Doctor Who "Dot and Bubble" Reaction

[@JustSoShayla]

Hello girl scouts, it’s time for “Pinned Comment Post Post Ramblings from Future Shayla” - it says something to the testament of your main actors that when you think of an episode where they were in true focus for only the last 5 or so minutes that, that is what sticks out to you most. But going back and really picking up on so many layers, where you see those small moments from the character Lindy telling that she is racist from the very beginning. Looking around seeing all the “bright peppy” colors drawing focus from a rich, all white, privileged, prejudiced society, and ya know, the alien slugs eating people. I know I said Ricky would have gotten on the Tardis had he not been killed, but it’s more complex than that. (He grew up in this bubble after all). The ending look between Lindy and the Doctor can be also taken in so many ways, her realizing, or her being smug at leaving, the actress, Callie Cooke, was amazing in this episode. I mean they LITERALLY live in a bubble…fucking symbolism! What breaks my heart the most, and reflected in Millie’s performance at the end, is when the Doctor realizes why these people won’t go with him, he STILL is pleading with them to come on board, to save them, his anger, frustration, that scream? Ruby’s sorrow for seeing her friend be treated with such disrespect? Ncuti and Millie I am in awe of you both. And this was Ncuti’s first proper day on set??? COME ON BAFTA. Again, I have had zero copyright issues and I waited a few days before publishing so if this video goes down I will do my best to get it back ASAP, thank you for your potential patience.

[@MichaelJWake95]

I don’t think Ricky would have got on the Tardis, the story purposefully made him out to be a nice white version of the Doctor to show how trusting Lindy was of him because of his skin colour but not of the Doctor.

[@Dunybrook]

Not believing the Tardis was a speaceship big enough to hold them all was the most relatable thing the citizens of Finetime did. I get what the writers were going for but that seems like a silly thing to get hung up on after all their other terrible behavior. Ricky might well have gone with the Doctor just because he seemed to have more curiosity than the others. Everyone can't be completely awful even in a society that messed up.

[@MichaelJWake95]

@@Dunybrook that’s the whole point of this, they are. Ricky was the same you just didn’t get to see him like that.

[@IceMetalPunk]

​@@DunybrookThe issue isn't that they didn't believe him. It's that they immediately attributed his explanation to "voodoo". That's where the racism comes in.

[@SlyAceZeta]

@@MichaelJWake95 I disagree, he gave 15 zero shade during their interaction through Linda's bubble. 15 told him what to do and he did it, no questions asked, no microaggression.

[@Faction.Paradox]

I can't think of another Who episode which is as elevated by it's ending as this. It didn't just cap the story off, it re-contextualised & enhanced everything that had come before.

[@matthewjenkins8506]

Heaven Sent would be my pick. But yes, usually that doesn't happen, it's very rare.

[@garnon]

Utopia?

[@eduardoharpa8723]

Waters of Mars for me, but this would be a good close second

[@torchwoodboy5564]

Also shoutout to the AI that looked at the white supremacists and thought ‘Yeah, no.’

[@seamusburke639]

First off hey TB! Second off, that's an interesting sci-fi concept with AI we haven't explored. Usually AI is either neutral or tries to protect humanity from itself, I,Robot kinda stuff. This AI grew to HATE their creators, and I love it.

[@DavidB-2268]

​@@seamusburke639"usually? Someone's forgotten the lesson from the Terminator franchise...

[@IceMetalPunk]

When AI makes the correct choices.

[@homiedclown]

By the end of the episode I was very pro-Dot (except for my boy Ricky, felt bad for him.)

[@winterwonderland1154]

Hear hear

[@matthewmiller2259]

To be fair, the actor who played Lindy nailed the assignment. All the actors were great.

[@Kn1ghton]

Fun fact: That ending scene at the dock's was Ncuti's first proper day on set he filmed, after his appearance and bigeneration in "The Giggle". At the time they hadn't even filmed the Christmas special. Ncuti's performance was phenomenal!

[@gohanmoreno7]

Wait, but Millie's first episode was 73 yarda isnt? The it was Ncuti's too

[@MeleeHellBot]

​@@gohanmoreno7they filmed at the same time

[@MeleeHellBot]

Ncuti's schedule was limited so they filmed most of Millie for 73 yards and then when Ncuti became available, they started filming for D&B.

[@alacy52]

God, Millie is so damn good. Already one of my favorite companions ever. As the white daughter of a black family Ruby has no doubt been through this sort of thing plenty of times and it's really well reflected in her reaction.

[@kay-jay1581]

Yes! Ruby is a big star of a companion Donna, Rose, River and River are my favorite companions (just talking about Nuwho) but Ruby is phenomenal! I hope she stays for a few more seasons I loved her right away after space babies! She is probably going to be my top favorite companion along with Donna Noble 😁

[@DAVIDELLIOTT]

"The moment we cast Ncuti, everyone said to me: oh, my God, what's it going to be like when he goes into the past? Because a black Doctor's going to face such racism. You sit there going, what about now? Why do you think racisms only in the past, when you look at what's happening in the world?" -- Russell T Davies talking about this episode

[@pandaphil]

And there was the time traveler in Rosa.

