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Five Thoughts on Doctor Who: Flux‘s “Chapter Three: Once, Upon Time”

By | November 16th, 2021
Posted in Television | % Comments

This episode of Doctor Who: Flux takes the “flux” in the title literally. Time is in a hot mess, and the Doctor is taking it upon herself to fix things.  While this was a hard episode to follow, it does in fact provide us some answers about the Doctor, Dan, and Vinder.  So let’s tell a story of “Once, Upon Time.” And remember:  Spoilers!

1. Ring The Bel(l)

No doubt viewers let out an exasperated sigh (myself included) when the opening title card said “Bel’s Story.” The last thing we need is more characters in this already overloaded cast.  Bel is a woman on a mission, traveling through a galaxy ravaged by the Flux, focused on survival and a reunion with someone, someone she loves dearly.  Between avoiding Daleks, piloting a ship through the destruction of the Flux, and taking down a few Cybermen, this is someone you don’t want to mess with.

If the trailer last week had you thinking the Cybermen were going to play a large part in this story, you would have been mistaken, as their only appearances are within Bel’s story arc. Like the Dalek cameo, these are nothing more than cameos for the sake of them, which adds only further to the disjointed nature of this entire event. And while the appearance of the Daleks and even the Ruth Doctor prove nice surprises, once again, it’s unclear what service they provide to the larger story, at least at this juncture.

2.  Check The Sound

I’ve seen some reviews of the previous two episodes pointing out the poor sound mixing in this series, and while it wasn’t something I noticed, it’s very evident in this episode.  More than one climatic moment featured background music drowning out dialogue, and in an episode that doesn’t have the smooth narrative flow of the previous one, every line is critical to keeping up with the story.

3. Time, Upon Once

As I hinted in the previous thought, this isn’t as much a linear story as it is a series of vignettes held together by a Doctor who’s trying to fix time by absorbing the time anomalies that the Swarm have put upon everyone in the Temple of Atropos.  To save everyone, the Doctor’s been shipping them off to different points in their timelines, sometimes a past they remember (in the case of Vinder), and sometimes a past that they don’t (Yaz).

While this makes for an episode that may not make much sense if you’re not carefully paying attention, we do get to find out a bit more about the two newest members of the fam. We learn in Dan’s conversation with friend/maybe love interest Diane that he was engaged once, but his fiancee left him shortly before the wedding thinking she could do better.(Dodged a bullet there you did, Mr. Lewis.)

But more importantly, we find out more about Vinder.  On his home planet, Vinder was in line for a prestigious military commission to the Grand Serpent (who may remind you a bit of Caesar Flickerman from The Hunger Games, at least in his sartorial style). The Grand Serpent isn’t the most honest of politicians, and when Vinder witnesses some serious corruption, he chooses to tell the truth and uphold his morals, even if it means a demotion to the middle of nowhere. Which is where we found him in the premiere, on an observation base in the deepest of space, just before the Flux engulfs him.

Alone that would have been enough. But you’ll recall from the very first episode Vinder recording a message for someone, right before the Flux upended his life.  That someone turns out to be Bel, who is his lover, and carrying his child.  The mission for both of these people: love.  And as the fam leaves Vinder on his destroyed home planet, looking for his fam, you have to hope that these two will find each other again.

4. The Wonderful World of Yaz

In each of the vignettes of the companions’ alternate timelines and memories, the Doctor does her best to break through to keep them apprised of the situation, which probably does more harm than good.  Of note is that rather than the Doctor, Yaz keeps showing up in Vinder’s memories.  What does this suggest about the relationship between those two? Initially, it lends itself more to the trope of possible romance for the two, but the revelation of Bel and her connections to Vinder throw that theory out the door. It could still be setting up a love triangle. But is this also a hint of a future for Yaz after her time with the Doctor?

Continued below

As a side note, there’s still more tension and irritability on the part of Yaz towards the Doctor, which is going to grow old quickly if there isn’t a motivation established.

5. Don’t Blink! 

This episode starts to set up the presence of the Weeping Angels as another of the villains wreaking havoc. They start to appear in Yaz’s memories, coming through the video games she plays with her sister . . . and eventually in the TARDIS themselves.  For a story rooted in the unpredictable fluctuations of time, they couldn’t be a better choice, taking the fear factor up to 11 with their plays on psyche. Like the Flux, they can send someone anywhere, anytime, with no hope of them returning to where they once were.

Now those Weeping Angels they can jump through mobile phones and into the TARDIS, well, anything goes.  Like taking out a whole village, which appears to be on tap for next week.

Whatever you do, don’t blink.


We’ll see you next week for “Chapter Four: “Village of the Angels” and let us know what you thought of the episode in the comments!


//TAGS | Doctor Who

Kate Kosturski

Kate Kosturski is your Multiversity social media manager, a librarian by day and a comics geek...well, by day too (and by night). Kate's writing has also been featured at PanelxPanel, Women Write About Comics, and Geeks OUT. She spends her free time spending too much money on Funko POP figures and LEGO, playing with yarn, and rooting for the hapless New York Mets. Follow her on Twitter at @librarian_kate.

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