Doctor Who: 73 Yards Review - 6 Ups & 4 Downs

I didn't at all mind the plot featuring Roger ap Gwilliam, but I'm not sure this episode was the home for it.

With extra runtime, I can see how this story might've gelled together a little better, but as it stands, this portion of the episode felt disconnected, under-developed, and rather rushed. Roger doesn't seem to have much of a motivation to cause a nuclear apocalypse besides being a little unhinged, and while there's probably some commentary to be had regarding him getting elected in spite of that, we don't hang around long enough to get into it.

There are hints of what could have been during Roger's TV interview, but that's about as much attention as this character gets beyond some allusions to abusing poor Marti later on. I of course also recognise the sorts of slogans and branding his political party, Albion, uses, and the kind of real-world political parties this aligns him with.

There's also an indication that Roger ap Gwilliam is Mad Jack, despite the notes at the start suggesting Mad Jack is dead. It could be that he is a manifestation of this chaotic spirit, but again, that's pure conjecture, as we don't linger on it. It's a shame, as a folklore sprite with an itchy trigger-finger climbing the political ladder in order to access nuclear launch codes is a beautifully insane little plot.

Ruby decides that her purpose is to take down Gwilliam, but she does so rather passively and seems to postpone this for quite a long time with relatively little reason.

I appreciated her using her 'curse' to her advantage, but ultimately, given her purpose seemed to be warning herself about the fairy circle, this whole section doesn't feel like a resolution.