Synopsis
All hope is lost. The forces of darkness are in control. But when the monsters have won, who can you count upon to save the universe?
It’s the season finale of Doctor Who: Flux, and it’s all built up to this. The Sontarans have Dan (John Bishop), Yaz (Mandip Gill), Jericho (Kevin McNally), and Joseph Williamson (Steve Oram) cornered in 1904 Liverpool. Karvanista (Craige Els) and Bel (Thaddea Graham) are facing down a squad of Sontaran soldiers on the Lupari ship. And Swarm (Sam Spruell) and Azure (Rochenda Sandall) have the Doctor (Jodie Whittaker) at their mercy. Is there any possible way for all of these storylines to converge and conclude satisfyingly? Well, yes and no, actually. Written by Chris Chibnall and directed by Azhur Saleem, “The Vanquishers” manages to be both satisfying and unsatisfying. Epic and anti-climactic. The episode ends up being a perfect representation of the season as a whole. Lots of great ideas, somewhat questionable execution, but ultimately a lot of fun while you’re watching it.
The Three Doctors
Picking up directly after last week’s episode, the Doctor finds herself split across three different timelines (due to some hazy timey-wimey stuff). One Doctor remains with Swarm and Azure at Division HQ. Another Doctor appears on the Lupari ship with Karvanista and Bel. And the final Doctor reunites with Dan, Yaz, Jericho, and Joseph Williamson – who’ve met up with Kate Stewart (Jemma Redgrave) in 2021 after escaping the Sontarans. Scattered amongst these timelines, the Doctor hatches a plan to stop the imminent Sontaran takeover. And to, hopefully, prevent the Flux altogether.
From the get-go, the episode establishes a very “Journey’s End”-esque feel, with multiple Doctors bringing together a sizable cast featuring almost all of the season’s supporting players. And like “Journey’s End”, “The Vanquishers” requires a healthy amount of suspension of disbelief but works fairly well when you’re willing to just go with it. Jodie Whittaker delivers a killer performance. Having her play multiple versions of the same Doctor leans into her strengths and gives her plenty of moments to shine – opposite herself and some of the other actors. You might think having three versions of the same Doctor in a single episode would be hopelessly confusing, but it ends up working fairly well.
A Convoluted, Simple Plan
At Division HQ, Swarm and Azure taunt the Doctor with the allure of her missing memories while she works with the Division’s Ood to minimize the severity of the “final Flux Event”. On the Lupari craft, the Doctor, Karvanista, and Bel allow themselves to be captured by the Sontarans so Bel can hack into their databanks and figure out their plan. And in the Williamson tunnels, the Doctor takes Yaz, Dan, and Jericho back to 1967 and rescues Claire (Annabel Scholey). Claire and Jericho volunteer as human Sontaran psychic operatives so they can figure out where the final Flux event is, and get that information back to the Doctor. On paper, it seems like a lot. But it plays out rather straightforwardly. Sure, all of the jumping around is a bit confusing at first. But it’s less jarring than when “Once, Upon Time” or “Survivors of the Flux” did it.
At least here, there’s a rhyme and reason to everything. The episode progresses in a logical, coherent fashion, gradually building up the story until it coalesces in the climax. One Doctor rescues the captured Doctor, Karvanista, and Bel and learns that Bel’s discovered that the Sontarans are leading the Daleks and Cybermen to their destruction at the site of the final Flux Event. And Claire and Jericho have figured out where that site is, successfully transmitting that information to the Doctor. Elsewhere, Vinder (Jacob Anderson) and Diane (Nadia Albina) successfully escape the Passenger prison, getting rescued by the Doctor and giving her an idea for stopping the Flux – using the Passenger to absorb the Flux. After letting it devour the Sontarans, Daleks, and Cybermen, of course. It’s a simple, well-seeded solution. And it works pretty well. Even if it’s also a bit anti-climactic.
Too Many Villains
In a surprising twist of events, the Sontaran plotline ends up being the most satisfying of all of the plotlines. I still don’t think the Sontarans were the best choice of returning villain for the finale. They don’t have the same impact as the Daleks or the Cybermen. And they’re kind of boring as villains. But I can’t pretend like Chibnall didn’t use them well here. And since so much of the episode revolves around the Doctor and her friends figuring out a way of stopping them, the episode works pretty well as a self-contained thing. The Sontarans luring in their enemies for an ultimate betrayal feels quite in character for them. And the episode strikes a good balance between the inherent goofiness of the aliens and the brutality that comes with their actions. However, the success of the Sontaran plotline comes at the expense of every other villain.
