The second episode of Doctor Who with Jodie Whittaker attacks toxic masculinity and a planet called Desolation

At the end of the first episode with a brand new Time Lord, the Doctor, Yaz, Ryan and Graham were hanging in space, the Doctor eagerly pointing something bright in the distance. And Doctor WhoThe second episode of Jodie Whittaker in the central role was taken a few moments later, while the spacecraft's equivalent of an arcade claw took Ryan off the stars. "The Ghost Monument," written by showrunner Chris Chibnall, propelled the new Tardis team into a fierce race on a murderous planet, illustrating the values ​​that have already defined the Thirteenth Doctor and his companions.

So, let's recap. Ryan (Tosin Cole) and Yaz (Mandip Gill) both wake up in a medical pod aboard a spaceship, even though former classmates are divided. Ryan's with Graham (Bradley Walsh) on a ship commissioned by David Bowie Double-Haired Angstrom (played by Kill EveSusan Lynch), while the doctor and Yaz are trying to rescue a failed ship piloted by Epzo (Misfits& # 39; Shaun Dooley). The two land on a sandy extraterrestrial planet called Desolation, where Epzo and Angstrom head straight for a tent in the distance ("What's that?", Asks the Doctor .. C & # 39; is a tent, "replies the always helpful Epzo.)

Inside the tent, it is revealed that Angstrom and Epzo are the last of the 4,000 competitors of an intergalactic race – or rally of the twelve galaxies, to give it its official title. The winner, founder of the competition, Ilin reveals (he was performed by Art Malik, last seen in: The woman in white), will earn $ 3.2 billion from a foreign currency that the doctor does not understand, while the loser will be abandoned on the planet. The end point of the race? The mysterious "Ghost Monument" – which, reveals Ilin, is actually the missing Tardis of the Doctor.

Angstrom and Epzo left, followed by the Tardis-less Tardis team, and the dangers of the planet begin to reveal themselves. The water, for example, is filled with carnivorous microbes, forcing everyone to board a solar powered boat (diagnosed by Ryan, thanks to his mechanic studies.) There, Graham grows gently Ryan talking about his nan, Grace, died in the episode last week. "You talk too much about that stuff," says Ryan. "You do not talk enough," Graham replies.

A brief editorial intervention: I already love Ryan and I already love Graham and already like the sensitive and nuanced approach of the series deal with grief. It's exciting to see a prime-time TV show that examines the traditional codes of masculinity that keep men from talking about their emotions and demonstrates the impact of these restrictive gender roles. Ryan is clearly struggling with Grace's loss – as everyone would, given their close ties – but he is unable to talk about it or think he should not do it. It seems likely that the show will continue on this narrative thread, rather than limiting Grace's character to a disposable plot point.

Speaking of masculinity codes, let's look at Epzo, a man who almost certainly would say that his favorite movie was Fight Club he had any idea of ​​the existence of the Earth (and its cinematic output). "We are all alone, that's how we start and end and it's the natural state of everything in between," says Epzo, a confidence that no one, every man for himself, embodies toxic cigar masculinity, whose philosophy of life is based on an extremely unacceptable parental decision of his mother. Epzo reveals that she told her 4 year old son to climb into a tree and throw herself into his arms – only to get out of the way, letting him break an arm and ankle. Can any one please have a word with this lady?

Delightfully, "The Ghost Monument" punctuates the bravado of Epzo at every turn. It's cathartic enough to see the Doctor increasingly exasperated by this tortured hero of action, who tells him at one point: "As hard as you can understand, you're not the one the only form of life in this universe. " Get out of here, Epzo! You are the worst and your cigar is not so special.

Angstrom, meanwhile, is softening throughout the episode, after initially refusing to reveal her trauma to Yaz. The original planet of Angstrom is "cleansed systematically," she reveals, and her family is hiding or is on the run. Winning the race would save them and bring them back – "if they're alive to be saved," she says. "You make me miss my family," Yaz replies. "It's a feat, as my dad leads me to the banana and my sister tries to move me so that she can get my room."

Another quick point: up to now, we have not seen as much of Yaz or his background as I would like. Are we going to meet his father or sister? Will we discover what motivated her to become a police officer or understand a little more about who she is as a person? Mandip Gill is a convincing and instantly engaging presence on the screen. I can not help thinking that she was a little underused in the first two episodes.

