
In tonight’s all-new episode of
Doctor Who, “73 Yards,” the Doctor and Ruby arrive on the coast of Wales and discover a fairy circle, which the Doctor accidentally steps on, breaking it. Suddenly the Doctor disappears and Ruby is left alone – except for a mysterious older woman who follows her everywhere, but always at the distance of 73 yards.
“73 Yards” focused on Welsh folklore horror and is
Doctor Who at its best. The funny thing is, the Doctor was nowhere to be seen for 99% of the episode, yet I loved it and was on the edge of my seat. Millie Gibson did a phenomenal job of keeping the viewer intrigued from start to finish.
The episode was full of creepy atmosphere and really gave you a sense of foreboding every time Ruby would see the old woman following her. She was isolated without the Doctor with no one to help, because everyone who talked to the woman would after the fact avoid Ruby, never to see her again. Her mother abandoning her was the most heartbreaking, as was her stating at the end of the episode that she had been abandoned by everyone, because it was true.
I loved seeing Jemma Redgrave as Kate Lethbridge-Stewart, as always. It gave a sense of relief in this case, someone Ruby could trust come to the rescue, until you realized she had her earpiece in and was therefore poisoned by the old woman’s words as well. All this just kept the feeling of the episode getting darker as years and decades passed for Ruby.