That Time Doctor Who Did The Matrix

[@HarboWholmes]

p̵̛͇͖͈̞̩̾̄̀̑͑̽͒̎̅͐̈́̚͝a̸͙̥̰̩̙̦̭͔̮̖̬͉͛̌͋͜͝ͅͅṯ̴̛͕̜͇͕̱̪̃̾͌̿̍̽̓̾͒̒̔̍̈́͠ṝ̷̨͈͎̭̪̼̺̮̆͆̍̀͘͝e̸̡̧̠̳̖͔̲̥͔͖̣̩̥̮̻͛̌͆̐̌̓͠o̸͙̰̮̔̿͌̓͋̈́̆̅̒̓̿̕͝n̷͍͍̲͗͑͂͠ www.patreon.com/c/harbowholmes

[@CREN13Queen]

I always loved the trope of "they made a fake version of me for their evil plan but they made me too accurately so I'm gonna fight them to save my real loved ones" and Doctor Who does this with this episode, with the Plastic Rory, and with Danny Pink in the Christmas episode. Love it so much

[@X08-Chill]

Interesting too that those three examples are all Moffat using that trope. Love his writing

[@CREN13Queen]

@X08-Chill yes seems to be a favourite if his as well 😂

[@rockbandny]

I like how the vault mystery was solved halfway through. They didn't just milk it

[@nuttyhutty]

Yessss gives so much more weight to the Missy story line the rest of the series, 6 episodes of teasing then the rest to actually develop and tell the story

[@littleredruri]

So real.

[@brobs0463]

I think the fact that extremis hinges on this one thing people are reading being so earth shattering that they go mad and are driven to off themselves (which is crazy for doctor who) being a good concept in itself, when we finally find out what it is its not disappointing at all and it actually enhances the plot and sets the monks up as a terrifying threat.

[@Jackson-ub1uv]

It's one of the many things that were missing in 73 Yards.

[@hanlee3345]

almost like Cthulu

[@Jackson-ub1uv]

@@hanlee3345 With the added benefit of _actually_ having a plausible and understandable reason for such a reaction.

[@Comicbroe405]

12 with sunglasses always looks cool asf.

[@lucypreece7581]

12 always gave me like aged rockstar vibes. like Rod Stewart or someone like that

[@urbescapade]

This is admittedly my own headcanon but I like to believe the moment the Doctor decided to save Missy was after she offered condolences for River. A simple, single act of kindness right at the end when she was about to be killed. It let the Doctor know there was still a shred of good deep down inside her.

[@eiran_o_ddwywent]

The Monk story is honestly the best three parter in Doctor Who, it’s probably the only set of episodes I’d make into a serialised story

[@DrWhoFanJ]

It isn’t a three-parter. It cannot be the best three-parter since it isn’t a three-parter.

[@TranscendentLion]

@@DrWhoFanJ Is the Monk story three episodes? Are those episodes' stories closely connected with each other, such that they could be described as parts of one story? If yes to both, then it's a three-parter.

[@DrWhoFanJ]

@ Nope. They’re a trilogy. That’s how they’ve officially been ever since they were created.

[@TranscendentLion]

@@DrWhoFanJ So, what, in your mind, is the difference between a trilogy and a three-parter? There are three episodes, and they share a story. Is that not a reasonable definition of 'three-parter'?

[@DrWhoFanJ]

@ A three-parter is one story comprising three episodes. A trilogy is three stories that also tell a larger story as a whole.

[@schwoondoggle]

I've always thought speculating whether we're in a simulation or not is a bit of a waste of breath and brainpower. So what if we are? If I find out I'm in a simulation, I still have to go to college tomorrow. I've still got to get a job and go to work to earn money to survive. Being in a simulation doesn't change any of that. So if we are in one, thats cool I guess, but it doesn't really impact normal life.

[@coruscanta]

On a practical level, yeah it’s really not worth stressing about. But if we did find out for sure(or reasonably sure) that we were in a simulation, it only would be a waste of breath and brainpower if we assume there’s nothing we could do about our simulated simulation - which is a pretty big *if* to just take for granted. Maybe we can’t fight back like the Doctor - but that doesn’t by default mean we’d be completely powerless to affect anything. But yeah, spending much time in real life worrying about it doesn’t have much value, but it absolutely could impact normal life - even if we only consider how the knowledge would affect people’s minds. That’d be a world shifting/shattering revelation.

