The episode starts with the Doctor stepping into a fairy circle, causing him to vanish and locking the Tardis. I’m not a huge fan of this season’s “magic is real” vibe, but so far it tracks.
A woman appears and follows Ruby around. She ends up in a pub where she asks about the fairy circle. After a long build up explaining just how serious the fairy circle is, it turns out no that’s just racist. Pretty funny, and it works with the magic theme. So how does the fairy circle actually work then? No fucking clue, they never explain it. As far as I can tell it just exists for this bit.
So this woman makes everyone near her hate Ruby. Everyone. Why? Who fucking knows. They never explain why. It just does. It leads up to a politician getting scared and ruining his career. Again pretty clever. But again no explanation is ever given as to how or why this happens.
Then Ruby dies. And when she dies she becomes the scary woman. Then she goes back in time. How? Why? No idea. It just happens and you gotta deal with it.
So apparently the Doctor stepping on a fairy circle that doesn’t do anything makes him vanish for no reason, creates an old copy of Ruby that follows her around for no reason, who scares everyone for no reason, then when Ruby dies undoes everything for no reason.
This. Makes. No. Sense.
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Let me add the “teleporting” stuff during the train ride. Also, what determines in which direction the blurry woman appears? And why didn’t Ruby - in all those years - not try to throw a stone or a bottle after her - just to see what happens? And if that scary lady really was “old Ruby”, how did she endure days/weeks/years outside in the rain?
Thinking about this, when Ruby was pacing around inside the pub while the other guy went outside… that blurry lady must’ve floated around - always keeping exactly 73 yards distance from Ruby, right?
And how did the “scary” stuff even work with the trained UNIT elite professionals that were explicitly briefed to “not make eye contact, don’t listen to anything”, etc.? And it even worked via radio with Kate, the snipers, etc… And suddenly, Kate wasn’t even interested in the location of the TARDIS anymore? Nor did this head(!) of UNIT say anything at all about WHY she was abandoning Ruby.
Oh, and why did the PM abandon all his plans for buying WMDs and stuff when all other people that had contact with the blurry lady just abandoned Ruby? Where’s the connection here? It clearly wasn’t the reason for the blurry lady as she was still there afterwards.
Also what is it with The Doctor stepping on things? Didn’t the fucking landmine teach him to watch his steps?
This episode was a mess IMHO. Like a fever dream - just that it was never suggested it was one.
causing him to vanish and locking the Tardis.
Pretty sure that’s been established.
If the Doctor isn’t around, security measures lock it down, even preventing the use of keys.
After a long build up explaining just how serious the fairy circle is, it turns out no that’s just racist
I took that as a reference to how people don’t believe in it, but that doesn’t stop it from being real.
Dr Who magic isn’t Tinkerbell magic, people don’t need to believe in it for it to work.
So this woman makes everyone near her hate Ruby. Everyone. Why? Who fucking knows
I think it’s not that she “says” anything, it’s that standing next to an old her, and looking at present her “breaks their brains” due to fairy magic and perception filter being crammed together. They likely still just see the blur, but subconsciously the paradox ducks with them. Like how when multi doctor episodes happen, the younger versions forget it.
Then she goes back in time. How? Why? No idea. It just happens and you gotta deal with it.
Everything weird is because of the intersection of magic and time travel fields… Someone getting thrown back into time isn’t that off the wall. Especially if viewing her life and the fairy circle as two never ending loops.
This. Makes. No. Sense.
It’s Dr Who mate… Unbelievable things happen every episode, but will likely eventually be explained by really advanced tech
So as far as this season supposed to be supernatural…
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That’s not new, in Dr Who the British royal family are all werewolves and vampires are real just aliens.
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Any sufficiently advanced tech is indistinguishable from magic. Even the Doctors tech is often confused with magic. It’s entirely possible all the “magic” is going to be tech from some alien species (maybe more than one) living among humans for a very long time even under the Doctor’s radar.
This year I think they’re just waiting instead of explaining it away with timely whiney bits until later in the season when it all gets tied up with a bow.
I think it’s not that she “says” anything, it’s that standing next to an old her, and looking at present her “breaks their brains” due to fairy magic and perception filter being crammed together. They likely still just see the blur, but subconsciously the paradox ducks with them. Like how when multi doctor episodes happen, the younger versions forget it.
Everything weird is because of the intersection of magic and time travel fields… Someone getting thrown back into time isn’t that off the wall. Especially if viewing her life and the fairy circle as two never ending loops.
When the fans have to make up explanations for an episode with no textual evidence, that’s good storytelling. I’ve had people tell me that the woman stays at 73 Yards because that’s the range of the TARDIS’ perception filter, but if that has ever been mentioned on the show, I’ve missed that little tidbit. Do people notice the TARDIS at the end of their street, then un-notice it halfway down the road?
It’s Dr Who mate… Unbelievable things happen every episode, but will likely eventually be explained by really advanced tech
It’s Doctor Who mate… even the most mysterious entities have a motive and rules. The Midnight monster is never explained, but we understand how it works, and what it wants. In Listen, it is never confirmed if the creature exists but that is tied into the story of the episode, and we still understand the concept behind the monster. In this episode things happen because they look creepy, and then it ends with what amounts to an “it was all a dream” twist.
When the fans have to make up explanations for an episode
Dude…
The show runner literally just said this season was moving away from self continaed episodes…
I don’t agree with it, but we know it’s happening.
We’re not going to end every episode neatly wrapped on and on to the next planet. Before if that happened the episode was always advertised as “part 1”. Now it’s just going to be a more connected season.
I didn’t know why the show runner felt the need to spoil the surprise till this exchange though.
When the episodes stop being self contained, let me know. We are going to get a reveal at the end of the series, no doubt, but at this point the episodes are only connected by vague references or shoehorned in scenes with Ruby making it snow. It’s no more connected than Bad Wolf or Vote Saxon. I do not expect this episode to get an explanation before the end of the season.
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I’ve had people tell me that the woman stays at 73 Yards because that’s the range of the TARDIS’ perception filter, but if that has ever been mentioned on the show, I’ve missed that little tidbit.
Kate mentions this at the café as the distance where a person with 20/20 vision can’t make out any facial details anymore. But there never was mentioned any relation to the TARDIS perception filter.
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More than that, if the old woman was Ruby, which I’m proud to say I clocked pretty early on, how did she maintain exactly 73 yards all the time? She doesn’t have magical distance sensing powers.
And apparently the ability to teleport as we saw in the train scene.
BUT - We also had a 2nd appearance of the mysterious neighbor, so I expect there will be an episode later in the series that wraps all this up tight.
I kind of expect we won’t be left without an answer before the end of the season.
It wouldn’t make sense to leave these important storylines without any answers.
Showrunner literally was just talking about how they were moving away from self contained episodes and want storylines to last longer.
It’s not just the nosy neighbor, there’s going to be a big bad revealed soon that’s been responsible for all the “magic” and likely why ruby keeps making it snow, why she resembles Rose in so many ways, and why the doctor of all people hasn’t put it together yet.
I’m betting on some kind of perception filter, some old school Bad Wolf nonsense, or Clara connection because I remember snow happening a lot during her pivotal story moments.
Like Rose and Clara both kinda got “lost” in time, past, present, and future.
It would make sense for them to still be causing some effects, or for someone using a perception filter to influence the doctor would include a perfect companion showing up who reminds the doctor of his closest companions. There’s probably other ways Ruby is reminiscent of other companions that I just haven’t noticed.
