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Spoilers It Takes You Away grade and discussion thread

How do you rate It Takes You Away?

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    75
The Nth Doctor

The Nth Doctor

Wanderer in the Fourth Dimension
Premium Member
It_Takes_You_Away.jpg


On the edge of a Norwegian fjord in the present day, the Doctor, Ryan, Graham and Yaz discover a boarded-up cottage and a girl named Hanne in need of their help. What has happened here? What monster lurks in the woods around the cottage - and beyond?
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Pining for fjords that Slartibartfast would be proud of!
 
First one I've caught on the night in a while and good one too. Graham is back to stealing the show but I think this story deserves it. Bit eye watering in places and the frog looked terrible.
 
Very good, though I'm in two minds as to the final form of the "villain". On the one hand, it's incredibly cheesy. On the other, how else do you portray something like that? Like the Q Continuum in VOY, where it manifested as a diner in the middle of nowhere, an abstract concept is probably the best way you can go, and you may as well have a talking frog on a chair as a talking ball of light.

Anyway, at least eight grandmothers for the Doc. Remarriages? Regenerations? Time Lord relationships are like Andorians? Doctor remembers possible timestreams? Doctor is full of it and keeping Yaz or herself calm by making stuff up?
 
matthunter said:
Very good, though I'm in two minds as to the final form of the "villain". On the one hand, it's incredibly cheesy. On the other, how else do you portray something like that? Like the Q Continuum in VOY, where it manifested as a diner in the middle of nowhere, an abstract concept is probably the best way you can go, and you may as well have a talking frog on a chair as a talking ball of light.
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I know everyone claims a Susan cameo is coming in every season since it's come back but I was expecting it to turn into someone the Doctor has lost.
Or the Doctor itself to save on the budget of a big guest star.
 
Extraordinary episode and easily my favorite episode of the whole season. A wonderfully creepy episode, until it turned out to be a false alarm...only to become a different kind of creeper. I especially love the idea of a conscious universe, one whose motivations weren't inherently malevolent but whose actions unintentionally threatened the lives of The Doctor and her companions (such an existence reminded me of "Flatline," one of Capaldi's best).

I'm less certain about the whole idea of anti-zones and solar (Sole? Soul? Not sure what The Doctor said) tracks, but I liked how the existence of this conscious universe was rooted in The Doctor's childhood stories from her fifth gram (she had seven!), which is a nice callback to previous beings and ideas that existed in The Doctor's childhood only for her/him to encounter them later on in life (I can't think of a specific example but I know this has happened before).

I love that this episode not only featured a blind character, but she was actually played by a blind actress, Ellie Wallwork. Hanne was a great guest character and I enjoyed her interactions with The Doctor and particularly Ryan. However, I wish she had a bit more to do than just fret in fear about her father, but I did like how she immediately rejected mirror Trine as her actual mother. She could tell from her heightened senses built around her as a blind girl that this person wasn't her mother and I liked how the episode didn't lean too hard into that aspect.

The "mirror" universe (for a lack of a better word) was a fascinating concept and not just because I often imagined as a kid what it would be like to have a whole universe exist inside of a mirror. I particularly liked how the episode's editor flipped all of the footage in that universe, which was most obviously noticeable with Erik's shirt, but also with Graham's hair parting and The Doctor's earrings and hair parting. I also liked how the universe chose to pick the form of a frog and Grace's voice because they pleased it. I hope we get to see that universe again and not just because The Doctor made a new friend.

Bradley Walsh continued to kill it this season and he gave Graham just the right amount of doubt, longing, and acceptance of Grace's sudden appearance and recognition that she wasn't real despite wanting to believe it was her, even if he didn't believe it was her at first. The level of grief that he continues to experience really touches my heart.

Jodie Whittaker was also in high form this episode, between her joy and wonderment of her childhood stories becoming reality and the idea of a conscious universe existing to making a new friend with that universe. She continues to be a revelation as The Doctor and is driving a hard bargain as one of my favorite Doctors.
 
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Kibbin said:
I know everyone claims a Susan cameo is coming in every season since it's come back but I was expecting it to turn into someone the Doctor has lost.
Or the Doctor itself to save on the budget of a big guest star.
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Yeah, I wondered if the universe would manifest someone who The Doctor lost (and for Yaz, too), but I think writer Ed Hime chose wisely by focusing only just Trine and Grace. It makes the episode's themes tighter and doesn't feel overstuffed. And I say that as someone who has been screaming for more attention to Susan for years.
 
The Nth Doctor said:
Yeah, I wondered if the universe would manifest someone who The Doctor lost (and for Yaz, too), but I think writer Ed Hime chose wisely by focusing only just Trine and Grace. It makes the episode's themes tighter and doesn't feel overstuffed. And I say that as someone who has been screaming for more attention to Susan for years.
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Grace and Trine fit though as both Graham and Eric have not moved on from their deaths, so the memories were still "fresh" for the Solatrac to use. The Doctor has moved on from recent losses and there's no indication Yaz is still grieving anyone. Ryan never made it through but Grace should have worked for him too.

Bit miffed that all we got for the "festive promo" was a reuse of the Doctor's blown kiss from this very ep... OK we don't get New Who till New Year's but they must have something on the cutting board that could go in?
 
I think it was just picking a more comforting face when it was just the Doctor. Though truth be told I think if the universe had tried that the Doctor would have told it off and found it offensive so it probably makes sense that they didn't bother.
 
I don't know if anyone caught this (I certainly didn't until I looked him up on IMDb), but Kevin Eldon (Ribbons) previously voiced Antimony in Death Comes to Time.

matthunter said:
Grace and Trine fit though as both Graham and Eric have not moved on from their deaths, so the memories were still "fresh" for the Solatrac to use. The Doctor has moved on from recent losses and there's no indication Yaz is still grieving anyone. Ryan never made it through but Grace should have worked for him too.
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Yeah, that makes sense, too. Either way, I'm glad Hime didn't try to shoehorn in Susan in this particular episode.
 
Correct spelling is Solitract, it appears. Makes sense given the loneliness theme.

I loved the "smell of wee/not my wee/yeah you don't want those to be your last words" banter with Graham, Ribbons and the Doctor.
 
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