"The ghost monument" brings a new mystery

Much of Steven Moffat's era Doctor Who was dedicated to solving the mystery of the doctor – why his name, where is Gallifrey – and to bring answers to this central idea of who the doctor is, and what they represent. Jodie Whittaker's first trip to an extraterrestrial world revealed a little of this mystery for the show and for the doctor.

"The Ghost Monument" is an episode of Doctor Who where not much is happening. Our new Doctor and his new friends, rescued from their imminent deadly cliffhanger in space last week, find themselves drawn into an intergalactic space race with two brave pilots, Angstrom and Epzo. They learn that the final destination of the race, the titular monument, is none other than the lost time vessel of the Doctor, who is gradually bringing in and out a whole world. On the way, we learn that the Angstrom people are being purged by an invading alien race, that Epzo is a jerk who must gradually learn that the whole universe has not come out to get it , and Call of Duty, try anyway, never prepare yourself for self-repairing sniper robots.

It's perfectly fine, even if slightly basic. Angstrom and Epzo in particular really serve as catalysts to remind us that the doctor will always strive to find a way to win, alleviate conflict and discord with peace and unison – we learn enough about them so that we can be concerned about them (the case of Epzo, enough to make us believe that he's a fool), but not enough beyond that to make them feel important for the conduct of the episode. And apart from some scenes more focused on the still deeply fractured relationship between Ryan and Graham after Grace's death, we do not spend more time with our new companions either, as they try to trust this new woman who has loaded in their lives.

This leaves a lot of "The Ghost Monument" to count on two things that, fortunately, is doing incredibly well. The first is the atmosphere and the tone: magnificent views of the Desolation dark tunnels digging under the hostile surface, this episode is overflowing with atmosphere, and everything is brilliantly shot, giving a whole scale of air contrasting with the relative intimacy of the real story. And at the same time, this atmosphere is motivated by the fact that our heroes are not here to save the situation, but rather solve a simple mystery around a slow burn: why is this cruel and inhospitable planet what it is? ;she is?

It's very refreshing to have a Doctor Who episode like that from time to time, one where not everything is on fire and not just a planet, but a whole galaxy, or the entire universe, or the incomprehensible set of all and time and space faces imminent destruction. When the stakes are so important, if they constantly lose some of their inherent impact – but more importantly, a mystery is where we see the other thing on which "The Ghost Monument" rests: the new doctor himself.

With the upheaval following regeneration, this episode is when we really start seeing Jodie Whittaker's doctor in her element. Like the doctors before her, she speaks fast, thinks quickly, dances around the screen at a million kilometers per minute in a way that is both convincing and invigorating for what could have been a very slow story. But what appears clearly here, more than his previous incarnations, seems to motivate this Doctor, it is a curiosity and a deep curiosity which oblige it to each action.

The desire to understand and learn is not new to the Doctor. After all, they left Gallifrey just for that purpose. But in the last years of the series, we got a little used to the charm of the Doctor scenario and immediately knowing everything that happens (while leaving others in the same scenario knowing, strong and repeatedly). The Doctor is someone who always has a plan, a trick, an intimate knowledge, either drawn from a strange perception, or from the fact that, for over a thousand years, the phone booth has traveled in time and the space, move. So, having a doctor who's really not like that and carrying his desire to ask questions so openly and emotionally – his just outrage at race coordinator, Ilin, is an intoxicating mix of menacing anger at the l & # 39; injustice. and the fact that he will simply not answer his questions is also refreshing for the series. He re-centers the Doctor as less a superhero who knows how to travel back in time, and more as a travel-motivated explorer, chasing the next big mystery on the horizon.

And it seems that she will have some intriguing mysteries to solve. The definitive answers to the mysteries of "The Ghost Monument" are less definitive than they seem at the beginning, when the TARDIS team went to Desolation to reveal that the world, once populated by settlers, was armed by the Stenza (The race of warriors in front of the tooth that Tim Shaw was becoming a testing ground for horrific weapons research.If the Stenza becomes important at the beginning of the season, it suddenly becomes more intriguing what appeared to be a unique and forgettable villain last week – and, it is worth repeating, it's refreshing to give a whole new extraterrestrial species narrative significance, instead of pulling out one of the Doctor WhoMany familiar bad guys.

But the research on Stenza's weapons, in the form of suffocating, sensitive and psychic stuff, which tackles fear (named in the credits of "Remnant, fans of fact"), also gives the Doctor another great mystery to face, more intimately linked to himself: "The Timeless Child", a fear whose fear is so deep and so powerful that the process of regeneration prevented the new incarnation of the Doctor from knowing him by her -even. Time will tell how this particular thread is played, but it seems quite appropriate for a doctor apparently so motivated by his sincere desire to learn to struggle to find the knowledge that his past had hidden from him. A goal to understand the world around him with these new eyes and the legacy it contains.

Maybe it will be a big revelation threatening the universe. But for now, it's a simple mystery to solve, a quest for knowledge – it's pure Doctor Whoin his heart. If this is the kind of thing that this new era of the series wants to hunt, you absolutely must: jump into this brand new TARDIS and chase it. I am more than happy to be on this kind of journey.

Assortment of reflections

• I do not think I'm going to get used to Doctor Who look, well, for lack of a better word kinematic, for a good time again. The new format, the cinematography, the lighting, shooting in filming, is it really something that looks like what is called a "budget"? It will collapse with a sleazy monster at some point, but for now, I'm happy to be blinded by science (and by a bit of pomp and glamor).
• It is clear that "The Timeless Child" will be a great mystery for the 13th Doctor, but I hope the mystery will focus more on why this information was hidden from her post-regeneration, rather than who or what. Named MacGuffin is. If recent Doctor Who the seasons have made the mystery of the doctor the nucleus of their bow, they resisted better when it was rather an intimate and personal thing (see: the 12th doctor learning to embrace his ideals) instead of intrigue which was made drama (see: Clara existing as a thing rather than as a real person for her first season).
• I am very excited about Rosa Parks' historic episode of next week, if only because the closest trailer gives the impression that it will let Yaz get a little more in the spotlight. Ryan and Graham, along with their family ties, have played an important role so far this season, but Yaz still feels unexplored and more like a third wheel of the group.
• Thus, the new titles and the theme are finally put in their place! It was very odd to have them with the film premiere last week, but they are here and they are pretty good. This bass line is a level of intensity that shakes the sound system.
• I like the new TARDIS console, less thick and more organic, but it's very dark, almost like in the console room of the 9th Doctor before the regeneration to learn to enlighten. I know the doctor has never been particularly attentive to health and safety, but she asks to trip someone over on something that he should not do. Maybe sonic these crystals and ask them to shine a little brighter.
• I really like the distributor Custard Cream (Jodie Whittaker's favorite, apparently!), And I very much hope it will be a recurring feature. More spaceships should offer snacks in times of crisis.