So to summarize: As I understand it , the Doctor breaks the circle. Ruby is shunted into a time loop where somehow she is haunted by her future self. She uses her unique relationship with herself to stop Mad Jack (Roger ap Gwilliam) from escaping the loop into the real world. Then she has to live through the loop until the end/beginning comes round again so she can warn herself and prevent the circle from being broken. It is a sort of bootstrap paradox. As for the running away, I think there is a perception filter on Ruby. Whatever she is, getting close to the old lady version of her turns off the filter on the young version (like the filter can’t exist on both simultaneously). The old version never looks at or speaks to anyone. People just look back and then freak. Whatever people see when they look back at the young version terrifies them, so they run away. There is this hypothesis running around that she is the Trickster’s daughter from Sarah Jane Adventures. Maybe she is? Or something even worse?
I don't have much time the coming up weeks, so a fast tracked trough your reaction but actually I like to rewatch it the full, when I find the time, cause it's like you watching a 'Punch and Judy' show, your interactions are so pure and I like that very much. Also here for your afterthoughts, so yeah, I will come back to this reaction. Also big hooray for finaly recognizing Susan Twist (they had to point that out to me too, but I succeeded in 'Boom' ). Also just found out they filmed this while Ncuti was filming Sex Education (I still haven't seen that show though) so hence why this is a Doctor light episode. But what a good one, ey.
OOOOOOOHHHHH that makes sense, what a creative way to work around it! Also, take your time. I'm releasing them late due to plans/new job so watch it as late as you want. I'm actually flying away for 10 days the day before the finale so that reaction will be uploaded SOOOOOOOO late! Hahaha
Great review as always Jake, like susan being in every episode, there seems to be recurring theme on not stepping on things.. the non things in 14 ans donnas episode on the salt, ruby stepping on a butterfly, the dr on a mine, then the fairy circle..then ruby being told not to step on the grass at the football pitch..could be nothing but who knows lol
I think a thing with this episode is that it's a supernatural horror story not sci-fi, and the lack of solid explanations for what is happening, even at the end, is a pretty common convention of the genre.
Ruby didn't become the 73yd woman til the day she died. The 73 yd woman was Dead Ruby "she looked like what she was". Of course Dead Ruby would never approach herself, she'd stay far enough away. If you approached Death, you would run away. Ruby waited her whole life to get back to stop them from breaking the circle. - A wonderful allegory of how a woman/companion, "whose lifespan sucks!" lives with death and abandonment.
They explained in the episode that Fairy Circles are said to be in places where the world's boundary is its thinnest, which is why people say it's dangerous to break or cross them. (Basically, this is the same situation of what happened with the salt incident with 14.) She also definitely remembered atleast subconsciously because she said at the beginning of the episode that she's been two times. There is no title sequence because the show was RUBY SUNDAY and not DOCTOR WHO. They just opened without it to probably not spoil that point directly.
@MrKakeJelly Kate mentioned that the supernatural like myths and legends seems more common since the salt incident. 14 even worried about the fact that he introduced a superstition where the walls of the universe are thinnest.
Loved your reaction again 😁 I have my own theory on it all but I have a bad track record so take it with a large pinch of salt 😂 When the Doctor broke the fairy circle Ruby read the little scrolls which was the final releasing of the spirit Mad Jack. The Doctor was taken by the Fae as punishment for being the one to originally break the circle. Ruby's punishment was to live her life out with her biggest underlying fear occurring which is abandonment with no explanation. She also had to stop Mad Jack from destroying the world. I don't believe the woman in the distance was old Ruby all along tho. I believe it was the Fae who created the circle. They uave their own unique powers and I think they used them in some way to cause everyone to abandon Ruby. What I don't know and I don't want to know to be honest. By chasing people away from Ruby it serves two purposes, 1) making sure her underlying fear comes true and continuing the punishment and 2) ensuring Ruby concentrates only on Mad Jack when the time comes to stop him. Why 73 yards? Kate gave the best explanation for that really, 73 yards is the average distance for someone with normal vision to be able to see before it becomes blurry on 73 yards everything is blurry/out of focus especially to Ruby. Why Ruby waited so long to deal with Roger AP Gwilliams is fair play like the Doctor she had to be absolutely sure he would stay on the path to nuclear destruction and once she had it confirmed it was all systems go. The other thing is when has she been in a situation with him where she could be exactly 73 yards from him while keeping him in her line of sight, the Stadium was perfect for that. Millie Gibson was outstanding in this and I felt she is perfect as Ruby. Once Ruby had accepted the woman would always be there and she would always be alone she grew really strong from it and that gave her what she needed to deal with mad Jack. Once we get to her dying thats when the Fae came to her bedside and gave her her reward (not sure that is quite the right word) and took her back to the exact moment her and the Doctor arrived and allowed her to use her image/voice to warn Ruby about the fairy circle or in other words Don't Step. This stopped the alternative timeline and kep Mad Jack locked up. Roger AP Gwillians still exists but instead of bringing the world to the brink of a nuclear war he is just a terrible PM. I say this because Two things changed from their original landing to the end. 1) The Doctor originally said Roger was a terrible pm bringing the world to the brink of nuclear war but the second just said he was a terrible PM. 2) Ruby said she had been to Wales twice at the start but three times at the end so still had a subconscious memory of it all. The people in the pub were just being Dicks but using the Welsh myths to wind her up. They didn't believe it was true but turns out it was. Overall it was a good episode but not a fantastic one as some are saying in MY eyes. They are comparing it to mid ight/Turn Left/Legend of Clyde Langer (last one being Sarah Jane Adventures). I personally don't like Midnight but Love Turn Left so make my scoring on that. Not as bad as Midnight but not as good as Turn Left. 7.5/10. It was good enough to grip me until the end but couldn't rewatch it every time I do rewatchs of series. Sorry I do ramble and apologies for any spelling or grammar mistakes but I really can't be arsed to proof read this 😂😂
@@jonni2317 Yeah. Even at the eye doctor, the other week, the lady doing the paperwork was startled by my age. Unfortunately, we have to wait 20 years to see what Millie will look like.
