Doctor Who Series 11: 10 Huge Questions After 'The Battle Of Ranskoor Av Kolos'
4. Have There Been Too Many Companions?
One of the biggest shake-ups this year has been the introduction of the TARDIS family. Trying to give enough for each of them to do was always going to be a challenge in a series of 50 minute long stories. Very often one or more have been sidelined, either victims of the cutting room floor or left out for expediency in the first place.
With the exception of Demons of the Punjab and Arachnids in the UK Yaz has been the least well served of the Doctor’s new friends. This episode continued that trend, with a greater focus on Graham and Ryan. Here she gave the obligatory appeal to the Doctor on Earth’s behalf, but it’s not as if the Doctor was really prepared to sacrifice an entire planet to spare the lives of the two Ux. That scene aside, she had no discernible role.
Yaz’s police training could have made for a quite different response from the norm, but it has barely been a feature in this series (with the exception of Kerblam! and It Takes You Away). Given how well Graham’s grief was dealt with in the last episode it seemed an odd and unnecessary choice to make it a focus again here.