"The moment we cast Ncuti, everyone said to me: oh, my God, what's it going to be like when he goes into the past? Because a black Doctor's going to face such racism. You sit there going, what about now? Why do you think racism's only in the past, when you look at what's happening in the world?" -- Russell T Davies, talking about this episode

The slugs were the heroes of this story

Ricky being so Doctor-coded but white is definitely intentional. Lindy happily accepted his help when she was downright offensive to Doc from the very beginning. There are so many micro-aggressions in basically every scene (micro in a loose sense of the word, at this point). I was stunned by all of the ending, but the only part that surprised me was hearing the man with the long hair use such strong colonizer language about their trip to the outside

A secondary theme: these bubble kids were all spouting off about supporting each other and positive vibes, but as soon as things went bad we’re willing to throw each other under the bus to get ahead. Even the pioneer guys first thought was to be leader, seeking power in the group dynamic. They have no skills, no group identity, no sense of community. I’d be surprised if they lasted a month in the wilderness.

I like the choice of Ruby being the first one to realise what was going on over the Doctor. She is from our world and she has black family members. The Doctor until now has mostly been a white presenting men and he has had poc companions before. The Doctor is a time lorde so he sees himself as above it all to the point that he can come off as apathetic towards some of the characters struggles more specifically when they are in a historical period and their companion is poc. Ofcourse during the Capaldi Era(12th Doctor) where we get the famous The Doctor punches a racist scene in defense of Bill(Black women) and i always took it as the doctor realising the way he had dealt with it in the past wasnt exactly the best. This is the first time the doctor has dealt with it personally and i also love them doing it in a futuristic setting rather then a historical one(which still can happen in the future)

I like all the hints in the episode that make the ending reveal natural. The Doctor is still willing to save them even in the face of prejudice, he is the bigger person, but ultimately he cannot convince them. It is one of those episodes where the Doctor and their companion cannot save what has happened in this society: Everyone Dies.

Interesting that the Doctor is new to experiencing racism. As 10 says to Martha - just walk around like you own the place.

It's so incredible that it clearly takes The Doctor longer than Ruby to realize EXACTLY what's happening, because he's never really faced Racism before, he's so used to simply jumping into any situation and as he said to Martha so many years ago "Walking around like you own the place"

What I find super interesting about this episode is that, for the first time I can recall in the history of Doctor Who, it revolves around a character with few, if any, redeeming qualities. Protagonists in this show tend to be presented as clever and compassionate, but not this one. However, because this is the character we're following, and she's in immediate danger we kind of put that to the side to see just how things unfold. How many times have we watched a show or movie where a flawed, maybe even pathetic character, has an arc that turns them into a hero? But right about the time it feels like there is going to be a moment of character growth, or at the very least she will be cemented as a sympathetic character... Bam! She betrays someone she idolizes just to save her own skin then basically shrugs it off. Follow that up with weirdly ignoring the Doctor and Ruby, as we get the scene to dispel any doubt that this character we've been presented with is, to use the parlance of our time, _just_ _the_ _worst._

One great thing is that the 'slugs' are soooo classic Who.

It is fine to call Lindy and her group racist jerks. That is who they were. Lindy was awful.

The scream that ncuti let out broke my heart. As a white person I will never really understand this pain in the same way, but as a queer person the "don't interact, you might get contaminated" kind of rejection is something I relate to. But this episode also made me aware of my own "bubble" so to speak, because when watching it with my sister and parents, it was very unexpected to hear that my parents didn't really notice that this episode was about racism until I explained it. They didn't even notice that Finetime was exclusively white people, and they explained the ending thinking it was because the Doctor was a stranger. I think I will be talking about this episode a lot for the upcoming days...

I'm surprised she was able to manage the stairs.

Thank you! This was a really unusual episode, I thought it was great. The Finetime people being so invested in their own prejudice that they'd rather risk their own lives than look outside it was so realistic, sadly.

You know, i get why the machines wanted to kill them all with slug monsters.

One thing to note is that the finale scene was Ncuti's first shot for this series. His first time in front of the camera as lead of the series, and he nailed it!