Fast old ruby it's a bit of a paradox the second one obviously she's only in that body for a few seconds so does that mean the first ruby is not ruby she takes over the figure's body to make sure second ruby doesn't step
First off, this was the most hilarious reaction from you, when during the final creepy scene you panicked and said "i dont like this, where do i go where do i go" 😂 i am still laughing. Youre too good. I dont know about the woman's hand gestures and why exactly 73 yards, but i do have other theories. Where did the doctor go: he was the one who broke the fairy circle, so maybe his disappearance was a type of punishment. And why didnt Ruby disappear? She was the one who took the scroll about Mad Jack and read it, so taking down the PM had become her mission alone, although she didnt know it yet. Why did the woman make everyone hate Ruby: I feel like it was a defence mechanism, coz nothing should hamper Ruby's mission of dethroning the PM. If Unit, for example, successfully intervened and captured the woman, Ruby would have never been able to deal with the PM. So, its like: you try to approach her or talk to her, then you are repelled by her and driven away from Ruby, so that Ruby's mission can be completed without impediments or distractions. Nobody tried to approach the woman after Ruby dealt with the PM, so we don't know if this theory holds. There is no paradox. The episode occured in an alternate timeline. And in that timeline, Ruby stopped the PM from leading the "the world to the brink of nuclear war", to quote the Doctor. So there is no actual nuclear war. When the timeline is reset in the final scene, Ruby does not live a life where she will stop the PM, so it isnt a paradox. Her original timeline is restored. In the final scene, the doctor again tells Ruby about the dangerous PM. Going by the exact words of the Doctor, the PM will indeed come to power in 2046, but clearly doesn't do any catastrophic damage. He simply acquires the weapons for symbolism. This entire episode was in an alternate timeline and trying to be all meta coz in this alternate timeline, Doctor Who does not have a title sequence.
It may be there is no sequence because at the point it would be inserted, there is no Doctor. (Although we do get credits over the action at the beginning, of course.)
As for the theories, didn't the scroll say "rest in peace, mad jack " ? I may be misremembering but if he died in 2024 or before, why is there a message saying that?
@@MrKakeJelly my theory for this is that whoever made the fairy circle had trapped Mad Jack's soul or essence, just like the pub ladies said. he hadn't really died just sort of imprisoned and forced to rest in peace. The Doctor stepped on the circle and broke the bond, hence freeing Mad Jack to rise to power as PM 22 years later.
I think a lot of the people saying "How are you not getting this?" (in regards to you not recognizing Susan Twist), frankly, read about her recurring appearances on social media, or watched Behind the Scenes stuff. Because the show really hasn't been overtly featuring her that much in the first few episodes. I think this is one of those things where people (especially reactors) aren't having "natural" reactions to her. By that I mean they're using outside information to color how they perceive the show: In this case, most of them literally naming her as "Susan Twist" during the first Space Babies episode and stating factually that she will be seen for the whole season. (Like seriously, how could someone glean that from simply watching the show? Is Susan Twist actually a massive celebrity and I'm the only one who has never heard of her until this season of Doctor Who?) It reminds me of WandaVision when Monica Rambeau passed through the forcefield and everyone vocalized things like, "Oh, is this where Monica gets her powers?"
I even wondered whether Susan Twist was really the actress's name. But, yeah, I must have read about it somewhere or heard it in a video. It's not revealed onscreen, that's for sure, although some will notice the actress being re-used and maybe look the actress up and find the name.
@@MrKakeJelly I don't think she is really famous (but I could be wrong). I even wondered whether Susan Twist was her usual actress name (apparently so). I also briefly wondered this when Nick Frost played Santa Claus on DW, though and a quick google proved that was not the case. Maybe RTD knew her and got the idea from her name. It's nice they're hiring some older actresses, though.
@@MrKakeJelly I guess not enough to notice his name before, at least. It is a very Father Christmassy name, you have to admit. I'm not sure whether I'd seen _Shaun of the Dead_ yet.
