shadowhive: (Yellow Toad Zzzz)
shadowhive ([personal profile] shadowhive) wrote2022-07-04 09:32 pm

You're unbalanced. No wonder the Doctor always outwits you.

So today I continued the Who run with The Mark Of The Rani.

Mark is, blissfully, an improvement on the first two eps of season 22. While yeah there’s still bad things happening, including experimentation and death) it’s less so than the last two, if that makes sense.

This is the first episode with The Rani and it’s much better than her second appearance. (It’s a shame she’s not appeared in new Who because she seems shes exactly the sort of person the time lords would have used in the time war.) In large part this is due to her observation’s about the master and Doctor’s relationship, with her openly being disdainful of how the master acts (with needlessly complicated schemes).

The Master shows up here too, for some reason being disguised as a scarecrow…. For no reason. He takes advantage of the Rani’s operation and is generally a nuisance to her.

There’s some interesting ideas here, including bugs that control minds and mines that turn people into trees. (Which is a cool concept despite the execution being… not the best.)

A thing I’ve found so far over this fun is that Peri is a much better character than I remember her being. She even gets to show off her botany knowledge a little in this one. Same with the sixth doctor who, while still brash, is definitely… not as bad as I remember.

All in all a good ep, despite some of the… questionable accents.

Next week is the two doctors, which is the longest ep of the season so I’ll have to watch it earlier.
rhoda_rants: Matt Smith (matt smith)

[personal profile] rhoda_rants 2022-07-05 12:31 am (UTC)(link)
"The Master shows up here too, for some reason being disguised as a scarecrow…. For no reason."

Admittedly, I don't know much about the Classic!Who Master, but this does seem on-brand for him.
turlough: Eleanor Bron & John Cleese in Parisian art gallery admiring the TARDIS, Fourth Doctor adventure 'City of Death' ((dr who) work of art)

[personal profile] turlough 2022-07-05 08:07 pm (UTC)(link)
It's such an enjoyable episode! The Rani is totally fabulous, Peri gets a chance to shine, the scenery is lovely, and I love how they don't even TRY to explain how the Master escaped the flames on Sarn.