Doctor Who New Year’s Day special: Resolution

Did we just get Jodie Whittaker’s best Doctor Who episode yet? Yes, yes we did.

Doctor Who decided to mix it up this holiday season. Instead of a Christmas special, we got a New Year’s Day special–and it was glorious! It basically had everything we’d want from a Doctor Who episode with a slight twist and a very familiar enemy. When fans first heard that things would be different this time around, it was certainly met with a lot of skepticism.

Anytime tradition changes, it’s to be expected, right? Well, Doctor Who may have changed things on us but they certainly did not disappoint. The episode begins on New Year’s Day 2019 as two archaeologists are at a site working. It’s here we meet Lin and Mitch, who clearly shared a romantic moment the night before.

Lin is quite eager to talk about the New Year’s kiss they shared, and what better place to discuss it then at a very old burial site under their town hall? It’s hard not to adore these two randos immediately, they were just so cute! We all held our breath when things took a Doctor Who turn and the two decided to split up and investigate. You’re never supposed to split up!

One of the bags containing artifacts had disappeared and they presumed it was a very large rat that ran off with it. What Lin and Mitch weren’t aware of and what the audience was filled in on were two very different things here. Whatever this thing was we knew it was centuries old. Not to mention, it was chopped into three pieces by the Custodians who buried it in separate parts of the world.

Credit: BBC

But only two Custodians successfully buried the parts while the third was killed on his way to Yorkshire. When Lin and Mitch placed the artifact they found under UV light, it someone how brought this thing back to life. Not to mention, it also woke up the other pieces which were being summoned to join this third piece.

Eventually, Lin did encounter whatever this thing was, and it was a gnarly looking octopus/squid thing. Immediately, the Doctor and her team are alerted to this incident and make their way over there. Side note: They were on a galaxy-wide trip to see New Year’s fireworks. However, once they got to the burial site, they didn’t see the squid thing where it had once been.

I have to say I really love Jodie Whittaker as the Doctor, and this episode is a testament to that. Okay, so moving forward, the Doctor does her usual scan thing but she misses one huge factor. The squid thing is attached to Lin’s back!

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The team heads back to Graham’s house to make sense of what is going on. In all of this confusion, Ryan’s dad, Aaron makes an appearance. Talk about awkward, right? With some pushing, Ryan decides to join his father for a cuppa while the others figure out the mystery.

Things started getting Doctor Who weird when Lin started behaving strangely. It quickly became apparent that whatever was latched onto her back was controlling her.

At the same moment, the Doctor finally figured out what this thing was and what we all feared–a Dalek! We can never get enough of these horrible Doctor Who villains, no matter how many times they pop up.

This particular Dalek was scouring the Earth to eventually learn how the entire Dalek fleet could take this planet down. It was using Lin’s body as a human vessel to get the information it needed. With the help of the team, the Doctor located Lin who just so happened to be in the same place as the Dalek. Lin was MIA for too long and this prompted a search led by her beloved Mitch.

With some encouraging words by the Doctor, Lin was able to resist and fight back and eventually got the squishy Dalek off her back. Can I just say there is a fierce moment of empowerment here where the Doctor commends Lin for fighting back and winning! Bravo, Doctor Who, Bravo.

Credit: BBC

If you were thinking you wouldn’t see the Dalek in the form we’re all used to, you were wrong. The squishy Dalek eventually found its O.G. vessel and thus began the fighting between it and the Doctor. With all the information it needed, the Dalek shut down everything (Wi-Fi, cell phone signals, etc) to get the message to the fleet.

Time was running out and the Doctor needed to come up with a plan STAT. While she distracted the Dalek, the rest of them snuck behind the Dalek in order to burn its shell, just as the Custodians once did. Instead of dying, it was able to overcome the group and instead attached itself to Aaron. And then came the father/son moment we were hoping to get before the end of this Doctor Who episode.

Instead of taking the Dalek to the fleet, the Doctor landed in front of a supernova of heat and fire where the squid was being pulled into its center. For a moment, we thought Aaron was a goner but thanks to Ryan’s love and encouragement, Aaron broke free of the Dalek’s squishy control. Phew, day and family relationships saved.

The Doctor offers Aaron a spot on Team TARDIS, but after all that, he’d rather just chill. We can’t blame the guy, can we?

Doctor Who will return in ::gulp:: 2020.