This was a really fun celebrity historical, which has a very New-Who feel to it. I honestly didn't expect much from this story, but I was pleasantly surprised.

Already, this team is proving how well they work together without the shadow of Adric looming over them, all three actors giving it their all. This story absolutely suits this trio, with the most human Doctor struggling to cope with one of his companions struggling with relationship troubles, but he seems a little excited by the prospect of meeting someone from Tegan's normal life, and the chemistry between Davison and Delap really showcases that. It was a lot of fun hearing him suddenly pitch up to an art gallery and start spouting off information to other visitors as if he was a tour guide, it's such a 5th Doctor thing to do! Nyssa doesn't have too much to contribute to the overall story, but the way in which she interacts with the rest of the cast is where she shines, with some really strong character-based moments, grounding these scenes and adding a sense of realism. Her personality is so soft that she naturally brings out the best in people, allowing them to open up about their emotions and having an honest, mature discussion. If anyone's going to face their ex in Doctor Who, it would have to be Tegan, wouldn't it? Arguably the most "Gen Z" companion, her interactions with Kyle are dealt with interestingly and realistically, and really shows how much she's changed since Time-Flight, giving a real authentic, human approach and highlighting the importance of her return to the show, as the character that the audience can relate to the most. She's really had a traumatic few days, hasn't she? Nearly lost her cousin, been kidnapped by Omega, met her ex-boyfriend, realised said ex-boyfriend was an android and nearly lost her best friend! Overall, all three bring something to the table, and I'm glad that we're getting stories that are fitted especially for this team, as we had started to lose that at the end of 5/Nyssa's run.

What a clever idea to have water monsters in Amsterdam! The city with countless canals! I'll go on more about the setting later, but the Nix are fairly engaging monsters. They're nothing special, but they drive the narrative forward in an interesting way and there's a decent balance between tension and action for these aliens, chasing Nyssa and Tegan through the streets and having a fairly plausible backstory.

Yeah, Amsterdam! Man, the setting for this story is just brilliant. Jonathan Morris knows how to effectively tie in the surroundings with the plot, and not just plopping the TARDIS team somewhere random for no good reason. There's so much to explore, with the jumps from the 20th to the 17th century, and the way that both locations are developed with plenty of audibly interesting scenes, having a bike chase scene (anywhere else, it'd just be running, but because it's Amsterdam, there HAS to be bikes!), and the cooler, night atmosphere of the 1600s.

Like I said, Kyle is a standout, having excellent chemistry with our core cast and managing to play off a realistic performance of an android who's become more human over time and developed feelings of love for Tegan. There's such a subtle moment at the end where he decides to keep his heartache and feelings of loss, knowing he can't be a proper human without them. Rembrandt makes an appearance in this episode, and he's so much fun to be around, with a grouchy, nasty aura around him, but also a more nuanced, dark insight into the famed artist's life, feeling isolated from everyone around him. The Countess, unfortunately, feels a little like a panto villain and never really intrigues me, but she tries her best to keep the material she gets interesting.

The soundtrack felt very Gold-esque, and while I enjoyed it, I didn't think it particularly suited the story, especially with the Fifth Doctor. It was a nice score on its own, though.

Favourite Line: "Love has an inconvenient habit of overcoming hate."

This was really surprisingly enjoyable. It was a great showcase of the upcoming Season 20 team, and I'm excited to see what other adventures are coming up for them- What's that? The Doctor's abandoned Nyssa and Tegan?! Why did the TARDIS suddenly disappear?! But yeah, lots of fun and so much heart poured into this from all angles.