Doctor Who: Demons of the Punjab

Doctor: 'Shouldn't have come. I'm too nice. This is what happens when you try to be nice.'

This week was an odd one for me. I watched the episode twice: the first time I came away disappointed, the second time I quite enjoyed it. Sure, it was riddled with the same issues that have thus far plagued Chibnall's tenure, but as with 'Rosa' the emotional content satisfied, the location was evocative, and an important moment in history was dealt with respectfully. We even got an unexpected villain. Us. Yeah... humans suck.

The Thijarians looked horrific, had a cool looking spaceship and, for the first time this series, felt like a formidable foe. They also weren't covered in teeth, made out of floating rags, or racist shits—so that was nice. I'm torn on the twist, however. The move from assassination to honouring the dead felt like a radical career change, especially with them looking so unapologetically warlike—although I'm sure there was meant to be some subtle message in there about not judging a book by its cover. I had to laugh at their 'Please leave or we will stand over your corpses' line. Has anything ever had more of a double meaning? Kudos to Vinay Patel for keeping the early action, mood and dialogue ambiguous.

That said, his attempts to misdirect did occasionally devolve into silliness. Not only were the Thijarians still dressed in what looked like battle armour, they spoke in weird double-tracked voices, and were as sinister as hell. Any image guru will tell you that when making the switch from murderer to comforter, voice training and the removal of all potentially lethal clothing is an absolute must. Also, lose the disembodied head collection... you freaks!!! Regardless, their motive for change was plausible, and there was a marvellous symmetry to the bad guys becoming good and vice versa—I just think I'd rather they'd stayed villainous. In a season distinguished by its lack of credible threat, the Thijarians could've been the first stand-out bad guys.

For an episode centred around Yaz, I'm not sure we learned much about her, but there was some decent family backstory in there. Why Nani Umbreen didn't recognise her own mother's designs on Yaz's palm, nor recognise her face at all, was something they didn't really address, but it was nice to see Yaz interacting with her family again. Her refusal to leave until the mystery was solved, despite the Doctor's insistence that staying could wipe her from existence, I found a little irritating—especially as their presence seemed to have no impact whatsoever—but seeing Umbreen's story played against the backdrop of Partition was undeniably moving. Watching the Doctor wince as the gunshot rang out, as they walked away from yet another tragedy, was a great scene for Jodie. Maybe I could've done without another Doctor and Co do sod all ending, but it was a powerful moment which gave the perfect context to Nani Umbreen's earlier reticence.

On the acting front, I thought Shane Zaza was excellent. Despite brother Manish being less sympathetically drawn, I though Prem was a marvellous character: courageous, kind, and ultimately tragic. His relationship with Umbreen felt real, which is ultimately what gave his death impact. Creating characters we care about in a measly 50 minutes is a feat in itself, but to then off them and elicit tears is a skill, and I think Vinay did a sterling job. Props also to Amita Suman. I saw her getting a bit of a bashing on Twitter, but I thought she turned in a warm, likeable performance.

Bradley Walsh also impressed. He was given some of the heaviest scenes in the episode, and nailed them all. He's got that misty-eyed, wobbly-lipped vulnerability down to a fine art, and after some early season stumbles, he looked at home tonight. I even enjoyed Jodie this week. They're developing her character at a scandalously slow pace, but Chibnall's vision of the Doctor seems to be more a traveller who observes than a powerful being who intervenes, so it's all taking some getting used to. Whether this is for the good of the show or not, time will tell. After a ratings spike over the first few weeks, the viewing figures are now more or less what they were back in season eight. My fear is that for every new person the changes bring in, they're losing an equal amount of old fans. If true, you have to wonder who they're making the show for.

Other Thoughts:

—Each week the template seem to be the same: reference an adventure that happened off screen; reference at least one historical figure the Doctor knows; use the sonic screwdriver as much as possible. It even undid a knotted rope this week. They'll be cooking porridge with it next.

—On the one hand Nani Umbreen wanted to give Yaz stuff before it was too late, on the other she didn't want to talk about her past until Yaz was older. Make your mind up!

—It's amazing how Nani Umbreen's Pakistani accent was thicker after half a decade in Sheffield than it was back in Lahore.

—When are we going to get an episode about the Death Eye Turtle Army?

Quotes:

Graham: 'Do you need a singer? I know all the classics... or latest hits to you lot.'

Doctor: 'I'm talking to cover up my latent worry.'

Graham: 'And I honestly don't know if any of us know the real truth of our own lives, cos we're too busy living them from the inside.'

Doctor: 'No Yaz! We can't have a universe with no Yaz.'

Doctor: 'Never did this when I was a man.'