Doctor Who goes a little Wandavision for the first of the two-part season finale, which sees the Rani finally come into the forefront of the action. The Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa) and Belinda (Varada Sethu) wake up beside each other in bed. The couple goes downstairs in their perfect 1950s home and makes breakfast for their daughter Poppy (Captain Poppy from last season’s ‘Space Babies’). Both can sense something is wrong with this world, but a mug falls to the floor, interrupting their thoughts.

It’s an eerie start to jump into this alternative, kitsch version of May 2025 without any context. The Wandavision comparisons are obvious, both are hiding secrets behind the façade of an I Love Lucy setting. In the background of The Doctor and Belinda’s lives is Conrad Clark (Jonah Hauer-King), telling the public stories about this mythic Doctor Who. He’s on billboards, on televisions, through tannoids reading the Story of Doctor Who.

Ncuti Gatwa as The Doctor in 'Wish World'

There are so many choices in this episode that subtly and perfectly get under your skin. It’s Uncanny Valley done well. How many of us have had déjà vu or felt that something is off? Not to mention how it’s utterly jarring to hear the words “Doctor Who” spoken out loud in an episode of Doctor Who, as Conrad reads tales about the show we are currently watching, as if it’s fictional.

The Doctor is on his way to work when Ruby (Millie Gibson) knocks on his door. She knows the world around her is wrong, but can’t pinpoint how or why. Everyone in the episode remembers their real life as if it were an echo of their past. Whenever someone starts to mention that their life feels off, a mug breaks. This is a common occurrence as everyone on The Doctor’s street’s bin is full of broken mugs. If you start to get a little too vocal about this feeling, you’ll soon disappear.

Another hint that this bright, retro world is not real is the odd dinosaur-like skeleton creatures roaming the skies above. These bone beasts patrol this new world and keep the inhabitants in check. It’s a visual shock that doesn’t lend itself too much to the plot of the episode.

Ruby finds herself in a group of disabled and homeless people. They see and understand that their world is wrong more than those caught up in work, romance, and their family. Displaced from the world and living in tented cities, they see the truth because society ignores them. Russell T. Davies can’t help but add a little social commentary to his writing, but this is less heavy-handed than previous episodes.

‘Wish World’ also sees an appearance from Jonathan Groff as Rogue, the love interest agent from the last season, who deserves another spin in the TARDIS, Bonnie Langford’s Mel, and UNIT. All of which are stuck in their own way inside The Rani’s big plan. The writing smoothly manages to juggle all these characters in an organic way. Belinda, someone who has struggled with underwriting, strangely feels more herself here than ever before. It takes not knowing who she is to make Belinda feel real.

Meet The Rani and The Rani

It’s no spoiler to say that the Rani is involved in this mysterious world. The post-credit scenes from the previous episode saw Mrs Flood (Anita Dobson) bi-generate into Archie Panjabi and reveal themselves to be the Rani. This classic villain is a Time Lady and scientist who appeared in the 1980s and 1990s (played by the late Kate O’Mara).

Archie Panjabi’s Rani has her hands on the wheel, while Mrs Flood is a glorified servant. The bi-generation gimmick worked during the anniversary special, which saw Tennant bi-generate into Gatwa, but it doesn’t quite land here. The pair doesn’t seem equal or on the same side of the coin. Instead, Mrs Flood is the Igor to Rani’s Frankenstein. Their regeneration contradicts The Doctor’s most recent change. Lore can change in a science fiction show that has been on air this long, but playing with such recent history is a little frustrating.

Panjabi is having a lot of fun as Rani, playing the role as big as possible. Whether she is anything more than a pantomime villain is not quite clear yet. She mainly saunters around her tower in a fabulous coat like a cartoon character. Anita Dobson also ramps up the camp in her performance as an amped up Ms Flood who polices this faux world and makes the tea.

The Rani is famously a scientist, and The Doctor has awoken a Pantheon of Gods, who come with their own magic. How this impacts her and The Doctor is yet to be seen. Whether she and the Gods work together or are against each other is still very much up in the air. It’ll be fascinating to see if showrunner Russell T Davies can land all these different threads in one cohesive season finale.

Conrad, who first appeared in ‘Lucky Day’ as a conspiracy theorist and fools Ruby into dating him in the hopes of meeting The Doctor, is relegated a little in this episode. He is a stooge to the Ranis, reading bedtime stories and babysitting this mysterious child. Whether he is relevant to the proceedings remains to be seen, and just why did the time lady break him out of jail, especially?

What Does ‘Wish World’ Tell Us About The Doctor Who Finale?

This is the first episode of this second rebooted Doctor Who season to feel well-paced. At nearly an hour in length, it’s the longest episode of the season and finally lets the writing breathe. As the first of a two-part finale, ‘Wish World’ does a decent job of setting up things for the big blowout.

As usual, in these types of shows, there are so many things that need resolving for the finale. There are Gods and Time Ladies to think of, not to mention the fact that May 24th doesn’t exist on Earth anymore. I fear the pantheon of Gods will be pushed to the background of proceedings, as Rani becomes the ultimate series’ big bad. That’s not to mention Susan appearing to The Doctor in last week’s episode. It feels impossible for the show to resolve 16 episodes and so of plot in just one hour.

The ending to this episode feels clunky. Watching The Doctor, Belinda, and Ruby try to understand that they are trapped in a fake world is great fun. Once the time lord comes face to face with The Rani, the exposition gets clunky. It’s too long into The Rani’s monologue for it to be clear what her plan actually is. The key theme of ‘Wish World’ is that The Doctor’s world is not real, he’s a bedtime story told by a villain. This is one of the many fourth wall breaks from the past two seasons of the show. It seems increasingly likely that this will be the big theme of next week’s show.

The key theme of ‘Wish World’ is that the Doctor’s world is not real; he’s a bedtime story told by a villain. This is one of the many fourth-wall breaks from the past two seasons of the show. It seems increasingly likely that this will be the big theme of next week’s show. What is real and what is fake? Was Ncuti Gatwa ever The Doctor? Was it called gravity and not mavity all along?

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