[@schwoondoggle]

@coruscanta But ultimately, what benefit would come from stopping the simulation? If we are just data in a computer, surely stopping the computer would be extremely detrimental to our continued survival lol. I extend this counter argument to you. You're assuming that, if we are in a simulation, it is a Matrix like simulation where we can exist outside the simulation too. You're also assuming that if we can leave, life outside the simulation is somehow better than inside, which I personally doubt. Personally, I don't care whether my thoughts and feelings are pre-determined. They're real and determined by me in my eyes, and thats all that matters. And ultimately if it is all one day shut down, it wouldn't even be tragic. We sure as hell would never know, and to our controllers, it'd be just like putting down a videogame. If we never existed in the first place then nothing of value was lost right? Idk thats my two cents anyway.

[@coruscanta]

@@schwoondoggle you’ve actually hit on one of my main points - I’m *not assuming* the things you said I was. I’m trying to assume as little as possible, as I know next to nothing about what the “real world” could be if we’re but a simulation. I’m not assuming at all that we’d be in a Matrix like simulation where we could survive outside of it, or that our specific goal in affecting the simulation would be to shut it down. That’s assumptions you assumed I’d be assuming. Ok I’m done saying “assume.” 😂 For example(not an all inclusive example, just *an* example), in the world of the game Destiny, there’s a story where a group of characters discover they’re in a simulation similar to the ones made by the Monks - one of the game’s villains attempting to strategize how best to invade. The simulated people escape into other simulations and into the computer network generally. My point there is a)I think it’s a cool story and wanted to share, and more importantly b)there’s more options than just shutting the simulation down or doing what their CERN scientists did in Extremis. If we’re imagining sci-fi situations, why are we limiting our imagined options so severely? I can’t see the reason, personally. My point more generally is that while I think your conclusion - simulation theory is really not worth worrying or stressing about - is correct, the way you got there - there’s literally no impact on everyday life and it’s not like there’s any options to affect anything - are either false or at least unsupported. It would certainly affect me and many others if we could know for sure, and at the very least I’m sure some people would try acting erratically to skew data. Maybe that’s not much, but it isn’t *nothing* ya know? And for what it’s worth, I agree about our thoughts and feelings mattering whether they’re determined or simulated or free. They only need to matter to us, and they do, so they matter.

[@schwoondoggle]

@@coruscanta Yeah pretty much agree with all of that. Have a good day/night lol

[@coruscanta]

@ you too! Sorry for my verbosity. I like to ramble lol. Have a good time!

[@MarkWiseTechno]

The suicide at CERN scene really shocked me on first watch. It struck me as the farthest Doctor Who ever strayed from being family-friendly, much more so than any of the innuendos that go right over kids' heads. It was just so overt. "These people are literally about to blow themselves up with dynamite in an act of mass-suicide." Zero subtlety. Zero hinting and implying. Just straight up, and it really stunned me. Not to mention, they followed it up a few scenes later with "the President downed a bottle of pills." Really morbid, but oh so juicy and good television.

[@dougsfilmtv9810]

Great review of Extremis and this story would be my favorite story out of Series 10. This story did feel like something out of the Matrix, and I love how The Doctor is blind in this story, and it is done really well, and he can't see what the danger is until it is too late.

[@lesd3vil]

You have to realise, if the Shadow Doctor is a perfect simulation of the Doctor, he HAS to act how the Doctor would. So what you're asking isn't if the Shadow Doctor has 'free will'... But if the Doctor himself does

[@Che1Angelius]

All of the simulation had free will, look at Nardole in this episode.

