Doctor Who: Dot And Bubble Review - 5 Ups & 5 Downs

While we're still reeling from Lindy's heartless betrayal, Dot and Bubble doubles-down in an absolutely devastating way, leaving us with one of the bleakest endings to an episode we've ever had.

Lindy and her friends have a chance of escape by going with the Doctor, versus essentially becoming colonisers (which, unsurprisingly, they seem to relish the idea of). But, after intentionally avoiding the Doctor at first, she refuses, and the jigsaw pieces start to come together to create a very ugly picture.

I'm not afraid to admit that I, a white man, hadn't clocked what had been going on throughout this episode. I'd been too wrapped up in the story to realise how blatantly different the treatment of the Doctor had been throughout. I was in my ignorant little bubble, after rolling my eyes for 45 minutes about the characters being in one – if this was intentional, chef's kiss and message received.

On a rewatch, the racism aimed at the Doctor is so, so present throughout: the way the Doctor is instantly blocked while Ruby isn't; Lindy's disgust at the two of them being in the same room; her repeatedly alluding that Fifteen is beneath her; and even assuming he's a different person the second time he crops up. Of course, the biggest clue of all was that every single cast member, except Gatwa, was white.

The line of subtlety was expertly toed. If you weren't looking for it, or aren't used to recognising microaggressions, it could fly right over your head, all while being painfully obvious when you watch it back. I think a lot of fans will be kicking themselves for not spotting this, and it's rare that an episode of this show can prompt a moment of actual self-reflection (in fact, I'd argue that the last time this happened to me was almost 15 years ago with Vincent and the Doctor). Turns out RTD does have some subtlety in him after all.

Lastly, I'd be remiss not to mention Ncuti Gatwa's phenomenal performance in these closing moments. It's his standout moment to date in my opinion, and all the more impressive when you learn it was the first scene of the season he filmed.

The desperation to save these people, despite them being objectively terrible, was pure Doctor. That incredulous laughter that morphed into a scream of pure frustration was deeply upsetting – I felt that in the pit of my stomach. Between Fifteen's outburst, and Ruby trying to keep it together only to quietly break into tears the second the Doctor snaps, the ending here said so much without the need for words. Couple that with Murray Gold's bleak twist on Fifteen's theme, and perhaps I'm too invested, but my lip was quivering. We're seriously lucky to have Gatwa and Gibson in this show.

I think we'll be looking back on this moment for a long time. This was an era-defining scene.