Yahoo News Doctor Who ep 10 wasn't quite the finale we wanted
'The Battle of Ranskoor Av Kolos' is a perfectly decent episode of Doctor Who. In fact, it boasts much of what has made this year's series great: strong performances from the regular and guest cast, stunning cinematography matched with terrific location work, and a sublime score from Segun Akinola.
But nevertheless, it's tough to shake the feeling throughout that there's something missing: a true sense of the epic that a grand finale really needs to set it over the top.
Partly, that's as a result of the more episodic style of storytelling this series has chosen to adopt. Though it's made the show more accessible - those ratings speak for themselves - it's also arguably robbed it of a sense of momentum this year. This finale has arrived feeling almost like any other episode, with little sense of build-up or anticipation.
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That failure to culminate on something larger - at least in terms of a grand old 'Bad Wolf'-style series arc - wouldn't be so big a problem if 'The Battle of Ranskoor Av Kolos' had a compelling enough narrative of its own. But like 'It Takes You Away' last week, this episode's enjoyable but all a bit muddled, with too many ideas and concepts vying for attention.
In particular, the story's setting – a planet that emits “violent psychotropic waves” and makes you lose your sense of self – is a fascinating concept that isn't explored enough. It ends up as primarily a plot device, with Mark Addy's lone soldier Paltraki remaining amnesiac just long enough for the Doctor (Jodie Whittaker) to piece together herself what's been going on.
This episode does, however, have one considerable saving grace – no pun intended. Where it succeeds, admirably, is in paying off this series' biggest *emotional* arc - Graham (Bradley Walsh), and to a lesser extent Ryan (Tosin Cole), having to deal with the loss of Grace.
Tooth-faced "Tim Shaw" might never have been all that memorable an antagonist - in fact, his antics were the least interesting part of 'The Woman Who Fell to Earth' - but his return here as the series' Big Bad unlocks what is easily the most fascinating aspect of this episode: Graham’s inner conflict.
Already the most layered and interesting of the new companion characters, here, we see another different side to Graham, grave and vengeful – the brief scene in which he confesses his plan to avenge Grace, admitting his willingness to defy the Doctor and even give up life in the TARDIS, is one of the most powerful moments this series has had to offer.
Eventually, he of course opts to take the moral high ground and spares his wife's killer, as we always knew he would, but it's still satisfying to have watched him tussle with the choice, and properly debate the issue of whether or not his vengeance is justified. Ryan’s obvious retort to Graham's plan - “You think that’s what Nan would want?” - is batted away by a matter-of-fact response. “No, I think your Nan would want to be alive.”
Grappling with how best to get justice for Grace is a decent series pay-off not just for Graham as a character but for his growing relationship with Ryan too: it feels truthful that the the younger man accepting the elder as his surrogate granddad wasn’t a fix-all, that the pair still have issues to hash out, and feelings to talk through.
But while it delivers a couple of gratifying emotional pay-offs, 'The Battle of Ranskoor Av Kolos' still lacks a sense of grandeur that we’ve come to expect from Doctor Who series closers. It doesn't help, of course, that we're teased post-credits with what looks to be a genuine blockbuster - with Daleks? - on New Year's Day.
Perhaps it’s even unfair to judge series 11 as a whole, and this episode's place in it, without having seen ‘Resolution’ – beyond just the New Year pun, that title does suggest that the special will serve as a more proper climax to the show's 2018 series.
If that's the case, then 'The Battle of Ranskoor Av Kolos' works well enough as a 'mini-finale' of sorts – not wholly satisfying, but enough to hold us over for the next three weeks, providing that January 1 delivers the goods.
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