Demons of the Punjab

Incredible episode, thought provoking, and a pleasant surprise? I must admit I was regretting this episode when it was first announced. But honestly, it was the best episode yet! It includes time travel clichés, tough decisions and great characters. Doctor Who at it's core. Here's hoping it continues with this standard.

Demons of the Punjab was a real surprise to me because I don't normally like historical episodes; this episode however, blew me away.

The Doctor and team arrive in the Punjab in order to visit Yaz's grandmother only to find Partition underway, mysterious demons plaguing the community, and Yaz's grandmother taking part in a controversial marriage.

Yaz was well deserving of a bit of character development and this episode delivered, the events clearly changing who she is as a person and developing her relationship with both her grandmother (and even Graham to an extent).

The aliens of the week are very creative, both in design and motive; with the villains being motivated by something that's all too familiar to many people today (and written in a very nuanced and respectful way).

There are plenty of emotional scenes in this episode and they nearly invariably hit hard; with new writer Vinay Patel (and excellent director Jamie Childs) selling the emotional weight of the events in a very realistic manner.

Just... Watch it, it's great. Best episode of series 11 so far.

8.8/10

Despite Chris Chibnall's best efforts towards mediocrity and poorly developing his characters and his new Doctor Who, this episode notably without his name on the writing credit really shines. It is beautiful both by script and by appearance. Spain stands in for Pakistan in location shots, but boy does this episode make me want to explore both places. I was moved to tears by this one, but also thrilled.

Doctor Who fans who complain about the lack of scary monsters and super creeps in it seem to have forgotten about the middle third of the thing. Sure the focus turns towards the human horrors of the Partition of India, quite brilliantly, but the premise of these demons is complex and interesting. (Why can't they come back as scary monsters? This is a time travel show!)

I'm torn with tonight's episode, "Demons of the Punjab". Whilst it's a well directed, polished production, I'm feeling the series is moving away from what "Doctor Who" is all about. I had high hopes when I read Chris Chibnall was taking the helm. I've now serious doubts about the future of the show at his hands.

Despite me wanting to really like Jody Whittaker, her performance feels too one dimensional.

The series is also lacking the sheer fun and escapism of previous seasons.

7 out of 10. I think the series is starting to suffer from an identity crisis.

Gave a good story for the companions (would've loved more Graham). Wish there was more of a threat which is my only complaint. Let's hope the episodes get better from here on up.