I loved this episode, the bigotry aspect was chilling to me as I wasn't expecting it, but thinking back it seems obvious. All the little things that add up, the instant swiping and look of disgust at seeing the Doctor, saying she didn't realise he was the same guy when he popped up again later etc. Bigotry has always come up in question when the Doctor has taken companions who are from minority/marginalised groups to the past in areas where it was a lot more common (still an issue now but we've progressed somewhat). For example, Martha experienced racism with the Human Nature/Family of Blood story. It's good that they have shown it occasionally as it's an important issue to address but obviously it wouldn't be a pleasant experience to watch characters go through bigotry every episode, so I think that's a good way to do it despite it not being as frequent as it would be in real life, but it is great to have a whole episode about it like this one. They've even addressed how times have changed since the show was created when the 1st Doctor talked with the 12th and the 1st said misogynistic things in front of him. It was so sad to see the Doctor reacting to Lindy and her friends rejecting his help just because he's black. Ncuti nailed the Doctor's essence as a character so well, he went through such a range of emotions. The bemusement, the frustration, the hopelessness. The anger at how they let their stupid prejudices essentially kill them. And Ruby's reaction too, it was a brilliant episode

I like to think the slugs are an allegory for the working class. Where if the working class begins to do the bare minimum, the aristocracy cannot benefit from their labour and are thus 'consumed'.

You've very quickly become my favorite channel reacting to Doctor Who. I saw your community post saying this video would be up soon and gasped, I was super excited to see your reaction. This was a rollercoaster of an episode and the performances were soldi throughout. This season has been an absolute blast and I'm very glad it's got a big audience of people.

you were absolutely on point with your gut feeling about kate last episode. She would probably still have tried to get the technology, ally or not.

I always look forward to your reactions to each episode. Great video as always!

The final scene with ncuti was the first scene he shot apart from the bi-generation with david, he absolutely smashed it

Sir, it was racism. That was the dark turn, she blocked the doctor and when he came back thought it was someone else because she thought we all looked alike.

Their imminent deaths do little to cushion the blow, and an amazing reveal so subtly done most don't realize it's primarily racial rather than financial, white Ruby is listened to and accepted during the ep but not the Doctor.

The walking without arrows thing is like people who can't drive without Sat Nav... we're not that faraway from this world already!

Let's petition RTD to make an mini episode that lets us see Lindy and the rest of the future Hitler youths get eating by the slugs ( who i now see as cute and cuddly by comparison.)

I give them 10 minutes off the boat. At most.

I was rooting for the slugs.

The writing on this one was so damn good. Been a fan of this show since I was a kid in the 1980's & this may be the first time where by the end I was full on cheering for the flesh eating monsters. While the Space Babies episode wasn't to my taste this season is 100% showing the full range of what this show can be. Glad your sharing your first time experiences with us sir!

Everytime the doctor leaves the Tardis somewhere on Earth, Kate and UNIT go get it.

this was an insanely well-done episode, with so many hints as to what the “actual” issue was going to be, using the “social media bad” idea as a red herring. the ending made me tear up. i think it was also smart to make almost all of the characters look so openly lgbt, as 1. the lgbt diversity helped to distract almost from the lack of racial diversity, and 2. it is saying: just because you are queer, that does not exempt you from being racist. i think it was really well made :)

I love all the give aways of the twist in this episode too. The talk about how the don't let "just anyone" in the city. Sure, she mentioned it was the rich but you never see a single non-white person on a screen, not a ONE. She even says "I thought I blocked you, I mean you all look the same" or later "he'll be punished and I'm so looking forward to it" - the sad part is, I'm willing to bet Ricky wouldn't have had any of that had he survived.

16:34 to answer your question, i give them anything between 45 minutes to 3 hours.

P.S. A fun Whovian game to play is "Which Doctor would have just walked away at the end?" My votes would be Nine, Eleven and Twelve. (One day you'll have your own vote!)