[@coruscanta]

Yeah we could focus on that *if* - “if the doctor has free will,” or we could focus on another *if* - “if the simulation is actually perfect.” If the simulation is sci-fi fantastical levels of good but still imperfect, then shadow Doc could lack free will while real Doc has it. To me, this always seemed the bigger question because of the shadow test. I’d posit that the very existence of the shadow test proves the simulations imperfect. Our simulations are completely able to produce multiple random numbers simultaneously, especially given the slight variances in human speech times even when trying to speak in unison. So it’s trivial to assume that the hyper advanced Monk tech could simulate random numbers without any trouble.

[@GalileoSunshine]

love the line “you don’t need to be real to be the Doctor”

[@babygiraffeman]

12, Bill, and Nardole quickly became my favorite doctor companion group.

[@babygiraffeman]

Also it's nice to see all these Doctor who channels popping up that didn't exist 6 years ago in the same capacity. There just wasn't the same kind of content for it and now it's there. Nice little breakdowns of episodes that I haven't even seen yet. Could be spoilery but there's a lot going on so I don't care.

[@jamiemccreath3959]

Honestly surprised how little you discussed the shadow test itself since it's my favorite part of the episode. It's easy to assume the Veritas would just be some forbidden knowledge that we as viewers just have to accept we'll never understand, but instead it lays out in plain English absolute proof they're living in a simulation. It's yet another instance of Doctor Who doing a great job linking its concepts to the real world, like suggesting any statue could be a weeping angel or that cybermen are an evolutionary inevitability. I can totally imagine watching this episode as a kid and constantly doing the shadow test for weeks. As for the shadow Doctor's heroics, you're right it's very Doctor-like in general, but I'm also surprised you didn't mention how it's perfect for River's message "without hope, without witness, without reward". His friends are gone and his reality is doomed, but he does what he can to save the real world anyway.

[@vullord666]

With series 14 having just dropped, I'm really appreciative of how linear Series 10 was. You had pilot which explained all the rules, a past and future episode which happened back to back (in universe too), a slow burn to keep up with Bill's regular life (which could've done a better job establishing her recurring relations outside the TARDIS crew), and then it really ramps up with Oxygen and Extremis. It's also so perfect that Oxygen ends on the blindness reveal (actual lasting consequences) and Extremis picks up on that. God why couldn't series 14 (or 11 for that matter) had a similar linear start. Series 14 throws me off as a long time watcher with stuff like it's half a year time skip between episode one and two (only mentioned in passing), "as you know Bob" exposition dialogue (just shy), and flashbacks jumping around. Anyway, if I ever get a true freenemy, I'm gonna make them watch Heaven Sent and Extremis to get them into Doctor Who. They'll be hooked and realize too late that it's all downhill from there (then I'll apologize and show them Deadly Assassin from Classic Who to do it all over again 😁).

[@couruu]

Love how you've been implementing bits of philosophy recently. Takes analysis to the next level and seperates your content from the simple plot recap "essays"

[@RELapis]

There are 2 beliefs I've always interpreted from this episode: 1) The scientists at CERN say they are "saving the world" by blowing themselves up. So I've always interpreted their actions as both out of despair, and trying to make the simulation inaccurate to defy the Monk's plan. 2) The Veritas was created to make the Doctor's email more believable to the real Doctor. As the Monks simulated the best way to invade the earth, was if the real Doctor received a message forewarning the invasion. So the message was always part of the Monk's plan. This is proven in the next episode, where the Doctor needed to be trapped for them to win. And this message sets all that in motion.

[@Maeve_Rose]

2 is not super plausible. because the monks panicked at the end of the following episode when the biolab crisis was solved, they just got lucky that the doctor got himself stuck in the process.

[@electrochipvoidsoul1219]

I do want to note, in the Doctor Who universe consiousness can be uploaded/exist on a computer (see: the ending of River Song, the Cybermen as a whole, that whole consiousness uploding Matt Smith episode, the Nethersphere, etc). Such a thing is not known to be possible IRL.

[@robertford5614]

You've hit a new level with this one, mate. Great job. One niggling thought: If we, too, are simulations, does that suggest that like the Monk's "Matrix" Doctor, there's a "realer" version of us, "out there" -- and realer still, beyond? Is it simulacra, "all the way down?"