Okay, now I'm a huge fan of Doctor Who, have been for years. And I loved the first RTD era. I think it was one of the best. However, the this second run. It's a been a mixed bag for me. And the Episode 73 yards, is the best example I've seen yet. The concept, amazing, it'd creepy when it needs to be, it's funny when appropriate and it really does an amazing job at showing the fear, anguish and pain and loneliness of Ruby as well as her perseverance. But, while the plot seems extremely well thought out and laid out perfectly, in my opinion it falls flat by it's own plot holes that I don't see us getting many, if any answers to. When I watched the episode, after the first 10-15 minutes, I found myself constantly asking "WHY?" And after the episodes ending "twist" my question and frustration intensified. Naturally, I took to the internet, specifically RUclips and searched out answers from Reactions and Reviews. One such reaction had a comment claiming they didn't think the old woman said anything to the "scared ones" she just pointed to Ruby. But, there are issues with that theory. The first is, Kate's reaction. She was nowhere near the woman, therefore it stands to reason her response was due to something she heared through her earpiece. But, let's just say for a minute that the old woman was just pointing at Ruby, the old woman would still have to take some blame for it to make sense. She would have to be somehow be pulling back the veil of whatever Ruby really is. Say, this is basically a "Turn Left" scenario. There still must be a catalyst. If there is a form of perception filter around Ruby for instance, something would have to interfere with it for them to see it. So the question becomes WHY? Given the twisti at the end, we still have to ask why old Ruby wants to isolate her past self like that. Especially since Carla and Chery are such integral parts of her life who have known Ruby, cared for her for the better side of 17-18 years. So WHY, what does she stand to gain? The second WHY is, if the Doctor really has been taken out of the universe, WHY doesn’t the TARDIS dissappear with him, it just stands there for 63 years or so. Now, admittedly, the branching universe COULD answer that. Maybe the Doctor is merely placed on a different branch. While the TARDIS and the key are kept in on the "solitary" branch in order to keep hope just out of reach. Now, after WHY, the next question we have to ask is HOW? HOW does old Ruby make it back to that day to put all this into motion at all? Does Ruby have an innate ability to time travel? Was it really magic? And lastly and possibly the most frustrating is, WHAT? WHAT DID OLD RUBY SAY? Perhaps the most frustrating thing about this for me, comes from Russel himself. His statement said "what she said is up to interpretation." In other words, the fans imagine. In other words, we'll never know what he was thinking she said. If he even thought of anything himself. Now, I can think of two ways this episode could have been done different to erase these frustrating plot holes. 1. They could have done something similar to the Moffat episode "The god Complex" Make it so that an entity is playing off of Ruby's fears. (Something I thought was happening from the beginning.) Maybe even, since she has something to do with "the one who waits" it could have been them making her go through some kind of trial before revealing themselves. 2. Have future Ruby appear to someone Ruby knows to give her a message but keep it ambiguous. One phrase. Ruby still has to investigate without the Doctor, figure out the phrases interpretation. Overall, I'm saddened because to me this feels like the perfect example of plot vs message. Where it almost seems the ending was an after thought after the message. "Nuclear War Bad, Elites Evil." Which of course, we already knew anyway. To me, this was a bottle episode with a promising plot that was unfortunately bogged down by a "talking point." It might sound harsh but that's my opinion. A throw away episode.
@MrKakeJelly it's possible the Doctor ended up trapped by slipping through the damaged viel and Ruby was left to fend for herself. Her power seemed to be based on memory overlapping time. There is a theory that Ruby's future self delivered Her to the Church. Her old self dying and going back to the beginning to do so could actually explain that this is a normal eternal cycle for her and the broken circle disrupted it. (I get serious Bad Wolf vibes from the Ruby mystery. I rewatched the episode and the line "I am the Bad Wolf, I create myself" really stuck hard because she seems to also have a connection to Gods)
Now, this could be as Kate said, my mind making up rules to make it work. But, after watching another reaction, I listened to Old Ruby at the end, and there was this very ethereal, telapathicy voice saying "Don't Step" but, at least for me, it did take a few tries for it to clear up, the first two times, I swore I heard "Don't Stare" so maybe that's what the others heard as well, then she kind of gestures to her younger self which makes people look at Ruby and maybe that makes them think one of them is a ghost, because one is old and one is young but its the same person. So they run out of pure fear, but, that does not explain Carla's reaction and why she said something so aweful to Ruby
Here’s my theory for the episode and what I think is happening!!! I think when they went up to the old ruby the old ruby’s face turned young and that scared everyone away I think this worked especially with rubys mum with tuff love I think older ruby told her mum she needs to run away and never see her again to keep her safe this would explain why her mum pushes ruby away by saying something so opposite to who her mum is by saying she’s not her real mum this is enough for ruby to feel abandoned and stay away from her mum allowing the timeline to remain the reason mad jack and all the others ran away is because they also saw old ruby’s face turn younge I think old ruby can also send information through peoples minds because she interacted with them when she was younger so older ruby told unit that she needed everyone to leave her younger self so she can stop mad jack who will cause world war 3 and fix the timeline. in the end ruby dies and her spirit goes back in her younger self, preventing the doctor to step changing the timeline back to normal!!!
I felt exactly the same. The premise is marvelous. I love this horror vibe everything about it. It lost me a bit with that MP plotline... and they lost me completely by the time the episode was done. I wasn't angry or disappointed. it was just "... huh... okay...". The episode grew on me after I rewatched it and maybe once the entire season is available and it it explained what Ruby actually is , this episode becomes even better, but the thing is: I hate when show runners do that. I don't like the disney schtick that you basically have to do homework now to watch a marvel movie and I don't like that you HAVE TO rewatch an episode or have knowledge of future episodes to get the plot. I love it when you can appreciate the details or find different layers in a rewatch, but I should be able to understand the basic plot on my first watch.. Maybe thats just me, and maybe I am just old..
