Series 12 of Doctor Who closed with a cliffhanger where the Doctor got arrested by the Judoon. What was surprising about “Revolution of the Daleks” was it continued a few storylines from the Chris Chibnall era.
After the events of “Resolution” GCHQ comes into the procession of a Dalek battle suit. The battle suit gets stolen by Jack Robertson, the villain of “Arachnids in the UK,” after a tip-off from a corrupt government minister (Harriet Walter.) The Doctor’s companions investigate what Robertson is up to after footage of the ‘Security Drone’ leaks online.
In a Judoon prison, The Doctor is held captive and she uses that time to reflect on the revelation of “The Timeless Children.” Fortunately for The Doctor she gains an ally in prison to help her break out.
The episode had a few callbacks that will please long-time fans. These include The Doctor’s fellow prisoners and references to episodes like “The Parting of the Way” and “It Takes You Away.” It’s fan service but it was decent fan service. This fan service was also an attempt by Chibnall to appease fans who have been critical of his run.
In the past I have been critical of the Chris Chibnall era and many of the episodes he has written. But I admire how willing he was to stick to his own continuity. “Resolution” was one of Chibnall’s better episodes and it was unexpected how much that episode ties into “Revolution of the Daleks.” This episode was more interesting than simply humans being tricked into an alliance with the Daleks or do what happened in “Victory of the Daleks” where the Daleks came up with an elaborate scheme to make humans think they created them.
In this episode Robertson and Jo Patterson made drones based on the Dalek shell. The Daleks were only resurrected by Leo the scientist (Nathan Stewart-Jarrett), and he only brought them back to live because of his own hubris. Robertson showed a rare moment of scenes when he ordered the Dalek clone to be destroyed.
Chibnall avoided his usual writing trait of tell, don’t show. There was some drive to the story. Yaz, Ryan, and Graham do some investigating when they find out about Robertson’s Dalek and The Doctor coming up with plans to take out the Daleks. But the episode does solve some of its problems with deus ex machinas. Where did The Doctor get a second Tardis from? Chibnall still has a tendency to come up with interesting ideas but never explores them.
When it comes to companions Yaz was the one most obsessed with finding The Doctor. Her reaction to The Doctor coming back was one of hurt and worry. She did have a good heart-to-heart with Jack about what it’s like to travel with the Doctor. It can be an emotional journey that can end in an instant.
There has been some media speculation that The Doctor and Yaz might end up in a relationship – I hope the show avoids this storyline because we have already seen plenty of companions falling in love with The Doctor. Can’t a companion just be a friend with The Doctor, someone who’s more interested in adventure than romance?
“Revolution of the Daleks” marked Graham and Ryan’s exit from Tardis. It was an underwhelming experience since they chose to leave the Tardis. Although not every companion needs a dramatic exit. The episode ended up on a nice bookend where Graham tries to help Ryan ride a bike.
“Revolution of the Daleks” does set up a couple of potential storylines for the future. One is a continuation of the reveal from “The Timeless Children” where The Doctor’s origins were not what she thought they were. It leads to the possibility that The Doctor may go and search for her original planet. This would be bold for Chibnall since audiences hated his retcon. The other future storyline involves Robertson because it’s suggested that he may become a recurring villain and fulfil his political ambitions.
“Revolution of the Daleks” does mark an improvement for Chibnall. But he has set the bar low, for most other showrunners “Revolution of the Daleks” would be considered mediocre at best.
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