Her end is coming, but it’s not here yet. Jodie Whittaker‘s 13th Doctor still has some life in her yet. “Legend of the Sea Devils” is the second of three specials in 2022 leading to her departure from the series this fall.
This is not the first time the Doctor and her companions find themselves up against pirates.
If you couldn’t figure it out from the title, this Easter special features the return of the Sea Devils. Introduced in 1971, during the Third Doctor’s era, the Sea Devils are an ancient race who once controlled the Earth millions of years before the rise of man. They existed during the same time as the Silurians. The Silurians were another monster that debuted during the 70s, opposite Jon Pertwee’s Doctor and the forces of UNIT. The Silurians returned with a drastic update to their look in 2010. However, these Sea Devils stay true to their classic look.
The 13th Doctor era has been uneven. Showrunner Chris Chibnall‘s stamp on the show has not always been successful. Here, he finds a balance between telling a story with the Doctor in it and telling a Doctor Who story. I very much enjoyed the story. It was engaging without resorting to an end-of-all-of-existence level of threat. (Not every story has to be Infinity War!) Setting the story in the past, and outside of its normally very British locales, was also refreshing. Some viewers may not know that Pirate Queen, Madame Ching Shih was a real Pirate, who, at one time, led over 40,000 men!
Navigating Through The Rough Seas
In” Legend of the Sea Devils,” Madam Ching (played by Crystal Hu) is searching for the lost treasure of the Flor de la Mar. The Flor de la Mar was a Portuguese ship that sunk off the coast of Sumatra in the early 16th century. It sank during a storm when it was going back to Portugal. But why is a 200-year-old shipwreck so important? Well, the Doctor and Yaz just hop back in time to find out.
The vessel was found by a Chinese ship in the 16th century. That ship, and its captain Ji-Hun (Arthur Lee), is also lost to the Sea Devils. It seems a part of the treasure on that ship is a device that the Sea Devils need to reverse the magnetic poles and bring about a flood to wipe out humanity. You know, normal Doctor Who end of the world stuff.
The story turns out to be a swashbuckling tale for the Doctor, Yaz (Mandip Gil), and especially Dan (John Bishop). Dan gets to live out some Captain Jack (Sparrow, not Harkness) moves as a member of Ching Shih’s crew. Well, he’s half the crew. In what was probably partly budget and partly COVID, the Pirate Queen has lost her crew. (She’s looking for the treasure to pay a ransom to a rival for their return).
While Dan serves as 1st mate to the Pirate Queen, the Sea Devils capture Doctor and Yaz. She gets them talking, the way the Doctor does. The Sea Devils figure out this is just a plan to stall them, but they still manage to tell her everything. Eventually, the Doctor, Yaz, and Ju-Han (who’s been a prisoner of the Sea Devils for 200 years) escape and find a way to stop the Sea Devils’ plan. Of course, the plan needs someone to sacrifice themselves. While the Doctor plans to do it herself, Ju-Han steps in, knowing that his place in the world is gone.
Now that the world is safe, maybe the Doctor can get her fam to relax on a beach that isn’t overrun with monsters. Oh wait, you didn’t think we were going to get through this episode without talking about Yaz and the Doctor, did you? After dancing around it for a bit now, the Doctor finally talks openly with Yaz and the developments between them. Doctor Who shippers probably won’t like where the discussion goes, though.
It’s going to be a few months until the last of the three 2022 Doctor Who specials hit the small screen. Until then, you can check out what’s in store for the 13th Doctor’s final adventure at the trailer here.
What did you think of “Legend of the Sea Devil”? Let us know in the comments below, or hit us up on Twitter or Facebook!
