Doctor Who – Boom Review

Well, that was quite the episode of Doctor Who. We got a treatise on the horrors of unchecked capitalism (timely, as always), a quick swipe toward militant religiosity (although having the military consist of various Anglican clerics of differing ranks didn’t really have enough time to gel into a statement of sorts – although, you could read into the refusal of the ambulance to aid Ruby upon realizing that she wasn’t a cleric, but again, not enough time breaking that plot point down in the script to give it the deep look it could have earned), and a really touching take on how our loved ones may no longer be with us in person but are still there for us in spirit. Honestly, that’s a lot to put into a single Who episode (especially one from Steven Moffat, who has come up with some of the strongest mini-arcs in Who history – although I’ve written on his inability to really craft compelling major arcs in the past). And it certainly felt overstuffed to me at times – we also had another moment of snow and a reminder that Ruby is our season-long mystery box, as well as the introduction of Varada Sethu’s (Andor, and the upcoming second Companion for the series) character – even if it was entertaining throughout.

My main complaint with the season as a whole is still there – this Ruby Sunday mystery, each time it remains teased with little to no movement on solving it, feels more and more tedious and like it can’t possibly live up to whatever heights the series is setting itself to hit with the eventual reveal – especially considering that the pending reveal continuing to hover over the proceedings zaps the show of its dramatic tension when Ruby is in peril. Sure, we know Who isn’t about to kill off a Companion in the third episode of the season – especially one with a mystery surrounding her, and in an episode not written by showrunner Russell T. Davies – but it was hard to muster much worry about Ruby or Fifteen’s fate when they were faced with potential death on the warring planet.

Now, I will say that I was impressed at Moffat’s willingness to dispense with his guest cast in such a quick and unsentimental manner. While that’s something I’m used to from his guest writing gigs on Who (“Silence in the Library” remains one of my absolute favorite Who episodes), it’s something that hasn’t really been a hallmark of this iteration of the series thus far. But it was nice to see that the series isn’t afraid to show its audience that sometimes, bad things happen to seemingly good people, and those who are left must learn to cope and move forward lest they, too, be left behind. It’s a message we don’t really get too often in shows that are written for wide, multi-generational audiences like this one.

But, as an episode, there was a bit too much happening to really call this one a complete success. Was I entertained? Sure. Even if I wasn’t worried about the ultimate fate of Ruby or the Doctor – or even all that interested in the potential reveal of Ruby’s parentage – I enjoyed the supporting characters and I was intrigued at the reveal that the evil capitalistic technology had manipulated the inhabitants into fighting a war against no one. The twist that the technology was actively killing off soldiers in order to maintain an acceptable casualty count was particularly chilling. But, as I mentioned earlier, there just wasn’t enough time in a 45-minute episode to really give some of these more complex themes the time they needed to really marinate and get the traction that they really need to blossom. I would have liked a two-parter here to really get into this a bit more.

As for Sethu’s introduction, one assumes the Doctor and Ruby will be popping back to the planet at some point to pick her up for an adventure, no? She’s been confirmed to be a Companion and the door was absolutely left open at the close of the episode for her return (although her coming onto the Tardis would also indicate that her young charge might no longer be around, which is a sad thought), so I guess we’ll be seeing a bit more of her. Sethu was one of the strongest supporting players in Andor’s first season (and that was a series that had almost no weak links, so her standing out the way she did with limited screen time is saying something about her work), so I’m absolutely a fan of hers and would love to see what she can do with her role (a more sardonic, sarcastic, and less bubbly Companion is always fun – especially when placed up against a Doctor like this one). I guess time will tell when it comes to just when we might see her back on our screens again.

All of that being said, I would much rather have an episode of Who that has too much going on than have one that feels too much like filler and a waste of time. So, in that vein, “Boom” was worth the watch. But man, I would have loved a couple of episodes to really dig a bit more into this planet, this technology, and just who these militant clerics are. Although, perhaps with Sethu’s impending return to the series, some of those questions will be answered.