{"id":7936,"date":"2021-11-28T20:20:23","date_gmt":"2021-11-28T19:20:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/?p=1519031"},"modified":"2021-11-28T20:52:08","modified_gmt":"2021-11-28T19:52:08","slug":"can-doctor-who-flux-stick-the-landing","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/rss_feed\/can-doctor-who-flux-stick-the-landing\/","title":{"rendered":"Can Doctor Who: Flux stick the landing?"},"content":{"rendered":"

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By Huw Fullerton\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Sunday, 28 November 2021 at 12:00 am<\/p>

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It seems like Chris Chibnall is going out with a bang \u2013 or at least, a Flux \u2013 with his final full Doctor Who<\/a> series. After mixed reviews for his first two seasons, most viewers seem to agree that the departing showrunner has finally found his feet with series 13\u2019s unusual serialised structure, playing to his strengths as a long-form dramatist and pulling the audience along with regular, exciting cliffhangers.<\/p>\n

Highlights for me have included a pacy, mysterious opening episode and the peerless co-written (with Maxine Alderton) Weeping Angels thriller last week, but even looking more broadly Chibnall and company have managed to deliver entertaining Doctor Who fun week to week (all the more impressive given the lockdown conditions it was made in).<\/p>\n

It\u2019s been a hit, basically, for both Chibnall and leading star Jodie Whittaker, cited by many as the highlight of their joint Who run thus far. But I do wonder \u2013 with just one episode to go, can Doctor Who: Flux stick the landing? Personally, I have my concerns.<\/p>

You see, after the highlight of Village of the Angels<\/a>, this week\u2019s episode \u2013 Survivors of the Flux<\/a> \u2013 felt like a bit of a crash down to Earth. Filled with complex sci-fi exposition, scattered storylines and little of its own story, episode five is unlikely to wind up on many people\u2019s \u201cbest story ever\u201d lists.<\/p>\n

The story woven by Doctor Who: Flux has been complicated, and the other shoe had to drop sometime when it came to explaining it all \u2013 apart from the Division twist, Village of the Angels was a bit of a \u201cweek off\u201d from the main arc \u2013 but I had hoped it might be resolved a little more elegantly. And given how dense this episode was already, I\u2019m worried that next week\u2019s finale might have even more detail to get through.<\/p>\n

And if it is a Timeless Children-style exposition-fest, it might bring down the rest of this series with it. After all, in its earlier episodes 2020\u2019s series 12 had also been highlighted as a significant improvement from Whittaker and Chibnall\u2019s first outing, with some stand-out episodes and more of an arc for fans to get their teeth into.<\/p>\n

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The Doctor on Gallifrey in The Timeless Children<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

It was the divided reaction to the finale that undid that goodwill. Rewatching series 12\u2019s penultimate episode, Ascension of the Cybermen<\/a>, I was struck that it was better than I had remembered, so overpowering had the discourse about the finale been in the weeks after. In the same way, if Flux has its own less-than-satisfactory ending, that\u2019ll be all that anyone remembers of this six-part series.<\/p>\n

But perhaps I\u2019m being too pessimistic. It\u2019s eminently possible that next week\u2019s finale, having got past some necessary explanation and scene-setting in episode five, will bring back the excitement and action to wrap things up with a satisfying bow.<\/p>\n

Helpfully, with three more specials to follow Flux (including one just a few weeks after) for Jodie Whittaker it\u2019s not like Chibnall needs to conclude absolutely every storyline anyway \u2013 though you\u2019d expect the main Flux and Swarm\/Azure threat to be resolved, the Doctor\u2019s past with the Division could still be explored in those extended episodes next year.<\/p>\n

Personally? I\u2019m hoping things avoid getting too bogged down next week, and that fans will be able to look back on this six-part experiment as being the quintessential Chibnall take on Who \u2013 well-organised, socially aware and full of great twists and big moments.<\/p>\n

Maybe, just maybe, this era can end on a high before we start all over again with the next (somewhat familiar) showrunner. Assuming the finale doesn\u2019t just flux it up.<\/p>\n

Read more about Doctor Who:<\/strong><\/p>\n