The Giggle Just Changed Everything

[@dwfan91-]

There are actually too many thoughts that I’ve had to put in one video. As I’m sure many of you can relate to, I’m overwhelmed. Although the video may sound negative, I assure you I did have an overall positive experience and want to explain and expand on all my thoughts and feelings in a follow up hopefully releasing later this week. Until then, hope you enjoyed my initial first impressions and don’t forget to leave your own thoughts in the comment section below for the Community Reaction video

[@ben10big98]

I loved this episode but the ending with the bi regeneration was terrible it makes doctor less special because now there's two doctor's so any problem just call the over doctor to help also why did they keep 15th doctor in under wear also why was the shirt the only thing that cloned

[@Sirfoxdagreat]

The musical scene was fantastic

[@TheBeastBoss04]

NPH was great, but I don't know how to feel about certain parts

[@ERRENNESS]

Essay incoming: I agree with you. The idea that the doctor needs to settle because of trauma is so stupid xD. Defeats the whole idea and premise of the show. An alien who travels in time and space, picking up people who want to escape from their ordinary lives. Also I think just inventing this bi-generation thing out of thin air hurts Ncuti Gatwa's entrance as the Doctor massively. He never had the spotlight, ruins his introduction to the role. And also, this is just be me and my opinion, I don't watch this show because I want to be fed with political views. I just want to watch some good Sci-fi about a time-travelling alien! I'm not very optimistic about the future of the series. Wild Blue Yonder gave me a bit of hope because it felt like a regular doctor who episode to me. But this episodes ending really killed all my hopes again. But from what I've seen people liked it a lot. Don't know if that's just me having higher standards for what is a good episode.

[@Reader999]

Since the Toymaker will be more relevant once his "legion" comes for the Doctor, we can possibly explore things that didn't make sense from the previous era to how 15 will deal with greater threats. Just going off by the energy his Doctor acts and the direction it's heading, it's about time the focus shifts from the Time War & aftereffects to the Toymaker.

[@Cabolt44]

To me, this all says a few things. 1. 14 had too much trauma from 1000s (or millions according to him) years, so bi-regeneration was absolutely needed, i.e., therapy 2. 15 quickly stated that he's only mentally well, because 14 eventually gets the help they need to move forward. Meaning, he's actually a Doctor further along in 14s timeline, then the regeneration states 3. Bi-regeneration could open the doors for smoother transitions for future Doctor's into their next incarnations. 4. 14 is likely now some kind of delayed-Watcher like being. He'll eventually return to 15 and the loop is complete.

[@aidssupreme9296]

This is what I’m Considering cannon

[@xLionsxxSmithyx]

What? That's not how it works That's stupid, you don't pull a future you out of yourself, it's called "Regeneration"... If it was a Future version of himself from the future it would mean that his Regeneration yanked a version of himself backwards from Time and Space, Merged it into his body and then separated it... and that just seems so, so dumb. This episode was good until it got ruined by "The Message"

[@bitduelist]

This theory has a good amount of evidence behind it. First off, the 14th Doctor states that the 15th is older than him. If the Doctor just split in two during the Bi-generation then that wouldn't make sense because then they would be the exact same age. The other piece of evidence is the scene when 15th Doctor uses the hammer to "clone" the Tardis. Notice how the second Tardis isnt exactly the same and contains the juke box and a ramp. Its not the same Tardis but the last one the 15th Doctor remembers. Maybe he also didnt clone a Tardis but used the Toymaker's Chaos to bring his one back.

[@benwalter6984]

⁠@@xLionsxxSmithyx Lmao how is it ‘the message’ to have the doctor biregenerate. You pearl clutching reactionaries are actually insane 😂

[@xLionsxxSmithyx]

@@benwalter6984 lmfao, I never said that part was "The Message" you absolute dingleberry.

[@connor_bell]

Between the "youre older" comments and 15 saying "I'm fine because you fix yourself" my headcanon for 14->15 is that after 14 finishes living with Donna's family and heals himself or whatever, he somehow then regenerates into 15 at the moment of the bigeneration. Or something. And then maybe the tardises merge again too or something. I really don't know honestly, 15 just felt extremely sure of himself, not like a 14th doctor seconds after regeneration. I mean he gave his tardis his orange asthetic and a jukebox without even thinking, like he already knew he wanted it. But I imagine the ending will feel really cool in a few years once we get to know 15. It kinda felt like a River Song sort of thing where we haven't met him yet but he already knows himself. Either way, very excited for Christmas :)

[@dwfan91-]

I also think this/want to think this. Just wish it had been spelled out more in the episode

[@Aurora_Lightbringer]

​@@dwfan91- It still might be tbh. I'd expect something later on in Ncuti's run referencing bettering himself, as he seems like a much happier doctor. We can't expect everything to be covered about a new character defining mechanic like this in the first episode it's introduced. It's the potential for many stories dealing with the consequences and mechanics.

[@zayamsbury]

this doesn't seem to be head cannon, this seems to be what it is, in the show, full stop. "rehab out of order" also contributes. @@dwfan91-

[@benjaminwilson2945]

Neil Patrick Harris stole the show

[@dwfan91-]

I somehow barely mentioned him throughout the video, he was spectacular

[@leodiario7784]

Him and Ncuti were the best part

[@olilongfeet7229]

Yes 100%

[@GreenGocco]

Yes

[@MJW000]

@@leodiario7784 half right

[@elijahleandre]

I personally think that the doctor (this version at least) finally settling down and getting to be truly happy in his own words is a great ending for him, and I’m very excited to see what Ncuti has in store for the Christmas special. The only thing that I would’ve changed is that Ncuti should’ve taken the OG Tardis and left the new version with 14. The Tardis is it’s own character, and while technically it’s gonna be the same blue box it’s always been, it feels like this new version doesn’t have that experience that the OG Tardis has and so it should’ve gone to a doctor that won’t be traveling that much anymore

[@MrGreaves]

I feel like the fact that this is a newer TARDIS proves that it’s the same character. This one has changed for 15, while the other one just stays the same - like 14. They’re the old ones. Never changing. We’re left with THE TARDIS and THE Doctor. But I get what you mean all the same.

[@filthycasual8187]

@@MrGreaves I disagree. Ncuti's Doctor isn't the same Doctor. The Doctor got split like an amoeba -- Ncuti's Doctor is a new entity entirely, and while he MIGHT have the same memories and experiences as Tennant, that's more of a "biological memory" type of thing than actual experience; Ncuti's the first Doctor in a whole new biological cycle, a newly-born Time Lord in a VERY strange way. And the TARDIS had something very similar happen to her. Tennant's the original Doctor; the one that's been changing its faces for the last "billion" years. The one that ACTUALLY used to be Hartnell's Doctor once upon a time. He's retiring now, being worn out from all that adventuring, whereas Ncuti's Doctor is young and fresh and ready to take up the mantle. Tennant's Doctor may very well end up becoming the Curator.

[@MrGreaves]

@@filthycasual8187 Hmm. Interesting. I feel like I like that idea too. I guess the whole thing needs some expanding on but since Series 14 is prepped to be Season 01... That might not happen. Let's leave it up to Big Finish xD

[@Aurora_Lightbringer]

​​​​​@@filthycasual8187 Is the Doctor still the doctor during Heavens Sent? I'd argue yes, both the doctors that died in that story AND the final doctor to break the diamond wall are the doctor. It's the same concept. One just died and regenerated a little quicker than the other in this story. The TARDIS is easier to wrap your head around in this perspective as it's a time travel machine, but it's the same machine.

