Doctor Who: Wish World Review - 4 Ups & 6 Downs

My biggest concern for this finale was that we’d get a repeat of last year – a nothingburger of a first episode that only served to hype up an underwhelming reveal, which in turn kneecapped the finale, forcing it to both establish and overcome a universal threat in forty minutes. This was a formula that categorically did not work, and as soon as RTD used the same tropes as last year when it came to teasing the finale, I had my suspicions.

So, here we are. An overwhelming number of threads to resolve in one episode, and in amongst all that, we have to reintroduce Omega, make him feel like a threat, and dethrone him five minutes later. I daresay we could be heading for one of the messiest finales we’ve ever had, which would be a gutting way to end the best series we’ve been given in a very long time.

It speaks to what I think is this era’s biggest failing – a fixation on chasing these marketable, viral moments at the expense of storytelling. It feels like an era that’s designed to be consumed through Instagram reels – it’s all spectacle. Artificial tension, shock, and a whole lot of style over substance.

Because that’s what this episode is. Everything you’ve just watched, even the fun dystopian stuff, is just fluff that will be relegated to the background come next week.