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“ARACHNIDS IN THE UK: SPIDERS, SUFFOCATION AND SUBTLE-AS-A-BRICK SATIRE”

Arachnids in the UK marks Series 11’s return to contemporary Earth with an episode that combines old-school Doctor Who creature-feature vibes with a thinly veiled political allegory—and the result is… well, sticky. Giant spiders? Great. Commentary on environmental disaster and populist politics? Potentially rich. But somehow, Chris Chibnall’s script ends up as a clunky mix of intriguing ideas and missed opportunities, webbed together with some occasionally effective scares and a lot of uneven pacing.

JUST YOUR AVERAGE SPIDER APOCALYPSE

The premise is pleasingly straightforward: we're in Sheffield, and there are freakishly huge spiders turning your Airbnb into Eight-Legged Freaks. It’s a classic base under siege story grounded in an everyday setting—high-rise flats, a luxury hotel, and a very local vibe. It’s an obvious fear to tap into, and the visuals of spiderweb-covered corridors and creeping arachnids are effectively skin-crawling, especially for anyone with even a hint of arachnophobia.

The story’s twist is that the spiders aren’t alien monsters—they’re mutated Earth spiders, bloated and aggressive thanks to corporate negligence and toxic landfill. This makes Arachnids in the UK the first of many Chibnall-era stories to offer a strong environmental message: the monsters aren’t monsters, the villains are greedy humans, and there’s no alien interference. In theory, that’s refreshing. In practice, it’s oddly inert.

SCIENCE FACTS, SOCIAL AWKWARDNESS AND STUNT POLITICIANS

There's a valiant attempt to make the science feel grounded—think Doctor Who does Jurassic Park, complete with fun facts about spiders and a bit of techno-babble. But the delivery can be dense and dreary, and the pacing suffers under the weight of all the exposition. The Doctor and Fam spend much of the episode gathering information and wandering through increasingly webbed-up rooms, which means the middle stretch drags badly.

Still, there are some character-driven bright spots. Thirteen’s quirky charm gets a nice outing here—especially when she awkwardly meets Yaz’s family and insists on not overstaying her welcome (while very much doing exactly that). Her surprise and quiet sadness at having to say goodbye to her companions only to be immediately invited for tea is a lovely moment that highlights her social clumsiness and emotional depth. It’s a quieter, more personal take on the new Doctor’s bond with her companions, and it works.

Yaz’s family are introduced with warmth and potential—her mum Najia and dad Hakim are given just enough personality to intrigue, and their later return in Demons of the Punjab will expand on that foundation.

GRAHAM, GRIEF, AND ABANDONED CHARACTER THREADS

The episode also attempts to give Graham and Ryan some emotional development, though it fumbles the follow-through. Graham’s short scene in his empty house is quietly powerful, with Bradley Walsh once again nailing the role’s emotional core. But the moment is all too brief. Similarly, a conversation between Ryan and Graham about a letter from Ryan’s dad could have deepened their bond but is cut off just as it begins to get interesting. These fragments hint at something richer but never commit.

JACK ROBERTSON: TRUMPED-UP TROUBLE

Enter Chris Noth’s Jack Robertson, the cartoonishly awful American hotel magnate who couldn’t be more obviously based on Donald Trump if he tried (and he is very clearly trying). He’s all bluster, ego, and corporate callousness—utterly dislikable and played for broad satire. The Trump metaphor is about as subtle as a spider dropping from the ceiling onto your face, but Noth’s performance is entertaining in its smug awfulness, and he serves as a passable non-alien antagonist.

Unfortunately, the climax—or lack thereof—lets the entire plot down. There’s no real escalation or tension; the spiders are dealt with offhandedly, and the final resolution involves the Doctor deciding not to kill them... by trapping them in a room to slowly suffocate. It's a bizarre moral line to draw, and it leaves the Doctor looking, at best, ethically inconsistent and, at worst, vaguely monstrous.

STYLE OVER STAKES

Visually, the episode leans into muted tones and eerie stillness. The effects work on the spiders is surprisingly strong—especially considering the budget—and the use of cramped flats and under-construction corridors sells the creeping dread. However, the episode's horror elements are softened by a somewhat oddly sentimental score, with strings undercutting the tension where screeching violins might have amped it up.

The atmosphere is there, but the threat never fully takes shape, and by the time the credits roll, the whole thing feels more like a half-hearted fable than a fully spun tale of terror.

📝VERDICT: 6/10

Arachnids in the UK has all the ingredients of a strong Doctor Who episode—a simple horror premise, a grounded setting, a social message, and strong character beats—but it ends up entangled in its own web of clumsy pacing, underdeveloped ideas, and a moral conclusion that’s more confusing than comforting. It’s a story about spiders that can’t quite stick the landing, despite some standout moments for Thirteen, Graham, and Yaz’s family.