Wow. Just WOW. This episode was amazing, I absolutely LOVED it.

First of all, visually this episode was so distinctive and gorgeous. The bright colors and the patterning in the costuming were lovely, the framing was awesome, and of course the artwork from the stories really pushed this one over the top to make this a truly distinctive and memorable episode.

Secondly — it is LONG overdue, at 15's fifteenth episode, but absolutely THRILLED to finally (FINALLY) get a story for 15 (or a TV story for Doctor Who during any era at all, actually) written solely by a Black writer. This one really truly shows what the show is capable of when it's not just the same handful of people writing episodes. (I also loved that it wasn't just set in modern-day London and gave the Doctor some concrete history in another place — they can travel through all of time and space and it's about time we really got some use out of that fact.) This was such a strong episode with a PERFECT premise for the Doctor to shine, while also not feeling samey like similar stories utilizing the aspect of how many lives the Doctor has lived often do. I really appreciated the writer's treatment of 15 as Black while acknowledging the (white) history of the character, because it really is so compatible with the thesis of "anyone can be the Doctor" in a way that, for example, Dot and Bubble (which treats him as, essentially, a white character who is now suddenly Black) just isn't. Also, the Black culture in this story truly just shines and has really earned it a place in Doctor Who by filling a niche that wasn't occupied — a story about Blackness where anti-black racism is not any kind of villain, while still acknowledging history of the slave trade. Additionally, having the fugitive doctor make an appearance was lovely — actually acknowledging that this isn't the first Black Doctor was a very nice touch, and I didn't expect her to be there so that was awesome!

As for more specifics on story — the theme of stories as important to humanity was FANTASTIC, especially being done in such a different way to other times we've seen that. Any use of weaving / spinning yarns / threads as talking about story is always fun! But in particular, the idea of stories powering the engine of a spaceship was SO COOL (and SO Doctor Who!), and I loved it. I also appreciated that there was a spidery villain who wasn't treated like a gross bug but as just another real person. The wrap-up with everyone being forgiven and going separate ways was well done, especially with having the story acknowledge that the villain could change and choose to do better and the other men in the barbershop turning on the Doctor weren't evil, just scared. Additionally, the cold open starting with Omo's story of the fire where he was doing what he could even though that would barely made a dent was a nice touch to keep the ethos of the show in mind from the very beginning.

(Now, within the context of the season, my one single problem with this episode — having a second companion-lite episode for Belinda in a series with only eight episodes is a little disappointing, plus I do wish we got a little more out of the "Belinda not trusting the Doctor" thing. That said, I view this more as a problem with the previous episode than with this one, as The Story & the Engine was more than good enough to make up for it and used her quite a bit more. Belinda's contributions to this story aren't worthless — the bonding moment with her and 15 in the beginning was nice, going some way to help with the fact that Belinda seemingly now somewhat randomly trusts the Doctor. Again, I would be inclined to put the previous episode at fault for the pacing issues there, though — after all, if we'd gotten any actual screen time with Belinda in Lucky Day it would very likely basically fix my issue with that almost inherently.)

Overall, this episode was definitely my favorite of 15's era so far (so much so that I will have to reevaluate my personal top 5 episodes while I wait for the next one)! It was a truly AMAZING contribution by a new writer to the show, with a strong premise, good writing, and not to mention such an excellent execution by cast, director, and crew. Unlike a lot of this era, which has pretty transparently reused some plotlines and villains (cough cough curse of clyde langer cough cough from out of the rain cough midnight cough), it felt really fresh while still staying true to this era and the ethos of the show. Just absolutely brilliant in so many ways!