THANKS for this!!!! This episode breaks two unwritten rules of the show. First rule, established in Classic and continuing in Nu: collective racism/prejudice must be overcome for our planet to survive. Second rule, established in Nu: individual prejudice is something to be frowned on but will be overcome one day. (TEARING SOUND AS RTD RIPS UP THOSE RULES :) ) WOW....Um, gee.... Who is RTD going after? Anti-immigration movements in Europe? The Right worldwide, including in America? The Doctor Who anti-woke crowd? Everyone? Although the Jordan Peele/"Black Mirror" crowd will not be losing sleep over this, I deeply appreciate RTD's willingness to put up a very big finger at people who don't like his direction. This is very different from his first, more subtle DW take. There will be a lot of criticism of Ncuti crying again. But from the point of view of this American, this cry is more out of the tradition of 19th-century Frederick Douglass than a 20th-century British-created Time Lord, recreated in this century to great impact.

eat the rich! slugs eat wasps 😁

They never explained Midnight and is a top 5 episode!

Yeah, I had to go back and check after the end of the episode. Every single face in that bubble was very white. O.O

It was an amazing episode. The hints were there, but that end reveal was a punch to the stomach. The slugs weren't the real monsters after all.

The ways she treats the doctor differently than ruby is so artfully sprinkled through the episode

Beginning of episode: Back away! End of episode: MOVE FORWARD! 😂

This episode was mind-blowing. The entire time I felt guilty as I just wanted her to get eaten. That feeling became far worse once she needed a man to walk 🤢. That last scene tho I would would have been screaming as a campanion "we cant let these people repopulate", thrown that dot right onto the boat while yelling dot on. What an emotional eposode.

Been looking forward to watching this all day ❤

The musical cue as the boat of fascists pulls away is interesting to me, it sounds like a quote from a song Murray Gold wrote for season 6 or 7, but it could also just be Gold going back to a familiar grand sound. If it is a nod to that song though I think it adds to the sense that the Doctor is waking up to parts of reality he hasn't had to deal with personally before.

love your reactions and your fresh eyes on Doctor Who. i'm almost jealous, because whovians like us know almost every episode and whole quotes by heart, we don't get to "experience" it anymore. i hope that once this season is finished, you'll go back and watch Doctor who starting 2005 (and not the black and white sixties ones) it's called "series 1" and not season. i can't wait for you to discover it.

Those people had no redeeming qualities at all. The universe is well rid of them.

So many times in the history of the show, a companion has implored the Doctor to save people. And so many times he's had to run away so as not to rip a hole in the fabric of time and space by disrupting things. Other times: "I can save someone. Or anyone" (Fires of Pompeii). But most of the time he can't. Now the tables are turned: he can't save people because *they* don't want it.

Your reactions are the best 😂 I look forward to them every week now

so happy someone suggested your channel on tumblr, you look like a nice person, and it looks like you have videos on numerous tv shows i like

The audience gets it's alphabetical so far ahead of the characters.

amazing reactions, thanks so much for sharing them

7:50 you really need a sofa to hide behind, bro! C'mon - it's tradition!

The monsters were the personification of the phrase, "Eat the rich."

Fun reaction vid!

Probably survive about five minutes.

Everyone else has commented most of my thoughts on this episode. The one that hasn't been addressed is minor, but the Whovian in me has to throw out any detail I notice that doesn't make sense (in case it's part of the bigger mystery) At the end, Brewster Cavendish is still alive though his last name should have already gotten him killed a long time ago

Am I the only one who noticed that The Doctor said the dot was a powerful antigrav... and not a powerful antimav... Is that because it's only called mavity on Earth and it's still called gravity everywhere else in the universe or was this just a writing error or is it an important clue about what is to come?

love your channel

LOL, slugs things are one of the least scariest monsters in Doctor Who universe. DW has so many scary monsters that we, the veteran whovians, are desensitized to most normal horrors.

I didn’t care for the episode on my first watch (minus the ending), but after watching it again I like it a lot more

Really good story again this week, yes, how long will they survive without the Doctor ... ?

the twist of them being racist is wild, but looking back on the rest of the episode, hits hard

2:58 - I like the way you think, m8! I'm now a follower...

I realised very quickly that finetime had no people of colour loool

It makes complete sense that Ruby would more quickly have the attitude of "there's no helping these people" because, even though she's white herself, her mother is Black. The Doctor has been around for a *long* time but this is the first time they've presented as anything other than white, so this is the first time they've had racism directed *at them*. So in this one area, even though she can't experience it in the same way, Ruby is actually more experienced than the Doctor.