[@selatidos]

for me the simulated doctor when he said that he didn't need to be real to be the doctor is a reference to Capaldi being a fan ,not only him trying ambiguously to be free will for the simulation

[@Redboots]

in general I think I was the right age for s10 to, as the memetic phrase goes, change my brain chemistry, but specifically I think when extremis aired it was the perfect time for me to watch it. there's a reason that I can't really explain that it was for the longest time my favourite dr who story ever, and it's probably still my favourite new who episode. I also have to comment on the episode's title; 'extremis', as in 'in extremis', as in 'what would you do in extreme circumstances'. I just think that's the maraschino cherry on top of this episode

[@mattevans4377]

Interesting thing about simulation theory: As people have become more downtrodden, simulation theory has gained more traction. Almost as if people are choosing to run away from their existence. And if this isn't a simulation, that's a very bad idea.....

[@Roxor128]

I have little patience for it, because whether or not it's true, it doesn't matter. We are bound by the rules of the universe we live in. Whether that universe is a simulation or not is irrelevant. The rules still apply.

[@truej8391]

Honestly, I've never gotten why people freak out over this. I thought about it for a bit and then realised "why do i get to decide what is real or not? if im a digital contruct, this is as reaal as I'm ever gonna be so who cares if theres some sorta higher level of reality?". The existential implecations like "what is my meaning" and "do i even have free will" are still gonna be questions whether or not where in a simulation so why worry yourself about them? Just my perspective on things, hope it helps some people sleep easier at night

[@Roxor128]

THIS! Oh, so much, THIS! It's huge case of making a mountain out of a flat plane. Yeah, I say a flat plane and not a molehill, as that requires there's actually something of significance, however minor. Here, they've got nothing.

[@Domisbeast]

Your little touches like the review progress message at 5:37 are just more proof that Harbo is the GOAT

[@t.j.armendariz354]

Cogito ergo sum is actually originally a St Augustine quote Descartes co-opted and changed the meaning of

[@Gerry9000000]

11:09 we love a good aunty donna reference

[@policy_wonk]

I lost it when I saw that. God bless you Harbo.

[@aeloswindrunner]

So much to enjoy here. I like the lingering consequences from the blindness last episode, the building up to the reveals, and the "without hope, without witness, without reward" mantra is so good

[@ko379]

"this video isn't real" and "wake up" were a nice touch lol, its a great episode and i like that you made the review artsy. only thing i disagree with you on is that i feel like they didn't really make us feel like *our world* could be a simulation -- because it gave us a way to check, the random numbers. but i like that about the episode, i think it's nice that it gives us an answer and is still creepy

[@AFCManUk]

This is what makes me think that Sacha Dhawan's Master is a regeneration of the Saxon Master, somehow ... Missy is just that little bit too nice at the end of Capaldi's run, when she's shot by her former self, and the Dhawan Master is completely unhinged, even more so than the Saxon Master!

[@WiloPolis03]

I do think that plays into Sacha's character as the Master though, he has a lot of self-loathing and you can infer this is a product of him just being unable to stay "good" without getting into chaos

[@nukeboy7633]

the music from home really adds to this, good pick

[@WiloPolis03]

I always saw it less as everyone not being able to overcome living in a simulation, and moreso generations of people figuring out that they don't even live at all. Thus they decided to do death by suicide because they now knew there wouldn't even be anyone to experience it. That said I do acknowledge that I seem to be in the minority for this interpretation. And great review as always! Subbing because I for some reason haven't yet. ❤

[@MegaVideoJames]

me and my partner finished watching the episode and were making fun of how the random number shadow test seemed like a stretch and to prove how silly it was, we decided to count down from three and pick a random number and we both said 17 at the same time lmao

[@abbeybevan8225]

Loved the editing here ❤

[@obi501]

I understood the Veritas in a very different way, that a lot of this version of earth's history has been run as this simulation and that there were some early simulants realised this and wrote the book to fight back and make this simulation that they're running useless. This to me is confirmed by many characters sending the veritas and then killing themselves. They're trying to save the real world, not simply escape. They in many ways are doing what 12 did in the confession dial, suffering to win when the easier escape is to submit. I also think that the Veritas is a simulant book because the monks are trying to remove it, save this simulation from further damage.

