It is no secret that I have been skeptical, if mildly supportive of the RTD2 era. I have found most of the episodes to be entertaining if woefully underwritten, with a couple exceptions I found truly good that were notably penned fully or in part by guest writers. But, I maintained optimism because I enjoyed Ncuti’s presence and thought that surely RTD’s consistent fumbling of interesting new ideas would eventually result in something half decent.

In my opinion, The Reality War absolutely sh*ts upon any of the storylines he had clumsily strung together.

From the very beginning of his recent tenure, RTD has been consistently self-referential. With Tennent taking the reins as the Doctor again for the 60th Anniversary specials, I became cynical. The Star Beast, though flawed, was a fun retelling of an old comic, but it suffered from the light shoehorning of Donna Noble’s entire plot line among other things. As the episodes progressed, it became more apparent RTD seemed to be banking on a collective nostalgia, bringing back the most popular Doctor because that would inspire some mass migration of old fans back to the show. But I rolled my eyes and beared it with the whole Bigeneration ordeal because finally Ncuti would be on our screens as the Doctor.

And while Ncuti has played a commendable performance as the Doctor, I cannot help but feel his era has been shortchanged by RTD refusing to move on from his first era, constantly repeating old ideas in the hopes they’ll hit as successfully as they did when they first aired. But ultimately, it feels tired and uninspired. For example, a story like The Well that plays with the base under siege trope in new way gets inhibited by tagging on the fact that it’s as sequel one of the most well-revered episodes in New Who. RTD so constantly harkens back to bits and pieces of his era that it has become grating.

Now, onto the episode at hand.

The story feels like two different plots have been forcefully sandwiched together, resulting in the most lackluster of resolutions. I was prepared for another Empire of Death, a campy and clumsy but watchable romp that, for better or worse, utilizes the elements it borrows from Classic Who. Wish World built a plot that, while inevitably flawed, seemed to provide an interesting direction for the story to take in its second part. Conrad’s bigotry-fueled wish will surely come crashing down but how? The Rani, or rather Ranis, have returned and are planning to resurrect another classic villain. How will Omega factor into it all? Are Time Lords making a comeback?

Here, it’s revealed that all the buildup for the Rani and Omega has been a complete and utter waste. Indeed, a bastardized Omega languishes across the screen as a grotesque CGI monstrosity that does nothing other than eating Panjabi’s fledgling Rani and die. We get virtually no resolution to the Rani’s grand plot or anything close except some tidbits about Time Lord fertility. The Doctor simply makes a wish and dusts his hands clean to finish it all up.

But then comes my most aggrandizing annoyance in this plot: Poppy. She’s an adorable child that ends up inhibiting so much. She stands around mostly functionless, and when she’s plot-relevant, it’s to Belinda’s detriment. I could not take seriously the whole “Doctor’s child” bit it strung us along for and was subsequently unsurprised when that was not the case. However, this adjustment is somehow made worse by the fact she is now Belinda’s daughter. It was such an unbelievably poor decision and reeks of (however unintentional) major misogyny, forcing her into a motherhood role she never sought out and making her happy with that result when there is no indication that would be her choice, pigeonholing her into a stereotype of it being inescapable for her as a woman.

Belinda provided a change of pace for a companion at the very start of the season, adding a more resistant and self-sacrificial dynamic to the Doctor which gets dropped shortly after her introduction. With no textually presented firm connection to her life, she ambles around in the background, yet she is given sparing opportunities to show herself. But that version is never given the chance to grow with this horrendous retcon. To take a character first presented with such agency and stubbornness and then fashion her into a passive misogynistic archetype in a couple minute clip show was such an utter travesty.

One thing that I can say I enjoyed was seeing Thirteen return onscreen. After such a maligned era from certain fans—one which I do have a soft spot for—it was such a pleasure to see her character, not to mention her relationship with Yaz, represented positively beyond her era. Jodie has always played the Doctor magnificently and her chemistry with Ncuti’s Fifteen was a pleasure to see.

I managed to avoid leaks, so I was completely surprised by this being Ncuti’s regeneration. I was disappointed that he got so short a tenure, but can understand it for logistical reasons. I was so intrigued on who possibly could be the next Doctor: another person of color or perhaps another woman? My excitement built as the golden regeneration energy engulfed him to reveal… Billie Piper? All I could do was stare at my screen and repeat “what the f**k?”. By all means, I like Billie Piper. I think she’s a talented actress and am pleased to see her in Who once again. But her return could not help but fuel the flames of my cynicism towards one Mr. Russell T. Davies.

And this is where my beginning rant connects back. Whatever I may feel about Billie’s return, it speaks to RTD’s lack of faith in what the show has the capability to be. By limiting the show with “safe” and fanwank-y content to stay on the air, his constant revisiting and meta-referential ideas ultimately hold back the show from creating the inventive and out-there stories the series has become known for. RTD needs to realize his time has passed and that what is best for the show is to perhaps lean away from what is popular in the media zeitgeist (i.e. Ruby’s whole fakeout Rey Skywalker-type storyline) and turn to new ideas by so many talented diverse writers that are just waiting to be told.