Great episode. Loved everything with the Doctor's plot in the village, it gave me trashy Sixties movie vibes.
Finally Jodie gets a chance to shine. Cutting her off from the companions seems to work wonders... And she gets more agency than she used to, and is allowed to be proactive and competent.
I was spoiled to the Claire-in-the-mirror scene, but it was still good.
Thaddea Graham has been great in her last couple of episodes but I'm still not feeling Bel and Vinder's storyline, perhaps because it is so detached from the Doctor and Yaz's story. Four episodes in, and Dan is still a bit of a non-entity. I would have hope with a condensed series that we'd have got more characterisation for him given there hasn't been enough time to develop him as there was for Yaz in her first year.
Well, tbf, the time they had for characterizing Yaz and the Doctor/ companions relationship (heck, the Doctor herself) was not used well for much of seasons 11 and 12. And for Yaz, that hasn't changed much. (Yeah, she got pilot and quipping skills offscreen, great.)
I also agree about Bel and Vinder. Moreover, for the last 2 eps, the script almost suggests that
Bel is the hero of this story/ series. And that's not how it should be.
And once. Fucking. Again. Chibnall just abandons his own creations of companions to Generic Dialogue Land. What the heck? Dan's entire mode during the whole thing is "are we really stuck here?" and while Yaz at least reminded us cleverly that she's actually a police officer, the episode nevertheless abandons that novelrty for Yaz being totally lost the whole time. I don't understand what Chibnall's problem with Yaz, because she's consistently been the worst developed element of this series.
I know, right? Former police officer Yaz could have done what Dan did in ep 2, so I still wonder why he was brought on, other than "we need a white dude", "I like writing for middle-aged white dudes", and "I don't know what the hell to do with Yaz".
As for the dialogue... I've lowered my bar, and it has gotten better sice ep 1.
Also, they note there's no tumpty-tums on the end credits... because the Doctor's hearts no longer beat? Nice touch, if so.
Wow, awesome.
The cliffhanger should have been the ending, not another part of the Vinder/ Bel lost lovers soap opera. (Sorry, I really like them both, that's not my issue.)