Dr. Who Reaction 15x3 - The Well
Added 2025-09-06 14:00:08 +0000 UTCWell...... :D
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"The old name. 400,000 years ago, what was the planet called?", "It was called Midnight.", The Doctor and Shaya, "The Well" I've been looking forward to your reaction to this story knowing your fondness for the original "Midnight" episode. "This is Planet 6-7-6-7, and the atmosphere is charged with galvanic radiation.", Shaya, "The Well" When did I think that we might be back on Midnight? Well, it started with this line - but I don't claim massive credit for my memory being triggered by it. I had recently decided to rewatch *your* reaction to the "Doctor Who Confidential" episode for "Midnight". So when they mentioned "galvanic radiation" in this episode I recognised the term and my thought was "Oh, how nice! The authors are giving us fans a callback to the radiation mentioned in the "Midnight" story. (Of course UNIT had that "galvanic beam" cannon that the Toymaker used in "The Giggle" which was a similar casual reference - I love it that Who can, and does, refer to its story history.) But very quickly in after this line - with the dark wide landscape shots and some other bits of dialog, and having been primed to recall the "Midnight" episode - things started clicking into place. "We don't know what it is. We don't know what it is! Like ... like, like ... Oh! Oh, my old, old head. This planet is flooded with galvanic radiation. Where does it come from?", The Doctor, "The Well" So as the Doctor was starting to come to his realization about where they were - by pure luck I was already ahead of him. "And if you go behind it ... you die.", Belinda, "The Well" Normally, I like my Who monsters to stay consistent with their mode of attack - but I didn't really mind it in this case. It is 400,000 years later - the entity enjoys messing with people - in this story, it's doing it in a different way - ok. "It had fun. ... It played games. I think it was learning.", The Doctor, "The Well" The original "Midnight" episode was so strong and memorable that I think it might have weakened this story to reproduce the repeating game. However, you could argue that it's not really a "sequel" if all we are really doing is naming the planet and asserting that it is the same monster. But, as Merlin's Cat said, I do like that the entity remains mysterious. "You're a funny sort of nurse.", "Well, that has been said. I suppose it's common sense. Bandages, swabs ... simolin!", Mo and Belinda, "The Well" Belinda recognises "simolin" in the medical supplies - she learned about it in "The Robot Revolution" - she's clever. "Cast to Trooper 1. Aliss, turn 180.", Shaya (instructing Aliss to cause Cassio to be directly behind her), "The Well" That was a clever way for the plot to resolve the chaos being caused by Cassio. "Well, that's exactly what I needed to know. Just as I predicted. A Vindicator, in action. That's very good news. Thank you.", Mrs Flood, "The Well"
Andrew Vignaux
2025-09-11 22:41:00 +0000 UTCThis is far and away my favourite Ncuti Gatwa episode. I liked Lux as well but this one is 10/10 no notes. I wondered if it would still hold up on another rewatch and it does. I think as a sequel to Midnight, Midnight is definitely still better but I really like that they didn't just repeat Midnight they made it very different in a different setting with different abilities.
The Heavenly Void
2025-09-08 15:17:54 +0000 UTC
