What’s the point in having a mate with a time machine if you can’t go back and see your nan when she was young?
Our first new solo writer of the series doesn’t stray too far from the type of writing we have come to expect so far from series 11, but Vinay Patel still delivers on telling a unique, heartfelt story in ‘Demons of the Punjab’. Throwing the TARDIS team back to the Partition of India in 1947 to visit Yaz’s grandma on her wedding day, they start to realise that there are strange creatures interfering with fixed events in time.
Or at least, it appears that way. As it turns out the Thijarians are assassins turned funeral conductors, travelling space and time to pay respects to those who die alone and unrecognised. Their apparent threat for the majority of the episode drives the Doctor into investigation mode, letting Jodie Whittaker showcase more of her incarnation’s insatiable curiosity and heroic stance against evil. Although the reveal that they are mere witnesses is a slight letdown to the sci-fi aspect of the episode, the real purpose of the Thijarians complements the solemnity of the historic period and makes way for a greater twist that Manish and his radicalised friends are the true “demons”.
This seems to be a running trend in series 11 – the supposedly evil monsters are often either misunderstood or acting off instinct. Other than the Stenza the only genuinely malicious villains have been humans or human-looking aliens. There is still the possibility that this is setting up some kind of story arc and final pay-off, but at the moment it seems merely coincidental that almost every threat has been very human. While this can be an interesting and profound device, it will soon get repetitive if it isn’t eventually tied to any broader significance in the Doctor’s journey.
Holding this episode together at its emotional core are two of our guest cast, Umbreen (Amita Suman) and Prem (Shane Zaza). Together they embody the sort of bond that the Partition of India sought to tear apart, and the unbreakable strength of the human spirit in grim times. Yaz plays off this dynamic and gains a greater appreciation of her heritage, while treading dangerously close to undoing her own existence. Although it is her episode to shine, there is still time for Graham to share a quiet one-on-one moment with her. Their relationship is something we haven’t seen much of yet, but their conversation helps to build him up as a father figure as he offers a comforting piece of wisdom:
I don’t think any of us know the truth of our lives because we’re too busy living them from the inside.
‘Demons of the Punjab’ has an educational slant similar to ‘Rosa’ in that it explores the significance of a historical moment without much interference from heavy-handed sci-fi tropes. However, unlike its predecessor it achieves this without any major info dump, instead touching on the Partition of India’s key points throughout the episode so that it never feels too much like a dense history lesson. The few hard facts that do come across in dialogue are skimmed over, and instead we learn more just by watching how Umbreen and Presh’s families react to their circumstances. Even in the more fanciful alien moments, the weight of the Partition cuts through and is allowed the space to be treated with the solemn respect it deserves.
Even though we have now crossed the halfway line in series 11, we aren’t so clued in on the direction of Doctor Who’s new era than we would expect to be. Chibnall seems to be straddling the line between standalone episodes and hinting at a broader story arc, but never quite commits to either one. As a result it’s tough to fully invest his in his vision; we’re still waiting for that one moment, that one 10/10 episode that will show us that he really does know what he is doing. ‘Demons of the Punjab’ is close to getting there, but Chibnall might need to step a little outside his comfort zone if he wants to deliver a definitive Doctor Who classic.
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