to save the world & told the old woman to come with her.
That kind of ending would have created tons of suspense & a week of debate (maybe in the old 13 episode format maybe)
You don't get many answers in the episode but it made me "feel" more than any Doctor Who episode has in a long time & left me shell-shocked after. It's an episode which stays with you & you really felt for Ruby.
It's incredible to think what Old Ruby could possibly have said to make everyone run. Another appearance by Susan Twist but this time Ruby noticed her but it would seem that's now lost because of the aborted timeline? Can "Mad Jack" Roger Ap Gwilliam really be done? It would be a waste of a villain if so. Sooo many questions.
The implied "Trumpian" abuse of "Marti Bridges" gave me shades of "Lucy Saxon" & do I need to remind people that Harold Saxon's party was "The Albion Party" Hmmm.. (but that could just be another kick to our British Conservative party AKA The Tory's)
Kate said something interesting about Ruby's timeline " I think this timeline might be suspended along your event" too, it's always nice to see her but that wasn't a throw-away line!
I have my theatre tickets for the finale in Britain & I hope some of the events here will make more sense in that 2 part finale.
A captivating episode!! 🥰
genuinely don't understand not liking this episode, this was truly phenomenal to me
Well some people need things to make sense, Millie did nothing to change the outcome of the loop she was clearly in. So why in this version could she speak to younger Millie to stop him standing on the circle. She did nothing to escape the loop, it just broke itself
@@charg1nmalaz0r51 what makes you think it was a loop? it clearly was some sort of branched timeline, that thing still happened to another Ryby. There is something about Ruby that is doing this
I think the dont step is relevant. First the stepping on a butterfly changed time, devils chord hmmm lol, step on a mine last week, step in the circle changed timeline again...just a thought
I really liked the episode, but do not understand what old Ruby was saying to frighten everyone. Another Reactor thought it was about being afraid people would find out your hidden secret and loved ones will reject you. Others say it is about Fairy magic time loops, and being afraid of being alone, until you accept that you are your own company. I will look forward to seeing the behind the scenes.
In Unleashed, RTD apparently said that he will never reveal what Old Ruby was saying. The actress had some generic lines but they weren't what the character was saying, and he refuses to tell.
@@SlyAceZeta it explains why they used a woman who had no credits on IMDB.
I'm not sure it's what she was saying so much as simply what she was. She was some out of time being and however she was created she needed to exist long enough for Ruby to become her and prevent herself from creating her in the first place. She probably had something like a perception filter that gives you the creeps
Probably something we’ll never know. Maybe faceless?
I’m still not convinced it was old Ruby. Something else entirely. We all have “what if” scenarios that we regret and want to go back and fix. Regrets we carry for life. What if you could? What if that manifested itself into something or someone. What if it stalked you in the way that regret lingers until your dying breath. And upon that dying breath, it takes you back. It gives you one chance to fix it. That’s my interpretation anyway.
I keep going back and forth on this episode. While I love the idea of a folklore mystery where not everything is explained, I think personally I just needed a little bit more explained. Like maybe getting the why but not the what or vice versa. And other thing that caught my attention was there was no title theme this time. Already a hint it'd be different?!
I watched this episode 3 times and I have some thoughts. There are many things in this episode that weave with so many things we’ve seen so far for example, the rope and knots in the fairy Circle was very much like the knots on a troll ship. There was also accidentally stepping on something on causing a complete butterfly effect which change the world much like we saw when ruby stepped on the butterfly. The doctor stopped lizard Ruby from existing by bringing back the butterfly and Ruby was able to stop this future from happening by going the long way around. I also think it’s highs and wet the ability to change of memory lake with the doctors memory of seeing the ruby left on the church steps was slightly changed.
I personally have a feeling this episode is going to make a lot more sense at the end of the series much like the episode silence in the library didn’t fully make sense until we realized who River song really was.
I really enjoyed this episode I enjoy delayed gratification and I think that’s what this episode is it’s piece of a larger puzzle.
As someone who loved Legion, I'm more than comfortable not getting all the answers. I loved this episode, and I actually think explaining everything in stone would have cheapened it. (BTW, never watch Legion if you're not happy without all the answers. You'd hate it.)
Consider it a bit like episodes like "Midnight" where we never learn what the creature actually was. We never learned here why did The Doctor disappear? Why did everyone get scared and abandon Ruby? How did it all happen. How did the woman (old Ruby) end up going back in time to stop The Doctor stepping on the circle? I love a mystery episode where we don't learn what was going on. I'd love answers and also don't want answers.
My best guess for The Doctor disappearing is whatever it was had to get rid of him because he would have been unaffected if he went up to the woman (old Ruby) and talked to her. As to why Ruby couldn't get in the Tardis, no idea why that happened. So many mysteries unanswered.