I dont know about the woman's hand gestures and why exactly 73 yards, but i do have other theories. Where did the doctor go: he was the one who broke the fairy circle, so maybe his disappearance was a type of punishment. And why didnt Ruby disappear? She was the one who took the scroll about Mad Jack and read it, so taking down the PM had become her mission alone, although she didnt know it yet. Why did the woman make everyone hate Ruby: I feel like it was a defence mechanism, coz nothing should hamper Ruby's mission of dethroning the PM. If Unit, for example, successfully intervened and captured the woman, Ruby would have never been able to deal with the PM. So, its like: you try to approach her or talk to her, then you are repelled by her and driven away from Ruby, so that Ruby's mission can be completed without impediments or distractions. Nobody tried to approach the woman after Ruby dealt with the PM, so we don't know if this theory holds. There is no paradox. The episode occured in an alternate timeline. And in that timeline, Ruby stopped the PM from leading the "the world to the brink of nuclear war", to quote the Doctor. So there is no actual nuclear war. When the timeline is reset in the final scene, Ruby does not live a life where she will stop the PM, so it isnt a paradox. Her original timeline is restored. In the final scene, the doctor again tells Ruby about the dangerous PM. Going by the exact words of the Doctor, the PM will indeed come to power in 2046, but clearly doesn't do any catastrophic damage. He simply acquires the weapons for symbolism. This entire episode was in an alternate timeline and trying to be all meta coz in this alternate timeline, Doctor Who does not have a title sequence.
You see, I like continuity in universes and if I don't understand, I enjoy finding out what happened previously or in a different show/film etc. I do agree though that I don't want a future episode to retroactively "fix" this episode because as a stand alone episode, it will still have these issues.
Why do Dr Who fans (not necessarily you) need everything explained clearly and wrapped up with a bow. For me - the great part of the episode was that it kept you wondering. Lots was left up to your imagination and that was the episode's strength.
What you call wondering, some just call bad writing. I myself love a mystery but this felt like he wrote himself into a corner and then used the first idea that came to his head to get out.
These people in the pub are [bleep]. She asks a perfectly reasonable question and they act like it's ridiculous. Then they overcharge her for everything. They all act creepy and then say she's the problem. This pub really wandered in from an _Avengers_ episode, I think. Yes, they are terrible! "I hope Mad Jack is real. I hope he kills them all." That would be awesome, really.
I'm wondering if the superstitious pub patrons were being sincere and the timeline where they were joking are separate timelines of the same event crossing over each other. The veils are thin.
@@HuntingViolets Because superstitions are ridiculous children's stories, or they were until the Doctor invoked a superstition at the edge of the universe. Now there has been an increase in supernatural activity confirmed by Kate herself. That is probably reading way too far into it. My initial thought when the Landlady asked how she pays with her phone is "what time period is it?". Was she being a dick or was a past time line bleeding through for a moment? Ruby herself has some power over time even if she has no control or is even aware of it, yet. (I have additional theories on that specifically but that is enough for now).
As a Doctor Who fan that has watched every episode, movie, special, documentary, behind the scenes from the first Hartnell episode to present and re-watching all of them multiple times over, I can say with complete confidence this new season sucks. The stories are bad, the writing is bad.
I liked it except for her letting the other woman be abused by what's his name. I don't love it as a writing choice, and I'm not sure what I'm meant to take away from it about Ruby as a person -- and now none of this happened, of course, but she still did do it too.
Yeah, I get what you mean. I think he wanted to show how much of. A bastard he was in a quick space of time. What I will say, most male writers would have not even given ruby that moment of saying sorry and explaining why so I guess that is something.
Yeah it's a small town thing. I've been in many of these kinds of pubs and they use you as entertainment to help ease the pain of the mundane life they've found themselves in. I sound so bitter 😂
So to summarize: As I understand it , the Doctor breaks the circle. Ruby is shunted into a time loop where somehow she is haunted by her future self. She uses her unique relationship with herself to stop Mad Jack (Roger ap Gwilliam) from escaping the loop into the real world. Then she has to live through the loop until the end/beginning comes round again so she can warn herself and prevent the circle from being broken. It is a sort of bootstrap paradox.
As for the running away, I think there is a perception filter on Ruby. Whatever she is, getting close to the old lady version of her turns off the filter on the young version (like the filter can’t exist on both simultaneously). The old version never looks at or speaks to anyone. People just look back and then freak. Whatever people see when they look back at the young version terrifies them, so they run away. There is this hypothesis running around that she is the Trickster’s daughter from Sarah Jane Adventures. Maybe she is? Or something even worse?
Thanks for your summarisation, it does help to see others to help possibly fill in blanks. Heard a rumour about the tricksters daughter also!
I don't have much time the coming up weeks, so a fast tracked trough your reaction but actually I like to rewatch it the full, when I find the time, cause it's like you watching a 'Punch and Judy' show, your interactions are so pure and I like that very much. Also here for your afterthoughts, so yeah, I will come back to this reaction.
Also big hooray for finaly recognizing Susan Twist (they had to point that out to me too, but I succeeded in 'Boom' ).
Also just found out they filmed this while Ncuti was filming Sex Education (I still haven't seen that show though) so hence why this is a Doctor light episode. But what a good one, ey.
OOOOOOOHHHHH that makes sense, what a creative way to work around it!
Also, take your time. I'm releasing them late due to plans/new job so watch it as late as you want. I'm actually flying away for 10 days the day before the finale so that reaction will be uploaded SOOOOOOOO late! Hahaha
my biggest issue with this episode is £5 for a coke!