[@badwolf9956]

There is a theory that the toymaker just screwed with his timeline. 14 will eventually regenerate and become 15 when he's coming out of 14's body. This explains why 15 seemed like he knew what was going on. Also, the TARDIS wasn't duplicated, it's just the same one from two different times. This explains why 15's TARDIS has a jukebox and feels more customized.

[@dulcemacario6971]

So I felt so many emotions watching those episode (which is my favourite thing about RTDs writing- he loves evoking emotions) and I was really hesitant on the bi-generation and then I watched the official dr who podcast and it had snippets of RTD’s perspective and throwing it back to the audience on what we’d like to see. So after seeing that I have this sense where the bi-generation can give everyone what they want- a story of the brilliant doctor who travels in time and space running around and a time lord retiring happy with friends who are family to him after going through loss after loss after loss which would honestly turn anyone into a heartbroken soldier. I then rewatched it and kept that thought in mind, the 15th doctor comforting the 14th was like the doctor saying to himself- be happy for me and I’ll adventure for us both. It gave it way more oooomph and gets to set up a possible unit spin off with maybe the occasional cameo of the 14th doctor (like in the Sarah Jane adventures). Overall I think seeing it as a widened perspective of we still get our classic doctor who story whilst giving the main character who has been through more horrifying experiences than anyone could ever a chance of a life not being left behind for once. I’m so exited for the future of doctor who and I hope to always feel this way in the future!

[@lbricks7631]

Congrats on calling the Doctor Split and the 14th remaining on earth reminds me of how the 3rd Doctor stayed on earth, despite the Time Lords giving his knowledge of TARDIS operation back at the end of the 3 Doctors. He still had adventures going off to places, but he was based at UNIT with the UNIT Fam.

[@biggusdickus5986]

That was the most boring dr of all Pertwees, a dr without a tardis stuck on earth with a platoon of soldiers is when l stopped watching dr who for years, l was there at the first ever episode l was 6 yrs old 1963 and it was great and when the daleks showed up l was one of the many that hid and wa5ched it trhu splayed fingers, l hid under my granmas cottage suite sofa, even tho the room was quite filled with my grandad and granma, a couple of aunts some cousins and my dad, l still had to hide. Thats how scary the daleks were then to people, Troughton was good Pertwee was in his own way but being grounded was a big no no for me. Like the Lone Ranger without Silver, or Rick without Morty

[@bennieboi3802]

I felt like the Bigeneration could have been explained through the deck split game still being in effect. I really loved this episode with a few gripes here or there but I'm really hyped for Ncuti, his doctor has an infectious energy and I wanna see more!

[@dwfan91-]

now that would've been quite clever

[@rhyebred]

The Giggle… hoo boy. What should I say about this one? This episode was especially exhilarating, and the Toymaker made his presence known with his manic energy. Loved the return of Mel as well, the Glitz reference was rather charming. The whole concept of bigeneration seems to have gotten a bad rep, but I do think it being a myth and only now occurring implies that the Toymaker’s rules somehow allowed it to occur? It’s odd, but eh, could’ve been worse.

[@pleasegoawaydude]

The Toymaker had latent reality-shifting/weakening effects that they mentioned as the explanation for the TARDIS duplicating. They retroactively imply that his effect is not localized, and that it allowed the myth to come true. After all, superstition outside of reality is what let Toymaker return to begin with.

[@Reader999]

The Toymaker is highly arrogant of himself. His whole existence ties into the whole game shenanigan with his rule(s) when being challenged. Despite this, he has those reality warping powers that could literally make him a god, but to him, it's just a game. Everything he sees are like toys to him. That explains why he just "toys" with those people instead of just ending them right then or there. His own childish behavior becomes his undoing, one that the Doctor can take advantage of. After all, the Doctor when he first beat him did just that by talking to the guy as a ruse.

[@adamfreddo5703]

"The One who waits". That's Sutekh right? He was literally sitting there waiting in Pyramids of Mars. Also, The Toymaker is powerful, but in Pyramids of Mars they set up that if Sutekh came back we'd all be f****d.

[@dwfan91-]

I very much hope so

[@uwufoxie]

That would be AWESOME

[@dc6521]

Honestly, the 14th doctor settling down and spending time with a new family is just heartwarming and a good reversal of the "get out and look for adventure" thing we've had for 60 years. These three specials, though they had their hiccups (mostly in the star beast) have shown that doctor who is finally fun again, Ncuti just oozes charisma and I feel the future of the show is in safe hands. oh, I rate it an 8.5 if you're interested.

[@dwfan91-]

I like get out and look for adventure

[@LauraGS564]

does not fit with every incarnation. This felt sense with 14th, and the Doctor is still going for adventure.@@dwfan91-

[@dc6521]

@@dwfan91- that's what ncuti's for, isn't it? One criticism I have, which applies to all three specials, is that it felt a bit too quick and some things couldn't quite develop, it should've been 90 minutes.

[@KhanhNguyen-mh5ec]

@@dwfan91- Well Shuti is the new looking for adventure doctor. Tennant can stay back and protect Earth. And hey, adventure can look for Tennant because they think he's Shuti doctor.

[@doctorwhose4783]

I still want to know why The Doctor has never encountered or mention Martha in all of his UNIT interactions. Like this could have been a nice episode to bring back Martha as well as having Mel around. But I could see Tennant's Doctor being exiled 3rd Doctor-lite, maybe rebuilding Torchwood or something similar.

[@Just_Tim91]

I think the idea is that, the 14th is going to Rehab. He needs a breath, and the 15th even says something along the lines of, "I'm here because you took a break". To me, it feels like an accurate depiction of ADHD burnout. Anyway, I'm not sure what the future is going to be like, but that trailer for the Christmas special looked amazing!

[@dwfan91-]

Definitely agree, amazing trailer! Can't wait for Christmas Day

[@Just_Tim91]

I wanted to add, I think that the 15th splits from the 14th, but that there is still a linear order to their regeneration. I think the 14th will rest and eventually die and regenerate into the 15th, through his younger self. Its hard to explain, but its like his time lines crossed at the bi-regeneration event and that his post bi-regeneration life is fated to end up back at the moment. Ill send you a drawing in dms that might explain better.@@dwfan91-

[@StrayMaverick]

The bigeneration seems like a needless plot point to me. I mean, we'll have the same problem that we have in the MCU world now. If there's ever a plot on modern day Earth, we'll always wonder "where's 14? Why isn't he here? He has a Tardis" so eventually I think RTD will HAVE to kill 14 off and destroy that Tardis for ANY modern day story to work. Also, 15 seems more like the "true" Doctor to me. He's sacrificing himself by continuing to journey so that 14 can live a peaceful life. But it makes 14 feel like he's not the Doctor AT ALL because of that. There's also the issue of 14 getting the face of 10. 10 didn't want to regenerate and now 14 gets his face as he essentially quits being the Doctor. I hate to say it, but it really soils 10 and 14 and makes them seem like the least "Doctor" Doctors that we've ever gotten. RTD took "I don't wanna go" literally and so now he's literally not going anywhere and just pro chillin. Such a weird, odd writing decision.

[@dwfan91-]

It makes me wonder if he did it for the sake of it or as he implied in Unleashed that he's always wanted the Current Doctor to meet the New Doctor so tried to find any way to make it happen

[@samburgerwithcheeze8145]

​@@dwfan91-Honestly if he wanted to do that he could've left the concept of bigeneration in the noggin and made it so that the doctor split because of the toy makers domain. And after they beat Toy maker 14 goes back into 15. Them keeping 14 is just them not wanting to get rid of David imo.

