Doctor Who: The Vanquishers Review - 4 Ups & 9 Downs

13. DOWN - Cliffhanger Schmiffhanger

Another episode, another cliffhanger resolved instantaneously.

Last week, we saw The Doctor facing imminent disintegration whilst her friends prepared to defend themselves against a horde of Sontarans. We knew, as per previous weeks, these cliffhangers would be swiftly dealt with, but this week there didn’t even seem to be an attempt to prolong the tension.

The Sontarans in the tunnels are dealt with by Yaz, who opens a door that leads to ‘rays of death’, which promptly zap the Sontarans. This is a fine enough resolution, which was at least seeded last week, but it happens so quickly that the threat they are under barely registers before it is dealt with.

As for The Doctor, she escapes by ducking and then running away to the other side of the room whilst Swarm and Azure lose interest. That’s literally it. Boy, Swarm and Azure sure do like telling people they’re going to kill them and then not following through, don’t they?