Ruby didn't like that either!
Prices are jacked twice. It's a bar and she's a tourist. 😂
Seen this happen before. Bitter landlords annoyed they can't get you to spend more on alcohol so charge you the price of ordering one.
I was charged more than that for a coke at the Royal Albert Hall at a concert and no I wasn't impressed.
@@sofajockeyUK my condolences
Great review as always Jake, like susan being in every episode, there seems to be recurring theme on not stepping on things.. the non things in 14 ans donnas episode on the salt, ruby stepping on a butterfly, the dr on a mine, then the fairy circle..then ruby being told not to step on the grass at the football pitch..could be nothing but who knows lol
So I guess the basic story telling plot is watch where you're going? 😂
Episode 879. Masterclass.
I think a thing with this episode is that it's a supernatural horror story not sci-fi, and the lack of solid explanations for what is happening, even at the end, is a pretty common convention of the genre.
Maybe why I was indifferent, not my favourite genre.
Ruby didn't become the 73yd woman til the day she died. The 73 yd woman was Dead Ruby "she looked like what she was". Of course Dead Ruby would never approach herself, she'd stay far enough away. If you approached Death, you would run away. Ruby waited her whole life to get back to stop them from breaking the circle. - A wonderful allegory of how a woman/companion, "whose lifespan sucks!" lives with death and abandonment.
They explained in the episode that Fairy Circles are said to be in places where the world's boundary is its thinnest, which is why people say it's dangerous to break or cross them. (Basically, this is the same situation of what happened with the salt incident with 14.) She also definitely remembered atleast subconsciously because she said at the beginning of the episode that she's been two times.
There is no title sequence because the show was RUBY SUNDAY and not DOCTOR WHO. They just opened without it to probably not spoil that point directly.
Yeah, wasn't that the people in the pub making shit up though? Didn't think we were to believe them
@MrKakeJelly My impression was the woman with the hat who coined the Latin term knew what she was talking about, but she didn't believe it was true.
@@wendyheatherwood true, very knowledgeable. Probably a ritual that just became a myth to locals
@MrKakeJelly Kate mentioned that the supernatural like myths and legends seems more common since the salt incident. 14 even worried about the fact that he introduced a superstition where the walls of the universe are thinnest.
Loved your reaction again 😁
I have my own theory on it all but I have a bad track record so take it with a large pinch of salt 😂
When the Doctor broke the fairy circle Ruby read the little scrolls which was the final releasing of the spirit Mad Jack. The Doctor was taken by the Fae as punishment for being the one to originally break the circle. Ruby's punishment was to live her life out with her biggest underlying fear occurring which is abandonment with no explanation. She also had to stop Mad Jack from destroying the world.
I don't believe the woman in the distance was old Ruby all along tho. I believe it was the Fae who created the circle. They uave their own unique powers and I think they used them in some way to cause everyone to abandon Ruby. What I don't know and I don't want to know to be honest. By chasing people away from Ruby it serves two purposes, 1) making sure her underlying fear comes true and continuing the punishment and 2) ensuring Ruby concentrates only on Mad Jack when the time comes to stop him.
Why 73 yards? Kate gave the best explanation for that really, 73 yards is the average distance for someone with normal vision to be able to see before it becomes blurry on 73 yards everything is blurry/out of focus especially to Ruby.
Why Ruby waited so long to deal with Roger AP Gwilliams is fair play like the Doctor she had to be absolutely sure he would stay on the path to nuclear destruction and once she had it confirmed it was all systems go. The other thing is when has she been in a situation with him where she could be exactly 73 yards from him while keeping him in her line of sight, the Stadium was perfect for that.
Millie Gibson was outstanding in this and I felt she is perfect as Ruby.
Once Ruby had accepted the woman would always be there and she would always be alone she grew really strong from it and that gave her what she needed to deal with mad Jack. Once we get to her dying thats when the Fae came to her bedside and gave her her reward (not sure that is quite the right word) and took her back to the exact moment her and the Doctor arrived and allowed her to use her image/voice to warn Ruby about the fairy circle or in other words Don't Step.
This stopped the alternative timeline and kep Mad Jack locked up. Roger AP Gwillians still exists but instead of bringing the world to the brink of a nuclear war he is just a terrible PM. I say this because Two things changed from their original landing to the end. 1) The Doctor originally said Roger was a terrible pm bringing the world to the brink of nuclear war but the second just said he was a terrible PM.
2) Ruby said she had been to Wales twice at the start but three times at the end so still had a subconscious memory of it all.
The people in the pub were just being Dicks but using the Welsh myths to wind her up. They didn't believe it was true but turns out it was.
Overall it was a good episode but not a fantastic one as some are saying in MY eyes. They are comparing it to mid ight/Turn Left/Legend of Clyde Langer (last one being Sarah Jane Adventures).
I personally don't like Midnight but Love Turn Left so make my scoring on that. Not as bad as Midnight but not as good as Turn Left. 7.5/10. It was good enough to grip me until the end but couldn't rewatch it every time I do rewatchs of series.
Sorry I do ramble and apologies for any spelling or grammar mistakes but I really can't be arsed to proof read this 😂😂
I just saw this comment also, thanks for your consistency 😂🤗
I aged slowly too, so all the reactions to how Ruby looks are just cracking me up.
yeah i literally got carded right up until i was 39 lol, then all of the sudden it caught up with me lol
@@jonni2317 Yeah. Even at the eye doctor, the other week, the lady doing the paperwork was startled by my age. Unfortunately, we have to wait 20 years to see what Millie will look like.