[@filthycasual8187]

Because racism on the level Davies is thinking of DOES only exist in the past.

@@filthycasual8187 Not when you have white supremacists in political power & online. So it's still relevant.

[@chlloolou]

ALSO the realisation that lindy happily followed ricky, who was trying to help in the exact same way the doctor was, purely because of his appearance - the more i think about the layers to this episode the more i love what they did with it

[@kalakritistudios]

Oh, my. I did think of him being her Doctor. But these ppl can't be of anyone's. Gave Ricky up.

[@GoodKingMort]

LOVED that darker rendition of The Doctor’s theme at the end. Really hope they put that in the *fingers crossed* soundtrack.

[@merked408]

You can even hear certain notes from "The Long Song", obviously known for the immense speech that 11 did when he talked down a godlike being; the irony being that the Doctor's words have spun around formidable foes, but can't convince a simple human so stuck in their ignorant ways.

[@IsTaost]

Something I sort of loved as far as the messages they were going for was that even Ricky September, a man who didn’t spend much time on social media, had enough private info about himself that Lindy knew his real name, enough information to give his life for her own. Even a “healthy” amount of social media can still give a lot of you away

[@nathandts3401]

The sad, angry frustration in that last scene was acted perfectly.

[@Qwertycsm]

Wouldn't surprise me if the Actor who played Ricky September auditioned to be the 15th Doctor.

[@pipsdontlie3031]

I'm pretty sure they said they had it locked in for a different actor and Ncuti was like the last or second last audition, wouldn't shock me at all if it was him

[@jonesnori]

I actually thought it was Ncuti when we first heard him calling Lindy. Some people thought at first that it was an avatar the Doctor sent.

[@kingkelevra4545]

I have never been more frustrated with watching an episode of Doctor Who. At first it was because I couldn’t stand how insufferable Lindy was with “I can’t walk without the arrows” and that ending… I felt for the Doctor in the last few minutes. Such a great episode!!

[@jeckjeck3119]

Well said.

[@benpecto.benpecillton]

Me at the start of the episode: "Poor Lindy" Me at the end: (12th Doctor's threats to Me to get Me to save Clara)

[@danielcornett5211]

When I watched this the for the first time, the ending scene broke me. I was in tears. And RTD said something about how when he cast Ncuti, he saw the discourse about racism in the past, and his response was to write a story set in the future where racism still exists because it does still exist in the modern day. Add on top of that the fact that 1) this was Ncuti's first episode, and the first thing he EVER shot for DW was that ending scene. 2) Murray Gold's score with the stripped back, or rather pushed down version of the Fifteen Doctor's theme and 3) the 'left speechless' looks at the end, where the Doctor, who's greatest power is his mind/words, couldn't even use words to make anything better. The ONLY thing I would have changed is the way the ending credits took place. I would have continues Gold's score with Fifteen's pushed down theme as the credits rolled, then played the stinger at the end for the 'Next Time' Trailer. But still, for me, these last three episodes have been AWESOME. I can't wait to see what else this season has in store.

[@rajarex2498]

hint of rings of akhaten that mellows into the 15th doctors theme. That made me emotional

[@davidjrandall1979]

I’ll be the first to admit I didn’t pick up on some of the racial micro-aggressions on my first watch. The second watch broke my heart.

[@soulstealer5625]

Tbh I thought it was classist. Established they're a bunch of rich kids earlier so that what I picked up

[@cargo71]

@@soulstealer5625 I thought the same. Then I realised Lindy automaticaly blocked the Doctor, but accepted to talk with Ruby.

[@AnotherScifiGuy]

@@soulstealer5625 It is classist, and elitist as well as racist, the episode is talking about all of these points, as well as the over reliance on social media and living in a literal digital bubble.

[@ABrecher]

Xenophobic too. Arguably even more so than the other adjectives.

[@Spodogo]

@@soulstealer5625 Yep same, I didn't even class it as racism until I saw post-ep discussions

[@murraymint8599]

Some people might say mille’s best performance is in 73 yards (and don’t get me wrong she was phenomenal) but I think even though she had virtually no lines in the last scene of Dot and Bubble, her acting and reacting, facial expressions and those pats on Ncuti’s shoulder just said it all this was her best performance so far she is amazing

[@benjamindavis4974]

That scene at the end was Ncutis first

[@murraymint8599]

@@benjamindavis4974 Ik I was absolutely mind blown when I heard that! He was fantastic in that scene as well

[@Tsuliwaensis]

I'm kind of surprised that so many people just seem to be super sure that Ricky wasn't also a racist. he wasn't as in your face with it as the others, but he was part of the same community and religion. just like everybody else, he was just there for a limited amount of time and was hand selected to be there. he turned his bubble off to read, but what do people think would be the kind of literature available to him in the bubble they all resided in? 🤷‍♀ I think people got fooled by the cute dance and the white-on-white heroics. 🤭

[@IceMetalPunk]

Maybe. But with the Bubble being a metaphor for a sociopolitical echo chamber, the fact that Ricky spent most of his time outside of that bubble and exploring information outside the echo chamber... at least metaphorically, he should be more exposed to the outside world than most people there.

