A dystopian world where thoughtcrime is a punishable offence, and the masses are kept placated and entertained by the adventures of a man called The Doctor.

Basically, we have an answer for just how much The Natural History Of Fear has to be sanded-down to become an actual TV story.

I quite like the Milk Wars-esque aesthetic of the Wish World, along with the many blink-and-you-miss-them bits of dialogue that underpin the heteronormative, ableist, patriarchal society this is. The set design for the Bone Palace might be one of my favourite villain lairs of the entire franchise; if I ever got my hands on a TARDIS, it's a real toss-up between this and Eighth's Victorian interior for what I would make it look like. Those giant roaming bone creatures are sick too.

As for the story, it's... well, it's not as exciting as The Legend Of Ruby Sunday. It's another case of putting in the brickwork for the conclusion, and while the dystopian satire is fun and all, the messaging feels a bit muddled. Like, is it good to have doubts and questions about the way society is presented or not? Thematically, sure, it leans in that direction, with Conrad rewriting the story of his world into what he wants to be real, and I got quite a kick from Shirley saying that her and her group of disabled truthers were going to take down a God. But narratively, considering how this first part concludes, it loses itself in the rush of revelation.

Same goes for the Rani. Archie Punjabi is really good in her performance, but the writing feels off in a number of ways. She's supposed to be a scientist with no care for ethics, so her experiments are all merciless free-for-alls, and the construction of this world as a trap for the Doctor as part of an even larger scheme fits a certain 'mad science' niche that could have worked... but are they really trying to set her up as the Doctor's ex or something? Combining that with him and Belinda in this new reality, and the cameo from Rogue, the relationship dimensions of this story are all over the map.

I will say, though, that I genuinely did not see that ending reveal coming. I was open to seeing the Rani return (even with my misgivings about the realisation here), but the return of my all-time favourite Time Lord villain in Omega has me well and truly hyped for the finale.