Spoilers

The Doctor gets answers she might not want, as others try to piece the puzzle together…

A lot of separate strands in this week’s episode, the majority of which work well. The Yaz/Dan/Jericho Raiders of the Lost Jules Verne thread was fun, and finally, finally made some sense of the Williamson appearances that have been scattered through the story. Bel and Karvanista look like they’ll make an interesting combination for the final episode; ditto Vinder and Dan’s friend from Liverpool, Diane.

But it’s the other two elements which will decide what you feel about the episode. Craig Parkinson’s Grand Serpent ends up on Earth – specifically in England – when UNIT is being set up. The establishing date, the vocal cameo (and the dating thereof), and indeed the idea of UNIT somehow being a British organisation all throw yet another wrench into the UNIT dating conundrum – which at least is lampshaded by Kate Stewart pointing out to the Grand Serpent that he’s been meddling with the organisation’s past. There’s some lovely throwbacks to classic Who in these sequences, not least the Serpent’s method of disposal, and it’s all leading up to a cliffhanger I didn’t anticipate.

The show is about the Doctor, but we’re back in the territory of The Timeless Children, with our hero being told a lot of things (this time by Barbara Flynn’s Tecteun) about her past. I’d half hoped for a Jo Martin cameo at this stage once it was clear where we were, but at least this provided some answers as to what Division is and I have a feeling this version of the Doctor’s past is not going to be easily retconned away… although if we end up in a new universe, all bets are off.

Chris Chibnall doles out the information in the various threads, whetting the appetite for the finale, and there’s some great visuals from Azhur Saleem. After last week’s focused instalment, this does feel quite disjointed, but it does look as if there’s a confluence coming.

Verdict: Still a lot of questions being raised in the penultimate episode, which raises concern about sticking the landing, but much to enjoy here. 7/10

Paul Simpson