[@dwfan91-]

@@samburgerwithcheeze8145 The way I would've done it is have the Doctor from the future (15) just show up to help save the day. It would add in a new gap in the timeline a.k.a some mystery for the new "reboot," would be a really cool plot twist and make a lot more sense than the literal magic they use in the actual episode

[@samburgerwithcheeze8145]

@@dwfan91- Kinda like 12 in day of the doctor but he actually gets to interact with the previous Doctors?

[@dwfan91-]

@@samburgerwithcheeze8145 Exactly. I think it would’ve worked better too from the reboot aspect of it and gives the writers wriggle room to add in whatever they want later down the line. Of course it’s not the best idea oat or a perfect solution but for me, I simply think bigeneration is just too messy and clunky a decision

[@DeadedGamers]

The episode was something else... I went in expecting The Star Beast two and was expecting it to be meh, then they came out with Wild Blue Yonder two! It was a masterpiece, I loved The Toymaker! I loved the pacing and the bigeneration, Ncuti Gatwa did a great job bouncing off of David Tennant and I loved the scene with The Toymaker and the puppets showing Amy Pond, Clara Oswald and Bill Pots. It's a shame The Star Beast began this trilogy since its the only episode I can say I wasn't a fan off as I'd say Wild Blue Yonder is a 9/10 and The Giggle is a 10/10, Neil Patrick Harris was perfect for the role and his defeat while some would say anti-climactic I'd say is great, overall I had no issues and I hope everyone enjoyed it as much as I and my family did.

[@jonathangmallender]

Loved your review, I loved all three, but absolutely agree about WBY being 9/10 & Giggle being 10/10.

[@justsome500yearoldwithsmug2]

I have very mixed feelings overall loved the chemistry between Tennant and Gatwa though and I like the idea if the doctor finally getting a happy ending. lot's of new things that my brain gotta process though. Gatwa looks very fun and I'm still excited to see his adventures through

[@Kaastretch]

I think that we as the audience ultimately have a different ideal than what the doctor as a character wants. They’ve expressed many times their frustration about running away constantly with their older incarnations (more so in New Who but whatever). While we have the ideal of wanting to escape from our reality, the doctor is someone who has expressed a different ideal as they have gotten older. The third doctor’s ideals can’t really be comparable to the fourteenth because of such a large gap of time between them. It would seem natural that this is what the doctor would want, but is something that they can’t really obtain. I think that this allows for the ideal to be achieved and the doctor can finally have that peace that has alluded them for a long time. Does it mean it’s good? no lol, i would have vastly preferred a normal regeneration, but doctor who is always about changing things up and doing some wacky weird retcons like this, so i guess it fits in the show like that lol

[@andrealiee]

100% agree. common kaastretch W

[@Cosmic_Nite]

Watching this episode as it aired, I loved it. When I rewatched it, I still really enjoyed it, but there are some things that I just don't really get. The first 2/3 of the episode were brilliant, I loved every second of it. But, like you said, when the Toymaker takes control of the big laser thing, that's when things get weird. That whole scene, and the dialogue between the Doctor and the Toymaker sorta gave me the impression that RTD didn't really know where to take the story next. As for the bigeneration itself? I mean, sure, I can accept that. I do wish they'd given us some actual explanation for it happening, rather than just "This isn't supposed to happen, but it just has!". Perhaps it'll be expanded upon in future, but right now, I just don't really understand it. As for 14 and 15 being together for the rest of the episode, I'm very mixed on this aspect. I mean, the idea of the Doctor working with his next incarnation is really cool, and having both Doctors on screen at once may help to ease in viewers who may have been unwilling to give Ncuti a chance. But I do wish Ncuti got at least a bit of time on his own. And yeah, the idea of 14 "retiring" just seems very weird to me. I know it was hinted at in The Star Beast, and Wild Blue Yonder sorta tackles the whole "the Doctor keeps running because he can't face his own trauma" but it just doesn't feel like something the Doctor would do, especially not so suddenly. So overall, a very enjoyable episode, just with a few things towards the end that I don't really get.

[@CrikeyItsDan]

I feel like these specials ultimately satisfied no one, now that's not to say the episodes were bad or no one enjoyed them, just I think they've done more harm than good in the long run. For those of us who wanted Tennant back, we simply didn't get enough of him. In a way I kinda feel like what was the point of bringing him back if this is all you're going to do with him? Now this might not be the end of Tennant, he may be involved in some spin off moving forward or involved in another way, Which leads me to the second group, those who didn't wanna see Tennant back. The reason I saw most against Tennant's return is that people wanna see the show keep moving forward, which is completely fair. But now you've left Tennant alive, in the same universe, with his own Tardis and it just allows people to ask the question, where is he? What is he doing? Why are we not getting David instead of this new guy? And ultimately I don't think that's fair to Ncuti. Basically, if Disney, the BBC, RTD whoever was insistent on bringing Tennant back, they should have given him a proper run. 1 2 3 seasons however long they needed it to be, then when the time to regenerate came, do it like you have every single one before, a clean break. Because now, I and I imagine other didn't feel like we got enough Tennant AND Ncuti has to go forward in his era, with the extremely large shadow of David Tennant hanging over him. So don't get me wrong, their were things about these episodes I loved, but for the long term health of the show, I think it's been handled poorly and left no one ultimately satisfied.

[@cartoongame5007]

These are my exact thoughts. None of these episodes really satisfied everyone, and when they did they had other aspects weighing them down. Star Beast was bogged down by weird mixed messages that kind of help no one and that people on all sides had issues with, Wild Blue Yonder was the strongest overall but least anniversary-feeling, and The Giggle started off good and ended dividing up the fandom and arguably perhaps having a twist comparable to the timeless child in terms of "this severely undercuts the show's past emotional moments and themes".

[@sonmarsha69]

Womp womp, I think the idea of tennant returning is epic. And in the short time the new doctor was shown it was clear they was giving him the spotlight and he gave 'himself' therapy lmao so they've already made it seem like the new 1s the better 1

[@CrikeyItsDan]

@@sonmarsha69 That's fine, but do you not also agree even giving him one full season would have worked better? Would have given more time to flesh out everything it was trying to do. So much about these episodes just felt rushed to me. And even if it's just one full season, that would hopefully satisfy those who came back for Tennant, but then he would have had his normal regeneration, then those of us who did come back for Tennant, we can decide to either give Ncuti a shot, or just leave and know our time with the show is done. Now you're in a situation where the Tennant fans may keep watching, but only because the want more of him and I just feel that's so unfair to Ncuti you know? Like I want to give him a fair chance and will, but in the back of my mind I know that if I got to choose what the next season of Who was, and it was either the new Adventures with Ncuti OR more adventures with Tennant, I'd take Tennant because these 3 episodes didn't give me what I needed, it teased me with a taste and I just want more, and it's an option as he's still alive. I dunno, alot of thoughts right now tbh, definitely need to get a rewatch or two of the episode under my belt!

