The horror vibes are pretty on point here. The lonely house in the forest with the lake behind... The mystery is gripping and the antizone is pretty cool. I especially loved the Doctor reassuring the little girl while writing on the wall a cold and devastating albeit rational message for her companions.

The thing that I didn't love is the discussion between the Doctor and the frog at the end. I was expecting it to be more whimsical and philosophical but no, it ended being quite shallow. At least the Doctor made friends with a conscious universe I guess...

This is the top 2 episode for the season, behind Demons of the Punjab. The next episode is a bit meh so I'll leave my thoughts on this season here. I actually have enjoyed it quite a lot, this rewatch has made like a lot more the 13th Doctor and Jodie as an actress, I like the fact that her incarnation is the most hopeful and loving Doctor of all, although she can be a badass when the moment calls for it.

It Takes You Away is a perfect example of an adventure done in by the flaws pervading this era. It's a great set-up. A lost child and a weird mystery in cool horror-movie-setting location where the characters are ultimately challenged by the false temptations of a sentient alternate universe. Great stuff. In theory.

But there are too many companions. I don't hate any of them. But very clearly this episode would be stronger if it focused on Graham. Yaz doesn't grow in this episode. And the episode wants us to think Ryan grew, but he didn't really. He just made an ill-advised statement at the outset and sort of made amends with the person he made the statement to. All of the Graham and Grace stuff would hit a lot harder if we were spending more time with Graham, sitting with his pain, his loss, and exploring how he and the Doctor talk about it.

13 essentially had three seasons. What if she had one of these companions each season. They traveled with her and by traveling with her became more whole. Jodie could have been the Doctor that healed.

But no, we have three companions and 10 episodes so we just waste a lot of time sending these characters places. This was a problem with the episode before, the Witchfinders, as well. The Doctor arbitrarily designates which companions go where and there's never any reason given. It's just for the plot. In fact, some of these designations don't make sense. In this episode, why was Ryan left with Hanne? The only interaction we've seen between them was brief and went badly. Meanwhile, we saw Hanne's reaction with Yaz go very well, we had Yaz comment on how to interact with children effectively; she even says she has training. And yet when the plot demands we split up the fam, Yaz goes with the Doctor and Ryan is left behind.

This makes sense in a "we want Ryan to make amends with Hanne and grow from this" way. But it doesn't make sense as a decision the Doctor would make.

On top of this, the writing and direction are once again weird. 13 pieces together what's happening not by finding clues but by remembering a story that explains exactly what's happening and talking, basically uninterrupted, at Yaz for like four minutes. This is the sort of contrivance that could be papered over with clever or snappy dialogue, of the kind Smith and Capaldi got to perform, but we don't have that here.

Jodie is a fantastic actor and these problems would be twice as bad if we didn't have her in the role. Graham is excellent, too. I wish we got to see more of him and feel more of what's going through his head.

To wrap this up as a compliment sandwich: Jodie's episodes are basically all shot like horror movies (intense close-ups with the character looking off screen, giving us this almost claustrophobic feeling), and that works well here. It sells the horror. For all its flaws, this is a gorgeous era of the show. And what a perfect genre for exploring loss against the possibility of making difficult bargains with unimaginable creatures. If only the episode, and era, lived up to this potential.

i might feel highly of this because ive sat through so much mid since the beginning of this season, but this was genuinely a fun and exciting watch. i think it just really shows how lovable and fun this cast can be when chibnall isnt writing the script. the idea of the solitract in general is so interesting and fun to me and really genius for a one time episode villain!

Out of the whole season, this was by far the most creative and out-there plots of the season. The alien in the anti-zone I did not like though, it never got explained how or why he was there.

Also, the frog was glorious. Lol