Doctor Who (1×04) 73 Yards Review

The following is a spoiler-free review of Season 1, Episode 4 of Doctor Who which will premiere this Friday at 7pm EST internationally on Disney+ where available and simultaneously at midnight on BBC iPlayer in the U.K.

For our spoiler-free review of the last episode of Doctor Who, click here.

While the last episode was a showcase of the chemistry of Ncuti Gatwa and Millie Gibson, this week’s episode was a showcase of the latter. With the episode giving Gibson the spotlight, she was phenomenal as Ruby was forced to fend for herself, navigating the strangeness that followed, and saving the day. For the most part, the episode is a little out there though where most viewers will find fault is how this dark folk tale sticks the landing. Landing on the Welsh coast, the Doctor and Ruby were in for more than they bargained for as he mysteriously disappeared without a trace, leaving Ruby with an ominous old woman watching her from 73 yards away and somehow following her around everywhere she went. The true nature of the woman was a mystery, from that distance, all that could seen is a rough outline. Leaning into some psychological horror aspects when it came to the relationship between Ruby and the woman. Looming large over her wherever she went, the woman was always there, whether she was seen or not. Not knowing what the woman wanted, all that was known was how anyone who would attempt to engage with the woman would be told something that we, nor Ruby, could hear before they found themselves running and screaming in the opposite direction.

The second episode lacking that combo of the Doctor and Ruby (Ruby was incapacitated for the majority of last week’s episode and the Doctor missed a large portion of this episode), featuring them independently changes things up and helps to develop them better as individuals thus making their dynamic that much stronger. Coming to terms with the fact that the old woman was always going to be a part of her life, Ruby moving forward and trying to live a life in spite of that was a true test of Gibson’s range. Guiding viewers through a complicated emotional rollercoaster journey on top of being perpetually haunted, she made Ruby even more endearing as a character. When it seemed that all hope was lost for her, it was within those smaller moments that Gibson truly shined. The more subdued tone of the episode overall, that it established right away, was a nice change of pace, foregoing wackiness for more character drama that worked for the most part as it depicted the ongoing threat of the looming old woman posed through the framing of scenes and the use of slow-motion.

In the end, what Ruby’s journey really was and what it all meant will certainly be up to interpretation as those looking for a more definite conclusion will be left with more questions than answers. While the outcome of the story was never in doubt, the episode fails to stick the landing in providing enough of a satisfying resolution. Ruby’s mysterious backstory has played a major part in the season thus far, however, putting that aside to allow her to be defined by something more. Using the case at hand to help flesh out Ruby made her a character, rather than a means to an end. Another winning episode, the season so far appears to be laying the building blocks for something further down the road but it’s doing it the right way.

In the end, 73 Yards is a strong episode that proves that Ruby is more than a mere companion despite that fact that it may not stick the landing.

still courtesy of Disney

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Keith Noakes

The EIC of the coincidentally-named keithlovesmovies.com. A Canadian who prefers to get out of the cold and into the warmth of a movie theatre.