The Doctor wants to protect everyone, I mean there's an OG episode where he had a chance to destroy the dalek before they could be unleashed and he chose not to. So to put that actually succeed in saving that many people only for them to turn their back and chose to rather die than except his help just because of what he looked like had to be one of the hardest things the Doctor had to experience. The only other time something similar happened was during that short that took place during the time war where the woman refused to allow him to save her because he was a Time Lord.

I think people prematurely judged this new who calling it woke and what not I think it’s been totally awesome so far. It would be cool if Ruby Sunday was Clara’s daughter after all she was shredded into Doctor who’s time stream in each of his lives saving him in one way or another. I love the jabs they are taking at social media.

They took the phrase "eat the rich" literally. Hah!

Due to their ignorance Lindy and her 'friends' wouldn't survive. Living their lives in a 'bubble', literally, they wouldn't have a clue

The ending scene really hit me in the gut

Some things you say, makes me laugh when you said that about the telescope outside the tardis to make sure there’s nothing there in classic in the past he actually has a monitor in the where he can see outside the tardis and determine whether or not it is safe to go outsideyou really should watch it from 2005 because this is technically season 14 of the new

Team slug! Team slug!

People poking fun at the Doctor for being a know it all has always been a running joke in the series so you don't even really notice what she's saying until the very end.

It'd be really cool if maybe sometime in the Future the guy who played Ricky got to play the Doctor I think he'd be really good at it.

not the peering out with a telescope and measuring the yards 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

People are their own worst punishments.

This doesnt have anything to do with this video, but you have a really soothing voice

It's been a while since Doctor Who made me hate someone.

I enjoyed the gag that she couldn't even walk normally without the tech...some people crash cars because they rely slavishly on sat navs. If you watch he making of documentary that accompanies this episode, RTD muses how long it would take viewers to clock the fact that they're all white. I enjoyed the ' some of us get eaten' line which I'm sure was a play on word like 'Eton' the famous school for wealthy parents to send their kids to.

Uh . . . but why don't you just give me the gift? I mean, I would be a little suspicious. Okay, on to the episode.

Only half-decent one got murdered.

Is this why the Doctor spent so many thousands of years as a white man?

I want some of those characters to survive and become a villain group. I absolutely loved the way they made me hate them.

The Dot was right. Rewatching this via reaction makes me root for the dot and the slugs.

#teamdot

I'm curious, because I'm black as well. When Lindy rejected the offer from the doctor and "explained" why I immediately thought it was race. Do you agree or do you think it was another reason?

Yep! Blatant racism. I felt The Doctor's pain.

If you try to work out the plot of a doctor who these days your head would explode, I gave up trying to work out 73 yards by Thursday. Dot and Bubble 🫧 I was hoping the slugs would win at the end 😂

Could ruby be jenny daughter or ruby might be Susan biological granddaughter?

Is that not the best dr who ever?

Feel like I need to show the ending of this episode whenever im trying to explain to people my views on people with very opposing views to me. People often don’t understand what I mean when I say I find things some people say abhorrent but will defend to the death their right to hold those opinions. The Doctor didn’t care what they thought of him. He just wanted to save them.