[@Thegaminglord4-6-7]

i love the light motif from links awakening near the end at around 31:24, which SPOILERS... is a dream.

[@Pir4te47]

I love it when Harbo goes Wisecrack.

[@jackballinger1757]

The number thing is particularly brilliant because truly random numbers actually are very very difficult for computers to do. Most 'random' numbers in computer programs are actually based on the system's clock; if you had a bunch of elements in a program that came up with a random number simultaneously in a lot of programs they would all return the same number. Idk I just think it's such a nice touch

[@coruscanta]

See that was always my biggest problem with the episode. Given how advanced the Monks are repeatedly shown to be, producing multiple random numbers should be a non issue for them. Plenty of our programs have no problem generating multiple random numbers in sequence or even simultaneously. Sure, you could get some odd results sometimes, but it always just felt like the thinnest of appeals to some vague real world thing that’s actually dated by decades and no longer really true in any applicable sense. Again, especially not when we’re trying to say that a hyper advanced group like the Monks would fall prey to problems we’ve already mostly solved, especially especially if they’re observing it all and supposedly seeing these tests and then not fixing the problem. All of that said, the shadow test scenes are brilliant for the tone and the suspense and the eventual reveal. I love them as a narrative device, but I’ve always hated them as a like, in world detail, if that makes sense. (Unless some people’s theories about the Doctor figuring it out and everything being a part of the Monk’s plan all along, so the “bug” in the simulation is actually a feature.)

[@jackballinger1757]

@coruscanta tbf I'm speaking from a computing education that was probably already woefully out of date when I received it. It just spoke to one of the few things I actually feel I know about computers

[@coruscanta]

@@jackballinger1757 oh yeah the not-actually-random quality of random number generation is a pretty real fact, and one that gets passed around a lot. Like you said, using the system’s clock is(or at least was, idk😂) a decently common method for generating numbers that seemed random. I in no way meant to shame anyone for it or anything. The main reason it always bugged me was that it took that fairly well known fact(rng not being *truly* random with our current computers) and just kinda went somewhere…adjacent to it by positing that multiple simulated people trying to speak “random” numbers simultaneously (which, with people wouldn’t actually be truly simultaneous) couldn’t generate different numbers, which doesn’t make much sense?. Which I suppose is fairly normal for sci-fi, but still. But again, as a storytelling device, in the moment, it makes for really compelling scenes and it’s used brilliantly. Just always bugged me a bit.

[@qyntifex]

I love this 3-parter with all my heart

[@DanTheMan2150AD]

Honestly my only real problem with this episode is the very out of place subplot with Missy. Take that out and you have a practically flawless episodes

[@mayotango1317]

No really.

[@eiran_o_ddwywent]

I think in and of itself it’s a good story, but it might have needed a bit more time to breathe and take up space. It could have been better if it had occurred over several more episodes I think

[@craytherlaygaming2852]

Ye it feels like it would have fit more in place with the two eps that came after, likely lie of the land as thats when missy s role is relevant.

[@jackorton821]

I don't think it is really that out of place, it sets up the without hope, without witness, without reward mantra which the Dr obeys by sacrificing himself to warn the irl doctor.

[@icbmh3079]

Simulation theory hinges on the idea that perfection is achievable. Yet a perfect being wouldn't need a simulation to understand imperfections. So if we are a simulation it can be proven by finding the flaws.

[@jedstanaland2897]

Dr who did a matrix thing three times that I can remember.

[@matty_mls]

Ive always loved this episode, the bomb under the table scene in my opinion is one of the most underrated scenes in all of doctor who, and the doctors blindness is an excellent added layer to the story. It would easily be the best episode in most other series but its only beaten by the flawless masterpiece of a finale. Also wtf the is happening on the 16th of december Harbo!?

[@lazulenoc6863]

I know I am real, for I am the only thing I truly know. It's everything else that's the problem. Love the "Easter Eggs" in the video.

[@valentinbomlander7262]

Best review yet imo, love the effects and glitches 🖖

[@superkid801]

It's such a great episode. Love it! That reveal at the end! So so good! There is on thing I know that is real is to subscribe to the your channel!

