Doctor Who: Legend Of The Sea Devils Review - 6 Ups & 7 Downs

3. UP - The Handling Of ‘Thasmin’

The rest of this episode died for this subplot, so you’d really hope it was worthwhile. We’re pleased to say that the looming prospect of ‘Thasmin’ is handled pretty well here.

We’re not going to talk about politics, or whether Yaz is or isn’t the Doctor’s type here. Thirteen is her own person, and if she has feelings for Yaz then this is something we’re willing to buy. What we like is how this mini-arc was resolved.

There’s a ‘date night’ energy to Thirteen and Yaz’s adventure here, with the two acknowledging their feelings towards eachother, but with the former showing some restraint and hesitancy to commit.

The episode ends on a conversation between the two where The Doctor discusses the curse of immortality, and how any attachments she forms are destined to end in heartbreak, as they always do. We rarely see Thirteen touch on the ‘lonely god’ concept, which was so prevalent through the RTD and Moff eras, and seeing her behave like this gives us a much needed reminder that this is still the same Doctor.

It feels in character for The Doctor to turn Yaz down at this point, and her justification for doing so is sensible. This is the best course of action too, as having The Doctor enter a relationship is rarely a good idea. Our only complaint is that this arc feels a little redundant, perhaps because it’s been shoehorned into the last few episodes of Thirteen’s run. We would have liked to have seen the show explore this a lot earlier, maybe even in series 12 or Flux, giving these last few specials room to focus on Thirteen’s impending death.

Also, bonus points for The Doctor actually acknowledging the fact that she’s married to River before gallivanting off on flirty little dates with a younger model. Looking at you Eleven…