[@Tsuliwaensis]

@@IceMetalPunk but there was no outside world, they were literally living in a bubble.

[@Axetwin]

@@Tsuliwaensis The subtext was he was stepping outside the inner bubble to educate himself.

[@Tsuliwaensis]

@@Axetwin sure, agreed. what I'm saying is that the educational resources inside the bubble they lived in were probably provided by the people who sent them there. they didn't even have proper internet, they could only connect to each other, so it's not like he could go ahead and google "racism" real quick on a whim. 🤷‍♀

[@UltiNegative]

You are doing the same thing the racists do. You are making assumptions based on his community despite the fact he himself showed no signs of racism.

[@AetherKnight]

Oof! First watch had me feel something I don't ever think I've felt with Doctor Who before - a sense of shame and embarrassment. On rewatch, I couldn't believe I'd missed all the little flags. Stunning performances from Ncuti, Millie and from the actor playing Lindy - they all knocked it out of the park. Fond of this more thoughtful series so far. 😊

[@ColorOfSakura]

I've said this on another video about the episode but I have to say it here too because it really stuck with me: The wild laugh Fifteen makes near the end when he finally realizes what's going on is so tragic. The Doctor really coming to the realization that in this regeneration - his skin color can and WILL get in the way of being able to save people sometimes.

[@CsikiAttila]

I just realized, now on the tenth viewing, that the reason Lindy Pepper-Bean starts to go automatically to the right after the bubble is gone is that inside the bubble the profile pictures are going from right to left, and it can make people dizzy.

[@Alfwin]

I'm ashamed to admit that I didn't pick up on Lindy's racism until the end, despite her being basically a conga-line of red flags. I sort of noticed that everyone in Finetime was white, and of course saw how dismissive and condescending Lindy was to the Doctor -- but, I failed to put two and two together. I wrote all the red flags off as 'shorthand for these being the spoiled rich kids' and didn't give it any further thought. Now, it's just got me thinking... what _other_ red flags and warning signs of bigotry have I failed to pick up on, in other media or irl? And I suspect that's rather the point -- to get people to think about it. 10/10 performance from Gatwa in that final scene; holy shit! And from Gibson, too. This whole season has been excellent, but this might be my favorite episode so far!

[@AmaanKhan-d8m]

There were soooo many overt and subtle signs of racism and prejudice scattered throughout the episode: 1. Lindy was revolted and blocked the Doctor when he first appeared on her feed. 2. Lindy didnt block Ruby. She was more receptive to Ruby when she appeared on her feed. Lindy spoke to Ruby and believed her over the Doctor. 3. When the Doctor appeared for the second time on her feed, Lindy asked him if the monsters "have something to do with you" (she didnt ask Ruby this, just the Doctor) 4. Lindy told her groupcall to listen to the Doctor and that "i know this is wrong and after this is all over he will be so disciplined, i cant wait, and he doesn't look as stupid as he looks" (of course due to the color of his skin) 5. No person of color lived in Finetime 6. Lindy was shocked to learn that Ruby and the Doctor were in the same room together in such close proximity 7. Lindy told the Doctor "Didnt I block you? I knew it. I just thought you looked the same, but you're the same person I blocked. I was so right to hate you." (Implying all black people look the same) 8. When they met, Lindy told Ruby and the Doctor "Gosh, you two, this is strange." (meaning a white and black person working together) 9. And a few more microagressions towards the Doctor before they met in the final scene AND in the final scene where the racism got blatant.

[@ChristyAbbey]

I mean, The Doctor was shown as unsolicited request, while Ruby wasn't.

[@RandomThumbVids]

8:03 I wasn't 100% on Ncuti yet. I liked him a lot but wasn't 100% convinced. But this moment at 8:03 is THE moment he became The Doctor for me. Absolutely fantastic

[@dancingmonkey08]

I loved the Doctor in this episode, a true hero, even when faced with the worst of humanity And its why we love you, thanks to your reaction

[@JB-ys8ct]

What I really liked about this episode is that for a lot of people on their first watch, they probably didn't pick up on the small but frequent micro-aggressions from Lindy to the Doctor. A lot of people probably didn't truly realise until the ending scene but then when you go back through you start to notice that there were subtle hints towards the Finetime people's racism layered throughout the episode and as a result it makes you go "why didn't I notice that before?" and then you realise that the episode basically points out the very concept of white privilege to the audience. I also liked how the Dot being 'evil' and the reason for the slugs almost mirrored Lindy's progression through the story too. As in, at first you thought they were alright and then they changed and showed their true colours without trying to hide it anymore.

[@aaronortiz1312]

It definitely went over my head till the end 😮‍💨

[@elaine_of_shalott6587]

Yeah, the varrying points of recognition are in a meta way part of the message. If we didn't notice until the final scene, for me the use of the loaded word "voodoo" was the real trigger, or even until we saw the discussion online, then we need to make more effort to look outside of our bubbles.

[@gwinnellheald8592]

It was only when she made the comment about him being the one she blocked before and her thinking that they just "looked the same" that it started to click for me. Its even more apparent in the rewatch.