Jessie Gender really clued me in to this, but the entire episode feels like a metaphor for being "different". Gay, trans, disabled... that sort of thing. The idea of people finding out about you/your secret and immediately rejecting you is something Ruby goes through and given how RTD has been feeding more gay/trans messaging since he came back, it feels like that's what the point of the episode was.
With a bit of "don't be a gun-ho, sexual assaulting politician" thrown in. Because it's still RTD.
Everybody was saying that RTD2 would be completely fresh. It just isn't. Russell knew full well if he started from scratch there would be howls from a significant part of the fandom. So it's a sequel. Interestingly, having hung around this show since the seventies, I am less bothered by Execs coming in and just changing the whole thing. But I guess even I feel the pull of 'recent' nostalgia.
I really liked the episode. There's stuff here that didn't quite make sense. It may never make sense. But I still enjoyed the ride. Millie Gibson gave an awesome performance this week.
After re-watching this episode I am now 100% convinced Ruby = The One Who waits. The One Who Waits is this powerful being that both The Toy Maker and his daughter Maestro was terrified of. 73 Yards Away Mysterious Woman Ruby in my opinion id Ruby unleashing and using her powers. Why is Ruby called/referred to asThe One Who Waits? She waits her entire life to A) Possibly be reunited with The Doctor. B) Discover who her birth parents are. C) Reconnect with her adopted mother. D) Prevent Mad Jack from becoming Prime Minister of England and using Nuclear Weapons (something Maestro would have loved as it was music to their ears) or E) All the Above. We have assumed that The One Who Waits is the Big Bad of the Season. But which characters have actually warned The Doctor (14 and 15) about them? The Meep ( a villain character) The Toy Maker ( a villain character) Maestro ( a villain character) Now why was Kate and Ruby's adopted mother afraid of young yet to use or know about her powers Ruby? Well if you saw the being that uses and controls Fear and Terror like how The Toy Maker uses and controls Play and Maestro uses and controls Music; you'd be afraid of Ruby also. But again I could be way off; but that's my crazy theory. Ruby is The One Who Waits and her Power or the Realm/Sphere she controls is Fear/Terror.
Alvin and the Chipmunks (2007) - New Animation Movies 2024
ua-cam.com/video/kciW25d5q0Y/v-deo.html
❤❤❤
Loved this episode 10/10, atmospheric, unnerving, heartbreaking. The sort of tale where not having answers add to the mystery. This story joins a small band of episodes called don’t know what the fuck is going on but I love it. Includes Listen and Heaven Sent in Nu who and Warriors Gate, Kinda and Ghost Light in classic who.
I don't think it was her before the death, It was a sort of possession, trying to draw everyone away from her until it could finally take host. Then that is when old ruby freed the curse and told her not to break it. in turn stopping mad jack from being awakened, and her having to live this life of misery. That's my thoughts on it anyway, would love to hear a different prospective.
We can't always be fed the answers. We're going supernatural; a supernatural era that even UNIT has to adapt to - as you say, in the wake of The Toymaker. Explicable isn't on the cards. This is not scientific territory. This is strange-fi not sci-fi. And I like it. I like having more questions than answers with a great story that doesn't conclude with certainty. And Ruby has learned something - subconsciously. Not unlike Turn Left, this is a road to the never-was, but just because it doesn't make sense doesn't it isn't filled with answers to questions we didn't even know to ask.
This episode made me feel like it was a revamped version of "Turn right". Like you said, there are a lot of unanswered questions, and whilst RTD often answers rhem down the line (and replaces them with other ones), i just feel this time, those questions will remain unanswered. Its not a *bad* episode, because it delves into Ruby a little bit and how she'd react to things, but its definitely not this seasons best so far by quite a way. Hopefully, this is an outlier and better episodes are ahead.
It was a fascinating episode. I love how the writing defies are linear sense of time and reality. Great writing.
belive this was based on a old welsh fairytale, mostly when your looking at the clues, and i thought it was a reference to Albion online XD
I don't know about anyone else, but I was waiting for Dafydd from "Little Britain" to walk into that pub :)
Few things.
The way they were in the pub its most likely to do with the Welsh and english divide than anything else
I think time has bent around ruby and time passed for the one who waits with the secret song inside her.
I think its clearly going to come back to this like kate said about tinelines something is bending time around ruby and shes powerful to fight it each time. I honestly think this episode is a mix of the curse of Clyde Lange(sarah jane adventures), turn left and blink. So i definitely disagree and think this is a top tier doctor who episode. I 100% think something will come out of this episode like normally RTD sets something up in the middle of the series directly for the finale so. P.s Vanessa your hair was 🔥
The first great story of the new RTD era and it's no accident that there is hardly any of the most miscast Doctor ever. Millie is great
Absolutely loved this one. Propper ghost story, and a very well done one at that.