This is the end, has the moment been prepared for? That’s the question on the minds of fans around the world as Doctor Who returned to screens 10 months since we last saw the Doctor and company. Fans can be forgiving if they are looking ahead. Season 14, whenever it arrives, will feature a new Doctor and the return of Russell T Davies as showrunner and head writer. The series will also be celebrating its 60th anniversary in 2023, so there is a lot of anticipation building up for fans. But there is still Season 13 to go through, and Chris Chibnall, the current showrunner, and Jodie Whittaker look like they are going to go out swinging for the fences with an epic 6 part story called “The Flux.”
(Warning some spoilers if you have not seen the episode.)
“The Flux” starts with the episode titled “The Halloween Apocalypse.” The Doctor (Jodi Whittaker) and her trusty companion Yaz (Mandip Gill) have been caught and are hanging upside down over a sea of acid in a world about to be destroyed. Trapped there by the shadowy figure Karvanista (Craige Els), he lets the Doctor know that Earth will be destroyed. The Doctor and Yaz manage to escape, thanks to some off-screen circus training, attack drones called Kill-discs with stormtrooper level aiming issues, and we see a little TARDIS-ex-machina — all before the sting and the opening theme!
A lot happens in this episode. Most importantly, we meet new companion-to-be Dan Lewis (John Bishop). Dan, a proud Liverpudlian (or as he would call himself, a Scouser) seems to be generous, albeit down on his luck sort, who is swept up in the Doctor’s craziness as he finds himself abducted by Karvanista. But that isn’t the only introduction we get. Via a telepathic trip with the Doctor, we find ourselves taken to a space prison where we witness an ancient alien known only as the Swarm (Sam Spruell) escape, absorbing his captors, and regenerating before turning to the Doctor and saying “Trick or Treat.”
Chibnall’s era has been filled with huge set pieces, and “The Flux” certainly looks like it will continue that tradition. Being a true multipart story, almost like the classic series serial story, “The Halloween Apocalypse” has to do a lot of the heavy lifting as it sets up the whole season. As such we are left with a lot of mysteries. Who is Claire, the woman the Doctor and Yaz encounter on the street outside Dan’s house? Why are there Weeping Angels in Liverpool, and what do they want with Claire? How does she know them? Who set up the deep space Observation Outpost Rose where we meet Commander Vinder (Game of Thrones star Jacob Anderson). And what has he been observing? What about Azure, the Swarm’s sister? Why has she been living as a human in the Arctic Circle? Who erased her memory? And what do the Sontarans have to do with any of this? (That last question looks like it will be answered sooner than later, as the next episode will be “War of the Sontarans.”)
As a stand-alone story, “The Halloween Apocalypse” is a little underwhelming, but like the first chapter of a bigger story, it does the job. It sets up a mystery that asks more questions than it answers. What is the Flux? What exactly is it doing to space and time? Is it simply tearing it apart, or is doing something more? What is the Swarm’s connection to it, and what is his connection to the Doctor? Why doesn’t the Doctor remember the Swarm? Is it because of the Division? Is the Swarm from the Timeless Child era (something that is sure to rile up some fans)? Is it engaging enough to bring me back for another episode? That last question is a yes for sure.
Doctor Who airs Sundays on BBC and BBC America. Part One, “The Halloween Apocalypse” is available to stream on-demand on BBC iPlayer in the UK and on BBCAmerica.com in the US
