Science fiction is a very elastic genre, but it’s speculative nature it gravitates towards horror. Doctor Who season 2 episode 3,”The Well,” is a fantastic example of that principle. It’s an episode that executes incredibly well; and that’s before the reveal of the secret connection to a previous episode. Even the aspects of the meta narrative that tend to butt in help elevate the tension and mystery. That tension and mystery leads to the best episode of season 2 so far.
Familiar territory
Given how much “Lux” begged to be a two part episode, seeing “The Well” pick up right after that episode. Belinda’s time is still hard locked, flinging the TARDIS 500,000 years into the future. Thus, the quest to create more points with the Vindicator is definitely the season’s through line. This, along with some other elements later on, help create the feeling of a classic Who serial. The Doctor and Belinda immediately drop, quite literally, into the cold open. I love these openings.
Immediately, it’s made clear that Doctor Who season 2, episode 3 is an Alien-style closed space experience. Something has happened on a carbon mining planet and the platoon they’ve found themselves with are looking into what happened in the base on the very creatively named planet 6767. This isn’t new territory for Doctor Who by any means, but it’s a setup the series often does well, and this time around even wants you to pick up on it.
The team quickly finds a horrifying sight: the staff are dead, all either physically maimed or shot and strangely split into half of each condition. A single survivor is found, a deaf woman named Aliss (Rose Ayling-Ellis). She claims not to know what is going on in the station, but she’s the only one who could; meaning even at his most compassionate The Doctor has to remain skeptical. Aliss being deaf is thoughtfully integrated throughout the story, thanks to handheld closed captioning – standard issue, even – Aliss is able to be communicated with, but also signing allows for The Doctor to signal past the troopers. It also allows for the episode to disconnect Aliss from the others in a way that highlights how afraid everyone is of her.
More familiar than you could think
Which only gets worse when it becomes clear something did happen, both to Aliss and to the rest of the base. Something is hiding in the blind spot behind Aliss and it turns out to be very familiar. The Doctor discovers that 6767 was once known as Midnight, a planet very familiar to fans of the Tenth Doctor. I’ve been critical of the callbacks to the highest moments of the original Davies run, but this one really works. The execution fits the previous understanding of the planet from the episode “Midnight,” while also not giving the game away until it’s just right. It’s also devoid of the same cloyingness other callbacks have had.
In fact, the callback only adds to the creepy factor. The Doctor once again confronts this entity and it recognizes him as well. Gatwa’s reaching for an S-tier performance as he has to play off of Ayling-Ellis’ shoulder and feel fear at something that defies description. The entity still doesn’t need a full visual to tickle the nerves, and Gatwa helps prove that through a nearly wordless monologue full of tears. This season is really beginning to stretch the emotional limits of Ncuti Gatwa and he’s clearly up to the task.
The larger plot thickens
The third act after this reveal gets a bit straightforward, but remains efficient the entire way through. As the episode wraps up and we get the requisite tie-in to the season-long plot, Mrs. Flood hints that the Vindicator tracking itself plays a part in whatever’s waiting at the end of the season. The hints this season is putting out are much more engaging than last season’s Susan Twist shenanigans.
There’s at least some clues that give viewers something to chew and speculate on beyond noticing a repeating character and cynicism. Keeping Flood in character each time she appears also helps keep those clues consistent. I’m still up in the air on what her deal ultimately will be, but my best guess remains a Time Lord (and if I had to pick, Romana seems likely.)
Highlight of a strong season
Truly, Doctor Who season 2, episode 3 is a high of a season that has overall been stronger than the last. “The Well” doesn’t have any weaknesses and is a quite satisfying hour of science fiction horror. When talking about what really works in Doctor Who, these are the kinds of episodes that really hold this series together.
Doctor Who Season 2 is available on Disney+.
Featured images via BBC/Disney
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'DOCTOR WHO' - "THE WELL" - 10/10
10/10
Travis Hymas is a freelance writer and self appointed Pokémon historian out of Salt Lake City, Utah. Known to be regularly obessive over pop culture topics, gaming discourse, and trading card games, he is a published critic featured on sites such as Uppercut and The Young Folks.