Week 5 of asking you to start the 2005 series, ITS MUCH DARKER AND BETTER

Here’s a detailed breakdown of how I believe each Doctor would handle this situation at the end of the episode: I saw a comment about “how would the other Doctors react” words to that effect, enjoy!. **9th Doctor:** He would call them all stupid and plead for them to travel in the TARDIS. Ultimately, he would leave them to their fate, respecting their choice. He would say something like “oh so you’re gonna go out into vast unknown and pick up where your ancestors left off? You couldn’t even change a light bulb without that DOT trying to help you”. **10th & 14th Doctor:** He would use his sonic screwdriver to disable the boat's engine, forcing the survivors to board the TARDIS. Once they’re on board, he'd display a look of disappointment, silently questioning humanity's shallowness. When dropping them off, the TARDIS doors would close, leaving Lindy and the Doctor's faces framed as the credits roll. Da dun dun, da dun dun, etc. **11th Doctor:** He would try to reason with them, breaking down their flawed worldview. The Doctor would surmise that Ricky was too famous and had a real name and that Lindy left him to die. Just like Ricky the Doctor and Ruby was considered outcast. The Doctor would say "If that’s how you want it to be, so be it, but I hope you see the universe for what it truly is." Feeling hopeless, he'd let them go on the boat but the people on the boat would see Lindy for what she truly is. **12th Doctor:** He would mock them and eventually disable the boat with his sonic screwdriver. He would wait it out until the monsters came to attack. The Doctor wouldn’t just go until his unanswered questions were answered. He wouldn’t get any closure but would say “where did these creatures come from. why are the things eating everybody and going through names like a phone book. Why you? Why any of you for that matter makes you so special? They attacked your home world yes but why? Creatures attack for two reasons. (A) they are threatened so they lash back and defend or (B) and I like option (B) you just look yummy! so please tell me why are you and your ignorance so important hmm” Lindy says “I don’t know! and I don’t care!” The Doctor replies “fat lot of good you are… that goes for all of you… and I was so nice to you, too nice…” he then powers the boat back up and receives a reluctant, meaningful thank you from Lindy. Ruby would say “you can’t just leave them here” the Doctor would tell Ruby “THEY… already did”. **13th Doctor:** Sympathizing with their losses, she’d say, "I know what it feels like to be the last of your kind," but would ultimately leave them to their fate, similar to the 9th Doctor. **15th Doctor:** Was enraged by their ignorance, the same ignorance that they have had their entire lives, living in a literal bubble and would find some humour in the irony. Knowing he can’t save everybody he respects their own destiny much like he respects the 14th Doctors for choosing to stay on Earth. He’s at peace with the outcome, even if he didn’t like it. We see this in the episode so good job. 👍 I’m intrigued to see this Doctor in more episodes like this. --- **Fun Alternatives:** **War Doctor:** He would land and simply move on without an episode. Hell he doesn’t even have a companion. The War Doctor just wouldn’t be here. If he was however and this took place before the **DAY OF THE DOCTOR:** he would echo the 2nd and 9th Doctors actions. From this episode he would seek out the 11th Doctor. (Insert timey wimey reason here 🤣 the War Doctor just wouldn’t of been travelling) **Fugitive Doctor:** She’d laugh at their predicament and brag that without her, they’d be doomed, provoking some to follow her into the TARDIS while others, like Lindy, still board the boat. **1st Doctor:** He’d "contaminate" them, by touching Lindy and a few others creating a divide. When confronted, he’d assert his right to intervene. “Young lady I have just saved your life and if you like it or not I have every right” leading to a conclusion similar to the 10th and 14th Doctor's. (Which is the same Doctor but whatever) **2nd Doctor:** Warning them of their lack of survival skills, he’d let them face the consequences, similar to the 9th Doctor and the War Doctor. **3rd Doctor:** Finding the irony in their situation similar to the 15th incarnation, he’d advise them that their hard-fought journey would be wasted due to their lack of survival skills. Eventually, he’d persuade them to board the TARDIS, expressing that humanity still has much to learn. The Doctor would say “Being on the outside looking in is sometimes the best cause of action to resolve a situation like this. If everybody has their head in the sand then nobody could look out for one another”. **4th Doctor:** He’d argue that despite their differences, they’re essentially the same and offer them a safer alternative in the TARDIS, mirroring the 3rd Doctor's outcome. “Sure we come from different… WAY different backgrounds. But would you rather be safe than be out there with those things? You didn’t know that those creatures was here when YOU was HERE Lindy and now that you can see TRULY see… open your eyes, would you want to take that risk?” He would then eat a jelly baby and then offer one to Lindy. Lindy would say “what’s this? 