“I’m glad you asked that, ‘cos I I didn’t want to look stupid.”

Look there! Up in the sky! It’s a plastic-filled bird! It’s a shuttle! It’s…a distraction from the Timeless Child and Alternate Doctor mysteries!

We dissect the sixth episode of Series 12, and find that there’s a time and a place for a proper “breather episode” amidst all the uproar. It may not be the canon-rattling, fanbase-alarming sort of story content we’ve been reeling from in other installments this series, but we do find it a poignant, workable script with solid supporting characters and opportunities for the Doctor’s friends to demonstrate what they do best.

Kudos to McTighe and Chibnall for avoiding a horrible trope and choosing to save Jake at the last possible second (phew!), and for giving Yaz and Graham a chance to team up at long last. We look at the long list of episodes in the Chibnall era to date that focus on environmental issues, and hypothesize that this is exactly the sort of ‘theme’ that the showrunner told us would emerge…and frankly, for good reason.

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