by Alex Henderson, Contributing Writer
The 13th Doctor’s final hour has arrived! This is our last chance to really go out with a bang! In our final chapter to wrap up the “Whittaker Specials,” we have the Doctor (Jodie Whittaker) facing off against some of her greatest foes of all time. After learning that The Master (Sacha Dhawan) has returned and plans to recruit the Daleks and Cybermen in an attempt to finally kill her and eliminate earth, The Doctor finds herself teaming up with U.N.I.T and some old friends from her past. This finale is quite stacked — clocking in at 88 minutes, this truly is one huge adventure that tries to cover quite a bit. And I’m happy to say that for the most part, they really pull it off. It falls short in some areas, but in others it really works as one of the best episodes that celebrates Who’s legacy.
With this being a huge finale, you can feel the budget’s presence, just from how expensive everything looks on screen. It’s a shame that ever since the pandemic, we’ve stopped getting limited theatrical releases of these specials, because I would’ve been more than happy to have gone out to catch this on a big screen. The episode is directed by Jamie Magnus Stone, who’s always done well at capturing the spectacle that a show like this has to offer, while also working with actors to get the best performance out of them.
Speaking of good performances, I’m glad I finally have a chance to gush over Dhawan’s portrayal of The Master for once. He has been absolutely killing it! I’m one of those people who really wishes that this character had stayed put after their exit in the Stephen Moffat era, and I still don’t think it’s too late to retcon this incarnation and say that he’s a previous version of The Master. But with Dhawan really giving it his all, there’s no way I could’ve done this review without at least mentioning how great he’s always been in the role. If Russell T. Davies wanted to ever have this incarnation return, then I’d be more than happy to see it.
Speaking of returns, we knew going into this special that Classic Who companions such as Tegan (Janet Fielding) and Ace (Sophie Aldred) would be returning as supporting characters. This cast was already pretty stacked, so I was worried that they wouldn’t really get a whole lot to do. But to my surprise, they’re given a nice reintroduction to modern Who fans, while also finding a balance that satisfies returning ones. I hope this gives them room to return some more if they’d like, or even show up in potential spinoffs.
As I’ve mentioned for the majority of this review, this episode serves as one of the best the show has had in quite some time. But it’s definitely not without it’s flaws. The best way I can describe my thoughts on “The Power of the Doctor”as a whole is, while it’s a good episode, it doesn’t quite work as a regeneration story. This is our last chance to really say goodbye to our leading actress before the show get’s handed off to someone else, and I can’t help but feel like it was executed as an afterthought that was on someone’s checklist, as opposed to being earned or properly built up to. For 90% of the episode, it remains so focused on wanting to just be another episode that when it finally wants to wrap everything up and say goodbye to not only our Doctor, but her companions as well, it comes across as disinterested. In doing so, it feels completely rushed.
It’s a shame that a companion like Yasmin (Mandip Gill) doesn’t get a fulfilling sendoff. She’s been traveling with the 13th Doctor ever since her first episode back in 2018, and while I can’t say how she exits the show due to spoilers, just like Whittaker’s regeneration, it feels rushed. I feel really bad for Gill, and I hope someday she can return to the role to receive a proper sendoff.
Even though I think that “The Power of the Doctor”can feel a bit rushed when it comes to its conclusion, there’s no denying that for the vast majority of the episode, I found myself with a huge smile on my face. While it doesn’t stick the landing, I think it does just enough to satisfy both old and new fans of Who.
Score: 7/10
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