The Flux continues to tear apart the universe in this week’s episode of Doctor Who: Flux. It seems that while being ‘one overarching story’ the season will not be one serial story. Yes, elements are carrying over from one episode to the next, but unlike the series classic roots, “Flux” is not so much one adventure but is a series of adventures with linking plot points. It’s a subtle difference. Is that a bad thing? Not at all. But it’s not quite as it was billed.
Haven’t seen it yet? There be spoilers ahead.
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That said, Doctor Who: Flux – Chapter Two: War of the Sontarans could easily be a stand-alone story. And that is a strength. It is a romp with fun monsters, and we get a bit of an action set piece with classic dodgy Doctor Who CGI, lasers, Sontarans on horseback, and lots and lots of “sploshions”! The MacGuffin Flux that allows the Sontarans to invade Earth and take over throughout history could have been any timey-wimey Doctor Who type event, and we would go along with it. And since it stands so well alone, we don’t have to think about all those other subplots that were hit in the “Halloween Apocalypse.”
The Sontarans, one of Doctor’s oldest recurring foes, are a clone race, militaristic, cunning, and brutal. Fighting a constant war, they live solely for battle. They’ve invaded Earth multiple times and even successfully invaded Gallifrey. But since their reintroduction in the revived series back in 2008, they have been played as a bit of a joke. Especially after the introduction of Strax, the Sontaran member of the Paternoster Gang. Here, while still used to comedic effect, the Sontarans really felt like a threat to the Doctor and the world. At least, until Dan started taking them out with a wok.
In many ways, it did feel like a classic Doctor Who story. Dan (John Bishop), the new companion, already knows to just go with whatever the Doctor says. Finding himself in the 19th Century amidst the Crimean War with aliens and meeting an important person from history, Mary Seacole (played by Sara Powell), he takes it in stride all the while saying, “whatever ya say, Doc.”
The Doctor and his companions later get split apart, another classic Doctor Who trope. (Of course, they did this on classic Who to pad out those 4-6 part stories). Dan finds himself transported home to discover Sontarans are there too. The Doctor, left alone with her new friend Mrs. Seacole, and Yaz ends up in the subplot that connects to the Flux. She arrives at a damaged ruined temple. There, she has a run-in with Mr. Williamson, which seems to only happen to remind us that part of the bigger story has something to do with tunnels being dug under 1820 Liverpool. Her story joins with Vinder (Jacob Anderson). You remember Vinder, right? He was in the Space Station watching the Flux tear apart whole worlds before he had to hop in a lifeboat and run. He ended up here at the ruined temple.
So where is here? Well, the planet Time of course! What is this place? Why it’s the Temple of Atropos. (Don’t worry, even the Doctor didn’t know that.) And what is at the Temple of Atropos, you ask? Well, that would be the Mouri. Who or What are the Mouri? Well… they control time, but the Flux is causing problems. These problems are so big that they draw in the Swarm and Azure, those wacky aliens siblings from last week. They arrive at the temple along with their hulking silent friend, Passenger. Once there, they continue being all evil and such, setting a trap for the Doctor.
So, with a lot of plot threads left dangling from last week, where is Diane? What about Claire and the Weeping Angels? We are now also left to ponder about the Mouri too. (Or did we just unknowingly answer one of those first questions?) And how did Mr. Williamson get there?
Swarm has proven to be an engaging if campy villain so far. Unlike the Sontarans, he is a credible threat, but any humor that comes from him is like that threat. It is on his terms. I know I want to know more about him. And I will be back for more.
Next week, we get Cybermen!
What did you think of “War of the Sontarans”? Comment below or in our Facebook Group!
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.