Editor’s note: As this series has marched on, I’ve needed a few days to gather my thoughts for these written reviews. To see my reaction to them shortly after they air, subscribe to our TikTok channel @inreviewmovies.
Showrunner Russell T. Davies have really kept us on our toes this season. We’ve already seen a companion die, be brought back to life, spend an entire lifetime without the Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa) before being reset to her present-day self, as well as the oddness of space babies.
Last week’s episode was no exception. “Dot and Bubble” fees right out of “Black Mirror,” in which we follow the rich and entitles Lindy Pepper-Bean (Callie Cooke) in the futuristic world of Finetime. We don’t know much more about the setting other than the fact that it’s on some colony world surrounded by a shield that keeps its residents in.
The gimmick this episode is social media — everyone has a metal dot projector that creates a virtual bubble where everyone can talk to their friends and browse the web. However, it’s so invasive and the people of Finetime have become so reliant on it, that they’re unable to walk without the bubble’s help.
Lindy is almost immediately surprised by an incoming message from the Doctor, whom she blocks out of disgust despite the fact that he’s trying to warn her of monstrous slugs that have been eating the settlement’s residents, which the dots are oblivious to.
The concept is executed really well and creates a unique sense of dread, as while the slug monsters would be nonthreats to modern audiences given their slow crawls, they are immensely challenging for the Finetime residents who have little practice walking by themselves. In fact, many residents prefer to reject reality altogether and decide to continue to listen to their bubbles regardless of the obvious danger.
I will now talk spoilers. If you haven’t seen the episode yet, close this review.
The Doctor and Ruby Sunday (Millie Gibson) are stuck outside of the settlement’s security, forcing them to use the bubble system to communicate to Lindy. Their objective is to steer the residents through underground tunnels that will take them outside the settlement.
However, once there, the Doctor offers Lindy and company refuge on the TARDIS, which they refuse. I initially misinterpreted this as them being distrustful of outsiders because of their snobbish demeanors and the prevalence of the class commentary strewn throughout the episode (these people work for about 2 hours a day and have rich parents). But according to Davies, the residents of Finetime are all racist and reject the Doctor exclusively because of that.
This leads to a great performance by Gatwa at the end of the episode in which he declares he doesn’t care what they think, he’ll save them regardless. But unlike the swaying monologue of Christopher Eccleston, David Tennant, Matt Smith and Peter Capaldi (all white actors), Gatwa’s falls on deaf ears, as the people of Finetime choose instead to take their chances in the “wild woods” outside the settlement, where they are all but certain to die.
This complicates the episode and I foresee that my opinion of it will evolve over time. Its futuristic social media concept is executed wonderfully, leading to a memorable episode bolstered by a creative horror concept. And I appreciate what Davies tried to do with the twist at the end — I just think that its racial commentary needed more time to be fully fleshed out.
There are three instances where Finetime’s racism appear before the ending, none of which completely spell it out for audiences, which has led to this episode being widely misinterpreted. The first instance is when Lindy blocks the Doctor and not Ruby, though it is worth noting that the Doctor’s call did have a literal red warning message that his friend request was unsolicited, whereas Ruby successfully impersonated an admin. The second comes when the Doctor contacts Lindy again, and she claims she doesn’t recognize him despite having talked to him earlier in the day. The last instance is when Lindy claims that the Doctor isn’t “as stupid as he looks,” before the rest of the “saved” residents reject the Doctor’s offer to help, with one even calling the TARDIS voodoo.
In the past few days, I’ve found myself wondering if this is brilliant or perhaps too subtle. On one hand, it creates for a unique and engaging viewer experience, but on the other, its ending also feels like it was the result of a rushed rewrite — a late concept thrown in last minute.
It’s still miles above the Whittaker era’s scripts. But while this episode has great elements, I don’t think it quite achieves its strides. It’s still a very good episode in what has so far been a strong season, but I think with a little more polish, this had the potential to be one of the show’s best.
“Doctor Who” Season 1: Episode 5 “Dot and Bubble” gets an 8/10
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