[@z-rex6068]

What a joke this show has become…

[@aaronortiz1312]

@@z-rex6068 don't watch it?

[@jeckjeck3119]

Admit it, we were all rooting for the AI at the end. Also, justice for Ricky!

[@charlesashe-nn2sf]

#JusticeForRicky

[@ChristyAbbey]

Team slug!

[@charlesashe-nn2sf]

@@ChristyAbbey #TeamSlug

[@leecullen759]

I'm beginning to realise that Doctor Who has become so much more experimental and risky with filmmaking, plot points and stories more broadly - Legitimately, this is just what it needed for the next generation. Feels like the show itself regenerates with showrunner :)

[@chlloolou]

i genuinely haven’t stopped thinking about how well done this episode was in terms of the journey we go through to reach that moment of realisation. i had gone through the whole episode with a bad feeling as to why lindy was SO rude and dismissive towards the doctor. i was thinking along the lines of entitlement, but it felt so aimed at the doctor to just be that. so to get to that moment at the end, it just gave me such a sinking feeling

[@ianstopher9111]

I got strong Logan's Run feelings as this episode progressed, particularly the escape under the city through the tunnels. Young people who live a hedonistic lifestyle in an enclosed environment get killed off (here alphabetically, with LR it is by birthday).

[@scottgodfrey7118]

This should have been the first episode. THIS was Ncuti's becoming the doctor moment and he nailed it.

[@IsiahBradley]

THANKS for this!!!! Here's my take (and I'm glad to put it here so hardcore Whovians can argue it): This episode breaks two unwritten rules of the show. First rule, established in Classic and continuing in Nu: collective racism/prejudice must be overcome for our planet to survive. Second rule, established in Nu: individual prejudice is something to be frowned on but will be overcome one day. (TEARING SOUND AS RTD RIPS UP THOSE RULES :) ) WOW....Um, gee.... Who is RTD going after? Anti-immigration movements in Europe? The Right worldwide, including in America? The Doctor Who anti-woke crowd? Everyone? Although the Jordan Peele/"Black Mirror" crowd will not be losing sleep over this, I deeply appreciate RTD's willingness to put up a very big finger at people who don't like his direction. This is very different from his first, more subtle DW take. There will be a lot of criticism of Ncuti crying *again.* But from the point of view of this American, this cry is more out of the tradition of 19th-century Frederick Douglass than a 20th-century British-created Time Lord, recreated in this century to great impact.

[@ZA-mg5nq]

this is a masterful episode like blew expectations out the water

[@suncore598]

These last four episodes have been absolutely stellar! It makes sad there are only three episodes left of the season.

[@steve8510]

The imminent horrible deaths soften the blow. I noticed MG in the background too, most actors just stand around looking at the main but she was brill.

[@AWeekLastTuesday]

One, she is a real piece of...well, you know, and Iyou are right, I think the Doctor knows something happened to Ricky... She said Ricky went to save others, he was so brave. "Was" so brave, past tense, rather then "is" so brave, present tense. I believe the Doctor caught that when she said that line.

[@garycullen7390]

Some people have said 73 YARDS is RTD attempting to do his DOCTOR-lite BLINK and I think he may have not quite got it but with this episode DOT AND BUBBLE he may have done so

[@thedarcbird]

*AMAZING* review. I've seen several and I can honestly say that I think yours is the best. On a personal note, I was so angry at the end of the episode I felt physically sick.

[@dancingmonkey08]

I watch Katie O'Shaughnessy and Sesskasays reaction to Doctor Who too....I synced up all 3 of you calling Lindy a bitch when she killed Ricky....I have not laughed so much in ages...as well as being proud of your reaction...its wonderful people like you make me think humanity might just be alright in the long run

[@TheCertifiedHotdog]

This episode is going to be in my mind for a very long time. I didn’t clock the racism until the end and I really should have. This episode made me feel ashamed and thats GOOD! The reason I love Doctor Who is that its a fun and silly show but it also challenges you and makes you check yourself. For that reason alone I give this episode a 10/10 bc of what it made me feel and what it made me confront in myself. I didn’t clock all the racism going on my first watch until the end and I think thats one of the messages in the episode. Some of us really are privileged and no matter how progressive we are, we sometimes don’t see the subtler side of bigotry that those who face it see clear as day Edited for typos

[@adamantyr]

Great reaction video! It says something that the AI grew to hate the people of Finetime so much that it deliberately used the scariest more feared death for most humans (being eaten alive) as its means to be rid of them. Now I kind of feel bad for the slugs; after they have eliminated everyone they'll starve to death.

[@RandomRoss]

It was in the final act that the people of Finetime were revealed to be the real monsters of the episode.

[@grump9001]

"Holy fuck!!" That was exactly my reaction over and over. It was so wow. I was shaking and crying lol, just so good writing, performances, camera, music, it was just.. whew. Like a slap to the face.

