The Doctor (JODIE WHITTAKER), Yasmin Khan (MANDIP GILL), Dan Lewis (JOHN BISHOP), and Madam Ching (CRYSTAL YU) – Photo Credit: James Pardon/BBC Studios/BBC America
Synopsis
In a swashbuckling special adventure, the Doctor, Yaz and Dan come face to fin with one of the Doctor’s oldest adversaries, the Sea Devils. Why has legendary pirate queen Madam Ching come searching for a lost treasure? What terrifying forces lurk beneath the oceans of the 19th century? And did Yaz really have to dress Dan up as a pirate?
Here’s the logline: the TARDIS team, 19th-century pirates, and fearsome monsters from beneath the oceans come together in a bombastic romp on the high seas. It’s a combination that should result in a rip-roaringly fun time, right? And yet, this year’s Doctor Who Easter Special, Legend of the Sea Devils, is lacking in the excitement department. With a plot that never quite comes together, a collection of characters in search of some meaningful development, and a series of expository scenes in place of captivating visuals, Legend of the Sea Devils is more of a misfire than a home run. And that’s such a shame because all of the elements are there for a genuinely fun romp.
A Lack of Urgency and Focus
After 19th-century pirate queen Madam Ching (Crystal Yu) accidentally releases a Sea Devil from its centuries-long confinement, the Doctor (Jodie Whittaker), Yaz (Mandip Gill), and Dan (John Bishop) race against the clock to prevent the Sea Devils from locating a lost treasure and bringing about the end of the world. It’s a premise that should’ve resulted in a thrilling, action-packed joyride – and it almost does. But Ella Road and Chris Chibnall’s script ultimately drops the ball, lacking a sense of urgency and focus. Instead, Legend of the Sea Devils feels like a collection of scenes that sort of meander lackadaisically from plot point to plot point with little regard for characterization or motivation. Honestly, Legend of the Sea Devils features this pervasive feeling that things are happening for no real reason.
When the script conveys most of the story through heavily expository dialogue instead of interesting visuals, the resulting episode tends not to be very fun. And for an episode that billed itself as this big, action-packed piratical romp, it’s hard not to feel disappointed by that. There are only so many times a script can keep insisting that the characters are in danger or that the Sea Devils’ plans are actually terrifying without properly showing audiences the danger or communicating any real tension before you just kind of tune out. And that’s unfortunately what happens here. I’m not sure if they just didn’t have enough money to make the kind of episode they promised or what, but I found it incredibly difficult to get invested in whatever was going on here. It’s not that the episode was bad or anything. It just wasn’t very interesting.
Underdeveloped Characters and Motivations
It doesn’t help that the episode barely spends any time exploring its characters. For an episode largely billed as a pirate romp, Legend of the Sea Devils features a severe lack of pirates. And the two that do feature barely get any focus. As a character, the only thing we learn about Madam Ching is that she’s a fearsome pirate and her crew’s been kidnapped and she’s searching for this lost treasure so she can buy them back. But the episode only briefly explores either of those ideas. Otherwise, she only sporadically appears throughout the episode and doesn’t do much. And that’s despite being paired with (the criminally underused) Dan. Yu makes the most of the role, though, despite how little screentime she has. Unfortunately, the episode does even less with Arthur Lee’s Ji-Hun, mostly using him as a plot device rather than a fully-rounded character.
As for the Sea Devils, there’s little here that explains why they’ve been such a fan-favorite monster for decades. Their design basically remains unchanged from its original appearance – and it shows, with the prosthetics looking extra rubbery and fake. And despite their absence for the entirety of the revived series, the script never establishes who they are or what they want outside of a sort of generic hatred for humanity. Their plan remains so vague that it’s not even fun watching the Doctor defeat them. After all, when the episode never bothers to build up any suspense or mystery and never establishes any personal stakes, why should anyone care at all? And ultimately, that’s probably the biggest problem with Legend of the Sea Devils. Without defined characters or an engaging plot, what is there to latch onto?
Some Good Stuff
To be fair, there are some good bits. What little action there is ends up being quite fun. I mean – the image of some pirates and the TARDIS team fighting a bunch of Sea Devils is exactly what I wanted from this episode. More scenes embracing the fun of a pirate romp could’ve easily helped smooth over the edges of an uneven script. Plus, the VFX often impresses despite the trailers spoiling some of the best shots. But the best part of the episode is probably the bit that’ll end up being the most divisive – Yaz and the Doctor finally sitting down and talking through their feelings for one another.
Much like what happened with the Tenth Doctor and Rose, Thirteen reciprocates Yaz’s feelings but is hesitant to act on them. After all, Yaz is only a human and the Doctor is functionally immortal. Any relationship between them is destined to end in heartbreak. But, as Yaz says, true courage lies in the decision to do something despite knowing it’ll hurt. The whole conversation is very sweet and performed beautifully by Gill and Whittaker. But it leaves their relationship in an uncertain place – albeit one that will hopefully be brought to a more final and satisfying conclusion in this fall’s regeneration special.
Final Thoughts
At the end of the day, Legend of the Sea Devils is about as mediocre an episode of Doctor Who as there can be. What should’ve been an action-packed thrill ride gets bogged down by endless exposition, underdeveloped characters, unclear motivations, and a general lack of urgency. It’s easy to see how Legend of the Sea Devils could’ve been great with a few more piratey action sequences and just a bit more focus on the various characters and their motivations. Underneath the many expository scenes lies the action-packed adventure the episode promised.
As it is, it’s not the worst episode of Doctor Who – not by a longshot. But it’s nowhere near the best episode, either. Some fans will almost definitely enjoy it, but I found it lacking. And it’s quite telling that the twenty-second teaser for this fall’s regeneration special (featuring the return of the Master, the Daleks, the Cybermen, Kate Stewart, Vinder, and Ace and Tegan!) made more of an impact than the preceding fifty minutes of television did.
Rating: 2.5/5
Doctor Who airs Sundays at 8 pm on BBC America and AMC+.
Part-time writer, part-time theatre nerd, full-time dork.
