In the middle of Crimean War (the year 1855) the Doctor and her companions cross paths with Mary Seacole, considered by some to be the first nurse practitioner, an historical figure that helps the wounded from both sides in conflict.
Historical speaking, in that war the British fought the Russian in the peninsula because the Ottoman empire was collapsing. Mary Seacole was supposed to be there and then, but the several space ships full with Sontaran warriors were new and out of place. Especially that they were already ruling a big territory (as Russia and China together – and I think that’s not a mistake, considering the tension the two countries have been provoking lately).
More: Yaz and Dan were displace to other time zones and they have to fight for their own survival, and the Doctor has to solve almost alone the Crimean problem. Of course, the nurse helps her but other are making problems.
Dan is brought home, only two days after he disappeared, and he has to deal with other fleet of Sontaran ships parked on the Liverpool docks. Meanwhile Yaz and Vinder are in the Temple of Atropos where one of the floating Priest Triangle asks them to repair the damage done to the Inner Temple by the Flux. In that zone there are the silent Mouri, Quantum-Locked women who stand on pedestals around the room – they apparently maintain the flow of time as we know it by letting it flow through them. Two of them are broken, which could damage the time.
The eccentric Joseph Williamson, the one who started digging tunnels in Liverpool in 1820, is met briefly in the corridors of the temple. His connection with the rest of the story is still a mystery, and we will solve it later.
The second chapter of the story was funny, action packed (but it could be better), and it brings new elements of mystery.
Directed by Jamie Magnus Stone, written by Chris Chibnall.
Cast: Jodie Whittaker (The Doctor), Mandip Gill (Yasmin Khan), John Bishop (Dan Lewis), Jonathan Watson (Skaak), Sara Powell (Mary Seacote), Jacob Anderson (Vinder), Sue Jenkins (Eileen), Paul Broughton (Neville), Steve Oram (Joseph Williamson), Gerald Kyd (generalul Logan), Dan Starkey (Svild), Sam Spruell (Swarm), Rochenda Sandall (Azure), Craige Els (Karvanista), Jonny Mathers (Passenger), Nigel Richard Lambert (the voice of the Priest Triangle).
Next time episode is Once, Upon Time. “Time is beginning to run wild”. On a planet that shouldn’t exist, in the aftermath of apocalypse, the Doctor, Dan, Yaz and Vinder face a battle to survive.