[@gota7738]

Seeing those first scenes is really hard because even with her flaws I really did sympathise with her situation and her learned helplessness and figured that her stubborness was a sheltered mindset thing she could grow out of. I mean I am guilty of turning away from upsetting real world news too often because it's overwhelming even though I know it's still there and I wan't to be the sort who does something about it. And then after getting to the end and while I'd picked one or two thing and how white the place was, I didn't click untill too late. And it's not even that she's a blip, she IS the product of her white supremacist enviroment and she'll choose to stay in that bubble rather than change, and refuses to even see that it will be her death. She will always choose to stay in that bubble because it rewards her and you can't do anything. It's like that person you know who has the potential to do and be better, and even though they say and do things that raise flags stick around because you think maybe you can reach them even if it costs emotional labour...untill it's convient for them to shut down and go right back to what they where doing. Deprogramming, education and outreach are important but when the greater system we live in rewards people for their bigotry and destructive behaviour, it is a towering project, and not one any one individual can do.

[@johna5635]

For me, this felt like a futuristic equivalent of one of my favourite ever films: "Pleasantville"... an enclosed environment, a group of people who hang on to the familiarity of their sheltered lives... and a dislike of "colour"... you'd have to watch (or have watched) the film to fully understand the parallels!

[@ojwh1933]

Love your intro here. Big moment. As of that last scene, Ncuti Gatwa has won me over as my favourite Doctor. ❤❤ And it took me a bit to warm to Millie Gibson, but their acting the last 3 episodes has been fantastic.

[@benjamindavis4974]

That scene at the end was Ncuti Gatwas first ever scene for Season 1

[@itskashkashi]

AI heard "eat the rich" and said yes lol.

[@P5YcHoKiLLa]

This was Ncuti's first episode of filming, the last scene was the first scene he filmed too.

[@Mandrozani]

I loved the little detail of the Time of Angels four-second loop 🤣

[@s.k.6100]

This one really suckerpunched me. And I like that the dark subtext of the episode could be so potentially deep. The big thing is that at the end scene, the Doc and Ruby obviously had *that* conversation. And you know Ruby was the one who had to explain it to the Doctor because her foster family is Black. She likely pieced together the racism of the colony and noticed the micro-aggressions that were happening. She lives in present day Earth society and has likely experienced them or witnessed them. So to see the Doc be dismissed immediately but giving Ruby the chance to talk, even though it was condescending, was just the start. We also don't know how many other people the Doctor went to before Lindy. It could be that he tried to reach out and was constantly dismissed until Ruby said "Let me try." and succeeded. On the note of Ricky, I'm not wholly convinced he would have let the Doctor save him. He lives in this society of Whites. He very likely may have joined or not. He may have succumbed to peer pressure and followed everyone else because he was popular and wanted to stay popular. It really was a smart move to kill him. Because we just don't know and will never know. I have a theory that the reason the Doctor couldn't land the TARDIS in Finetime is because the forcefield prevents People of Color from passing through. There may be a genetic or biological detection that was preventing the TARDIS. That would be a really F'ed up thing, but still fits in line with the disgusting racism of this colony. Honestly, this has been one of my favorite episodes this season and easily squeezing into my current top 10. Which really says something because I wasn't on-board for the first half of it. I also remember telling my friend as we watched that I hated that the "evil aliens" are here as the monsters of the week. So having the pleasant surprise that the people were the real monsters this week is so delightful and a great subversion.

[@connorblack99]

I give Ricky 50/50 depending on how much depression is in RTD’s soul. Option A: If he’s in a moralistic mood, Ricky is supposed to be representative of breaking out of your bubble, and therefore is likely to have been very decent through and through. He did generally prove this, and as far as I could tell showed a level of empathy leagues above the rest of the residents. His interactions with the doctor were too limited to give a good idea though. Option B: if RTD is feeling bleak about humanity and Ricky is unable to overcome his racism despite overcoming literally everything else about the society that is poisoning their minds. I can’t say it’s more realistic but it’s perhaps more plausible for the character? Unclear, I honestly would believe either route. Given Ricky is the one character who definitely knew the homeworld was eaten by slugs and had interest in learning and growing, I think I’m going to lean towards him being cool with the doctor, if only because he seems like the exact type of character capable of overcoming his own issues in the face of an insane plan like “let’s go into the wilderness and survive gang” so it doesn’t actually matter what side of the debate he would fall on. I think he would end up being deprogrammed enough to pick the doctor at the end of the day. I don’t know if he would be “not racist” per se, but he also doesn’t strike me as stupid enough to think that the wilderness plan is a good idea, and he’s read up enough to know it’s a bad idea and to not fall for the flowery rhetoric. The only argument for him going would be him trying to help them if he couldn’t convince them to go with the doctor, or him thinking he could actually have those skills which I didn’t get a vibe of.

[@davidturner2974]

Him in that last scene was just #ChefsKiss ..one of the best scenes from ANY Doctor.

[@doctorson7026]

In my opinion it's the first episode that captured darkness and soul of OG 10 seasons of New Who since the end of Capaldi run

[@owenfautley]

I agree that ending was my first doctor moment for a long time that was sorely missed in the 13th run.

[@pandaphil]

I thought I had the plot figured out about a half dozen times, but the ending still got me.

[@Mrhullsie2]

I got a very strong Black Mirror vibe from this episode.

[@ihateunicorns867]

I’m getting strong Black Mirror vibes from this whole series (mainly). Every episode is tonally so different.

