This week, television’s wibbly-wobbly-est, timey-wimey-est sci-fi series continued the welcome tour for its diverse collection of fans by bringing in “New Who” heavy-hitter Steven Moffat to pen the third entry in the latest season of Doctor Who. If last week’s premiere left fans a bit split over their takes on the ideal camp-to-drama ratio in an episode of Doctor Who (some folks were down on booger monsters and dance numbers), this week took aim at the folks who prefer a bit of a gut-punch from The Doctor.
Moffat’s “Boom” tones down the color and camera winks to drop us on a smoky battlefield. Ncuti Gatwa’s bouncy and lovable new Doctor, donning a more muted (though still fashionable) costume design, is left to stand as still as possible on an AI-nightmare landmine. Meanwhile, Millie Gibson’s Ruby Sunday takes advantage of this moment to challenge the Doctor’s wisdom for the first time and showcase her own decision-making as she steps willingly into a crater to soothe and support her trapped friend. Of course, it’s not all doom and gloom. We eventually get to enjoy the awe-inspiring skyscape of Kastarion 3 and take in a cute moment in which Gatwa’s Doctor mimes out celebratory drumming. “Could you write a diary in drums? I think I could,” muses The Doctor.
Of course, Moffat can’t quite seem to make it through the episode without dropping his female lead on death’s doorstep.
Moffat’s name understandably carries a lot of weight in the Whoniverse. He has penned some of the series most well-loved and critically acclaimed episodes, including some of this reviewer’s all-time favorites, like “The Girl in the Fireplace,” “Blink,” and “Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead.” Conversely, Moffat also raised some ire during his time as showrunner for his increasingly complicated mystery boxes, high-concept twists, and sometimes underwritten female characters. He is a sort of fulcrum point for the sometimes conflicting elements that Whovians look for in their ideal iterations of the program. For all of the excitement that came with Moffat’s return this week, there was also a counterbalance of frustration from fans who resented the sort of preordained greatness anticipated for this episode versus a more lackadaisical critical attitude toward the show for previous episodes of the current season and also during the Chibnall/Whittaker era.
If that’s not enough baggage for you, we also get to spend some time with leaked season two companion actress Verada Sethu as Mundy Flynn. When set photos of Sethu first surfaced, they spawned a wave of ugly rumors that Millie Gibson had been unceremoniously replaced. Many rumors irresponsibly implied that Gibson was not up to the task. Eventually, the creative team revealed that we’ll be spending time with both Gibson and Sethu together in the TARDIS next season, though Russell T. Davies’ cryptic comments imply that Sethu probably won’t be the same version of the character we meet in “Boom.” Only time will tell if her personality shifts due to time shenanigans or if Sethu will simply join the long line of companions (and at least one Doctor) who appeared in other roles before joining team TARDIS.
Fortunately, “Boom” manages to shoulder all of this metafictional baggage and remind Whovians that this program always has and always will be a collection of diverse tones, attitudes, and styles. It even finds time for a couple of nostalgia bumps: Fifteen delivers a Tennant-style “so, so sorry” and later experiences a sudden hankering for some Smith-era fish fingers and custard. Of course, one thing that always remains consistent is the show’s throughline of compassion. As long as that holds true, individual fan preferences don’t really matter. It’s okay to sit back and have a good time.
This episode of Doctor Who certainly fits that mold. We explore one of the show’s most important themes: the undeniable and absolute value of every individual life. The Doctor’s mishap with the landmine manages to unleash a tidal wave of real-world political implications that threaten this philosophy. We not only evoke the lasting dangerous impact of irresponsible munitions deployment in global struggles, but we also call out the entire military-industrial complex. Eventually, the stakes get even higher when we learn that the mine powers its explosion by converting the energy of the victim; unfortunately, Time Lord energy is so powerful that Fifteen becomes a cataclysmic weapon of mass destruction that could destroy a quarter of the planet. Yikes. On top of those layers, the sleek, clean design of the mine, complete with bright green lights (they look great on a showroom floor) and automated threat assessment features, remind us of the dangers of AI, and the loss of humanity that comes with the development of more and more detached weaponry (drone strikes, etc.).
On top of those call signs, the episode executes an effective satirical turn when Splice’s “dad” confirms that the Villengard Corporation’s “algorithm” is not only designed for economic efficiency, but also to pit armies against…themselves; it turns out that these religious warriors aren’t laying down their lives and families for a faith or a cause – they are dying for no purpose other than to line the pockets of Villengard’s investors. Trusting blind faith over the value of individual humanity is the cardinal sin here. As The Doctor puts it: “Faith – the magic word that keeps you never having to think for yourself.”
All of those sordid traps are alive and well on real-life contemporary Earth, and “Boom” forces us to grapple with the weight of those horrors on our own level of understanding. If you are well-versed in geopolitical conflicts, you will find yourself drawing any number of dark connections. If you are a bit less well-versed in world politics, you can’t miss the irony of a killer “ambulance” offering literally robotic and empty “thoughts and prayers.”
In terms of the overall season, the most important development here is Ruby’s growth as a companion. Yes, she is a mystery box (and perhaps quite literally a puzzle box in the eyes of Sarah Jane Smith fans…if you know, you know), but we also know she is a caretaker like her adoptive mother and an accomplished musician. This week, we learned a bit more. Ruby’s compassion and skills as a caretaker run much deeper than pinching the cheeks of cute babies. The way she so naturally gravitates toward The Doctor in his time of need in this episode is legitimately moving. When he tries to get her to toss him a counterweight (or gross, veiny, condensed human remains tube, if you prefer), she insists on stepping forward and steadying the exchange with a song; the handoff works (where was she when Indiana Jones tried to replace that golden idol with a counterweight!?).
Ruby’s complex relationship with The Doctor also continues to progress; the subtle undercurrent of ownership The Doctor has been aiming at Ruby surfaces once again. His word choice in trying to protect Ruby from stepping toward a potential landmine blast seems particularly uncharacteristic and commanding: “Ruby, I forbid it.” We still haven’t heard back from The Doctor’s secret DNA scan back in “Space Babies,” but this reviewer is eager to see some tension between Doctor and companion when this element of their otherwise rosy relationship comes to light.
Of course, the mystery box element of Ruby also gets plenty of screen time. Once again, she is able to manifest snow from the depths of a memory, and she briefly wigs out the killer ambulance when it is unable to identify her parents (another rough day for Ruby). Speaking of killer ambulances, we get the fifth overall appearance from actress Susan Twist. She was there at the dawn of “mavity” and we haven’t shaken her since then. She may turn out to be little more than a red herring, or simple evidence of a twist involving other actors, but some folks wonder if the actress’s name is a clue in and of itself. Could The One Who Waits have something to do with The Doctor’s granddaughter and first companion, Susan Foreman? She did get a conspicuous name drop back in “The Devil’s Chord.”
In any case, this episode was much more focused on humanity than the overarching goals of the season. Fans who prefer their “Who” a bit smaller and a bit more personal likely welcomed the change of pace, and it’s hard to imagine that folks who were already enjoying the season didn’t also have a good time watching Ruby and Fifteen’s relationship develop a bit more nuance.
If the preview for next week is any indication, it looks like more nuance is on the way. Ruby seems to be on her own in a creepy seaside village looking for The Doctor. Let’s see what Millie Gibson can do when they hand her the reins!
 in the latest Doctor Who episode, 'Boom' written by Steven Moffat.){kind=link}