Seems to be the most divisive of the season so far, it worked for me for the most part. Juno Dawson, you are more than welcome to come back when the runtimes of the episode are a bit longer, or when you're not being bogged down by the series arc. A longer run time would've made the episode's politics a bit clearer, especially The Doctor's stance on his part in it towards the end. The moment is represented as reprehensible and an incorrect response to the complexities of the situation. However, I think it also has the tricky job of balancing the sci-fi of it all with the very real connotations. The response the Doctor has to Kid isn't a planned move, he is angry because he thinks Belinda has died - a trait we know the Doctor has, it's massively present throughout most of his modern incarnations. The drastic number of 3 trillion is also hanging in the balance - absolutely catastrophic stakes. I do think though, this moment (as much as I enjoy it as an isolated character piece) forgets the context it has set up for itself. Kid is a victim of corporate genocide and has been villainised across the universe, I don't agree that torturing him is the correct look for The Doctor, who is also a victim of genocide which we are reminded of in this episode! It's also a shame that we don't see much of a response from Belinda to this moment, I think it would've been very interesting to see her resort back to the hesitations she had at the beginning of the season just after proclaiming how wonderful he is. I like it when heroic figures perform morally reprehensible acts, it creates good drama - as long as there are proper consequences faced, and we just don't get that. By the end, Dawson makes a pretty clear stance on her politics - remarking that genocide is bad, no matter who does it or for what reason and that there should always be a better way to go about things. I would hope that we get to see more of a follow up to the events of this story, The Doctor grappling with his actions, and the corporation facing dire consequences - but I don't think we will. This being the penultimate story of the season before the 2-parter finale put it in a weird spot, where the show tries to say something meaningful but is stalled by Carol Anne-Ford aura farming in the TARDIS and Mrs Flood's bi-generation (are we seriously still doing this??).

The bits that worked for me were really fun and memorable and even though it was a bit muddled, the politics made a stronger stance than they would've in a lesser story. Ncuti and Varada continue to be great and I still think this season is miles beyond where we were last year. Let us just hope it sticks the landing.