This story always feels like it's never quite living up to its inventive potential. The whole thing with the Dalek turning on the Daleks because of the Doctor's pure hatred of them is a great twist, but this story ultimately feels like scaffolding for better things to come in Series 8.

The episode begins with an epic space battle that looks absolutely fantastic, and notable because they are so rare in Doctor Who. The Doctor’s encounter in the TARDIS with a displaced soldier is thrilling, with Peter Capaldi bringing all of his magnetism and intensity to the scene.

Ben Wheatley does an excellent job of maintaining this tone as the story shifts to the inside of a Dalek, our characters being shrunk in a visually striking and psychedelic way. The claustrophobic sets used to depict the interior of the Dalek are particularly effective in building tension. 

Meanwhile, Danny Pink’s introduction is charming, with you getting an awful lot of character development in a story which he is tangential to. Their “meet-cute” establishes a sweet, awkward and relatable dynamic between them. Danny’s backstory as a traumatised ex-soldier is compelling, especially when juxtaposed with the Twelfth Doctor’s overt disdain for soldiers.  It is interesting that such a sensitive and complex example of a soldier is paired with The Doctor criticising soldiers with an uncharacteristic harshness - clearly setting up a thread / future confrontation for the series. The Doctor’s antipathy can feel uncomfortable, they are giving the audience a lot of credit / trust if they are expecting them to link this to his own self-loathing over his time as a “soldier” during the Time War.

The psychedelic imagery of the Dalek interior stands out as one of the episode’s highlights. However, once the Dalek is healed, much of the tension dissipates. From that point on, the story relies on the stellar performances of Peter Capaldi and Jenna Coleman, who continue to shine in their roles.

The resolution feels overly verbal and a bit underwhelming. I would have preferred a solution involving the radiation that initially caused the Dalek’s malfunction being used as a sort of “medicine” to transform it, rather than relying on memory reactivation and button-pressing. The point about the Doctor being a “good Dalek” feels like a retread of the themes explored in Christopher Eccleston’s Dalek, failing to break new ground.

I thoroughly enjoyed Missy’s brief appearance. The way the series’ overarching theme is gradually unfolding is a real strength. Overall, while the episode doesn’t quite reach its full potential, it features enough strong performances, intriguing ideas, and impressive visuals to make it an engaging watch.

Really enjoyed the episode, it did tread some familiar territory, the Daleks have been done so many times now that it's always gonna be the case but it was well done. The Daleks were menacing again and the idea of getting inside one was certainly interesting.

Finally though, Capaldi really is a fantastic actor, love his portrayal. The character's a complete contrast to Tennant and Smith and has turned what you expect from a modern Doctor completely on it's head after those two were fairly similar. Is he a good man? I'm not entirely sure.

23/8/24

its alright!!! wasnt really paying attention this time round tbh. oooooh what if the 12th doctor is so so evil and scary…….. meanwhile he is just runnin around being a silly autistic guy

I DONT CARE IF EVERY PIECE OF THIS STORY HAS BEEN DONE BEFORE I LIKED IT. I THINK THIS IS ONE OF THE BEST DALEK STORIES. PETER CAPALDI I LOVE YOU FOREVER GRANDPA