One of the more unbearable stories among the already questionable roster of content among Chris Chibnall's time as Doctor Who showrunner.

This might be the worst, most clumsily edited episode of any Doctor Who ever made. Certainly of the new series. Some of the action just looks god awful based on how it was cut together, but my guess is the editors were trying to make a bunch of useless footage come together into something at least a little coherent. It is really hard to get through content edited like this - the scene where the Sea Devil is attacking the Doctor early on feels like it is a few small changes away from being a parody of itself.

Everything is wrong with this production. The writing is awful and outright ahistorical. The way this story ends is the exact kind of writing people have been making fun of around the Chibnall era since the very beginning. Our characters are flat nothings. The writing around Madame Ching is a huge disservice to actual history figure, while the stuff between 13 and Yaz felt completely unearned based on everything that has happened with these two before. It's a shame too because Crystal Yu seemed pretty good as an actor - she is just handed awful, reductive writing that no actor could make something positive out of.

The only thing I like about this episode is the Sea Devils themselves. They are essentially wasted here, but the actual design and look of them is pretty impressive. I know not everyone likes them but I think it is a really cool mix of what the originals looked like with a mix of more modern tech and prosthetics. I was impressed by them more than I wasn't. Still, that is nothing - perhaps even more insulting that they are used so poorly here and the writing leaves so much to be desired. I don't even know what the Sea Devils were up to. The episode was not clear about this, but more significantly, I don't care enough to revisit Legends of the Sea Devils and find out. It was not a pleasant experience the first time and I can't find the motivation to recreate those feelings. This is one of those stories that makes it borderline embarrassing to be a Doctor Who fan.

I am most definitely nostalgic for this episode (I mean, this is when Thasmin is most explicitly canon) but that does not blind me to its faults. The supporting cast have some lackluster acting and the storyline is kind of a mess, not the most well-written of specials. However, there’s some strong SFX with the ocean and the moments between Yaz and Thirteen are actually pretty good. I personally enjoyed the Sea Devil design but they were kind of nothing characters and I wished there had been more for them to do other than act imposing. There’s some hidden gems in this story but it’s otherwise a bit underwhelming.

So uhh.. At this Point, it's kinda a cliché to say that I didn't quite like this one, now, is it?

There are some good to be found, I think we get a few excellent Scenes between 13 and Yaz (how it delves into the Thasmin ship is quite interesting). Oh, and Dan in a Pirate Costume is cute and reminds me of the Gunfighters. Besides that, this one is just kinda disappointing to me. There is a lot of Potential in this one. Madam Ching is such an interesting historic Figure and while her Actress does an excellent Job with what she is given, sadly what she is given is easily one of the weaker Outings from Chibnall. In general, this one just feels kinda all over the place. We get the Sea Devils back, who look amazing in this new Redesign, but they are just kinda here and really nothing much is done with them.

I do see why some either quite or really like this one, sadly to me, it just kinda ended up being an Episode with a lot of wasted Potential. I do see some good in there, like I mentioned before, but that sadly doesn't put the Episode much higher to me.

Oh my God, what an episode! I loved that. So much fun. The Sea Devils have never been better, we got some incredible sword fighting to fit in with the pirate theme, and some great moments between the Doctor and Yaz. And, of course, Dan is hilarious as always!

And the Centenary Special looks bloody incredible . Not only Ace, but Tegan Jovanka too! And Tegan wasn't even rumoured to be returning! I am so hyped for this October.

Really not as bad as people say, it's only really the special effects that are a let down for me. I loved the emotional scenes with 13 and Yaz, Dan was great, the Sea Devils are more adorable than ever, and I'm a massive fan of pirates anyway so this was right up my alley.
I will happily defend this episode for as long as I live