[@grantbarbarino4465]

My thoughts on the Doctor “settling down”: I think the primary difference between this and the 3rd Doctor’s imprisonment is that the 14th Doctor needs that break. Like the Toymaker highlights the episode: -He didn’t properly move on from Amy and Rory, he just got distracted with something else while he was in a really bad place about it. -He was forced to forget about Clara, so no moving on there. Never got to deal with those feelings. -He feels responsible for the Flux wiping out countless billions of lives. The Doctor is currently trying to do their happy-go-lucky gallivanting about with numerous heavy personal losses as well as a universe-sized guilt on their shoulders. It’s not healthy for him. 14 isn’t going to stick around forever, he’s not human like Tentoo. Eventually, he’ll outlive the Noble family, say goodbye to them on honest, healthy terms, and go back to his adventuring. He’ll probably even regenerate and become new Doctors parallel to Ncuti and his regenerations. 14 isn’t settling down, he’s taking a break that he needs to be himself again. In a writing sense, RTD doesn’t want to write Ncuti’s character with the weight of so much on his shoulders, especially now that he’s rebooting the reboot. I think he wants 15 to be this “fresh start” like Donna says about games not having memory, where 15 isn’t dragged down by the past 20 years of Doctor Who. Ncuti never has to get mopey about Rose, or Amy, or Clara, or the Flux, he can just be the Doctor out on new adventures, and that’s what this lets him do. Personally I think after his little rehabilitation on Earth (which would at max be like, 50 years? Basically a couple months to a Time Lord?) 14 will leave and get back to Doctoring when he feels he can handle it. Generally, while I get being apprehensive about it, I think this is the best thing for the Doctor as a person and as a character who needs to be written for more adventure starting in just a few weeks. 10 was always the Doctor that seemed the most conducive to a domestic life (he literally already did) so I think it’s fitting 14 gets to be his rest point. That face did its adventuring. This is what he gets, his reward. (eyyy little End of Time Pt. 2 eyyy)

[@cowguy8558]

A cool fan theory going around right now is that the 14th doctor will end up as the curator

[@sxsanyu]

17:52 : the 14th doctor doesn’t fully stay on earth, he did admit to taking rose (i think) and mel to diff planets on diff days during the dinner scene which means that he probably still can’t handle earth full-tine (SiS PTSD) so he goes on an occasional or even 1 adventure per day then comes back home to the nobles in time for tea 🤷‍♂️

[@dwfan91-]

Very true

[@antoniaprentice]

The annoying thing is, the pacing and set up in the first part was amazing. I was hooked. As soon as that laser hit 14, however, it just went downhill. It felt rushed and contrived. If I was to rewrite this, that laser would have killed 14, and before anyone had chance to process what had happened... BOOM, 15. It would give more time to wrap up a great premise satisfyingly, whilst allowing Ncuti to show audiences what his vision is for the next doctor. As it was, the story just felt like a nothing all to convenient end just to allow time to say goodbye to David. The problem is, the hype towards David and Catherine's return meant that a fair chunk of people who came back to see him as the doctor again would feel disappointed. The ending was just fan service, and it ruined the story. Either way, I'm excited to see what comes next for the show and for the small amount of time he was on screen, I felt Ncuti did his best to show his doctor and I am excited to see what he does when he is allowed to own the story alone.

[@Concreteowl]

RTD always paints himself into a corner, pulls a solution out of his dimensionally transcendental ass and giggles at the fans. Casual viewers assume it's meant to be this flimsy. This is exactly what I dreaded when it was announced he was coming back.

[@MegaFeeso]

I think the episode was fun. I like the toy maker’s chaos and the reflection on what the doctor’s been through. I’m a bit frustrated tennant is the one who always gets special treatment and that Ncuti didn’t get to own the screen on his debut. That said I still really enjoyed it, so I’ll accept it on the condition that this is like a time loop, where when 14 dies in the distant future he gets zapped back and becomes 15 here, who has gone through all that healing. I just don’t want to deal with it just being clones, because it makes 15 feel like the copy. Final thing, they handled wilf well and I like 14’s ending… I just wish he visited Susan before the final scene to start that healing, that would’ve really sold it as the 60th.

[@skellysilverlight8669]

the 14th doctor is now the curator from the 50th anniversary

[@JrwVWR]

I agree with you on basically everything. I hate the idea of the doctor settling down like that and I really don't understand or see why anybody would think it'd be a good idea. The dialogue about him settling down feels forced and it really all just seems to happen in about 5 minutes. We go from "Doctor you need to settle down" to "how do you feel after being settled down for a bit". Like god give it some time to breathe. When I finished the episode I was just confused and still do feel like literally none of it makes sense at all. It might be controversial but I absolutely love the post-regeneration crazies and I feel like not getting that now is a bit shit when it's happened with every other incarnation in new-who. Unless there's some crazy master-plan that I'm not seeing I really just have no idea. It makes me angrier than timeless child and I don't even know why. For the toymaker conclusion I just don't understand how that can be written.

[@dwfan91-]

I mention this in my initial reaction! We don't seem to be getting post regenerative trauma anymore. I understand it wasn't everyones cup of tea but I personally really enjoyed it

[@smoothblink]

Totally agree with you about Ncuti Gatwa not having a moment to himself. Give him the floor!

[@Xavier.living.life.]

What if the person picking up the tooth was the new master? After the toymaker was defeated everything he caused was slowly being undone so maybe that was the master having just been freed from the tooth now that there's nothing keeping them trapped, and that's why no one noticed the random person appear since they were leaving at that point.

[@cam1e754]

15th should have grown tardis coral to get his tardis

[@GreenGocco]

Several points as usual: David tennant. He did good acting as is expected. I think the reason he was "bi-regenerated" was because disney wanted him as the doctor or the BBC did , I can only see it as done for financial reasons. I don't like the idea of two doctors and two tardises but a way to remedy it in my mind would be to make him a villain. Build up on the staggering statement and make him break. Toymaker: He was really good. Although it seems weird that he lost due to physical ability when was so agile. His creepy nature and actions melded in a perfect character though. (The doctor cheated the first time though). 15. He was robbed I agree with you entirely. Seemed quite energetic and upbeat which was nice. He swapped his accents though. Episode. It was fairly rushed and felt more like a cliffnotes edition of doctor who; creepiness, timetravel, figure one thing out, final showdown. All in all I agree with your assessment but hope DT will become a villain jelous of the 15th. Also why wasn't Wilf in it after episode 2?

[@ernestholliday8914]

It’s needed a few more minutes in the oven but I did love it

[@t_r_a_y_e9858]

I had similar feelings to the idea of the doctor settling down, but it already showed that he was taking trips in the tardis, plus we have seen the doctor settle down with river for like a century, or settle down on trenzalore for multiple centuries, i doubt he will stick around after they die of old age, he will probably be around there for a few several decades then leave i think. Though im interested to see if he will go on his own adventures

[@pres_clr]

Please tell me the intro music it’s so beautiful I love your channel and subbed

[@paulflint6254]

Love it, the bi gen was fantastic. 14 can have a spin off now. Very happy ❤️

[@Chamiliatic]

Crazy how 3 doctors now exist in the universe. 2 of them are 10. You have the metacrisis doctor in a parallel universe, 14 in the present day, and 15 out having adventures.

[@StrayMaverick]

Well, I'm back to comment a few days later and I've made a complete 180 on the bigeneration here. After rewatching this episode several times, I think when 15 says "I'm fine because you’re fine. We're doing rehab out of order" that means he's experienced what 14 will with Donna and the rest of 14's life. And then when 14 eventually passes, he regenerates but it causes him to regenerate to 15 during the bigeneration scene. The reason 15 doesn’t seem to remember anything is that in the 50th anniversary and earlier multi doctor stories, they've clarified that only the most recent Doctor can keep the memories of multi Doctor events. So I absolutely love the idea that 14 gets to make amends for everything before him, journey with his Tardis and see past companions and say goodbye and all that. And then when he eventually dies, he becomes 15. It could even be possible that 14 regenerates several times BEFORE the bigeneration sends him back to become 15. He could become older faces and then eventually the Curator, and then when he dies he gets warped to the point where 15 comes in. And then 15 would still be the 15th "Doctor" in the same way that 9 is the 9th Doctor even tho the War Doctor exists. And this is why 15 seems so eager to travel because this will be the first time he's back to being The Doctor in seemingly a very, very long time. Now, they still gotta deal with the whole 2 Tardises existing together thing, or the weird comments by RTD about every Doctor bigenerating? But I think I love this now, and it makes sense why the new season will be "Season 1."