[@charleslee8313]

Me, at the start of the episode: "Oh! This is similar to Black Mirror! I got it." Me, at the end of the episode: "I wish the bugs had won."

[@ugolomb]

Don't worry about it, like the Doctor said, they would die out there anyway, slugs or no slugs

[@maxedgerton2374]

You think we wouldn't notice the throwback to the crash of the Byzantium with the looping 4 seconds at 11:18 :p

[@ihateunicorns867]

I love how Davies twists things and pushes things to places you didn’t expect. He said that when he cast a Black actor to play the Doctor, people asked what would happen when he went back in time and how he would cope with the racism. Davies responded by saying that have racism now. And the way things are going at the moment, we’re going to have racism in the future. But what might racism look like when technology has advanced so much? How would future media drive the echo chambers and bubbles we are falling into right now? This is why I love Doctor Who. I think I know what I want, but I get served up something I wasn’t expecting instead, and it’s better.

[@Joey15811]

The boat scene was the first scene ncuti shot for the series. 73 yards was the first filmed

[@shaunmale6566]

Justice for Ricky September!

[@cairothetiefling_]

I saw an incredible comment from someone else on a different reaction I can’t find, that said Ruby is adopted into a POC family. As a white child, she would’ve grown up and seen the microaggressions and racism towards her mother and her gran, and her immediate reaction of disgust is just perfect, no longer trying to help them when the doctor still is.

[@winterwonderland1154]

Aaah the experience of POC. Racial micro aggressions and macro aggressions still affect us daily. Sadly.

[@ugolomb]

The Doctor had a lot of experience combatting racism directed against his companions and/or people he encountered (I'm thinking of instants like 12 punching the villain in "Thin Ice" after his display of bigotry towards Bill Potts, and of course the whole of "Rosa"); but this probably would be the first time he'd experienced racism directly personally against him (at least human racism -- as opposed to the various species who hated him for being a Time Lord). PS: technically that might not be true, because the Fugitive Doctor spent much of her life as a black woman in contemporary UK; but I don't think even the incarnations who were reminded of her existence -- i.e., 13 onwards -- would have had many memories of that)

[@ealadubh4800]

Ricky's purpose in the plot isn't just as the stark contrasting sacrificial lamb to reveal how terrible Lindy is; it's to demonstrate that when an individual in such an abhorrent society takes the first step in looking, thinking and questioning their position within it, the first moment it becomes inconvenient, that society *will kill them for it.*

[@lucasdolding6924]

Ncuti has already felt like the Doctor to me since he first showed up but that end scene is his first like definitive Doctor moment, like 12 at the end of Mummy on the Orient Express

[@HawkTeevs]

I’ve always wondered what would happen if the Doctor met people who didn’t want to be saved. The Doctor knew they were going to die, he knew he could save them, but they not only didn’t want him to save them, but they even detested him for even trying. All of this for the color of his skin. And seeing all of these people going against the very reason he chose the name “Doctor”, the Doctor breaks. And all he can do is walk away as they slowly fade off in the distance towards their deaths. All of his efforts wasted.

[@connorblack99]

It’s the redemption problem. Everyone is capable of redemption, but no one can be the redeemer for everyone. Everyone has biases, and some of them are bigoted awful ones like racism and others are weird unconscious affinities towards people who look like mentors you trust and they all change the equation. The right tool for the right job. These racist idiots can’t see that Ncuti is a perfectly brilliant tool for the job at hand and it’s a depressing reality that that is probably not a completely uncommon occurrence in his actual life.

[@ChristyAbbey]

There was a late 3rd or early 4th Doctor (I was binging at that point, and I just remember it being The Doctor) that made a pretty similar point about an insular society who wouldn't be saved because God on their side and their superior culture etc. They, too, were useless idiots.

[@ugolomb]

Well, it happaned to him at least once before, in "The Night of the Doctor", where Cass consciously preferred to die rather than trust a Time Lord. I think (though I'm not sure) that was the only time he experienced anti-Time-Lord bigotry from someone who wasn't a villain

[@Land967]

Felt so much like a Black Mirror episode until the Doc popped up.

[@torchwoodboy5564]

The ending made this episode in the most awful but real way

[@Fujitsyu]

In addition to the multiple microaggressions, there's some really dark commentary in the episode. They explain how after the great abrogration (removal of law) the city was "disinfected", after which we are shown the people of finetime not wanted to get close to the Doctor, because they could be "contaminated".

[@Dunybrook]

I'd love to see Lindy come back as a villain ala Khan in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan after suffering all the hardships of survival in the wilderness.

[@ChristyAbbey]

They're dead. They're all dead.

[@IsiahBradley]

P.S. A fun Whovian game to play is "Which Doctor would have just walked away at the end of 'Dot and Bubble'?" My votes would be Nine, Eleven and Twelve.

[@cutthr0atjake]

...I think 10 would also.

[@s.k.6100]

@@cutthr0atjake I don't think 12 would have. He would have argued to save them because it was kind. It would be the kindest thing to do. But it's truly irrelevant given that race was the major point. All previous Docs were perceived as White so it wouldn't have been an issue.