Stop flexing your outstanding genes, the both of you!
@@MrKakeJelly With the life I've had, I've needed them! :)
@@HuntingViolets 😂
Fast old ruby it's a bit of a paradox the second one obviously she's only in that body for a few seconds so does that mean the first ruby is not ruby she takes over the figure's body to make sure second ruby doesn't step
First off, this was the most hilarious reaction from you, when during the final creepy scene you panicked and said "i dont like this, where do i go where do i go" 😂 i am still laughing. Youre too good.
I dont know about the woman's hand gestures and why exactly 73 yards, but i do have other theories.
Where did the doctor go: he was the one who broke the fairy circle, so maybe his disappearance was a type of punishment. And why didnt Ruby disappear? She was the one who took the scroll about Mad Jack and read it, so taking down the PM had become her mission alone, although she didnt know it yet.
Why did the woman make everyone hate Ruby: I feel like it was a defence mechanism, coz nothing should hamper Ruby's mission of dethroning the PM. If Unit, for example, successfully intervened and captured the woman, Ruby would have never been able to deal with the PM. So, its like: you try to approach her or talk to her, then you are repelled by her and driven away from Ruby, so that Ruby's mission can be completed without impediments or distractions. Nobody tried to approach the woman after Ruby dealt with the PM, so we don't know if this theory holds.
There is no paradox. The episode occured in an alternate timeline. And in that timeline, Ruby stopped the PM from leading the "the world to the brink of nuclear war", to quote the Doctor. So there is no actual nuclear war. When the timeline is reset in the final scene, Ruby does not live a life where she will stop the PM, so it isnt a paradox. Her original timeline is restored. In the final scene, the doctor again tells Ruby about the dangerous PM. Going by the exact words of the Doctor, the PM will indeed come to power in 2046, but clearly doesn't do any catastrophic damage. He simply acquires the weapons for symbolism.
This entire episode was in an alternate timeline and trying to be all meta coz in this alternate timeline, Doctor Who does not have a title sequence.
It may be there is no sequence because at the point it would be inserted, there is no Doctor. (Although we do get credits over the action at the beginning, of course.)
Thank you for your kind words! 🤗
As for the theories, didn't the scroll say "rest in peace, mad jack " ? I may be misremembering but if he died in 2024 or before, why is there a message saying that?
@@MrKakeJelly my theory for this is that whoever made the fairy circle had trapped Mad Jack's soul or essence, just like the pub ladies said. he hadn't really died just sort of imprisoned and forced to rest in peace. The Doctor stepped on the circle and broke the bond, hence freeing Mad Jack to rise to power as PM 22 years later.
I'm face blind to small things like Susan Twist so I have to look up who she was in every episode after.
I think when he originally broke it, it got tangled with the TARDIS' perception filter.
Good to know I'm not alone in this 😂
I think a lot of the people saying "How are you not getting this?" (in regards to you not recognizing Susan Twist), frankly, read about her recurring appearances on social media, or watched Behind the Scenes stuff. Because the show really hasn't been overtly featuring her that much in the first few episodes. I think this is one of those things where people (especially reactors) aren't having "natural" reactions to her. By that I mean they're using outside information to color how they perceive the show: In this case, most of them literally naming her as "Susan Twist" during the first Space Babies episode and stating factually that she will be seen for the whole season. (Like seriously, how could someone glean that from simply watching the show? Is Susan Twist actually a massive celebrity and I'm the only one who has never heard of her until this season of Doctor Who?)
It reminds me of WandaVision when Monica Rambeau passed through the forcefield and everyone vocalized things like, "Oh, is this where Monica gets her powers?"
I even wondered whether Susan Twist was really the actress's name. But, yeah, I must have read about it somewhere or heard it in a video. It's not revealed onscreen, that's for sure, although some will notice the actress being re-used and maybe look the actress up and find the name.
Yeah I had no idea who she was before this. Still kinda don't know who she is now even looking at her, as bad as it sounds. 😂
@@MrKakeJelly I don't think she is really famous (but I could be wrong). I even wondered whether Susan Twist was her usual actress name (apparently so). I also briefly wondered this when Nick Frost played Santa Claus on DW, though and a quick google proved that was not the case. Maybe RTD knew her and got the idea from her name. It's nice they're hiring some older actresses, though.
@@HuntingViolets wait, did you not know nick frost before the Christmas special?
@@MrKakeJelly I guess not enough to notice his name before, at least. It is a very Father Christmassy name, you have to admit. I'm not sure whether I'd seen _Shaun of the Dead_ yet.
Okay, now I'm a huge fan of Doctor Who, have been for years. And I loved the first RTD era. I think it was one of the best.
However, the this second run. It's a been a mixed bag for me. And the Episode 73 yards, is the best example I've seen yet.
The concept, amazing, it'd creepy when it needs to be, it's funny when appropriate and it really does an amazing job at showing the fear, anguish and pain and loneliness of Ruby as well as her perseverance.
But, while the plot seems extremely well thought out and laid out perfectly, in my opinion it falls flat by it's own plot holes that I don't see us getting many, if any answers to.
