TW Watches Doctor Who The Reality War: Stunning or Sucked? S02E08

By Owen Quinn author photos copyright BBC

So, as we know, the first episode of this two-parter was simply not up to scratch. So with the Reality War, would the downward slope continue like Empire of Death?

After the cataclysmic events at the climax of part one, we learn that the Rani has been replaying this day for ages as each replay of May 23rd scrapes away the layers of the underverse which will let her free Omega. So the reset button actually works for a change. By the way, why does the Doctor keep saying Omega incorrectly?

But my scepticism was immediately burned away when Anita from Joy To The World popped up, rescues the Doctor from the falling balcony and drags him back to the Time Hotel. I liked Anita from that Christmas special and wanted her to join the Tardis and here we get a lovely catch up. After she became the manager of the Time Hotel, she looked for the Doctor, allowing us cameos from Pertwee, Matt Smith, Troughton and Hartnell but when she saw him with Rogue, she hooked up with Richie from HR and is now pregnant. Well, that’s one way of getting over the Doctor I suppose. Anita is instrumental to this because the open doors to the hotel are pumping real time back into Wish World, restoring everyone in UNIT as well as the Doctor.

Remember that last line about Poppy being his real daughter? Well, thanks to Wish World, she really is the wish of the Doctor because we learn the secret of the Time Lords. They are sterile since the genetic explosion. There can be no more Time Tots as referenced by Romana. So, young Poppy is now a hope for Time Lord society to be restored. She is made of hopes and dreams and wishes which all children are. And we know she is born from the Doctor because Ruby recognises her from Space Babies. And Belinda will burn the world rather than lose her so nice to see the Zero Room back from Castrovalva which was instrumental in the fifth Doctor’s regeneration.

Unfortunately, there is no explanation or reappearance by Susan, his granddaughter which really should have been done. But there is enough here to keep us entertained. Neither is there an explanation as to the Tardis doors exploding inwards at the end of The Interstellar Song Contest.

The reactivation of UNIT is inspiring especially as Donna’s Rose reappears. In Conrad’s world, she didn’t have a place but now she is back; the wish is breaking apart. Mel roars in on her bike and finally gets a chance to go head to head with the Rani. You can almost feel the ghost of Kate O’Mara speaking.

Everything is revealed as Mrs Flood appears to her former neighbours; Ruby and Belinda. She was supposed to be following the Doctor on all his travels but she took Christmas off, allowing Anita to rescue the Doctor.

The Omega plan fails due to his ego which is worse than ever before and poor Rani 2 is eaten alive by him while Mrs Flood flees by grabbing the time ring she used to escape the genocide of Gallifrey, last seen used by the fourth Doctor in Genesis of the Daleks. I loved the two Ranis joke but it will be lost on the younger generation.

Omega’s return in a brand new form is impressive though he could do with a lot of moisturiser. The real use of the Vindicator is revealed as the Doctor banishes him back to Hell with the power of a billion supernovas while UNIT is almost shattered in a battle with the bone beasts, a type of Reapers like those from Father’s Day. It’s a much better defeat than what was given with Sutekh. This is really the battle to save a child, one impossible child, one hope against the gods themselves. Ruby must face Conrad using the Indigo teleport harness device from The Stolen Earth as last used by Martha Jones.

Do you think all these Easter Eggs are leading to something special? No, it was internet gossip. So many elements of the 15th Doctor’s era popping up almost as if….naw, can’t be.

The triple battle, much like the climax to the last season of Stranger Things is awesome. So much going on and very enjoyable. Everyone is in there fighting for the world and this child. I have to say those creepy Borg like things with the cracked white flesh that the Rani uses were quite scary.

Hang on, I thought, why is the story over and there is still nineteen minutes to go?

The world has been restored because Ruby has the wish baby and gave Conrad his greatest wish; happiness. Mrs Flood Rani has escaped and the Doctor and Belinda, together with their daughter, are off to show her the whole of time and space. The God of wishes is now in the care of Cherry and Carla where Ruby can also keep an eye. Oh, and Susan Triad is glad not to be wearing nylon anymore. Finally, we get Ruby in the Tardis with the new family. We need more Cherry and where the hell is Morris?

As Ruby watches, Poppy fades out of existence and their memories.

Except for Ruby’s. Ruby insists Poppy was real but the Doctor doesn’t believe her and neither does anyone else but their bond makes him realise that she is telling the truth. His daughter is stuck out there, somewhere and also explains the mystery of the little child Belinda saw in The Story and The Engine.

The only way he can find her is to sacrifice himself in a supernova of regeneration energy. The Tardis flashes up all his other known faces so we get a Doctor fest of what is coming next. So begins the end of the 15th Doctor. But he is not alone.

Cue the 13th Doctor rushing into the Tardis, coat flapping. My God, I cannot believe how much of a joy it was to see her again. Maybe it’s partly because I met Jodie Whittaker last year and she was amazing. She is brilliant here as she meets her future self. We get her in full flow, criticising the new Tardis and its size with a ‘you redecorated but I don’t like it’ line. We get timey-wimey as a thing and the sad recall that she cannot tell Yaz she loves her. She is in awe of just how beautiful this incarnation is and is a real breath of fresh air. She and Ncuti shine on screen as she gives him the push he needs to find Poppy and he gives her a forgotten glimpse of the person she will become. That’s pure magic right there.

So time is shifted and Poppy is found but at a personal cost. The Doctor can never be her father just as he could never settle down and be with Rose in the parallel universe. So history has been rewritten by a degree and someone else is her father. He has also rewritten his own history with Belinda. Poppy is now the reason she wanted to get home all along. It was always about getting home to her daughter. The tragedy is, the Doctor wants it so much too but it is always out of reach for him. But as the Doctor says, the gods play tricks so you never know. He can never go home or have a family.

So, here it is. The 15th Doctor is leaving. His body is failing and the regeneration begins. Not wanting to be alone, he looks out into space at Joy, the star from Joy To The World. His body erupts with a fountain of regeneration energy among the stars in a spectacular effects sequence.

And he regenerates into….Rose Tyler??? What? What? What?

With Disney now gone, Doctor Who is going to keep going. Ncuti has been amazing. He is now forever the Doctor and what a journey he has been on. His Doctor has shone even in the shittiest of stories (yes, you Space Babies and most of season one) but if you are going to go out, then this is the way to do it. Doctor Who can still deliver after 62 years in every medium there is.

We laugh and we cry with the Doctor because the real companions are us.

As for the new Doctor? Well, who knows?