So far, “Doctor Who” Season 1 has been a fantastic soft reboot for the show. Ncuti Gatwa brings fresh energy as the 15th Doctor to a show that was stagnating in its previous era, and Millie Gibson’s Ruby Sunday proves to be one of the most interesting companions we’ve seen in years.
But admittedly, the show might be going a little too hard and fast for new fans. Last week’s episode, “Boom,” written by former show runner Stephen Moffat, saw both the Doctor and Ruby go through heavy trauma (Ruby even dies for a time) … on their fourth adventure together.
Surely that earned her a safer, more whimsical story to clear the air?
Episode 4: “73 Yards” had other plans.
This time around, the Doctor and Ruby visit Wales, where the Doctor immediately steps on a fairy trap (seriously, after stepping on a landmine last episode, he needs to watch where he steps!) and disappears. Dumbfounded, Ruby realizes that she’s being followed by an old woman who always stays 73 yards away.
When the woman is photographed, every picture comes out blurry, even with the most advanced cameras. When anyone talks to the woman, they abandon Ruby, including her mother, as well as UNIT head Kate Lethbridge-Stewart (Jemma Redgrave). We then see Ruby live a full life without the Doctor — a heartbreaking ordeal that somehow tops the heartache of “Boom.”
I will not spoil the ending, not that it clarifies much. In fact, this episodes’ Achilles’ Heel is how lackluster its big reveal is. The supernatural elements in this show just happen without explanation, which left me confused and frustrated. I in no way expect sound science from this show, but it’s usually good at abiding by some form of its own internal logic.
What Ruby goes through in this episode is on par with the gut punch of Amy and Rory’s exit from the show. The fact that the woman makes everyone abandon her is extra cruel given that Ruby’s own mother left her as a baby.
This is the first episode where I find myself questioning show runner Russell T. Davies. “73 Yards” has a great script hampering by a terrible ending, but I think it was the wrong time to tell this story. We’ve barely gotten to know Ruby and she was already killed last episode — if you’re a new fan, I don’t blame you for dropping the show.
Maybe its placement came as a result of Season 1’s truncated eight-episode length. But if Davies wants to get new people on board, they need to see that “Doctor Who” is more than just a traumatic, dark show. We got a little of that in “The Church on Ruby Road” and “Space Babies,” but more lighter fare is needed to keep the show balanced.
“Doctor Who” Season 1: Episode 4 “73 Yards” gets a 7/10
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