[@dwfan91-]

The "Doctor-Verse" is a concept I don't even want to talk about😭

[@Damianmackin]

with regards to the 15th doctors memorys, judging by how it was scipted the 15th doctor has the memorys up to before davids return, also david isnt settled on earth, in the week he was their he made a few trips already, and having 2 doctor (exspcally david) allows for more content in the expanded whoniverse like big finish

[@dwfan91-]

I'm not gonna lie when it comes to Big Finish one could argue there's already *too* much content

[@synettech5800]

I really enjoyed the episode, ive been waiting for so long when i started the episode i just sorta turned my brain off, when the doctor split all i could think was "If RTD wanted he could have a multi-doctor story only using David Tennant, you could have 10 and Martha, 14 and Donna, and 10.5 (Metacrisis) with Rose if they want to re-open that alternate dimension"

[@cowguy8558]

Russell T Davis has said in podcast now that all the previous versions of doctors that we meet in multi-doctor stories were actually bigenerated. Meaning that it splintered backwards in time.

[@removed3566]

15:29 I think this was the point. The hand belongs to some extra-dimensional being reaching into our universe I think the split and the settling-down-a-bit part is fine. It’s not like we (the audience) lost an adventurous Doctor, we still got 15th. Lore-wise, the Doctor has been through a lot since 3rd and 4th so it is perfect reasonable that part of the Doctor just wanted to chill out a bit. Haven’t read any off-screen materials but in my head canon, in 11th and 12th “off-screen time jump”, both of them have might have lived some slow life alone. One part I don’t really like about the episode was part of the plot seems too similar to previous episodes. Giggles in people head vs Drums in Master’s head. Giggles spreading through screens vs the Silence appearing in Moon landing footage. I know with the Show’s long history, it will not be possible to avoid every concept used in older episodes. But we are talking about some of the most famous Nu-Who episodes here. The “satellite connecting everyone to internet” leading to “activation of the giggles in everyone’s head” doesn’t really make sense to me as well.

[@dsdots]

3:46 Kinda popped off here. Also idk if this is hearsay but rtd has been extremely vague about what bigeneration actually means going forward, i'd be able to have a more definite opinion of the story if I could tell whether this guy is just gonna hang around now or he'll eventually die and become ncuti. Even if thats the case, how is being with the nobles actually therapy, what specifically is he gonna do? Is he just gonna trauma dump on donna or is he gonna take a break or retire or what. I feel like the happy ending resolves the arc 14 was going on through these specials but is detrimental to the greater lore by being so vague

[@Ericiswaiting]

I really did like the first two acts of this episode but when that regeneration scene with david and ncuti happened I was just in shock because it completely ruins it for ncuti I want to see him get a chance to shine like how all the other doctors have done before but it seriously felt like when they we’re together ncuti just felt like a companion and I definitely think its cool that rtd is trying new things with doctor who but this was just not it

[@Ericiswaiting]

And also revenge of the taxes would be a fire episode

[@dwfan91-]

I can't wait for the Special to see what he's like on his own, I'm sure he'll be great!

[@Ericiswaiting]

@@dwfan91- I’m really excited to see him actually be the doctor in his own story

[@jaybell4663]

Yup toymalers demise right up there with the solution to the Dr donna meta "crisis

[@owenwyatt173]

I’m guessing what’s happened is 15 is starting off free from all the baggage that the precious incarnations carried because 14 can deal with it while at the Noble’s and eventually he will complete the regeneration into 15 when he reaches the end of his life. We just sorta skip ahead to that point with the bi-generation so all that can happen off screen with 14, to get straight to the fresh start on screen with 15.

[@AiRsTrIkExXzZ]

Maybe this is all because of the thing donna said in journey’s end where she asked if time lords cut off their hand and grow another one of them which is very like how the doctor grew another doctor(you could say)

[@Rhuviyn]

16:30 I had same thoughts here and there throughout those 3 episodes "couldn't RTD think of something better? Even I could. What's going on?" there was really A LOT of weird decisions. I only hope it won't continue in the next season...

[@tainkirrahe]

I loved that the Toymaker was defeated by a game of ball shortly after an impossible regeneration because it truly does prove that ball…is life. My take on the bigeneration is that the Doctor’s body and mind had been through so much mental and physical trauma that it bigenerated out of self preservation; 14 is the “broken” part that needs to heal itself so that 15 can begin a “new” life without any baggage - the Doylist explanation being relaunching the series for a new audience who doesn’t want to wade through 60 or 15 years of backstory (but can if they want to), the Watsonian explanation being the Doctor just having Had Enough. I really hope 15 can go back to being a funny lil scamp a la the Classic Doctors and we hold off on all of the “you’re a god/you kill everyone you meet” stuff we had through Moffat and a bit through Chibnall as Ncuti has already been introduced as stronger and more positive a person than Tennant’s re-run.

[@maxrownes7914]

Totally agree, from the laser scene onwards the episode falls off of a cliff in terms of a satisfying ending being possible. This thing needed a two parter, possibly the Christmas episode being the finale.

[@paulkelcher824]

remember the scene in the day of the doctor with Matt Smith and Tom Baker ? I reckon this sets up how it came to be, the curator IS the doctor in retirement, getting to revisit his favourite old faces. Watch the scene , and the dialogue makes sense, and it's a nice tie in between the fiftieth and sixtieth anniversay shows.

[@badwolf9956]

I've heard of some other theories. My personal favorite one is that the Toymaker simply just screwed with his timeline. Basically, 14 will eventually regenerate. When does, he'll be booted back in time as 15 coming out of 14's body. This explains why 15 seemed to know what was going on in the last parts of the episode, especially the bit about "doing it out of order". The TARDIS wasn't duplicated either, it's just the same one from two different times. This is why the second one had a jukebox and felt more customized. In my opinion, it's nice that the Doctor gets to live longer in Tennant's body as that's probably when he felt the happiest. Eventually Donna and her family will die though, and that's when he'll know it's time to move on.

[@RandomMan__]

Overall I didn't like the episode. In fact Wild blue yonder was the only part of the trilogy that I enjoyed. I thought the giggle was kinda just boring. The best part was the spice up your life sequence. Mostly everything else was just lazy/garbage story telling. The toymaker just appeared because of voodoo salt magic I guess. Then Davis gets a few more unneeded political cheap shots. Then we have to see unscary puppets climb Catherine tate, followed by Davis reminding us how little he cares about the show by claiming the doctor know clara and bill are okay although TO HIS KNOWLEDGE clara went back to the point of her death and bill is still a cyber man hanging out with the pilot. Then we get to the climax and it was just pure laziness. 14 half regenerates into captain underpants (without explanation) who beats the toymaker not by using his brain or his wit. no they win because the toymaker drops a ball....... Then captain underpants runs off, while 14 just chills in a backyard. I get that 14 needs a break but the whole point of the doctor is that he helps even though it is easier to give up and be happy. Granted he deserves breaks now and then, but this implies he is taking a long vacation idk. At the end of the day here is the important thing. David was brought back in part to bring back old viewers. I am one of those old viewers who stopped watching during Jodi's run and from what I see I will not be coming back. Sure I will watch clips or reaction of new episodes now and then, but these special just didn't get me interested to see where the story goes from here. I don't care what 15 does because it doesn't feel like 14's story was over. Idk just a quick rant from another perspective. I do love your stuff dwfan91 even if we don't see eye to eye most time. keep up the great work!