[@electrochipvoidsoul1219]

Quantum Mechanics kind of fucks with that whole "entirely predetermined" thing IRL. And by "kind of fucks" I mean "rips it to shreds and then lights the remains on fire and then scatters the leftover ashes into a black hole."

[@WiloPolis03]

This may be true, though it's worth noting that quantum mechanics is such a wildly experimental field of science that we have such a limited understanding of that it really might as well just be classified as religious beliefs lol

[@leshiy_nd]

7:13 - The fact that you have played the game (with some warm memories of it) us quite... a revelation 🥁

[@HarboWholmes]

Oh I used to be OBSESSED with Assassin's Creed lmao. Brotherhood was my first, will always love that game

[@leshiy_nd]

​@@HarboWholmesOh, my first was AC2 and oh this ending - poor Ezio listening to all that nonsense χD. I lost interest with Rogue, but kinda getting back at it sense release of Mirage. I guess, I have a soft spot for lost cases, lol

[@SpeedyDemon1]

I feel a bit bad because I thought I was subbed to this guy for like a year and just found out I wasn’t lol

[@UltimatePerfection]

I miss Capaldi's Doctor.

[@thetallpancake]

You sure do like the word "Sheer" Don't you? Jokes aside, Extremis is one of my favorite episodes of the show, glad to see we finally made it here.

[@Madtune12]

They should definitely bring river back

[@freelandguy121]

Sorry to be a nervous pervous, but what's the tune at 1:30 - it's not in the list at the end - cheers

[@electrochipvoidsoul1219]

Well... lorentz invariance very much points to our universe NOT being a simulation. Any system that we can put on a computer would have a minimum distance (a single bit or qubit), and minimum distances are inherently incompatible with length contraction.

[@WiloPolis03]

I just never understood how we could be living in a simulation if the very concept of simulations is something we already understand in this universe, when the idea would be that the "real world" is supposed to be *beyond* our understanding of the simulation we would live in

[@CineScarborough]

Imagine if our reality is fake and the Matrix movies were actually trying to expose us all to the truth.

[@unexpectedbonk4049]

Hesdcannon that what 12 stole from his future self was character consistency

[@longwelsh]

Great video.

[@ninino86]

I like this episode great premise and delivery. But for me it will always get pulled down a little by the two episodes that follow. This is a goid episode though, I just cant watch it without the 2 following episodes tickling the back of my head, but thats me. When I first watched this episode I really liked it, especially the ending when The doctor emails The doctor because that is what he would do 😊😎

[@couch3studios269]

11:19 Mark Plato Bonano

[@HT-lr1rs]

Dude, are you real? I think I am Thats good evidence actually... In unison: Renes Decartes?

[@the.monologue]

what is the end and why is it beginning?

[@Coppertiel]

"... pressing SEND!" *ad for smart glasses plays* quite enjoyed this video. cozy presentation and the editing reminds of an ARG.

[@craytherlaygaming2852]

Extremis: aka, the doctor goes to the Index Libirum Prohibitorum (location not silver haired white-gold nun), and discovers he's in the matrix Also the priests in Bill's bedroom be like: No body expects the spanish inquisition... even us! THE SPANISH INQUISITION! Something else I find interesting about the simulation in Extremis, is that its just that, a perfect simulation, even if the people inside are lines of code. Each of them have to be nudged or influenced to make certain decisions, thats the entire point, an experiment, like you said, save scumming. The monks don't *know* what each person would do in any given situation, they just learn what key factors would lead to them making the decisions *they* want. But they aren't controlling anyone, they are merely pushing them in a direction, they are still making these decisions themselves, the monks just save and restart every time they fail so they can figure out the exact right strategy. they killed the doctor countless times, but they never said they won in those simulations, if anything killing the doctor angers literally every other being in the universe. So they needed to win without killing the doctor...

[@snorie]

Made it to 23:24... now imma go pick up smoking 😭

[@tom_4615]

14:14 damn the word minutia is in my dissertation title and I’ve spent the last 2 months telling people what it means 😂 so glad someone else uses this S tier word

[@denistardis8970]

Do anybody know what music plays a 29:11-30:28?

