I'm am so tired of these backstory fanwank episodes first it was Name of the Doctor, then Listen, now this.  They pretty much never work, are pointless in the long run, and only tend to dilate the decades of TV history. This is especially a half baked origin story that is the low point of DW as a whole.

Most of the effects are passable and the performances are unconvincing especially from Whittaker. The only highlight I can think of comes from Dhawan where he does commit as hard as he can to make his character work. As for the subplot I don't have enough emotional connection to either the companions or the side cast to care about them.

This a awful episode and frankly not even one good performance could save it.