This episode contains spoilers for Doctor Who Series 13, Episode 1.The legendary sci-fi adventure series Doctor Who has returned for a new season: one that will eventually bring an end to Jodie Whittaker’s tenure as the Doctor. And right away, the season premiere promises a very different experience than the Thirteenth Doctor’s previous adventures.
“The Halloween Apocalypse”, written by showrunner Chris Chibnall, is the first episode of Series 13, also known as Doctor Who: Flux. In a first for the revived series, the whole season will feature no standalone episodes at all — instead, the entirety of Series 13 will be a six-episode miniseries telling a single continuous narrative, not unlike the multi-episode serials of the classic series. It’s a unique change of pace, but the first episode of the season mostly does well with the new format.
The main plot of the episode focuses on the Doctor and her returning companion Yasmin “Yaz” Khan (played by Mandip Gill) tracking down an alien named Karvinista (Craige Els), a member of a doglike species known as the Lupari, who seems to have some connection to the Doctor’s past as the Timeless Child. Along the way, they end up rescuing new companion Dan Lewis (John Bishop), who was kidnapped by Karvinista for unknown reasons. But soon enough, things get much more complicated with the arrival of the season’s titular Flux, a cataclysmic wave of destructive energy that’s advancing across the cosmos, destroying everything in its path.
However, that’s only the main plot. Scattered throughout the episode are several subplots focused on various seemingly unrelated characters throughout space and time. The most prominent of these is the apparent main antagonist of Series 13, a new villain known only as Swarm (Sam Spruell). He first appears as a prisoner of the Division, the enigmatic organization that Karvinista was once part of — along with the Doctor herself, in her forgotten past lives. He seems to be very familiar with the Doctor as well, referencing past battles that she has no memory of. Placing so much emphasis on the new Timeless Child backstory is a bit of a harsh reminder of the infamous retcon, but at the very least the series seems to be doing something interesting with it.
Currently, it’s hard to know what to make of Swarm. His design (a mix of Marvel’s Red Skull and Pinhead from Hellraiser) is suitably creepy for such a threatening villain, but despite his menacing presence, he’s rather lacking in personality. It also doesn’t help that nothing at all is revealed about Swarm’s history or motives despite his major presence in the episode. As such, scenes like his prison break and his transformation of a seemingly human woman into his “sister” can be quite confusing due to lack of context. Though Chibnall clearly meant this ambiguity to invoke intrigue, it’s instead likely to leave viewers wondering what’s going on and why they should care.
Thankfully, the rest of the episode’s cast fares much better. Jacob Anderson (better known as Grey Worm from Game of Thrones) turns in a brief but charming appearance as Vinder, leaving a great first impression for his return later in the season. The minor villains are a treat as well: the Sontarans make a welcome return with a wonderfully grotesque redesign, playing an antagonistic role for the first time since Series 4. Their battle-hungry warmongering is a perfect fit for a season focused on an apocalyptic cosmic event, and their characterization strikes the perfect balance between threatening and comical. One of the infamous Weeping Angels appears as well, managing to recapture the spine-tingling menace that the iconic monsters had all the way back in their debut in “Blink”. While the Weeping Angels long overstayed their welcome during Steven Moffat’s time as showrunner, this episode is a return to form that bodes well for their inevitable reappearance.
As for the more major characters, Karvinista is an absolute delight. A hardened warrior with the face of a cute and fluffy dog, his sarcastic and condescending personality provide some of the episode’s most entertaining moments. He would be a strong contender for the best villain of the Chibnall era, if not for the twist that he and his fellow Lupari have come to Earth not to invade it, but to save humanity from the Flux. The reasons for this are unclear apart from an obvious joke from the Doctor about dogs being man’s best friend, but it’s such an amusing reveal that it somehow manages to work anyway. While Karvinista’s costume isn’t exactly the best practical effects the show’s had, Craige Els’ performance manages to elevate what could have easily been a ridiculous character.
However, the biggest highlight of the episode has to be John Bishop as Dan, who’s already cemented himself as the best companion of the entire Chibnall era in just 50 minutes. He’s a funny, likeable, and kindhearted everyman whose utter confusion at the extraterrestrial occurrences he’s been enveloped in is a constant source of humor. But unlike past companions, whose continuous bafflement has worn thin at times, Dan is perfectly content to roll with the punches, scratching his head while still taking everything in stride. Some of the best moments of the episode come from his banter with Karnavista and Yaz, who has better comedic chemistry with Dan in one scene than she did with past companions Ryan and Graham across two seasons. Four characters in the main cast proved to be too crowded in Series 11 and 12, but it looks like three may be the magic number. The trio of Dan, Yaz, and the Doctor seems like it’ll bring out the best in all parties, calling to mind the classic TARDIS team of Amy, Rory, and the Eleventh Doctor.
However, this episode is far from perfect. Overall, it feels much too crowded, with too many subplots awkwardly shoehorned in with little explanation as to how or why they’ll be important later. Obviously, much of the confusion can be chalked up to this episode being part one of a six-part story — of course not everything is going to make sense right away. But even so, the complete lack of context for much of the episode’s story is more than a little off-putting. Hopefully, future episodes will clear everything up in a way that alleviates this criticism. But for now, it’s still frustrating, especially since the scattershot story structure leaves little time for Jodie Whittaker to shine as the Doctor. When the series’ protagonist is one of the least interesting parts of an episode, there’s clearly some room for improvement.
Yet despite its flaws, “The Halloween Apocalypse” is still a thoroughly enjoyable episode, rivaled only by last season’s “The Haunting of Villa Diodati” as the best Thirteenth Doctor story yet. Only time will tell if Chibnall manages to end his time as showrunner on a high note or recreate the disaster of “The Timeless Children”, but for now, Series 13 is off to a promising start. But so far, Jodie Whittaker’s final season as the Doctor is shaping up to be her strongest by far.