Disembarking from the boat, the group heads for a seemingly deserted building complex, which turns out to be guarded by a team of robot guards. Ryan lives a brief Call of Duty fancy, shoot down the robots with a gun – only to flee, scream, when the robots restart and the weapon is not charging. The Doctor then invalidates the robots with an electromagnetic pulse.

Meanwhile, an injured Epzo continues to be the worst by refusing Angstrom's help, and the Doctor continues to have zero hours for him. "What has just happened? He asks him. You do not care about anything, "she said, another big moment: Angstrom asks her how she demolished the robots, and the Doctor replies," Did not I mention it? I am really smart. "

The episode also incorporated Ryan's dyspraxia again, indicating the show's commitment to portraying the disease as being more than an element of the disposable plot. "Why is it always ladders?" Ryan asked, desperate, when he was forced to descend quickly through a hatch on a Doctor's intuition. Yaz is waiting for Ryan to come down the ladder. when he thanks her, she responds with "always". If this show does anything that hurts that long-standing friendship, I swear I'll write to someone else. very strongly worded letter.

Dyspraxia, or developmental coordination disorder (DCD), is described by the NHS as "a common disorder that affects your movement and coordination." Showrunner Chris Chibnall told the press at a Doctor Who Shouting that his nephew is reached, explaining: "This is a relatively common thing among kids, so I think it's important to see that heroes come in all shapes and sizes."

And Doctor Who worked with the Dyspraxia Foundation to ensure that their representation was accurate, and the charity Metro"Having the feature featured on one of the oldest TV shows is truly revolutionary." Write in Marie Claire, meanwhile, Jenny Hollander (an old agitation The editor-in-chief) said that the first of the series was the first time she saw her disability on a TV with script, adding, "There's a message here, and it's not subtle: if a key figure in a science fiction classic can have dyspraxia and then thrive children watching Doctor Who and have been diagnosed with disability. "

Back to conspiracy: the doctor is determined to understand what happened to the desert planet, despite objections from Epzo. "Fix your wound, take a heroic nap and we'll wake you up when we leave, if you're lucky," she says. After finding Epzo, the doctor discovers that the planet has been poisoned by abducted scientists, forced to work by the Stenza. Yes, it is the malignant fairy to the blue and malignant face presented in the first episode, responsible not only for the death of Grace, but also that of the wife of Angstrom.

Angstrom reveals that it is the Stenza that terrorizes its planet; the Stenza who murdered millions of people. And according to the message left by the tortured scientists, who tried to destroy their destructive creations before the Stenza exports them, they come back.

A sleeping Epzo is stifled by a bandage-like animated creature, rescued just in time for the group to flee in front of approaching robots that Yaz and Ryan have spotted on surveillance cameras. The robots then smother them off the tunnels by cutting off the air supply, forcing Ryan to climb another ladder. "Can I just say," the doctor told him, "you're amazing, think about what you went through to be here, and you always go in. I'm really impressed." To help Ryan climb, she tells him to focus on what he's learned about acetylene, the gas that is waiting for them on the surface. "It's lighter than air," he recalls.

Above the tunnel, the group is surrounded by malicious bandages, whose perspicacity in the doctor's past annoys the lord of time, usually unstoppable. His evacuation plan? The special cigar of Epzo, which ignites acetylene in the atmosphere and consumes the bandages in flames. The group creeps towards safety and continues until the finish line – but the Tardis is not present.

The Doctor convinces Angstrom and Epzo to declare themselves co-winners of the Gathering of the Twelve Galaxies, a result that Ilin reluctantly accepts with some threats of violence. Then he transports Angstrom and Epzo out of the planet with one click, leaving the Doctor, Ryan, Yaz and Graham stuck. For a moment, the doctor despairs, telling her new friends that she dropped them. Then, a familiar sound: the Tardis materializes and has just been redone with a new painting job. The new interior, meanwhile, looks like inside a sci-fi hive, equipped with a custard dispenser.

It's Yaz, Ryan and Graham's turn to complete the Doctor Who Rite of passage companion: marveled by the inner extent of the police box, apparently of modest size. And then, with pressure on the lever, the Doctor drives the Desolation group away – and I'm extremely impatient to know where they're going to land.