Before last week’s cliffhanger, it seemed that Tecteun and/or the Division were the season’s ultimate antagonists. But with her premature demise and the reintroduction of the Sontarans, the Grand Serpent (Craig Parkinson), and the Ravagers, it’s hard to pick out who’s the actual antagonist. The Grand Serpent does very little in this episode except seek revenge against Kate. His motivations are never explored, and he doesn’t feel particularly threatening. Honestly, I’m not sure the episode would’ve been significantly different without him. The Sontarans easily could’ve gained a foothold on Earth without him. And as great as Jemma Redgrave is as Kate, she’s not given much to do and takes up screen time that might’ve been better spent elsewhere. With the Grand Serpent left exiled on an asteroid, I’d love to see him return at some point, with a story that actually revolves around him, though.
Swarm and Azure – A Wasted Opportunity
As for Swarm and Azure, they pretty much fizzled out after “Once, Upon Time”. Their ultimate motivation is simply revenge. They’re mad at the Doctor and the Division for defeating and imprisoning them all of those years ago. So, they want to use the Flux to destroy the universe and the Doctor. While their motivation isn’t necessarily bad, it’s not particularly interesting either. And that’s largely because we still know so little about them – even after six episodes. They have some kind of connection to the concept of Time (who can also take on a physical form, as seen towards the end of the episode). And they have a history with the Doctor and the Division. But we’ve seen little of that history, only catching glimpses of it in “Once, Upon Time”. And since the Doctor doesn’t actually remember any of those adventures, there’s little that connects her to them.
By sidelining Swarm and Azure for much of episodes 4 and 5, Flux deprived audiences of the chance to get properly invested in their conflict with the Doctor. They feel like tertiary villains. And this episode treats them that way, too. Especially with how quickly they’re disposed of at the end of the episode, with the physical manifestation of Time just getting rid of them. While one of the episode’s highlights is the conversation Azure and the Doctor have about why the Doctor’s so dedicated to saving people, the episode never really does anything with the Ravagers. Swarm and Azure are captivating characters on the surface, and I’d love to see a book or a Big Finish audio drama that better explores them and their fight against the Division/the Fugitive Doctor. But Flux massively underused them in a very disappointing way.
Too Many Plotlines, Too Little Time
One of Flux’s biggest problems has been the sheer number of plotlines it tried to cram within its six episodes. Because with so many plotlines, there’s simply not enough time to properly explore them. And so a lot of stuff either gets wrapped up too quickly or got dropped completely. Besides the stuff already mentioned, there’s the question of what’s going on with the TARDIS? Is the Division still operational? And what about the majority of the universe that got destroyed in the initial Flux event? Even the addition of “Time” as a literal physical manifestation feels woefully unexplored. (As does its hints about the Doctor’s future.) I’m sure some of these dropped threads might be picked up in the 2022 specials (like the restoration of the universe and further exploration of the Division). But much of it seems destined to be forgotten.
All of the emotional arcs suffer, too. For a season as focused on the Doctor’s quest for her memories, “The Vanquishers” focuses little on them. While I don’t want them to actually reveal most of those memories, the Doctor’s decision whether or not to regain them should feel like it matters. And it doesn’t. And while there are a few solid emotional moments this episode – like Bel and Vinder’s reunion, the Doctor and Yaz’s reconciliation at the end of the episode, Jericho’s sacrifice, and Karvanista’s confession to the Doctor about feeling abandoned by her – none of them land with the weight they should’ve. There’s just constantly too much happening to properly explore any of these arcs. “The Vanquishers” does the best it can, given the circumstances. But it’s a problem that’s plagued the entire season – and one “The Vanquishers” can’t shake.
Final Thoughts
At the end of the day, Doctor Who: Flux doesn’t quite stick the landing with “The Vanquishers”. While it does manage to combine all of the disparate plot threads in a fairly logical, cohesive manner, it never quite manages to deliver satisfying payoffs for everything it set up. Character motivations are hard to track, the stakes don’t feel as high as they should’ve, and there’s not enough time to dig into the meat of any of the plotlines. It feels like Chibnall initially conceived Flux conceived as a 10-episode serial and then condensed it into a 6-episode one without dropping any of the storylines. So much was constantly happening that none of the episodes ever had a chance to let the storylines breathe.
Despite that, “The Vanquishers” – and Flux as a whole – is an enormously fun watch. It may be all spectacle, little substance. but it’s hard not to get swept up in the sheer chaos of it all. It definitely feels like Chibnall threw in everything but the kitchen sink. But that does mean there’s never a dull moment. Doctor Who: Flux was full of boundlessly creative ideas, immediately likable characters, and an enormous amount of action. It’s Doctor Who at its most chaotic. And there’s a lot of fun to be had in that. Honestly, it ends up being a pretty good proof-of-concept for future serialized Doctor Who stories. While Flux didn’t work as well as it could’ve, it shows how much potential there is in the idea. And that’s worth something. Even so, I’m definitely looking forward to the (seemingly stand-alone) New Year’s special, “Eve of the Daleks”.
Rating: 3.5/5
Doctor Who returns to BBC America on January 1, 2022, at 8pm.
Part-time writer, part-time theatre nerd, full-time dork.
