C+Q - It Takes You Away (2018)
This is my favourite Jodie Whittaker episode so far. I love how ridiculous it is, not just with the frog (which is my highlight of Series 11) but with things like the red caves of evil death populated by killer moths. There's a casual silliness to this episode that makes it feel more confident that most of the rest of the series. This episode tells us its story without worrying about what we think of it, whereas the rest of Series 11 is trying its hardest to be mature and sophisticated, like a 'prestige drama'. Gone is the fun and campy tradition of having the lead actor's face in the opening titles, instead replaced with the more functional and respectable credits for series producer and director. 13 45-minute episodes a year are down to 11 50-minute episodes every two years, and they're all shot in an aspect ratio you'd expect to see in a cinema, so now the TV has two black bars across the top and bottom of the screen when it's playing, because we all know film is inherently better than television, right fellas? It Takes You Away's silliness is a welcome return to Doctor Who being unapologetically the weirdest thing on TV.
I love the setting of this one, moving from Norway (a country the show never touches) to the red caves of evil death to Strange Norway. They could've so easily had the mirror take them directly from Norway to Strange Norway but I'm so glad the red caves are in there to break them up. It's like something Classic Who would do to pad out a story into a four-part serial but used in a single episode we get the benefit of the cool idea without it bogging the whole thing down to a cliffhanger. The Flesh Moths are fucking brilliant. Ribbons is brilliant. Why is he called Ribbons? Because he's brilliant, that's why. Very mad, very whimsical, very threatening and dark but in a fairytale way, never falling into adult territory. Like, nobody we care about dies, it's just good clean creepy fun.
So the stuff of this episode - the settings, the monsters, the episode-specific characters - they're all top notch, but what brings it together is that it's all about a theme: grief. This episode is the next big event in the Graham/Ryan/Grace storyline, and it's all handled beautifully. Ryan calling Graham 'grandad' at the end was cool too I guess but when is Graham going to apologise for blaming the Stenza attack from Episode 1 on Ryan's disability? Fuck it, clearly the show forgot about that so I guess I'm supposed to as well. It's nice to see Grace again.
The only big issue I have with this whole plot has nothing to do with this episode but Series 11 in general, and it's that Yaz is being given nothing. A dead loved one from Yaz's past doesn't show up to make her stay in Strange Norway, and I really wish someone did, even if just for a single beat in a single scene. It would've been a new piece of information about a character who lacks so much information. There's also the fanboy part of me that wishes Dr Who was given a temptation in the form of a returning character like River or Susan but when I think about it for more than a second I realise it would've overwhelmed the whole episode, and nothing is more tempting to Dr Who than a universe masquerading as a practical effect frog. Anyway, there's nothing I'd trade the frog for. I'll say again, my personal highlight of Series 11.
Ed Hime does a good job here building each of the three companions, giving them perspectives based on character-specific details. Ryan's had a seriously shitty childhood so his outlook is pessimistic, thinking that Hanne's father has abanonded her. Yaz is a cop, so her training leads her to notice things like there being a child in the house based on the shoes at the door. This then leads to some wonderful Graham realness when he says the house could belong to a maniac who collects kids shoes. The sandwich too, as well as being a cute callback, also shows how real and practical Graham's persective is. These three still need more in Series 12 to help them become full characters but this episode does a good job of nudging them towards three different styles of observation that make them feel atleast distinct from each other.
It Takes You Away is great. When I want to watch a Jodie Whittaker episode of Doctor Who, this is the one I go for. According to his online CV, Ed Hime is back for Series 12, and because of his strong understanding of these characters and the fact that he got the frog on TV, he's the Series 11 writer I'm most excited to see more from.