I was really looking forward to having some fresh blood behind the scenes - and, finally, a Black writer for our first Black Doctor (seriously, why did that take so long?) - but unfortunately, I have to say I didn't really vibe with this episode.

I'm not sure if the pacing is off, or if it's more my problem with bottle episode and especially stories that rely heavily on a bunch of people standing in a room and talking that bothers me. It's another case of feeling like both too much and not enough happened in this episode.

The concept is interesting, and the execution of the stories being told in (frankly gorgeous) artwork works really well. We've had stories about stories (which I personally think is a lot of fun as a trope), but never quite like this.

Belinda was barely in this episode. It definitely feels like at least one scene was cut, after she gets caught by the cop but before she's in the alley looking for the barbershop. Her role basically starts and ends with telling Abby that "Hurt people hurt people", a line which felt tacked on both from a story perspective and with the audio mastering. These series are too short to continuously sideline the main characters like this, though I do appreciate Fifteen getting more of a focus.

Speaking of, that's really the main thing I enjoyed about this episode. Like Belinda said, wanting to belong is very human, and I loved the scene of him walking through the market, thoroughly in his element. It's just nice to have a story set on contemporary(ish) Earth set outside of the UK, especially Africa, which I don't believe we've been to yet, and even more so to a specific country rather than the nebulous continent so many (non Who) stories are set in.

The Doctor's anger at Omo's "betrayal" felt unearned and out of place. Maybe if we had seen them bonding more it would have been more powerful, but then it would have been even more jarring that Omo essentially begging for the Doctor's help gets such a vitriolic response.

Jo Martin's cameo as the fugitive Doctor was fun and exciting, though it does raise a few questions on how much the Doctor remembers of being her considering he was fobwatched.

From the moment stories were used to sate some sort of beast I was reminded of Rings of Akhaten, one of my all time favourite episodes - which unfortunately isn't a good thing. Much like The Well being a sequel to Midnight or Lucky Day opening quite similarly to Love & Monsters, referencing an old favourite forces me to compare the stories, even if subconsciously, and like most people, I am likely blinded by nostalgia and my love for those established stories, and am much more likely to be critical of the newer ones. As such, the ending where the Doctor uses his past lives to overload the engine falls flat for me; nothing will ever compare to the feeling I got watching that grandiose speech with the music swelling in the background when I was twelve.

That being said, the resolution was still fun. All the old Doctor cameos always get a smile, no matter how overdone they are. The tree-like brain/heart thing was gorgeous (though I do wish they hadn't spelled out the symbolism). I like that everyone was forgiven and they all ended up on good terms with one another.

The acting was really good throughout the whole episode (though some of the side characters felt quite flat and didn't really feel like proper characters), it was gorgeous to look at, and it did something a little bit different, even if it reused some staple tropes. Overall, despite my general feelings of "meh", there's definitely a lot to enjoy here.