Doctor Who Series 13 Episode 3: Once, Upon Time

Greetings everyone,

In today's article, I will be sharing my thoughts on the third episode of the 13th series of the renowned TV show, Doctor Who, which interestingly is entitled, "Once, Upon Time". Just as the preceding episode, this particular one elicits much food for thought leading to the enigmatic difficulty of dissecting, analysing or even discussing it to a satisfactory degree.

This episode offers quite a bit, to the verge of being saturated, some explanations posed in the form of answers to previously asked questions and the addition of many more. The episode seems scattered, jumping from different spaces and times, making it hard to follow a clear structural narrative which results in a complicated viewing experience.

Here's my attempt at painting a vivid picture of the unfolding plot: The episode commences with an introduction of a new character, Belle, ironically on a quest, much like ourselves, navigating her way through a myriad of dangers.

Meanwhile, the Doctor, using her quick thinking and the ever handy Sonic Screwdriver, manages to divert a lethal attack aimed at Yaz and Vinder, albeit at the cost of the Doctor herself being pulled into a time vortex. The chaotic sequence transforms suddenly into a strange calm as the Doctor finds herself living through the memories of her counterpart, Ruth. We're given a glimpse of Ruth's last mission for "the division" - a mission to stop Swarm and Azure. This rollercoaster memory ride appears interspersed throughout the episode, making it particularly dizzying to map out the events of the plot.

While the Doctor is engrossed in her intense journey through time and memory, we see Dan and Yaz also experiencing their timeline shifts. Dan is seen getting accustomed to what could be a blooming romance, being transported back to his past in the tunnels under Liverpool. Yaz, on the other hand, faces recurring encounters with terrifying Weeping Angels.

Towards the episode's conclusion, we witness the Doctor's memory coming to a close, revealing The Maori advising the Doctor to leave time. It unveils how the Time Lords had harnessed the power of the Maori to control time.

All the characters finally reach a safe zone as they board the TARDIS, heading towards Vinder's home planet only to find it destroyed. This tragic discovery leads to the revelation of the relationship between Vinder and Belle, and the unexpected tidings of pregnancy.

However, the relative serenity in our protagonists' lives is abruptly short-lived as a Weeping Angel and a cliffhanger ending takes over.

This episode with its numerous twists, an overload of information, unanswered questions and unexpected appearances could leave any viewer disoriented. A cornucopia of further questions is presented during the unravelling of this episode, including the creation and purpose of The Flux, the role of Dan and his girlfriend, the Weeping Angels' interest in Yaz and the endgame of the Ravagers.

Though several elements in the episode should have made it more appealing, it appeared scattered, making the viewing experience a lot less satisfying than it could have been. The anticipation felt for the upcoming episode is rather mixed, with the hope that it's a little more structured and that it manages to answer at least a few of our lingering questions.

Until then, let's keep our fingers crossed and eyes peeled for the next episode.

Stay tuned.