[@laurahulland]

Couldn’t disagree more. I thought the message was great and it meant I didn’t have to grieve 10 again. I love the fact that he gets to catch his breath and not be under that incredible pressure to constantly be saving the universe. The new Doctor can go do that and he can have “normal” for a bit. It leaves the door open for spin off or new stories. How can you not love the fact that it leaves so many possibilities in the future.

[@RAMOS_DE_67]

The Christmas special were the doctor gets the new companion has to be an alien planet or really far in the past or future as if it's 2023 Christmas the DT doctor would save earth and the CG doctor doesn't need to bother with earth as DT is there.

[@dwfan91-]

You would think💀

[@danielsleeper2307]

You say that about the tooth thing like the person who picked it up couldn't be some cosmic entity. The Toymaker had talked about his legions, we got a tease about "the boss", and someone even the Toymaker was too scared to challenge. All it takes is a tiny bit of imagination instead of just saying "that's weird and shouldn't be possible so it's kinda bad".

[@dwfan91-]

I see what you mean but at the same time can you blame me for seeing a human hand and assuming its a human and then looking at the geography of the scene

[@HeyItsMad]

I think the 14th will regen into the 15th and be brought to the moment we see in the giggle when he goes. The toymakers imfluence is what allowed this to happen, his dimension isnt goverened by the rules of time. In effect he forced 14 to regenerate too early and as a result pulled his actual regeneration forwards in time to before the moment it actually happened. So it will ultimately be a closed loop. Ncuti remembered that he had healed but forgot how the regeneration happens because of the rules about when two different incarnations meet only the eldest remembers, so as 14 actually regenerates into 15 he forgets explaining why he doesnt know if pushing will work but does know 14 will relax and recover.

[@JohnMarston-rt5kr]

To me I absolutely love this episode, and is one I would watch again without a doubt. The opening was just great, building the mysterious atmosphere from the straight beginning. I just have to say it again, but Neil Patrick Harris was on point and played The Toymaker masterfully. I liked the dark aspects towards the beginning, I think the ending was a bit anticlimactic and in a way it felt like the threat of The Toymaker was completely overshadowed. I like the idea of two Doctors since it’s something new that would be great to experiment with. It felt both underwhelming and overwhelming when the 15th arrived, it has got me more interested in his incarnation of The Doctor tho. The music was amazing. To me the pacing was perfect. I could speak about so many aspects of this episode for ages, but I’m gonna end it here.

[@YoungCodger]

Oohhh, now, where do I begin? The Doctor "settling down" ANYWHERE on Earth is absolutely bonkers to me. Doesn't fit with the character in general, doesn't fit with the character in terms of the past incarnations. 11 mourned Amy & Rory, & he spent 900 years on Trenzalore, he did come to terms with their loss. 12 ultimately remembered Clara & knew that Bill would survive in some way, so even though they're dead, he has mourned & accepted that they had better deaths than people can get, to be quite frank. He spent 24 wonderful years with River, & ultimately regenerated knowing that while death comes to everyone, bad deaths do not. 13 mourned Gallifrey in her own way, however it came across on-screen. Point is, Tenteen "needing to settle down because he's wearing himself thin" really feels just like an invented-up thing so that they can put Tennant & Tate back in whenever they need to. The Doctor takes time off! They always have, that's what holiday planets & moons made out of honey (like with A Christmas Carol), & taking in the sights of alien worlds & people is, (like the start of Dark Water where he's on that planet with the red crystals in the cliff walls). Put really bloody frankly, this is acting like the Doctors never moved on when they had, & instead like 10 literally did just never regenerate in End of Time & took the TARDIS to Star Beast. Gets worse though, apparently the Doctor never stopped since he met the Toymaker the first time?! What? He's literally relaxing in the TV Movie reading a book! Paradise Towers? Blackpool? It feels utterly contrived just so RTD can have Dr. Who do Domestic. & that's not even getting into his comments saying that ALL the Doctors have bi-generated & now there's old Colin Bakers & Sylvester McCoys going about: that defeats the whole point of regeneration - moving on. This is just a herald of bad tidings to me. I was having fun with the episode but I'd already read the leaks so the moment Tenteen got shot I knew it'd happen. Dear me. Now they just wheel David Tennant out for ratings in future? Ohhh, no, deary no. Oh, yes: & apparently they had the Toymaker do accents & comment on that guy at the start to show he's racist, as the original serial has racism as well?! The heck? Doesn't help that Donna asks "Do you come in all colours?" when Ncuti appears. Just completely whacked. As for any explanations on why the bi-generation happened in the first place, don't trust what anyone's saying, there's no official explanation far as I know. The TARDIS will be established as being the same sometime in the next series, but best of luck explaining all this to the new people.

[@AM-uo2kf]

Plus I feel the reason David Tenn has been kept around again is the safety net option for Doctor Who going forward. If it’s just not working out David still waiting to come back

[@dwfan91-]

imo thats some pussy s###. If RTD is confident in the new Doctor he shouldn't need to have David Tennant hanging out in the background. Especially when these specials performed pretty standard and weren't mega smash-hits like some 10 fans would like people to believe

[@sunsetsstarsrise3011]

Honestly, I was getting myself excited for The Toy Maker to kill 14, then 15 would have to finish the game. I genuinely thought the Toy Maker would win since he seemed so powerful and evil. Nevertheless, I love his character so much but I'm upset he was defeated to easily via a game of catch. Oh please! I would have loved it way more if Tennant regenerated to Ncuti, so we had an actual clean goodbye for Tennant and a clean hello to Ncuti. For me hearing one Doctor's last lines the hearing another's first lines gives me so much joy but Ncuti didn't really get that cuz he with Tennant. In my opinion the bi regenerate is ridiculous like if its a myth why did it happen??? I don't understand why it happened. Something I talked about with my family is that Tennant keeps dropping off version's of himself on Earth and that nothing is stopping the show from bring back Tennant from the nursing home for the 400th anniversary. Can we please put Tennant's Doctor to bed and move on??? Is that so hard to do??

[@praalgraf]

nph was absolutely great, exactly his kind of over the top camp villainy. loved seeing mel again, and wasn't even too bothered by kate stewart. the bigeneration sure is A Thing. i like doctor who's constant retconning, but i wish we at least got some setup for it. i also think it's kinda sad that we didn't get any of the usual fun "first moments with a new doctor", instead all of 15's stuff was focused on 14. a change of pace from the doctor's usual dislike of themselves, but not sure how i feel about it. i wish ncuti got his entrance more to himself. i would've loved dt regenerating (or degenerating?) into jodie bc of ~~timelines~~ or something and then having her regenerate into ncuti. what i do like is the clean slate 15 gets to start with: he presumably has all of 14's memories, including the ones that haven't happened for 14 yet, letting him move on from the last 18 years of the show and starting anew. loved the wheelchair ramp added, that was a nice touch and finally, deciding the fate of the doctor over a game of catch was very funny

[@AlchemistOfNirnroot]

One reason why it doesn't feel like a multi-doctor story could be because previous multi-doctor stories involved Doctors you've seen multiple seasons of already. We've never seen this guy before so we don't have any context for what to expect. On an unrelated note. I don't really like them not committing to killing off the 14th Doctor. And two Doctors just raises questions about how many Doctors there even are. If the 14th Doctor dies and regenerates is that Doctor the 16th Doctor if the 15th is still around? At some point (given the limited interaction of the 14 and 15th Doctors) we don't really know which Doctor it even is now. The Toymaker was great though.

[@senorgooba7360]

I left a longer comment on your community post so I won't reiterate myself here. I'm very interested for your thoughts on the extra law changes Russell mentioned in the commentary and podcast.

