It makes me worry that the show is struggling in the eyes of the BBC, and that they can’t justify its expense every year.

I mean, I can’t say I’ve been that into it. It’s been...fine basically but not really. There is a distinct similarity to the Pertwee era under Barry Letts. Letts and Chibnall seem to take the same basic approach of making “don’t fuck anything up completely” and avoiding outright clunkers even if that means sacrificing…

I’ve gotten a lot of Pertwee vibes throughout this season, and I’ve been into it.

I agree. She’s been killing it with the jokes, especially this episode. Actually reminds me a bit of Tennant.

It’s strange how a show that’s been in production since 2006, can feel so clumsily made (small example: the alien prosthetics this season all look confusingly similar). The whole season feels like a trial run for the real version of the show to be made next year.

I thought the Doctor was going to call Yaz out on it: “You know that isn’t really a thing, right?”. But that would have been a bit harsh, this version doesn’t really go for teasing her companions like that.

Both butt-ugly though.

If I found out Santa was real I think he’d be good for a solid afternoon of conversation, tops. I mean, I take your point - there was more to the Doctor’s relationship to the Solitract than I’m giving them credit for, but it was all “tell don’t show”. If other people bought into more than I did that’s fine, but it…

I can see it going both ways. I think in my head, I’m imagining 1 episode in the anti-zone where that can feel more consequential. 1-episode in the Solitract dimension where the exposition would have been slightly less of a dump. 

I agree. The Silence had a lot of potential that ended up real convoluted. The Angels are the ones that spring to mind if only because Moffat created them under RTD and then was able to keep them going. The change in hands might make it hard to bring a lot of things back just because the showrunners/writers are…

I don’t know, I feel like recent Doctors have swung wildly between mostly serious and dour (Twelve) to running around yelling and chewing scenery (Ten and Eleven). Thirteen seems to be more even-keeled - I guess more subtle than recent incarnations.

I think Erik didn’t take Hanne more out his own emotional selfishness than any concerns about the Anti-Zone. Also, I wouldn’t be surprised if he knew or intuited that Hanne would see through the mirror-world deception, be unwilling to accept her mom’s resurrection, and burst his bubble. (All puns in there intended.)…

If by “the basic quality of the episodes”, you mean “this season has been very mediocre, heavy-handed and flat when written by Chibnall, and it’s barely starting to pick up now that it’s nearly over, and that Whitaker’s Doc is finally starting to come into her own” then yeah, we’re all in agreement.

Generally, I suppose, but I think some of us (myself included) feel like this season has been really disappointing and bland for the most part, and others feel that it’s been pretty good for the most part. So I think there is some mild disagreement. 

I liked this one, though I wouldn’t remotely consider it the season’s best (that would be “The Tsuranga Conundrum”). But the ending didn’t work for me, and not because of the frog. I can believe that the Doctor would sacrifice herself for her friends. And I can believe that she would feel genuine compassion for the…

Am I the only one who noticed them working in a classic 'Reverse the Polarity' line? :) 

I was thinking hypnotoad because a live action hypnotoad would look pretty co ...ALL GLORY TO HYPNOTOAD!

That was delightfully bonkers, and it was reminiscent of some of the Baker & Martin scripts from the Pertwee era with its over-abundance of ideas that don’t quite cohere but still form a really enjoyable story and offer some ridiculous visuals. I loved the talking frog bit because a sentient universe taking the form…

Would have loved a shout-out to this guy

I thought the actress who played Hanne was very convincing in her portrayal of a blind person, then I looked her up on the Internet and discovered that she’s actually blind. It doesn’t get much more convincing than that.