When we last left the Doctor, Yaz, and Dan, they were in the TARDIS with the Thanos-like dust called the Flux heading straight for them, ready to absorb them out of existence while Earth remained under the safe guard of the Lupari. How does the fam get out of this jam? And what else besides some Sontarans and a war await them? Let’s try to make some sense of this second chapter of Doctor Who: Flux. And remember: Spoilers!
1. The Power of The Flux
While in last week’s episode we saw the destructive power of the Flux, wiping out entire planets in a breath, we also see that the Flux can mess with time and space in other ways. Instead of absorbing the TARDIS, it throws it and its occupants back in time to the Crimean War, specifically on the Siege of Sevastopol. The Doctor and fam meet Mary Seacole, the proprietor of the “British Hotel” on the frontlines, treating soldiers. It’s a very brief meeting for Yaz and Dan, as they’re zapped out of existence from Crimea to parts unknown soon after arriving. Dan eventually ends up back in a very changed Liverpool, while Yaz is off on a mysterious spaceship.
Obviously the Flux is at the control of the Swarm, and they’ve made this decision not to wipe out the Doctor just yet, but they are going to put every obstacle in her way. Including everyone’s favorite Doug the Potato-esque aliens, the Sontarans!
2. Sontaran Spuds
The Sontarans crack me up whenever I see them. They’re the types of aliens that talk a big game, but can be easily taken down by a rock aimed at the right spot, or a little “not the mama” moment with a frying pan. The bigger their egos are, the harder they fall!
It makes me forgive what is starting to be the modus operandi for this season – – bringing out the greatest hits of Doctor Who for a farewell tour. (The trend continues into next week – – the trailer at the end of this episode showed a meetup with the Cybermen.) But this has to be done right, in the service of the story. Last week the Weeping Angels had no connection to the main plot, and this week the Sontarans just appear to be conveniently using a battleground for their war with the Doctor, with no connection to that setting. In fact, you could swap in any other war, from the American Revolution to the Gulf War without changing the plot, and you would get the same result. That’s . . . not a good sign.
3. The Doctor at Her Best
While 19th century Crimea doesn’t provide much past window dressing for the plot, it does introduce us to Mary Seacole, a nursing pioneer perhaps not too well known outside of Britain. Doctor Who has done well when it works with historical elements, and it’s also wonderful to see them highlighting women of color whose stories don’t often end up front and center in history books.
A Black British-Jamaican woman who could be considered the first nurse practitioner in existence, Seacole had applied to the British War Office to head to the Crimean front as a nurse, but was denied. Undeterred, she said “fine, I’ll do it myself” and went to Crimea to set up her “British Hotel” to treat soldiers. Her work ethic and natural curiosity (and willingness to see and believe and not question) makes her a good temporary companion to the Doctor to handle this situation, but also frustrating since you have two perfectly good companions right there.
But where they’ve been sent does still let them be part of the story . . . or at least one of them, anyway.
4. Where’s Yaz and Dan?
After Yaz and Dan get zapped out of Crimea, they find themselves in two very different locations. Dan finds himself back in 21st century Liverpool, but a very different one. The Sontarans are in charge and he’s thisclose to being in big trouble for breaking curfew. (We also get to meet the senior Mr. and Mrs. Lewis, which help to explain more of Dan’s character.) Armed with nothing more than a wok, Dan plays action hero around the shipyards of Liverpool, with a little bit of help at the end from his trusted Lupari friend Karvinista.
Continued belowMeanwhile, Yaz finds some folks that are, like her, transported out of time: first one of the gentlement from 1821 Liverpool, and then Vinder. (Remember Vinder? He was the first victim of the Flux.) Vinder’s figured out that something is wrong where they’re at and he needs some help fixing it. And that’s that. Outside of their little meet-cute and some mysterious “WWTDD” showing up on Yaz’s hand, we don’t get to see much of her this episode. And that’s a shame. While it’s necessary to let Dan have his hero moment, to build the confidence he needs to go with the Doctor on further adventures, leaving the perfectly competent Yaz off to the side is a damn shame.
But perhaps these complaints of mine are premature. Let’s stick around on this ship and see what else we find.
5. A Place Out of Time
Once the Doctor and Dan set things right in Crimea and get back to the TARDIS (who isn’t looking too well herself), the two of them end up on the same mystery spaceship. It’s actually a temple (the Temple of Atropos), inhabited by figures called the Mouri, a group that controls the orderly flow of time. (Yes, this sounds like Loki’s TVA. Yes, I am wondering how much Disney+ the writing staff watched in the offseason too.) Two of the Mouri aren’t in good shape thanks to the Flux, which is what Yaz and Vinder were going to try and fix.
Until Swarm (aka Purple Voldemort) and company (named Azure and The Passenger) show up. (Side note: I know Azure’s the villain, but damn she’s got an amazing wardrobe.) They taunt Yaz and Vinder and end up getting the best of them, and one of the Mouri in the process.
And that’s when the Doctor and Dan find everyone: Swarm and his partisans in control of the ship, imprisoning Yaz and Vinder as Mouri. Touch them, and everyone ends up dead.
This makes the Flux look like a bit of dust bunnies a bit by comparison.
We’ll see you next week for “Chapter Three: Once, Upon Time” and let us know what you thought of the episode in the comments!