[@leejjjjjjj1]

watching this stoned was an experience and a half ♥️

[@leejjjjjjj1]

amazing video ^^

[@Samantha_76]

OMG CLAMJAMMED??

[@micklynchcomposer]

this is my #1 favorite episode of the show

[@DarkXelNaga]

17:27, hold up. If it is proven that we are in a simulation. that means we where made FOR a purpose. even if thats just to be background NPCs to make the game world feel more alive. The only people that have no objective purpose is the ones in REAL reality. as they where not made by anyone. they are just results of chemical reactions playing out as they do. You have it backwards. What we do in the simulation matters WAY more than the real people at the top. If we find out its a simulation and start doing stuff we arnt suppose to be doing, you know what happens? a reset! Patches to fix the issue. You know what happens if the real people start doing stuff differently? Nothing because they dont have a purpose to fulfill. Religious people should be overjoyed to find out they are in a simulation. they are always going on and on about fulfilling their purpose and now they objectively have one.

[@harrysolas2802]

When I first studied physics my belief was that we are all a sum of forces. The idea of free will is an illusion we like to tell ourselves. I grew older and accepted personal responsibility, The illusion of free is a drug that gives us the most out of the life experience. Use it sparingly.

[@XGD5layer]

You are only as free as you believe yourself to be, act accordingly

[@thekandyman.]

I made count Grendel, the absorbaloff and Boris Johnson roommates in the sims

[@sbi168]

I love series 10, the monk trilogy and extremis especially. Absolutely brilliant

[@Roxor128]

The least-plausible part of this episode was people killing themselves or crashing (like Bill or Nardole) because they found out it was a simulation. Okay, so you're a piece of software. So what? What's wrong with that? It makes no sense to get upset over it, any more than you'd be upset over being a flesh-and-blood animal. You can still think. You're still you. What substrate is doing the thinking is completely and utterly irrelevant.

[@WiloPolis03]

This is where I always interpreted the episode differently than a lot of people, I assumed it was like how it'd play out if a simulation was made in the real world, where it's not just that the characters figuring out that nothing is real, they also figure out that they don't even experience life as an extension of not being real, and so it literally wouldn't matter what happened to them. Though I do seem to be in the minority with this interpretation, so maybe that's not what Moffat nor the cast was going for

[@welcometothetroyiverse8864]

It’s funny because I see this story line as the Mass Effect trilogy of Doctor Who. As a whole is good. However, if you look at them individually the last section falls flat at the end.

[@PowerSpirit50]

I straight up didn't finish the last episode of this three parter. Everyone laughing at Bill infuriated me.

[@DrWhoFanJ]

This is a one-parter, not a three-parter. No-one was laughing at Bill.

[@PowerSpirit50]

@DrWhoFanJ When I've looked online it has been referred to as a three parter.

[@DrWhoFanJ]

@@PowerSpirit50 Then those places were lying and/or misunderstanding. It’s three one-part stories.

[@DalekCaanOfSkaro]

Being a bit pedantic, I mean okay, you are right perhaps that it isnt a "three-parter", but I think its been universally acceptaed that this story is linked with the 2 following episodes in a three-part narrative. One continuous villain, one continuous invasion over three episodes, I would say that warrants it being a three-parter. ​@@DrWhoFanJ

[@DrWhoFanJ]

@@DalekCaanOfSkaro It isn’t a three-parter, though. It’s a trilogy. Just look at the TARDIS Wiki’s list of TV stories. Each one gets its own number, rather than all getting one number with a, b and c identifying the individual episodes.

[@DannyDowd-fq4pm]

13:38 As he said it’s horrific. But this is precisely I think what would happen if or when a movie, or animated character releases they’re not real. He wasn’t that far off when he said “It’s like Grand Theft Auto. But there are two types of characters, there are basic characters then there are avatars. If or when they find out they’re simulations this could definitely be the outcome. If they’re not real because we humans made them then the sad thing it could be the same for us and god.

