Doctor Who: Once, Upon Time Review - 5 Ups & 6 Downs
3. UP - Vinder’s Story
Vinder remains the most intriguing and well acted character in this series so far, and now that we know more about who him, he’s only improved. The hints dotted through the previous two episodes come to fruition nicely as we watch Vinder’s fall from grace play out in flashback form.
It turns out Vinder is a military commander who is assigned on a security detail to The Grand Serpent, a shady and corrupt official who makes sure to let us know he’s definitely a baddie. Craig Parkinson, forever typecast as the slimy bastard type, does a decent job with his limited screen time here, and is genuinely quite menacing. Vinder, strongly opposing The Grand Serpent’s general approach to life, ill-advisedly attempts to become a whistleblower, and is sent to the edge of the universe by way of punishment, leaving him where we found him in episode one.
This whole plot felt more Star Wars than Doctor Who, but it was a welcome departure that managed to squeeze in some solid world-building and character development. If Vinder and Bel don’t both survive this series, we’ll be mad.