It makes sense that this is a sequel to Midnight (albeit with some strands of Turn Left thrown in). I'm not crazy about the ability additions to the entity itself (although bear in mind I wasn't big on the upgraded Angels in The Time Of Angels/Flesh And Stone, another Aliens-ificaton of an iconic NuWho monster), but in terms of theme, it fits. Another iso-horror tale about how easily paranoia can worm its way into people's heads and have them turn on each other.

And yet, this is a bit more hopeful in its examination of the topic. (Actually bloody terrifying conclusion notwithstanding, good lord!) The same concept that must be combated, but approached with a clearer head. The way it treats 'don't turn your back on others' as its thematic mantra hits a similar sweet spot for me as the 'mirror machine' from Vincent And The Doctor. A simple idea that gets at something deep within the core concept that actual words wouldn't have been able to do justice (actual words in the script aside). Where Midnight lingered with the devastating negative effects of that level of paranoia and mob mentality, The Well (while admittedly resorting to a similar heroic sacrifice by the end) is more adamant about the possibility of overcoming it. Not by one person deciding to do the right thing, but by people together making that decision. It creates a nice balance with the incredible sense of dread throughout (it may not be the genuine technical marvel of Alice Troughton's direction for Midnight, but Amanda Brotchie absolutely understood the assignment here), once again showing Dark RTD as willing to offer a positive outcome... but only if the characters (and the audience) earn it.

The way it handled deafness, both specifically with the character of Aliss and as a more general societal norm, was good too. I like its approach that avoids the weird eugenic utopianism of "oh, we'll have cured all that in the future" that crops up every so often in sci-fi, and treated it more realistically. Like, no one on that team knew they'd end up meeting a deaf person, and yet they still had those visual displays ready to use; that alone paints an oddly optimistic picture of disability aid in the future. Rose Ayling-Ellis' performance was terrific, both in giving Ncuti Gatwa room to show his more emotionally-in-tune incarnation of the Doctor, and as just an authentic deaf character in her own right. I got the same joy out of watching her as seeing Marlee Matlin or Millicent Simmonds; I like it when I don't have to deal with passing in stories like this.

I have a few minor niggles to do with the attempts to bridge the entity's behaviour in this and Midnight, and the arc maintenance was more cute than anything else (humans aren't a thing in the future? compared to the imminent threat, that's a bit shrug-worthy), but it offers a comparable adrenaline rush to its predecessor, and Aliss saying "Don't turn your back on me" felt like it was going to rip my heart out of my chest. It succeeded at what it set out to do, and while we still have a while to go, I wouldn't be surprised if this wound up being my favourite of the season.