[@your_favorite_jackalope_ba1325]

well the 15th doctor could literally just be the next form of the 14th doctor and though timeywimey... what evers, the 15th generates in the timeline where 14 is still there, "I'm fine because you fix yourself" , meaning the 14th eventually gets some therapy or something and the futuredoctor which is 15 is like- having 2 doctors at the same time literally happened before with 10 and 11

[@AlucardaPapere]

I think the bigeneration makes sense as a way to soft reboot the series without actually starting from zero. All subplots, all the trauma, all the stuff from NewWho will be handled by the 14th basically taking a vacation, while the 15th is just going to be a new start for both the series and the audience. I think that at one point the older version of 14th will merge with 15th or actually go back in time to become the 15th at the point of the regeneration

[@dwfan91-]

I recognise this but I suppose then the question becomes, why are we even rebooting again?

[@AlucardaPapere]

@@dwfan91- Because New Who made continuity super important for its arcs, but at the same time continued retconning itself too many. I think that if the show wants to survive, we have to go back to a cleaner slate

[@MasterPike]

Just have a time skip between 14 and 15 😅, so then we know that 15 feels better because of what 14 did without any confusion because visually bi-generation looks like mitosis. Some people said they liked it because "This feels like an ending for The Doctor/Doctor Who", why would you want an ending with David Tennant when Ncuti is The Doctor and he's coming back in 16 days?

[@Cornucopiajones]

It’s so confusing, my biggest question about all this is, post biregeneration can now both doctors regenerate? Making two separate lines of actors potentially playing the same character? They went out of there way to say this is rare, this is a myth. so I’m assuming that every time the doctor regenerates they won’t split into two but, it still creates a lot of questions about the doctor order and the character. Say in four times if 14 where to regenerate as well, there could be a 15B doctor running around at the same time as a potential 16? It does my head in. 😖

[@dwfan91-]

its the super saiyan of time lords

[@FiammaEvans]

To me, he isn't settling down. He's just "taking a (well-deserved) rest", focusing on his mental health. Then timey wimey stuff and he regenerates in Ncuti at the bigeneration moment, at least it's what they hinted it happened (you are older, we fix ourselves in non linear way, ncuti being more "mature" and "happy")

[@AgherDeadpan]

In regards to 14 still being The Doctor whilst 15 is also The Doctor, thats basically how every incarnation works, even the First Doctor is still having adventures from a non linear point of view. Its a multi doctor story from a reversed perspective. Like Day of The Doctor focusing on War meeting 10 & 11.

[@blockydude2253]

I have actually quite come round to the bi regeneration it was a shock at first but I understand the point that the doctor has been running for so long he doesn’t rest that actually makes some sense considering how often the fact the doctor is always running is often emphasised especially in Tennant’s era which I have been rewatching but he can’t really rest due to the nature of the show, my only problem now is surely RTD has written himself into a hole, for one Ncuti Gatwa’s doctor just has the same problem because it’s the same person and you now have Tennant kicking about (that could be fine though if he can’t regenerate) however the closure for him was nice.

[@lbricks7631]

Ah yes 1 view and 6 likes, thankyou KZbin.

[@MrFujistar]

Just realised, can't Celestial Toymaker deactivate UNIT's devices? Would be quite interesting if they got turned against each other

[@AnotherScifiGuy]

I don't mind the regeneration. I enjoy the story overall.

[@dwfan91-]

I don't think its the bigeneration I have an issue with really- I think it's the way they end 14's character. And with the talk of the town being that that's "the end" for the *original* Doctor character... I'm not a fan

[@AnotherScifiGuy]

@@dwfan91- I consider them both the original doctor, he just split in two, I don’t think one is more “the original” over the other.

[@dwfan91-]

@@AnotherScifiGuy I feel the same way

[@jeremyc4786]

Honestly, the third act felt weird at first, but after giving myself time to digest, i liked it. The bi-generation is some of the BS stupid fun that forces you to just go along with it. And I do like Tennet settling down for a bit. He still has a TARDIS so he can still adventure. Its just that because he knows 15 is out there it allows him a chance to relax and enjoy the day by day while finally processing the Flux and everything else that has happened. And im sure that taking time off and resting would only makebhis adventuring so much more once he's done. Its not the end of his story, its on pause. All while 15 is doing his own adventuring. Nothing is lost.

[@jackh7668]

13:08 they explain later on that it’s a timelords way of Rehab or something like that, it’s like the Doctors taking a big Shit of stress but instead of shitting stress he’s Duolicating like fucking worms

[@dwfan91-]

I love this explanation

[@jackh7668]

@@dwfan91- Just wanted to say that u thoroughly enjoy your videos

[@dwfan91-]

@@jackh7668 Thank you so much

[@puppypalice]

I dont mind the ending, we know at a certain part of his life the doctor starts to take things slow, I really like this being the beginning of the curator. Beyond that, doctor who has no rules for me, even if they do something I don't like I don't care, I am a lore demon for the show but I've given up on keeping any constant lore post series 10 so for the new stuff I'm just along for the ride

[@TheFuddFactory]

I didn’t imagine the line were the Toy Maker said he termed the Master in gold tooth right?

[@dwfan91-]

they kinda just dropped that one in there

[@0kdevv_]

Doc settling down isn’t really against the character. Really it’s a perfect ending. He’s grown to love earth and it’s people, he’s a tired veteran. I think seeing how many companions he’s lost really runs it home how tired he is. He’s tired of running away. I think seeing 10 as the face the one everyone knows finally settling down after fixing one of his biggest mistakes really drive home that He’s done everything with his story. It also helped that tenant is 10 years older than the last time he was seen. The way I imagine it it’s like writing a hero into retirement without killing him off. I teared up seeing him finally catch a break because I know his story and I’ve seen him age, but I have the added knowledge of what’s happened to the doctors after him. Getting donnas memory back and a few final adventures finishes off this doctors story, it really could be a perfect ending to the entire series imo. 15s story is almost like a soft reboot, you can continue to watch from here or you can have a satisfying ending with 14/10. This is almost like a new era, the og era, the revival, and the reboot

[@dwfan91-]

You see the reason I disagree is because I hate the idea of an end to the series. While some people like the idea of Series' ending etc etc, with Doctor Who, I despise it. The story never ends and thats part of the magic

[@0kdevv_]

@@dwfan91- which I agree, the longevity is one of the best parts of the show, but another big part of the series (at least the revival era) is how no matter how hard you fight it some stories end. Rose, the ponds, river, Donna, Clara, martha. In some way they’re time with the doctor ended. Martha simply just didn’t wanna be with the doctor anymore, rivers whole story was out of order etc. The doctor tried to fight against all of their exits the best he could but couldn’t beat the inevitable. Him finally coming to terms with his story being over was really interesting to me. I also think this works better because of tennant tho, idk if it would’ve hit as hard if it were another doctor because of how close 10 got to his companions and how stubborn he is when it comes to losing them. The way tennant played 14 in comparison to 10 is hes almost the same doctor as 10 but he’s tired. When he speaks about the past you can see the stress in his eyes, you can feel it because you actually saw him experiencing those events. The only other doctor I think this would’ve worked with was 12 otherwise I’d probably agree with you on the whole retirement is stupid thing.

[@erikahuber6617]

If the point of doctor who is to escape, 14s ending is a reminder that we can’t escape forever and facing life is important too. It’s like how Martha left the tardis to focus on her life on earth.

[@dwfan91-]

What a demoralising lesson

[@reverse7503]

if anyone is confused i'll explain, both of them is the real doctor , it seems like 15 was pulled from the timeline after 14 regenerates hence the im good because u fixed yourself line and we are timelords , rehab out of order line. 15 is the real doctor but without the baggage now the show can truly feel fresh, and no this doesnt ruin doctor who, it feels good for once to see this .