🤷” and be hesitant to take the jelly baby in front of everyone she knows. The Doctor would reply “someone trying to help”. **5th Doctor:** Reacting similarly to the 15th Doctor but with more restraint, he’d ultimately hint at wanting to follow them for answers. This would set up a dialogue-heavy part two episode, exploring themes of technology dependence and his own reliance on the TARDIS. “what am I without you hey?”. (It would be another 29 years before the Doctor calls the TARDIS “sexy”) **8th Doctor:** Shocked by their refusal, he’d call them childish and plead for them to reconsider. When Lindy rejects his help, he’d be left silently reflecting on how many others he has failed, pondering if he’s seen that face of distrust before. --- Okay, so I haven’t watched any episodes of the 6th or 7th Doctor, so I’m not sure how they would react. (One day I will binge those episodes) That's how I imagine each Doctor would handle the situation in that episode. If you’ve read this far, I hope you enjoyed it! --- Okay my rant, why not. For the episode itself I didn't pick up on the racist or microaggressive undertones that others are discussing. To me, Lindy's perception of Ricky as "smart" and therefore "dangerous" is more about her own insecurities. This is highlighted when she faces Ricky with the DOT, just like Ricky she was too smart for her own good. Lindy distrusts the Doctor and remains isolated in her own emotional bubble. This dichotomy of choosing the lesser of two evils is established from the start of the episode. Lindy's life is controlled by her concern over how others perceive her. She acts to protect herself, and if she were truly against Ricky for racist reasons, she would have exposed him when they first met by revealing she knew his real name. (Because Ricky isn’t like the rest of the people in her life, he hardly uses his bubble. Ricky comes across as someone who’s alone but through this disaster others can finally see him) Lindy idolises Ricky because everyone follows him and she wants to be like him. Throughout the episode, Lindy interacts with others based on her desire to maintain her image. She shows disdain when another girl asks, "Where has everyone gone? I need new friends." (Lindy looks slightly disgusted even listening to this woman) Lindy doesn't want to be an outcast because it would ruin her image, leading her to the same fate as Ricky. She dismisses Goth Paul because his behavior doesn't align with her reality. “Don’t care!” *swipes Goth Paul away* Alternatively, if the episode is about racism, it doesn't hold up logically. Lindy would only accept help from white people, excluding Goth Paul, the girl looking for friends, and Ruby, but not trust black people solely because of their race. This interpretation seems far-fetched. Lindy’s behavior towards the Doctor and Ruby isn't personal-it's about not caring for unfamiliar faces. She doesn’t know the Doctor at the start of the episode so she swipes right. She listens to Ruby because Ruby compliments Lindy’s outfit. Lindy calling her super popular friend is a survival mechanism to maintain her status. Because if Lindy’s friends are dead she’s considered to be a nobody or a looser. Hell she doesn’t even like poor people cause all of her friends are rich and she only knows rich people. In reality, Lindy's actions are about fitting in and being accepted, not racism. If the episode were about racism, wouldn't Ricky, a white character, have survived and advocated for everyone to listen to the Doctor? (They might not have listened because everyone is trapped in their own bubble) The racism or microaggression angle doesn't make sense. Lindy’s behavior is about preserving her image, shaped by her isolated, elitist upbringing. People interpret things based on their perspectives. I see a sci-fi show exploring broad themes about technology, communication, and human interaction. If someone views Lindy as racist, that's their interpretation. However, the Doctor’s reaction wasn't about racism; it was about people being unable to break free from their bubbles to see the world's beauty. Thanks for reading my rant. 😊

ANOTHER FANTASTIC BIT OF RUBBISH ON TV CANT WAIT FOR THE SEASON TO END AND RTD EAT HUMBLE BUMBLE PIE ANY CHANCE OF ENDING THE SERIES THE BBC COULD ALWAY REPLACE IT WITH THE TEST CARD

Ncuti Gatwa is the worst doctor

Heavy-handed-- and racist-- rubbish.

I think it has the record for dumbest story with zero imagination! creatures were wasted

jesus, this was a terrible episode, don't you see that??

it was rather ham-fisted, wasn't it? but honestly..the show has a habit of introducing plot elements that are never revisited again. the vashta nerada, the emojibots..all negative endings that the doctor survived but didn't really FIX diddly-squat. No effort made to contact this rampant AI that somehow created an army of slugs to anhillate a civilization on not one but two planets. no details on the "great abrogation" or what happene dot all the black people that Lindy is so cartoonishly dismissive of...just a message dumbed down to the point that any media-saturated zoomer could understand if they bother to spare the brain cell.