by Alex Henderson, Contributing Writer
Another year and another Doctor Who Christm— I mean, New Years special. Looking back on the history of the series, it seems that the Christmas specials were very hit or miss for both Russell T Davies and Steven Moffat. Ironically, it seems that Chris Chibnall is at his best during these specials, with each getting only better as time goes on, and I’m very excited to announce Eve of Daleks is really, really fun and surprised me. I can’t wait to go into more detail about the episode, but I do want to go ahead and tell you that later into the review I will be covering spoilers. You’ll definitely have a warning beforehand, but I found it necessary to discuss a topic this episode brings up while involving it in the discussion. So for now you’re all good!
This episode follows quite shortly after the most recent series, opening with the Doctor rebooting the Tardis due to the troubles that were affected from the Flux event. While stepping out of the Tardis, they realize they are in a storage facility on New Years Eve with the owner Sarah (Aisling Bea) and Nick (Adjani Salmon), while also being chased after as the title suggests “The Daleks.’ After they exterminate them all, they find themselves coming right back to the moment in which they first arrived at the storage facility. As they continue to explore this time loop scenario, they realize that time is inching closer by the minute with each restart, bringing them closer to midnight, which is right after they will all of been killed. So they must think wisely and carefully to figure a way out of the scenario. Right off the bat, I do want to mention that I love a good time loop scenario. It makes for a fun sci-fi version of a bottle episode, causing a much larger budget, and I think it shows in the special and visual effects department.
As I mentioned earlier, we have Bea and Salmon guest star in this special as one-off characters, and they’re both such a delight. It’s a very simple story of “Guy who’s pining over an oblivious girl.” They both have fun comedic chemistry for the time they have here, which is quite the lengthy presence in the episode, and their characters are entertaining enough that I didn’t find myself bothered with having to spend so much time with them. They are absolutely the highlight, and If I’m ever rewatching this episode, it will more than likely be because of how much fun they are to watch. Also, while I am mainly praising the side characters, I do have to mention that Dan (John Bishop) as a companion is still quite fun, but with so little time left in this run of the thirteenth Doctor, he’s more than likely leaving soon as well, which is a shame because he’s only been in six episodes as a companion, and those six were just one stretched out storyline. Now this isn’t exactly a con for the episode; it’s just something I figured I should point out.
Because this episode is just a one-off special, there’s not too much to cover without going into spoilers so if you haven’t seen “Eve of the Daleks,” then I recommend skipping to the end at the final verdict because for now…
Spoiler Warning!
So episode towards the end of this episode, we finally have confirmation that Yasmin Khan is into the Doctor, which serves as her coming out moment, and I felt it should at least be discussed. It is after all the big thing of the episode that has fans talking, and I felt like I should at least give my two cents on it. Now I haven’t really talked about this openly except for a few close friends and family, but I am bisexual. I don’t talk about it much on my socials because I really haven’t just wanted to, or at least I never felt like pointing it out; but I figured this article would be a good place to start, so there you have it. Anyways, I bring this up because the moment Yaz comes out is not stereotypical. The way it’s presented is quite beautiful and sincere: Dan asks her why she hasn’t told the thirteenth doctor yet, and she replies with, “I haven’t told anyone… Not even myself”. This line, along with the delivery, especially the second part, hit home for me because that’s what it’s like in the beginning of discovering it. That one sentence, at least to me, holds so much weight. Because when you’re closeted, in my experience, your mind is curious. The one thing that held me back from wanting to explore it was fear. A sense of shame. The thought that you might not be seen as an equal amongst others for being slightly different. It can hold you back, and sadly for others when it comes to other categories such as being trans, non binary, or gay, it’s quite stressful. So when Yaz says this, I take that as something with a lot of meaning behind it.
I could sit here and complain that this does come mostly out of nowhere with just the fandom shippers being the ones that mainly want to see these two come together and the writers taking advantage of the opportunity, but it’s handled in a way that just feels real. That’s really saying something about a cheesy long-running science fiction show. So to close off the topic here, I see and understand why some would prefer this to have more done to build up to this moment for a better pay off, and a part of me very much agrees it could’ve done so. But at the same time, this way of approaching a character we’ve followed finally coming out feels proper. So I just can’t really knock it for doing so.
Final Verdict
If you read my last review on the site for Doctor Who: Flux then you might remember me pointing out that it just didn’t really care much for series 13, and found it to be rushed and a huge missed opportunity. But to see this one little chapter afterwards was a nice little treat that I hope to find myself revisiting quite often. It’s what I love most about Doctor Who wrapped up in an hour-long bow. I’ll definitely be picking up the blu-ray for this one. And if you’re not even a Doctor Who fan, but are a little bit curious about the show, this is a nice little peek in the series that I highly recommend.
Final Grade: A-
You can follow Alex Henderson on Twitter, Instagram, and Letterboxd