When I watched the episode, after the first 10-15 minutes, I found myself constantly asking "WHY?" And after the episodes ending "twist" my question and frustration intensified.
Naturally, I took to the internet, specifically RUclips and searched out answers from Reactions and Reviews.
One such reaction had a comment claiming they didn't think the old woman said anything to the "scared ones" she just pointed to Ruby. But, there are issues with that theory.
The first is, Kate's reaction. She was nowhere near the woman, therefore it stands to reason her response was due to something she heared through her earpiece.
But, let's just say for a minute that the old woman was just pointing at Ruby, the old woman would still have to take some blame for it to make sense. She would have to be somehow be pulling back the veil of whatever Ruby really is.
Say, this is basically a "Turn Left" scenario. There still must be a catalyst. If there is a form of perception filter around Ruby for instance, something would have to interfere with it for them to see it.
So the question becomes WHY?
Given the twisti at the end, we still have to ask why old Ruby wants to isolate her past self like that. Especially since Carla and Chery are such integral parts of her life who have known Ruby, cared for her for the better side of 17-18 years.
So WHY, what does she stand to gain?
The second WHY is, if the Doctor really has been taken out of the universe, WHY doesn’t the TARDIS dissappear with him, it just stands there for 63 years or so.
Now, admittedly, the branching universe COULD answer that. Maybe the Doctor is merely placed on a different branch. While the TARDIS and the key are kept in on the "solitary" branch in order to keep hope just out of reach.
Now, after WHY, the next question we have to ask is HOW?
HOW does old Ruby make it back to that day to put all this into motion at all?
Does Ruby have an innate ability to time travel? Was it really magic?
And lastly and possibly the most frustrating is, WHAT?
WHAT DID OLD RUBY SAY?
Perhaps the most frustrating thing about this for me, comes from Russel himself.
His statement said "what she said is up to interpretation." In other words, the fans imagine. In other words, we'll never know what he was thinking she said. If he even thought of anything himself.
Now, I can think of two ways this episode could have been done different to erase these frustrating plot holes.
1. They could have done something similar to the Moffat episode "The god Complex" Make it so that an entity is playing off of Ruby's fears. (Something I thought was happening from the beginning.) Maybe even, since she has something to do with "the one who waits" it could have been them making her go through some kind of trial before revealing themselves.
2. Have future Ruby appear to someone Ruby knows to give her a message but keep it ambiguous. One phrase. Ruby still has to investigate without the Doctor, figure out the phrases interpretation.
Overall, I'm saddened because to me this feels like the perfect example of plot vs message. Where it almost seems the ending was an after thought after the message. "Nuclear War Bad, Elites Evil." Which of course, we already knew anyway.
To me, this was a bottle episode with a promising plot that was unfortunately bogged down by a "talking point." It might sound harsh but that's my opinion. A throw away episode.
Thank you for this comment, you've helped put in to writing a lot of the stuff I have felt also!
Ruby didn't step on the fairy circle; the Doctor did. She read the notes, though.
Maybe that's why he disappeared I guess, still doesn't really explain it though
@MrKakeJelly it's possible the Doctor ended up trapped by slipping through the damaged viel and Ruby was left to fend for herself. Her power seemed to be based on memory overlapping time. There is a theory that Ruby's future self delivered Her to the Church. Her old self dying and going back to the beginning to do so could actually explain that this is a normal eternal cycle for her and the broken circle disrupted it. (I get serious Bad Wolf vibes from the Ruby mystery. I rewatched the episode and the line "I am the Bad Wolf, I create myself" really stuck hard because she seems to also have a connection to Gods)
Now, this could be as Kate said, my mind making up rules to make it work. But, after watching another reaction, I listened to Old Ruby at the end, and there was this very ethereal, telapathicy voice saying "Don't Step" but, at least for me, it did take a few tries for it to clear up, the first two times, I swore I heard "Don't Stare" so maybe that's what the others heard as well, then she kind of gestures to her younger self which makes people look at Ruby and maybe that makes them think one of them is a ghost, because one is old and one is young but its the same person.
So they run out of pure fear, but, that does not explain Carla's reaction and why she said something so aweful to Ruby
As I was reading, I was saying to myself about the Carla thing also! Haha
Here’s my theory for the episode and what I think is happening!!!
I think when they went up to the old ruby the old ruby’s face turned young and that scared everyone away I think this worked especially with rubys mum with tuff love I think older ruby told her mum she needs to run away and never see her again to keep her safe this would explain why her mum pushes ruby away by saying something so opposite to who her mum is by saying she’s not her real mum this is enough for ruby to feel abandoned and stay away from her mum allowing the timeline to remain the reason mad jack and all the others ran away is because they also saw old ruby’s face turn younge I think old ruby can also send information through peoples minds because she interacted with them when she was younger so older ruby told unit that she needed everyone to leave her younger self so she can stop mad jack who will cause world war 3 and fix the timeline. in the end ruby dies and her spirit goes back in her younger self, preventing the doctor to step changing the timeline back to normal!!!
That's a very interesting theory, definitely plausible!
Yup u got it this time it's Susan twist,
🤓
Great reaction.
I felt exactly the same.
The premise is marvelous. I love this horror vibe everything about it.
It lost me a bit with that MP plotline... and they lost me completely by the time the episode was done.
I wasn't angry or disappointed. it was just "... huh... okay...".