[@connorblack99]

@@s.k.6100ah but they were also mostly all old, and that was also an issue. I think maybe 5 hits the perfect cross section to just save people, maybe 10 and 11 if the hair color isn’t also important

[@matthewmiller2259]

One and six would have, and maybe seven

[@MST3K56]

Hello again! Nice to "see" you!

[@barriehull7076]

Peppa Pig v lamppost and the lamppost turned out to be a hero.

[@Stephen-Fox]

A couple of bits and bobs that bugged me generally (nothing that matters) leading me to giving it a 9, but One interesting thing RTD has said about it (aside from the general shape of the episode having been pitched for S5, rejected on the grounds of it being too expensive at that time) is that he wondered how many people would notice that everyone on the bubble was white, and that if they didn't notice... Hoped that when they realized at the end of the episode they'd wonder why they didn't notice.

[@owenfautley]

For me it was because how dolled up they were with the blue blood so I just thought they were some alien race like the children in Guardians 3, Gamoras civilisation were all green, all of Groots race were trees or how the Who's look all the same stuff like that. So I mainly ended up seeing the classism that is more prevalent in the UK until the voodoo remark since Ruby stated she was also rejected by multiple people so I ended up thinking that. What bugged me in this episode was how the slugs ended up being pointless since why have them when the dot could kill them instantly, nothing was said if it had become sadistic or not so it could have been like the wheel ai in Wall.e, so it should have just become a beacon that attracted a slug which Lindy could have pushed him into to save herself.

[@Dex-gp5su]

To think that was his first scene they filmed him as the doctor

[@tenmark7055]

Love RTD's ability to misdirect. You focus on the Bubble but it's The Dot that's the killer. You focus on Social Media as the commentary but it's t h e racism at the core of the story

[@jonni2317]

they are deffinitly human ricky's blood at the end was red and they sing old earth songs and wear retro earth cloths and live in 60s/70s retro- futuristic houses i think the green is slug slime maybe or its a different mystery something to do with susan twist

[@gohanmoreno7]

I wasnt aware of the racism implied in the episode until i started to read comments of it in the internet, i was like wtf?! I thought they were classist people, but racist too? In the distant future?! It took me by surprise but watching it again i can see it too, wow, such a deep episode.

[@IceMetalPunk]

Yeah. The comments about "I thought you were someone else, you just looked the same" and "that's voodoo" make it clear it's not just about class.

[@kerouac.jackson]

I have a theory about Susan Twist now. Apparently, her first appearance was in the scene with Isaac Newton so I'm guessing that there must be some sort of perception filter making people look like her in places where the Doctor and Ruby turn up as a reminder that he's responsible for the whole "Mavity" thing. It may seem harmless and funny, but it's somehow going to turn into a problem that needs to be fixed at some point. Just a guess, of course.

[@ugolomb]

Actually, in this episode, Ncuti speaks of the Dot as an anti-gravity (not anti-mavity) device.. I wonder if that's intentional or an oversight. I agree that mavity needs fixing, it never made sense in the first place becasue (in real life) Newton didn't invent the word, it's a Latin-origin word that existed in English, in the appropriate sense, before Newton was even born

[@JackBarrugon]

It's been fascinating watching reactors see the end of this episode. Some knew Finetime with its exclusively white, blond population was racist all along, some get it at the end, some don't see it even then. Amazing work by Ncuti at the end too. I've got to wonder if he'd somehow persuaded them to go with him and be saved, would they change their attitudes about anything else even then? I'm strongly inclined to say no.

[@David-cg1lh]

I don't love the amount of people who say they only understood after reading online discussion.

[@JackBarrugon]

@@David-cg1lh That isn't great, but hopefully a memorable lesson to learn from.

[@connorblack99]

@@David-cg1lh it’s wild. I’m about the whitest dude who’s ever been born, I grew up in a town with quite literally 1 African American family (it’s doing much better now but to be fair to it the population is currently less than 5k total and it’s mostly dying veterans) and it didn’t take a whole lot of time to notice how white finetime was and even less time to notice that Ruby got a *very* different reaction than the Doctor. I get not noticing the subtler microaggressions, especially if you’ve never been around rich racist kids and don’t really get how they talk about stuff normally, but I’m pretty floored how many people miss the really unsubtle ones. Also some people are saying that the performance at the end is when Ncuti became the doctor for them and I don’t want to take that away from them by any means, for some people it 100% just takes time and it was an incredible performance, it just feels like a particularly weird moment to call out as the moment he became the doctor for you because honestly he came out fully formed. He’s been the doctor from second 1. He’s given 110% in every second of his performance and had charisma to back it up. I kinda get it, we’ve had two doctor lites after a bottle after plot after baby geniuses so some people didn’t want to call it too soon or whatever and there hasn’t been a good time but it does feel weird to go “oh yeah no now I believe he’s the doctor” after seeing him get racismed at and act his ass off. You can just accept him as the doctor from day one gang, that’s an option. It’s more fun that way.