[@kadegetslaid634]

Exactly, 14 still becomes 15, he's just taking a break

[@IG7799-c4u]

I think they hammed up the Toymaker's character way too much for my liking. The dancing scene was just far too much for me that I switched off and waited for it to end. I wish they maintained the sinister vibe that they went with at the start of the episode (minus the accent swapping). Russell has a habit of selling off good villains for comedy. He did the same thing with the master back in series 3.

[@chrizmartin9890]

Shows the crazy side to the character

[@christianrothfus]

I think for me it was like an overall 8/10 with it being mostly very good, with some weird moments here and there. I wanted to see more of the toymaker so was a bit irritated that he was defeated because he didn't catch a ball, but it's not the end of the world. In my opinion, while Gatwa definitely should have had the chance to show what he is capable of, within the story I think of it like the 50th, with Gatwa being there to help 14 through the post-flux times how Tennant and Smith helped Hurt through the time war (obviously not exactly the same, just how I think about it). However, in-universe stuff aside, every new Doctor should have their chance to shine so I think I'll probably treat the Christmas special as his real debut, with this being a nice little teaser. I want Gatwa to have the spotlight before I solidify any of my feelings, but even if the episode isn't the best, I'm sold on Gatwa as the Doctor, no questions asked. Even through it's missteps (this is not one of them), it's crazy how amazing this show is. Have a great day anyone who is reading this! :)

[@supergas4ever]

Is the 14th doctor settling down the ‘1 million years’ they need to process trauma from the flux, that was mentioned in the previous episode? Also when 14 regenerates even if it’s through old age, does he regenerate into the current 15th doctor or a someone else? I also don’t like the fact doctors can now interact and remember everything All in all I’m just scared that whenever the shows ratings drop they’re just going to bring back 14

[@FrazerSalt]

idk, but for me after a re-watch but the episode was a little too fast and super dense and the part of how the toy-maker ultimately looses , i was also like "huh... ok..." especially given how powerful he is establish to be and how in the end where they just go their separate ways (Ncuti and David) also personally felt kinda confusing in the tone they where aiming for. Also was not expecting the ending to just allude to Wilfred (R.I.P Bernard Cribbins) being alive felt a little weird as i kinda expected respects to be payed although i can respect how difficult that may be in production.

[@AlchemistJay]

Someone on Reddit mentioned that the reason he could Bigenerate was that he invoked a superstition at the edge of the universe in WBY, both allowing the Toymaker in and these new rules - WHICH WOULD HAVE BEEN AN ACCEPTABLE TWIST IF IT WERE ESTABLISHED THEMATICALLY. For all the highlights they spent on inclusion points - they could have also done it for the plot. Seriously sloppy. You can't convince me Disney hasn't already gotten its grubby hands in directing/editing cause I am just baffled with this Ant-Man 3 level execution.

[@prestigepea1235]

The bigeneration really encapsulated what I dislike about RTDs writing. It's such a convenient yet convoluted way to resolve the story in the way he wants in as little time as possible. If he had had the Toymaker call the newly regenerated 15th Doctor to face him after making his grand speech about having to face a new Doctor for the final game, how epic would that have been? Ncuti stumbles out his own TARDIS in 14s clothes, so we know it's a newly regenerated version. You get yhe same interactions, you get 14 face to face with his destiny, thus encouraging him to "slow down" and stop racing towards danger.... all the beats without any of the convolution and silliness of using magic to create an extra TARDIS. It would also avoid that awkward 5 minutes where the Toymaker just disappears while the regeneration drags out. First half good. Ending a letdown RTD2 is RTD1 in all its highs and lows.

[@VaguelyRowlet]

watching your videos has allowed dr who trailers to invade my recommended

[@dwfan91-]

we're winning just slowly

[@ella.terrestrial]

As a fairly new Doctor Who fan, I was ok with the ending. A lot of it didn't make sense to me, especially the explanation of why the 10th doctor came back; it was really sweet that the Doctor is finally "home" but it just doesn't feel exactly right. I'm not complaining that he came back though because David Tennant is my favorite

[@dwfan91-]

me realising that none of the questions set up in the earlier specials were answered and instead more questions were raised

[@ApolloStarfall]

First of all, it's The Doctor. Second, i love the Donkey Kong Country BGM

[@TetchyEquation]

As long as 14 eventually becomes 15, I can live with 14 living on and settling down with the Nobles, because low key if he lives the full lifespan of a time lord regeneration he's going to outlive them anyway. 11 had a family with the Ponds and stayed on Trenzalore to protect the Time Lords, 12 taught at the uni for 70+ years and I think would've watched over Missy for the full 1000 year term if things hadn't got in the way, but as long as 14 dies and goes back to the start of being 15 I can live with it because then they're all still the Doctor, the one character. and personally I'm head cannoning it that when 15 used the hammer, he pulled the TARDIS back through it's own timestream, because I really don't like the idea of the Doctor having a different TARDIS then our beloved. Also slightly disappointed that nobody's noticed the reference to the Doctor trying to bash in the skull of a caveman with a rock. It might just be a coincidence, I could imagine someone writing that monologue about "The first game" without it being a reference to that, but I think it probably is.

[@joesimpson4522]

I really don't understand this desire from showrunners to shake up the underlying mythology/lore of the show when the premise allows you to shake up literally everything else...

[@dwfan91-]

It is a little strange- I see the Doctor Who Universe as a sandbox with almost infinite potential for stories with the only limitations put upon it being so for the sake of entertainment and the broad appeal of the show. A lot of people, like myself, really enjoy playing within that sandbox but I suppose some writers may see it as limiting. Personally all I see it doing is making it harder on potential writers in the future

[@cartoongame5007]

It. Um. It sure did! Change everything.

[@jamesparry9810]

I now exclusively refer to the 14th doctor as the Trauma Doctor

[@squishking]

this episode 100% should’ve been an hour and a half

[@RandyOhRandom]

I loved the episode! I see it as the doctor settling down with the Noble, Temple family to become the Curator from the 50th and that's why he takes on a different name instead of the doctor because another version is already out there saving the universe and with him finally relaxing he'll need a new hobby! Hey, it might not be true, but it's my theory!!!

[@skyapple9051]

i personally don't understand why the new doctor is unaffected by what happened before, like they have the same memories but ncuti just doesn't feel anything from the pain and loss of the past

[@corwinzelazney5312]

You talked about nobody wants their boring mundane life and that's why we escape to DW for the adventure and excitement. And that's valid. But what you're missing is that this makes it better. Because the only thing better than being able to escape to the adventure and excitement, is being able to come home too. This Doctor gets the best of both world's. And as Donna says, he doesn't 'have' to stay there. He can leave and still have all the exciting adventures anytime he wants. This is a bonus for him. Because now he knows that effectively, he's still out there taking care of the universe in the body of 15's Doctor. This doesn't cheapen anything and it doesn't diminish either 14 or 15. If anything, it enriches both. And lets not forget, for the first time ever, 14 is genuinely happy. Lets also not forget there's going to be a UNIT series. And we now know Donna's gonna be there as well as Mel. So of course 14 can still play a role as the Doctor. This ADDS to Tennant's Doctor. It doesn't take anything away. It's the best of both world's for him.

[@VuddyProductions]

the musical part was one of the best scenes in the whole show, was just like the rasputin scene and i loved it so much

[@BritishBigM]

I believe that David’s doctor regenerates backwards and retires and becomes the Curator

[@donovanwiebe2495]

I really want a Doctor x Donna x Family sitcom show now. 26 episodes of an alien on earth struggling with the boringness of day-to-day life and sneaking off to mars with Rose every once in a while