I really want to say I enjoyed this episode and just leave it at that. Unfortunately, I have far too much to say to be able to do that. It definitely has its strengths, but it also suffers from a lot of the same problems as the rest of RTD2 so far.

The episode opens immediately after we left off with Lux, with the same sort of odd characterisation choice for Belinda no longer having any sort of antagonism with the Doctor. They change clothes in a shot-for-shot remake of the previous clothes changing scene from the very last episode, with Toxic playing overtop. I really don't get that choice; it was fun, meta, and an obvious joke in End of the World, but here it just feels tacked on. The repetition of the scene (while we still don't get to see any other rooms in the TARDIS!) definitely doesn't help immerse me in the episode.

I've seen arguments both for and against the Doctor and Belinda ending up with the exact same space suits as everyone else, and while I didn't mind it that much, it did take me out of the story a little. What bothered me more is the Doctor flashing his psychic paper, apparently showing up to test the troopers, but then ending up in control of the whole operation. I almost agree with Cassio in hindsight, though I found his actions a bit too extreme while watching.

Still, as the episode continued I left my worries behind and got properly invested. The atmosphere was potent. Aliss, especially, did a phenomenal job making everything more tense,being obviously distressed and the only one left alive.

I really appreciate the Deaf representation. I think it was handled really well; there's a lot of aids without eradicating the condition, while still showing how some people remain subtly bigoted. You can really feel her frustration when people turn their backs on her or turn off their subtitles without even noticing.

Belinda got to shine as a nurse again, though I felt she was somewhat sidelined for most of the episode.

The first jumpscare was really expertly done in my opinion, fast enough and jarring enough to make me thing I was just imagining something behind Aliss, affected by the musical sting and Belinda's reaction more than anything. Really fantastic.

And now we get to the big twist: this is a sequel to Midnight. I thankfully went into this episode not knowing that, having avoided spoilers and leaks. I think I wouldn't have been able to enjoy the first half of this episode as much as I did if I had known. That being said, I really don't think this episode needed to be a sequel. Worse, I think it suffered for it. I think the monster acted too differently to be the same one, especially taking its motivations into consideration - I genuinely don't believe the original Midnight entity was toying with the passengers or laughing at them (whether or not the Doctor believes it, or if it's in character for him to say that, is a matter of some debate that I would be very open to having). It doesn't help that the way it acted in this episode alone was somewhat inconsistent.

The reveal itself doesn't really work for me either; I find it hard to believe that people 400,000 years in the future know the old name of the planet. I don't have an opinion on the flashback either way - it's the most necessary of the *three* flashbacks we've had in these *three* episodes (gosh, talk about repetitive and formulaic), but I don't think it added much. The Doctor crying also felt the most deserved in this one and as such didn't take me out of the story, but it's definitely cheapened by having happened every episode so far.

The way the monster flings the soldiers around didn't bother me as much as some other people, but I do think there were probably scarier ways to have it kill that are just as safe for TV. I really like the way Shaya weaponised the monster to stop Cassio, it was clever and powerful.

The ending felt a tad bit rushed. The mirror thing had been set up pretty obviously, though I'm not exactly sure how (or even if) it worked, or how the creature went about smashing the mirrors in the first place (did it swing people at them?). While I appreciate them not fully showing the monster, I would have preferred to not even see the silhouette of it in the hallway.

I didn't notice the airlock counting an extra person, but I definitely thought it was possible that Belinda was just imagining the whispers, only hearing them after everyone else said they didn't have the creature on them.

I liked Shaya sacrificing herself and the implication that it didn't work. It was obvious to me, as the Doctor was running behind her the whole time and never got flung back, even when Shaya paused at the edge of the well. A needless sacrifice is one of the best parts about this episode.

The mystery of what happened to Earth continues to intrigue. I think it would be even more poignant if the non-humans looked a little more alien - even just Star Trek-style forehead bumps would do the trick, especially now that Doctor Who has the budget to make its aliens look the part. I also think it could have been integrated into the story a bit better.

The ending is dragged down a little for me with the appearance of Mrs. Flood. I really enjoyed her little cameos up to this point, but in this episode she just feels like amother Susan Twist, and I *do not* trust RTD to have it pay off after the way that plot was handled last time.

All in all, I think this is a really solid episode bogged down by the stories around it. I think it could have been a 10/10 for me if it was more of a standalone, without the season-wide mysteries and the ties back to Midnight. I would love to see the earliest drafts of this story.