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“IT TAKES YOU AWAY: GRIEF, FROGS, AND FROZEN FEELINGS IN CHIBNALL’S STRANGEST HOUR”

With It Takes You Away, Series 11 takes a sharp left turn into the experimental. Written by Ed Hime, this eerie, intimate penultimate episode swaps epic stakes for an emotionally charged character drama dressed up in sci-fi and horror trappings. Set in a lonely cottage nestled deep in the Norwegian woods (seriously, Doctor Who, give Sweden, Denmark, and Finland a go sometime), this one begins as a traditional spooky yarn and gradually unravels into one of the strangest—and most poetic—stories of the Chibnall era.

ATMOSPHERIC HORROR WITH A DIMENSIONAL TWIST

The opening stretch is wonderfully tense, with shadowy cinematography, minimal dialogue, and a brooding sense of unease. A frightened blind girl, Hanne, hides from the ‘monsters’ that come each day. Her performance—sharp, determined, and never passive—grounds the story’s emotion from the off. The dilapidated house, shrouded in grey skies and silence, immediately creates that haunted-house-meets-base-under-siege vibe. The camera lingers on creaking doors and unexplained noises. We’re deep in horror territory… until the mirror in the upstairs bedroom flips the tone entirely.

Enter the Antizone, a jagged, glowing red-and-blue cavern filled with cobwebs and monsters. It’s beautifully designed, highly stylised, and very Classic Who-coded. But while the shift into sci-fi spectacle is exciting, it does slightly dampen the horror mood that was so expertly established. Still, the introduction of the Antizone does allow for one memorable new character: Ribbons, a deceitful, goblin-like trickster with Gollum vibes (played with slippery menace by Kevin Eldon). Sadly, he's dispatched a bit too quickly by the flesh-eating moths, but he leaves a lasting impression.

THE SOLITRACT: A FROG, A VOID, AND AN EXISTENTIAL METAPHOR

At its core, this is a story about grief and letting go. It’s a remarkably clever conceit: the Solitract, a banished sentience creating a reality of false comforts and familiar faces to trap lonely people inside. Erik, clinging to a copy of his dead wife, exemplifies emotional paralysis. The most affecting moment belongs to Graham, who must confront a too-perfect imitation of Grace—and heartbreakingly reject her to protect Ryan. Bradley Walsh is phenomenal here, capturing both longing and quiet strength as Graham realises this Grace isn’t real. It’s a scene steeped in emotion and memory, and a beautiful payoff to his grief arc across the series.

And then comes that frog.

Yes, the Solitract’s final form—realising it must let the Doctor go—is a talking frog perched on a chair in a blank white void. It’s surreal, ridiculous, and deeply moving all at once. Jodie Whittaker brings a strange, lyrical empathy to this sequence. Her monologue to the Solitract, about the pain of letting go and the joy of knowing something new, is one of her best moments. She delivers it with a blend of giddy awe and solemn heartbreak, walking that tightrope of Doctorly wonder and sad wisdom.

STRONG CHARACTER MOMENTS FOR TEAM TARDIS—MOSTLY

The episode is notably small-scale, allowing all members of Team TARDIS a moment in the spotlight. Graham, of course, gets the emotional centre. Yaz, while not deeply involved in the Solitract plot, contributes meaningfully and remains level-headed throughout. Ryan, meanwhile, gets less to do—most of his time is spent trapped in the Antizone with Hanne, although the closing moment when he finally calls Graham “Grandad” is a lovely, understated resolution to their arc.

There’s also a delightfully practical touch in Graham packing sandwiches for the trip. That’s peak Graham.

VISUALS, SOUND, AND STRANGE BEAUTY

Visually, It Takes You Away is stunning—though occasionally frustratingly dark. The Antizone scenes, while beautifully lit in theory, can be hard to follow due to under-lighting. Still, the visual contrast between Norway’s cold desaturation, the Antizone’s neon decay, and the clean white void of the Solitract world gives the episode a distinctive aesthetic signature.

Segun Akinola’s score is excellent, alternating between quietly unsettling and grandly emotional. His strings swell with beauty in the final scenes, helping turn the bizarre frog moment into something gently tragic rather than farcical.

SMALL STAKES, BIG THEMES

It Takes You Away may not feature universe-ending stakes or epic battles, but it trades spectacle for introspection, offering one of the most emotionally intelligent stories of the Chibnall era. It’s a bottle episode with teeth—willing to lean into the surreal and the sentimental without apology. It's not perfect—some characters are underserved, and the tonal shift may not be for everyone—but it's daring and memorable in a way few episodes of Series 11 are.

📝 VERDICT: 79/100

IT TAKES YOU AWAY is a slow-burning, genre-shifting story that swaps monsters for metaphors and thrills for themes. With a brave, strange script and one of Jodie Whittaker’s best performances, it’s a standout of Series 11—bold, beautiful, and not afraid to end on a talking frog. A minor classic of modern Doctor Who—if you’re willing to take the leap.