Doctor Who - 73 YARDS - Recap & Review

I watched it so you don't have to. Spoilers ahead!
The Ncuti Gatwa era of Doctor Who is here! Russell T. Davies, the man who revitalized Doctor Who in 2005, is back. It's airing on Disney+ with Disney money. How can this be anything but FABULOUS! HOW?
A week after Steven Moffat's writing return to Dr. Who, RTD is back penning the fourth episode - 73 Yards. And honestly, I was surprised to find myself enjoying parts of this show.
Millie Gibson takes center stage in this episode as Dr. Ncuti disappears. Completely disappears. This episode has elements of suspense and horror but does it stick the landing
#doctorwho #bbc #disney

[@New-tu3mn]

While there are some loose ends which aren’t unambiguously explained, here’s my take on the meaning of the episode, of which, there seem to be multiple meanings. I feel, there is a deceptively deep, almost philosophical meaning to this episode. I felt as perplexed as everyone else after my viewing of it, but a comment by someone in another thread provided the key to the meaning of the mysterious woman for me. Which I expand on below. That mysterious woman is Ruby’s future ghost, haunting her living self within this alternate time-line created by the Doctor's clumsy disturbance of the Fairy Circle. The woman also represents something much more terrifying than that. She is death, personified. At least, she personifies Ruby’s death. So, she unintentionally (I believe) scares away everyone who tries to speak to her. Although, I don’t have an explanation for why Ruby’s mom, and Kate look at Ruby as though she has committed some unforgivable transgression. Her purpose in the episode is primarily as a metaphor for the eventual death which awaits us all. Stalks us our entire lives, just as it stalks Ruby in the form of the woman. While our own death is rarely at the forefront of daily awareness, neither is it ever far away. You might say, that death is always 73 yards away. Close enough to be visible, but not so close as to be clearly so. The best that we can do is to ignore our self-knowledge that it is always there. Always waiting, and that we will one day, die. Soon, living Ruby simply accepts the woman as an inevitable part of her daily existence. Realizing, that there’s nothing she can do about her anyway, Ruby decides to do something meaningful with her life. Utilizing the mystery woman for an extremely constructive purpose in that endeavor. Until, finally, Ruby is at the end of her life, and the mystery woman manifests closely in her room. Ruby’s death is closely approaching her. In the last moment of life, when the medical monitor in her room that had been reassuringly making a regular beeping sound suddenly starts making that dreadful flatline tone, the woman turns to face Ruby. As she does, Ruby loses all anxiety, and embraces her death with outstretched arms, and a smile of relief. Ruby passes, and then becomes the ghost which had been haunting her. Chills. Throughout life, Ruby has felt abandoned, and isolated. Which is sad enough, but she also ends up dying alone, as well. A feeling, and an ending, for too many of us. Davies appears to touch on that. The episode’s main fault is that it’s too ambitious for one-hour. Further complicating matters is the ‘Mad-Jack’ sub-episode. 73 Yards could have, and probably should have been made into a two-part episode. As for the time-paradoxes, such as how Ruby’s future ghost could haunt her living self, those have been explained by Tennant in the famous ‘Blink’ episode, Wibbly-Wobbly, timey-wimey stuff. In other words, don’t let paradoxes interfere with the message of the story. Mad-Jack, seems to be a destructive spirit/entity which corruptly influences a young Gwilliam, once it is unbound from the Fairy Circle when the Doctor disturbs it. A disturbance which then launches the alternate time-line centered on Ruby, and which Kate, of U.N.I.T., cryptically asserts has happened. That alternate time-line is erased when Ruby’s ghost, whispering “don’t step”, warns young Ruby in time to prevent the Doctor from disturbing the Fairy Circle in the first place. I believe Davies has said that both the Doctor and Ruby have to do penance for disturbing the circle. Which is why the Doctor disappears from the new time-line, and Ruby goes through the rest of her life in abandonment. BTW, apparently, ghost Ruby is repeatedly signing; “bless you, thank you for the gift”.

[@DukeDevil95]

Interesting. Appreciate the detailed analysis.

[@thefracturedfilter]

>In the end it was all pointless that just about sums up New-New Who, you knocked it out Brad haha Its all so tiresome and pointless and time to walk away :P

[@Cael_Dereck]

It was so gut-wrenching to see Carla run away from Ruby, and their phone call later... Then even Kate. I felt so sad for Ruby, like I was going to cry. I pray for her she never remembers this alternate reality. By the way, nothing is hinted and nothing is learned - yet. Let's wait if we get answers later.

[@wamingopublishing5815]

I'm sure its part of the whole story arc.

[@wookiebebad]

Wow, no message this time!