As the only episode of Doctor Who we’re getting until 2020 and with the slightly lackluster series finale coming out only a few weeks ago, there was a lot riding on the success of ‘Resolution’. It needed to pull off a few big things – the re-introduction of the Daleks, the Thirteenth Doctor’s first big holiday special, and justifying the need to shift from Christmas to New Year’s Day to name a few. Chibnall’s track record of solo writing for the show has previously ranged from shaky to moderately successful, so it is both fortunate and exciting that with this special he delivers his best script to date.
‘Resolution’ carries the theme of new beginnings both literally and figuratively through its different narrative threads. In our main plot we see the physical rising of a Dalek buried beneath the Earth for centuries, emerging to summon Dalek fleets to enslave the planet and destroy as many humans as it can along the way. The added feature of this brand of Dalek being able to control people’s minds was particularly effective, as it gave recognisable human expressions to a creature that we are constantly reminded is so full of hate.
The New Year themes more obviously tie into Ryan’s subplot with the return of his estranged father, Aaron, who is looking for a fresh start with his son after years of letting him down. After spending a series developing Graham as a father figure for Ryan and setting up his biological father as a complete failure, it is compelling to watch this newcomer shake up the entire team dynamic. Aaron’s presence is mined for all its worth in several scenes, dealing with both Graham and Ryan separately before being pulled right into the centre of the main story. His bonding with Ryan is eventually accelerated to forgiveness due to the imminent threat of being pulled into a supernova, but we also get the sense that there are still some tensions there that we will hopefully see more of in series 12.
Whittaker similarly fares very well in this episode as she takes the lead and for the first time defines her Doctor in opposition to the Daleks. As an essential part of Doctor Who history, it was about time we got to see her face off against them and claim another chill-inducing “I am the Doctor” moment. We have seen countless times before that the Doctor’s own values of freedom and forgiveness are often challenged when faced with this ancient enemy and ‘Resolution’ is no different. However, this episode still significantly represents a milestone for the Thirteenth Doctor who uses her friendly, chatty exterior to conceal a streak of ruthlessness. Watching her deliberately sentence the Dalek to certain death has a huge impact given her moral code of never killing a living being.
But of course, the threat itself far outweighs most of the monsters and villains we saw in series 11. ‘Resolution’ has very clear parallels to the series 1 episode ‘Dalek’ whereby a single individual of the alien species goes rogue, stacks up a pretty high body count and threatens to destroy the entire world. However ‘Resolution’ does enough to set itself apart from its predecessor, moving between several locations and even spending a significant amount of the episode with the Dalek outside of its shell. Its grotesque, squid-like body latches onto the backs of humans and controls their movements, turning a threat that is often quite bombastic into a spine-chilling parasite. For the first time in years, Daleks are genuinely scary again.
Where this episode falters is in a few poor choices here and there that don’t quite sit well. A few tired jokes fall flat and interrupt an otherwise well-paced story, especially the brief interlude to visit a family whose Wi-Fi has been disconnected. As well as this, what initially appears to be a surprise cameo from UNIT and Kate Stewart turns out to be the opposite in a move that effectively writes them out of the show. The purpose of this is only constructive in so far that it references a piece of the show’s past and isolates the Doctor from any future help, but hopefully this does not mean UNIT is going to be gone forever.
All up, ‘Resolution’ was just the episode we needed to kick off a new year that will sadly be lacking in new Doctor Who episodes. Chibnall and Whittaker’s first holiday special was perfectly grandiose in the style of RTD’s classic high-stakes showdowns, but also finds the time to resolve part of Ryan’s story in some beautifully intimate character moments. As far as Dalek episodes go, ‘Resolution’ feels fresh, vibrant, and perfectly fitting as a milestone for the Thirteenth Doctor’s era.