The episode grew on me after I rewatched it and maybe once the entire season is available and it it explained what Ruby actually is , this episode becomes even better, but the thing is:
I hate when show runners do that. I don't like the disney schtick that you basically have to do homework now to watch a marvel movie and I don't like that you HAVE TO rewatch an episode or have knowledge of future episodes to get the plot. I love it when you can appreciate the details or find different layers in a rewatch, but I should be able to understand the basic plot on my first watch.. Maybe thats just me, and maybe I am just old..
I dont know about the woman's hand gestures and why exactly 73 yards, but i do have other theories.
Where did the doctor go: he was the one who broke the fairy circle, so maybe his disappearance was a type of punishment. And why didnt Ruby disappear? She was the one who took the scroll about Mad Jack and read it, so taking down the PM had become her mission alone, although she didnt know it yet.
Why did the woman make everyone hate Ruby: I feel like it was a defence mechanism, coz nothing should hamper Ruby's mission of dethroning the PM. If Unit, for example, successfully intervened and captured the woman, Ruby would have never been able to deal with the PM. So, its like: you try to approach her or talk to her, then you are repelled by her and driven away from Ruby, so that Ruby's mission can be completed without impediments or distractions. Nobody tried to approach the woman after Ruby dealt with the PM, so we don't know if this theory holds.
There is no paradox. The episode occured in an alternate timeline. And in that timeline, Ruby stopped the PM from leading the "the world to the brink of nuclear war", to quote the Doctor. So there is no actual nuclear war. When the timeline is reset in the final scene, Ruby does not live a life where she will stop the PM, so it isnt a paradox. Her original timeline is restored. In the final scene, the doctor again tells Ruby about the dangerous PM. Going by the exact words of the Doctor, the PM will indeed come to power in 2046, but clearly doesn't do any catastrophic damage. He simply acquires the weapons for symbolism.
This entire episode was in an alternate timeline and trying to be all meta coz in this alternate timeline, Doctor Who does not have a title sequence.
You see, I like continuity in universes and if I don't understand, I enjoy finding out what happened previously or in a different show/film etc. I do agree though that I don't want a future episode to retroactively "fix" this episode because as a stand alone episode, it will still have these issues.
Let's not make it so we can't drive a car when it's offline, okay? So much not progress.
Face blindness is a real thing.
I'll get myself checked out
Why do Dr Who fans (not necessarily you) need everything explained clearly and wrapped up with a bow. For me - the great part of the episode was that it kept you wondering. Lots was left up to your imagination and that was the episode's strength.
What you call wondering, some just call bad writing. I myself love a mystery but this felt like he wrote himself into a corner and then used the first idea that came to his head to get out.
I'm not sure she says anything to the people to make them run away. It may be just what she is, if that makes any sense.
"She looks like what she is" - Karla
@@XanderHarris1023 Oh, yes!
These people in the pub are [bleep]. She asks a perfectly reasonable question and they act like it's ridiculous. Then they overcharge her for everything. They all act creepy and then say she's the problem. This pub really wandered in from an _Avengers_ episode, I think. Yes, they are terrible! "I hope Mad Jack is real. I hope he kills them all." That would be awesome, really.
I'm wondering if the superstitious pub patrons were being sincere and the timeline where they were joking are separate timelines of the same event crossing over each other. The veils are thin.
@@XanderHarris1023 That's interesting. But why would they joke about it in the other timeline?
@@HuntingViolets Because superstitions are ridiculous children's stories, or they were until the Doctor invoked a superstition at the edge of the universe. Now there has been an increase in supernatural activity confirmed by Kate herself.
That is probably reading way too far into it. My initial thought when the Landlady asked how she pays with her phone is "what time period is it?". Was she being a dick or was a past time line bleeding through for a moment?
Ruby herself has some power over time even if she has no control or is even aware of it, yet. (I have additional theories on that specifically but that is enough for now).
Yeah the people in the pub are savages.
@@XanderHarris1023 I quite like this theory of yours
Give Millie an Emmy for this episode 💯💯💯💯. Also looking good Jakey 🏳️🌈🇺🇸💕🇺🇸🏳️🌈🥰🇺🇸🏳️🌈💕🏳️🌈🇺🇸.
Millie was unreal, really got to show off her acting chops!
@@MrKakeJelly So young to be this good. Ironically, usually someone older is playing the 19-year-old character when they're this good.
@@HuntingVioletsThis is very true!
As a Doctor Who fan that has watched every episode, movie, special, documentary, behind the scenes from the first Hartnell episode to present and
re-watching all of them multiple times over, I can say with complete confidence this new season sucks. The stories are bad, the writing is bad.
That is a strong statement!
I liked it except for her letting the other woman be abused by what's his name. I don't love it as a writing choice, and I'm not sure what I'm meant to take away from it about Ruby as a person -- and now none of this happened, of course, but she still did do it too.
Yeah, I get what you mean. I think he wanted to show how much of. A bastard he was in a quick space of time. What I will say, most male writers would have not even given ruby that moment of saying sorry and explaining why so I guess that is something.
@@MrKakeJelly Well, progress is slow.
Yeah, do the locals act like that every time an English person comes in or just vulnerable young women who appear to be shaken about something?
Yeah it's a small town thing. I've been in many of these kinds of pubs and they use you as entertainment to help ease the pain of the mundane life they've found themselves in. I sound so bitter 😂
@@MrKakeJelly It's so wrong that made me laugh.
I just got so protective of her.