Doctor Who, season 12 episode 6 – Praxeus

I almost liked this episode of Doctor Who. Why almost? Because it started very good, with a massive dose of mystery, but the quality dropped in the second part of the episode.

The Doctor and her friends split to solve some strange cases that appear in different areas of the globe: an astronaut went missing in the Indian ocean and he is found in a storehouse in Hong Kong along some alien devices, in Peru the birds are dying from unknown reasons and near Madagascar a submarine went also missing. Everything is connected to one plague, Praxeus, that was brought on Earth by some aliens that try to cure it.

The good parts of the episode: the mystery in the beginning (some scenes are great) and the approach of one of the most grave issues of modern times (plastic and micro-plastic spread all over – you can find it in nature, in water, food and some living creatures). Some would say that there is some good in the appearance of the two married homosexuals in this episode because of minorities, but this depends of perspective.

The bad parts of the episode: when the aliens start to shoot they hit everything but what they want to. The stormtroopers from Star Wars shoot better then they, and the stormtrooper are a mess (and everyone knows it). After the mystery is solved and they try to cure the plague before it triggers an extinction level event, the way to approach the problem is not so good. I know the producers have to make everything work in the limited time of an episode but the could choose a better approach than the one I’ve watched.

Directed by Jamie Magnus Stone, written by Chris Chibnall and Pete McTighe.

Cast: Jodie Whittaker (The Doctor), Bradley Walsh (Graham O’Brien), Tosin Cole (Ryan Sinclair), Mandip Gill (Yasmin Khan), Warren Brown (Jake Willis), Matthew McNulty (Adam Lang), Molly Harris (Suki Cheng), Joana Borja (Gabriela Camera), Thapelo Maropefela (Aramu), Gabriela Toloi (Jamila Velez), Soo Drouet (Joyce), Tristan de Beer (Zach Olson).

The next episode, Can you hear me?, will be aired 9 February 2020. From ancient Syria to present day Sheffield, and out into the wilds of space, something is stalking the Doctor and her friends. As Graham, Yaz and Ryan return home to see friends and family, they find themselves haunted by very different experiences. Who is the figure calling from beyond the stars for help, and why? And what are the fearsome Chagaskas terrorising Aleppo in 1380? To find the answers, Team Tardis embark on a mission that forces them to face their darkest fears.