[@ShadowSearcher31]

Everyone talks about doubting if they have free will and cherishing the time you have, but no one mixes the two into cherishing the free will you havr

[@peterskrobola8753]

One of the best of Series 10. Unfortunately the Monk trilogy peaked here. Shoutout to the Pope ruining Bill’s love life

[@the.monologue]

49???

[@DannyDowd-fq4pm]

18:47 You’re not wrong. But if they, or we find we’re simulations then all we have is our reality so we would need hold on to our morality.

[@Paul-vt6tx]

I'm calling the Doctor, pressing send Bill, I'm not real.

[@lasseehrenreich5502]

I have nothing to say but he is a common for the algorithm

[@CragDoll]

49 days 😊

[@mb2000]

49?

[@lewiitoons4227]

cognito ergo sum is actually slightly mistranslated it would be more accurate to say "i know, therefore i am" and the the original french "je pense, donc je suis" which is literally "i think so/then i am" soz just a language nerd

[@mrwhatcanido4942]

49

[@haruhisuzumiya6650]

Pain

[@erubin100]

One thing I don't quite get: why would the monks have their simulated doctor be blind? wouldn't it make more sense to give him his eyesight to have better data? making him blind gives him a pretty big handicap right off the bat.

[@Che1Angelius]

They were simulating the world when the perfect moment can happen, so they would willingly give up "free will by love"

[@DriverHenryWho3245]

49!

[@Jackson-ub1uv]

What's the betting that, in the face of such a sense of meaningless and existential dread, Ncuti's Doctor would just start crying?

[@jamiemccreath3959]

I don't think the Monks created the Veritas, I think people wrote it when they noticed the bad RNG.

[@jamiemccreath3959]

@ bad in the sense that it can’t generate different numbers simultaneously, not that it’s not truly random

[@dh-ck2om]

What do ppl think the purpose of life was before they “discovered” it means nothing/nothing is real/there’s no purpose for anything?

[@LucamacGuy]

What’s happening on 26.12.2024?!

[@skullzyy6633]

Boxing Day?

[@CashelOConnolly]

I wonder how many of the people loving this episode was hating on the 12th Doctor at the time

[@VeryUsMumblings]

Honestly... overrated and derivative. Maybe I'm old, but when I watched this, I immediately recognized where it was drawing it's ideas. There was a classic 4th Doctor series called Android Invasion where the Doctor and Sarah happened upon a simulation of earth that was being run for the purpose of planning an invasion of earth. Also, there's the obvious ideas taken from movie The Matrix. The inclusion of the catholic church was entirely unnecessary, but that was a little of Dan Brown's DaVinci Code thrown in for extra flavour. This was a good episode, but I would never give it an S. More like a B. Good video, though! 👍😄

[@WiloPolis03]

I've been watching Android Invasion, I have either one or two episodes left (pretty sure just one?) Such an underrated serial, part one is so creepy and builds tension and mystery so well

[@VeryUsMumblings]

@@WiloPolis03 Classic Who, especially Doctors 3 to 5, have some awesome stories even if the special effects are cheesy. 👍

[@WiloPolis03]

@@VeryUsMumblings Yeah and honestly, I think the practical effects don't get enough credit as they should

[@elberno4243]

The monk trilogy was extrem-ely awful. I hate episodes in dreams/parallel realities, that don't actually happen

[@asanoga-len6948]

Bill Potts sucks!!!!!!! I'm gay is not a character. Glad she's gone.

[@FacePimpd]

Funny that’s your focus. Yeah she did mention she’s a lesbian a few times, it’s part of her life.

[@MunkiZee]

I really liked Bill, instantly too, it often takes me a while to warm to people. She's very down to Earth and yet somehow belongs very well in a sci-fi setting

[@_MyNameIsAJ_]

Yeah just ignore all her other traits

[@CineScarborough]

Each to their own. I thought Bill was brilliant and I'm disappointed that Pearl Mackie hasn't had as much success outside of Doctor Who as Karen Gillan or Jenna Coleman.

[@WiloPolis03]

Shh no one tell them about Jamie, Ace, Captain Jack or Clara Oswald