[@DanielRDrew]

This was an ep where somehow, I missed everything regarding the racism because I thought it was all about them all being classist. Only while I was watching reactions to this episode did I realize what I missed. Then going back I saw all the microaggressions and stuff. Though some people whose reactions I watched also didn't see it right away, they also saw it as about class. I think this may have been a touch too subtle, since i feel like Russell is usually very bold when he's trying to make this kind of point, not as covert. Oh and I still think that Ricky would have made a great companion because he was at least open to learning. And yes he was learning from whatever distorted history this society had put together, but his journey on the TARDIS could have been learning the truth bout everything and becoming a more whole person.

[@docweidner]

I agree it seemed the Doctor and Ruby at least suspected she was lying. I'm not sure Ricky would go. It is possible, but reqtach his interactions with the Doctor. He was also somewhat dismissive. On the first watch, I attributed it to, oh we are in a hurry, I understand how the code works, we don't have to waste time having you explain it to me. After the reveal, which I didn't get until they smacked me in the face with it, I now wonder about Ricky.

[@Maxippo]

Apart from the bi-generation, the last scene was the first ncuti shot for the season

[@neilnichol3210]

Well, love your stuff. Gotta agree a bit, overall a good show , HOWEVER , unlike Alec Rickman,s acting in Robin Hood, more is not always best. Over the top reaction from the doc. Excellent acting from the woman. Hope she’s in it more doing another part. Keep up good work.

[@BALAGOTME]

The racism reveal at the end, it hit me like a truck and THAT look from the Doctor at the end. I really hope we see Lindy again and see how things turned out.

[@nektekket852]

Absolutely!

[@isak1341]

yeah,they'll be dead in two hours😂

[@chanceneck8072]

0:26 It's giving BLACK MIRROR is what I thought... 😅

[@thelivingbarfpoo2363]

Ffs that intro 🤣🤣

[@akshaytrayner1960]

Great reaction

[@viddysgamingviddyos4710]

I saw this episode late [not long before typing actually] and I had vaguely heard a few things [almost nothing to do with the next-time trailer] before watching the episode: that it was kind of a Dr-Lite episode [another one? After 73 Yards? Really?] and that there was a 'theme' of racism. Yet, the ending came almost out of left-field for me when it actually technically shouldn't have if you see the 'foreshadowing'. With these expectations, I thought the slugs were eating people because they were white; only the Doctor was smart and figured out the slugs' origins and killing patterns. Only then did the ending hit me with the thoughts of racism sadly not going away in the far future. And certainly that 'hit' was due to the episode mainly [or on the surface I guess] going with the whole 'if you stare at your phone/social media/etc, you won't see what's going on in the real world'.

[@cgrohs1]

I was really impressed when RTD revealed that the scene on the platform was the first scene Ncuti shot for the series. kzbin.info/www/bejne/mZandXZmq92gY5Y

[@bobfather7355]

The Doctors reaction was do layered to me, he has never had to deal with racism before as they have always been white. That's why it took him a minute to understand what was happening. Just my thoughts.

[@nathandts3401]

Wanted the characters dead from the opening, just for being vapid, social media drones. Felt less guilty about that when it turned out they were racists.

[@orionofford777]

The AI wasn't even the bad guy. Neither were the sluggos. They saw a bunch of racists and were like "we ain't doing this anymore"

[@marcusmcculloch3410]

I don't think we should praise Ricky too much. Sure he turns off the dot...but he is still part of the society where the racism is basically foundational. Ricky is still like the rest of them, don't be fooled by his niceness

[@charlesashe-nn2sf]

I've never said this about someone the Doctor's saved before, but I want Lindy Pepper-Bean to return, so I can watch her die. The actress nailed it, but that character was just so irredeemably horrible, I want to make sure she's gone from the Whoniverse.

[@DotDotDott]

2 fun facts 1. This episode was originally called "Monsters, Monsters everywhere" which at first sounds like kind of a stupid, but it really works when you remember everyone in finetime are racist Monsters 2. This was Ncutis first episode playing the doctor

[@owenfautley]

Also he was very busy filming the final season of Sex education that is why he is not fully present in this episode or 73 yards.

[@RenatoGPadilla]

Honestly? This felt like a Simpsons episode. You know they say The Simpsons predict the future? Someone that worked on the show said that they don't try to predict anything, but rather joke about what the world will be like if things don't change, and eventually shit just doesn't change and they look like prophets... Also, my little brother made a joke about them not listening to the Doctor because he was black (that kind of humor is big here) and we laughed it off at first but... Then we realized he's the only black guy in the episode. We knew they were entitled but we didn't realize they were racist as well... In a way, September was what they would have treated the Doctor if they'd gotten Tennant or Smith. Maybe they DO deserve to die in the woods... Shout-out to whoever decided to toss all the racist white kids to space and then deploy the "Racist-Eating Slugs", btw. Someone had the right idea!

[@matthewb9621]

❤️

[@darrenwoodbine3842]

If you need to show someone the definition of the word 'Woke', get them to watch this episode. We watched that episode without seeing the racism, but by the end we WOKE up and saw it.

[@DaveLynchWriter]

It seems that every one of the 2 million viewers left have KZbin channels.

[@magnetmountain33]

Yeah, erm, they space Christians!