It was made very clear from the outset that this year Chibnall would bring Doctor Who back to its basic structure of standalone adventures. On the upside, this has allowed for a total re-imagining of the show that is necessary to keep it in the public consciousness and hook new fans. But on the downside, the lack of story arcs leads to fairly anti-climactic denouements such as ‘The Battle of Ranskoor Av Kolos’, which struggles to find a sense of finality.
This isn’t to say that this episode was a failure – there were so many wonderful moments that concluded individual character journeys, brought back threats from past episodes, and introduced some new unique characters and concepts. We even got the typical high-stakes, world-ending plot like we used to see in RTD’s bombastic finales. However, as a bookend to a series it left a bit to be desired.
Although it took us a while to figure out who the Thirteenth Doctor was when we first met her, first impressions undoubtedly cemented her as the Doctor. Her journey hasn’t so much come from inner struggles, but it has rather consisted of her dealing with external threats that directly go against her own values and endanger innocent lives. This isn’t as substantial as the arcs of previous Doctors, but it is perfectly fitting for a show that is rebuilding its image from the ground up. In ‘The Battle of Ranskoor Av Kolos’ we touch base with one of her main moral codes which has come up time and time again in series 11: never kill a living being.
This is tested with the return of Tzim-Sha/Tim Shaw, the Stenza from ‘The Woman Who Fell to Earth’ and the alien responsible for the events that led to Grace’s demise. Graham has always been the most responsible of the TARDIS team, so it is genuinely worrying when we see him adopt such a cold and vengeful attitude. The Doctor has a very stern word with him when she discovers his intentions, but she also isn’t arrogant or controlling enough to physically stop him from doing anything stupid. Instead, she keeps her faith in him, trusting that when the moment comes he will choose the nobler path.
Faith as a theme runs through this episode, most obviously reflected in the Ux who are faith-driven dimensional engineers. In other words, they are able to shape their reality using the planet’s psychic energy, and their own innate belief in a Creator. This kind of faith is powerful, but can also be easily misplaced when it isn’t tempered with reason. It is a lovely theme that continues this series’ own exploration of spirituality and mysticism seen in ‘The Tsuranga Conundrum’, ‘Demons of the Punjab’ and ‘It Takes You Away’. Having a strong belief in a bigger purpose has certainly becoming one of the Thirteenth Doctor’s defining characteristics.
While it succeeds in these departments, this episode squanders a lot of opportunities to delve into the setting and mythology of the Ux and their planet. The psychotropic waves that flood Ranskoor Av Kolos and interfere with mortal minds ends up being nothing more than a plot device to stagger exposition from spaceship commander Paltraki (Mark Addy), who is slowly recovering from a bout of psychotropic amnesia. The waves become more of a threat later on when the Doctor and Yaz are forced to remove their neural blockers, but the psychic energy only ever ends up being a minor inconvenience to them.
‘The Battle of Ranskoor Av Kolos’ is a fine episode, but it doesn’t quite pack the punch we were hoping this series finale would have. Despite feeling undercooked, the elements that are present still come together to create an adventure that tests the Thirteenth Doctor’s moral code on a greater level than we have seen before. This confident stance against evil is partly defined by Tim Shaw’s continued personal vendetta against her, proving that she is still the same Doctor who terrifies monsters. Conversely, this development has also made him into one of her more interesting rivals so far. Regardless of this episode’s missteps, the upcoming New Year’s Day special titled Resolution looks as if it may provide a more conclusive end to Jodie Whittaker’s debut series.
