Dr. Who Reaction 11x9 - It takes you away
Added 2024-12-14 15:00:08 +0000 UTC
Comments
"This is a separate exiled universe that is also a consciousness.", "That's what Granny Five said. A conscious universe. She also said that Granny Two was a secret agent for the Zygons, but she seems bang on with this one.", Yasmin and the Doctor, "It Takes You Away" It isn't a favourite of mine but it isn't terrible. And the emotional bits of Graham having to deal with the loss of Grace again leading to some bonding with Ryan ... well, yeah - ok. You're right in deconstructing the story into three parts and not having much time for story resolution. Actually, in thinking about it, I could imagine a version of this episode where the whole anti-zone/flesh-moth/Ribbons bit was just dropped completely (there could still have some kind of unpleasant but quick transit between the two planes). And that would give you more time for a more complex resolution. The first part with the blind Hanne left alone in the house by her father is fine. Hanne was played by Eleanor Wallwork and was the first blind actor to play a blind character on Doctor Who. "My own form is endless, but this frog is a form that delights me, as it once delighted Grace.", The Solitract, "It Takes You Away" Skipping over the second part (which doesn't add much to the story for me), I don't really feel much from the resolution in the final part. I don't have any problems with a talking frog but I just don't really get why (story-wise) the Solitract is appearing as a frog (just because it kind-of liked them as Grace did ???). The other forms the Solitract has used have been to tempt someone to stay with it - but the Solitract is not doing that now, it's just chatting with the Doctor - so I think you could have had something more emotional here (perhaps a cameo of a previous companion and provide another pseudo-companion separation?) "What if you do something it hasn't dealt with before, like reverse the polarity or something?", "Yasmin Khan, you speak my language.", Yasmin and the Doctor, "It Takes You Away" We love Doctor Who catch-phrase callbacks - "Reverse the polarity" is a famous one that we, Doctor Who viewers, always get a thrill about. BTW: Your worst rated episode was "The Curse of the Black Spot" at 6.1.
Andrew Vignaux
2024-12-18 05:26:35 +0000 UTCThis is hands down one of if not my favourite episode of all of Jodieβs era. It feels perfect and it gets better on every rewatch. It feels creepy, it feels wacky and it feels so sci-fi and fantasy and I love it. This is my favourite episode of the series, followed by the woman who fell to earth (episode 1) btw the frog was supposed to represent graceβs love for frogs, and the reason why Ryan had the chat with Graham is because it was his grandmother and he had the closest bond and connection with Graham.
DoctorWho
2024-12-15 01:33:51 +0000 UTCI really like this story. It starts off seemingly creepy especially with the title It Takes You Away but what we end up with is a beautiful story about loss and dealing with grief. With Eric's it shows how it took him away from his daughter. And his reluctance to leave because if you have a chance to spend more time with a lost loved one how do you decide the moment to say goodbye and leave? In many ways its similar to the bit in A Christmas Carol with the Matt Doctor when Kazan keeps his love frozen because she only has one day left and as he says how do you decide which day to have as the last day. The scenes between Graham and Grace are touching and I love how he comes to realise she's fake when it comes to Ryan. And then the whole bit by the Doctor saying about how she made a new friend, a universe and how to say goodbye which is an amazing metaphor for how someone can be your whole universe and how it's hard to say goodbye. The one thing I wasn't sure of first viewing was the frog but noe I love it. It just seems perfect for Doctor Who. This is a 4/5 for me and I have it ranked 43rd/140. I liked it more than least weeks.
Jade Ellis
2024-12-14 22:11:02 +0000 UTCI had high hopes for this episode at the beginning, it was very creepy. But very quickly descends into nonsense. I loved the ending though with Graham and Ryan finally bonding. I feel the ImDB rating for the series as a whole has been unfair and I will defend this episode against the haters. Bringing Grace back briefly only underlines what a great companion she would have been. A shame that she was killed off so soon in the series. Onto the next one.
Jenny Smyth
2024-12-14 18:41:09 +0000 UTCThis episode certainly divides people. Most agree with you as you can see from the IMDB rating. A minority, including me, really like it. I an perfectly happy with the three sections of the story. Set in different zones but all connected. I think that the interaction between Graham and the fake Grace are heart-breaking and the resolution where he rejects her because she doesn't care about Ryan works for me. Ribbons is a hilarious and creepy side character. And the idea of a sentient universe that can create facsimiles of people you have lost is a great idea for me. I do agree that the explanation about how this sentient universe "Solitract" came to exist just doesn't work. Too much exposition involving ideas we have never heard before "oh, have I never mentioned this before?". No Doctor you haven't. And you're over-explaining it now. Let the explanations emerge from the story. Don't just dump half a ton of information on us all at once. The sentient universe manifesting itself as a frog, because Grace liked them, is bonkers. But I ended up, kind of liking it. The Solitract learns from the people it has met and because Graham knows that Grace loved frogs, it does too. Keeping Grace's voice was a bit pointless though and the final resolution to the problem of the Doctor being stranded there was too rushed and contrived. Mind you I could say that about a few Doctor Who resolutions to otherwise great stories! But those things don't spoil the whole episode for me. Not by a long chalk. The ideas themselves, the structure of the story overall and the emotional impact all worked for me. And Ryan consoling Graham because they knew Grace the best was a .lovely little scene. Especially when Ryan finally called Graham "granddad". Maybe the others just didn't k now what to say to him. Ryan didn't at first but he hit on the right words in the end. OK, I'm sentimental in my old age!
Stephen Males
2024-12-14 18:22:16 +0000 UTCYou,me and IMDB - for once,we all agree. (That rhymes. Yay!) Your initial summing up expresses my opinion exactly: "Just another 'meh' standalone"
Ian Smith
2024-12-14 17:43:37 +0000 UTC
