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“THE GHOST MONUMENT: A DESERT DETOUR TO A FAMILIAR BLUE BOX”

Picking up directly from The Woman Who Fell to Earth, The Ghost Monument wastes no time throwing the newly formed TARDIS team into the chaos of outer space. After a brief, breathless rescue, they find themselves split across two crashing ships, piloted by rival space racers Angstrom and Epzo, landing them on the harsh and desolate planet Desolation. The tension of this disorienting start—fuelled by shaky camera work, scarred ships, and the growing dread of imminent doom—immediately draws us in.

From the get-go, the companions are forced to adjust to their extraordinary new reality. Ryan plays it cool and dismissive, Graham is more grounded and pragmatic, and Yaz remains curious and attentive. The Doctor, as ever, leaps straight into command, barely breaking stride. The dynamic between the characters starts to gel, with the four feeling more like a team in motion, even if still a bit shaky.

A RACE WITH LOW STAKES

The bulk of the story takes place on Desolation, a dusty, sun-scorched planet reminiscent of Tatooine from Star Wars. Its alien landscape, while visually simple, is brought to life through a warm, evocative colour palette. Sadly, the actual plot—the final leg of a galaxy-spanning race—lacks urgency or depth. The so-called “Ghost Monument” at the finish line is, unsurprisingly, the TARDIS, which robs the narrative of any real surprise or tension. While the idea of building an episode around the Doctor desperately trying to reach her lost ship is a lovely callback to Classic Who, the execution is surprisingly low-key.

There’s also a notable absence of a proper villain. The true danger lies in the planet itself—abandoned, booby-trapped, and cursed by a violent past. It’s an intriguing setting that whispers of something sinister, but that thread never truly builds. Hints about what happens after nightfall or why the world is deserted are never fully explored. And when the “monsters” finally do appear—floating, whispering, sentient rags called the Remnants—they feel half-baked. Despite a haunting concept and a tragic origin, they arrive far too late and leave too little impact, serving mostly to tease the “Timeless Child” arc that won’t come to fruition until much later.

COMPANIONS UNDER PRESSURE

This episode continues to explore the growing tensions and bonds within the companion group. Ryan and Graham are still at emotional odds, grappling with Grace’s death and their uneasy relationship. Ryan pushes boundaries by reaching for a gun, testing the Doctor’s firm no-weapons stance. His dyspraxia is mentioned again, but frustratingly, a key scene of him struggling with a ladder was cut—an opportunity missed to explore his challenges more meaningfully. Yaz, meanwhile, is largely sidelined, a pattern that will sadly repeat throughout the series.

Jodie Whittaker delivers a more confident, vibrant performance here, clearly enjoying the chance to blend rapid-fire science with a dose of righteous authority. Her infectious enthusiasm and optimism are a delight, even if the script sometimes favours sentiment over storytelling.

SECONDARY CHARACTERS LEFT IN THE DUST

Angstrom and Epzo, the two racers, don’t leave much of an impression. Their endless bickering quickly becomes tiresome, and their backstories are delivered in clunky exposition dumps. Neither character is particularly likeable, and their scenes tend to slow the pacing rather than build it. Art Malik appears briefly as Ilin, the race’s organiser and final judge, and while he gives a suitably authoritative performance, his role is so minor it feels like a waste of a strong guest actor.

THE BLUE BOX RETURNS

The emotional payoff comes in the closing minutes, as the Doctor—believing she has failed her new friends—sinks into quiet despair. But just as hope fades, the TARDIS finally materialises, drawn to her once more. It’s a joyous reunion, made even sweeter by Whittaker’s beaming reaction and the stunning reveal of the Thirteenth Doctor’s TARDIS interior: a crystal cathedral of amber light, strange geometry, and warm welcome. It’s a high note that elevates the episode’s uneven journey.

📝VERDICT: 6/10

The Ghost Monument has its moments: a strong opening, a vibrant Doctor finding her footing, and a beautiful TARDIS return that tugs on the heartstrings. But the lack of compelling guest characters, the weak villains, and a meandering central plot prevent it from fully taking off. A classic-style Who tale in structure, it ultimately feels more like a gentle stroll than a dramatic race. Whittaker shines, the companions begin to gel, and the ending lands—but it’s a long walk across a mostly empty desert to get there.

Ghost Monument

Great episode. The doctor and "the fam" accidentally come across a space race, not the space race a race that's in space.

Graham tries to bond with Ryan to no avail, this will happen a lot. A talking rag sets up the series 12 Finale for some reason, The Doctor forgets their gender and finds the TARDIS is the ghost monument

I remember really liking this one on my first watch, and yeah, it is just a comfortable watch for me. It's packed with action from the start and the mystery of the planet kept me intrigued. The TARDIS being the "Ghost Monument" is actually such a cool idea and the race is pretty compelling. I'm liking Jodie's Doctor much more than the first time too, she is actually pretty badass when it comes to calling out people for what she believes is wrong (except for the no guns speech, that was a bit ham-fisted imo). The writing is nothing crazy but the vibes more than make up for it.

The Ghost Monument: A Rambling Review

I do remember liking this one when I first watched it on broadcast. Watching it now, It's interesting seeing that Ryan feels like the focus character for the season. Both in this episode where he's our focus when we first wake up and he's the opening and closing focus (via Youtube) in the previous episode. All the companions feel like they're developed by their relationship to Ryan (Graham is his granddad, Yaz is a friend from school, etc). I love the ships and the scenes therein. It makes the universe feel lived in. I love the ideae of the race, I'm a little surprised it's never been used in the series before. (Yes, I know that Enlightenment exists. But that's a yacht race through space, this is space Dakar. There is a difference.) I like the ruins with the sniperbots, it feels very Halo. The reveal that the Stenza are behind Desolation is really cool. It really is a shame that apart from a return of Tim Shaw in the season finale, we never hear anything of the Stenza again. I really feel that they're ripe for a return. I liked how the race ended, and those mountain vistas when the TARDIS appears are gorgeous. I do like Thirteen's TARDIS interior with the contrasting blues and orange/golds, I just wish that those gold finger things didn't block camera angles so much.

This was a very fun episode, I am enjoying the new TARDIS team. Loved the scavenger hunt story, and thought the cinematography was great.

There were a few things that I think could've been clarified, such as the robots appearing out of nowhere (how in the world could they sneak up on them..?) and the EMP. (I'm guessing the EMP came from the damaged robot, but It could've been better portrayed.)

Anyways, enjoying these episodes so far, much more than I thought I would based off its reputation and reviews.

The sophomore outing for the Thirteenth Doctor is an interesting litmus test for the era as a whole. Its cinematic style of camera movement and the sheer size of its environments definitely wowed me the first time that I watched it, and the beat-by-beat of the story is competent for the most part. I do feel that we begin to see some problems emerge here, though, mostly related to characterization.

For one thing, The Ghost Monument seems like it doesn't quite understand why the Doctor does and believes the things she does. Case in point, the "No guns, never use 'em" maxim which she lays down on her companions. Of course, even a casual viewer will remember previous instances of the Doctor shunning firearms. What Ghost Monument seems to lose track of is that this long-held policy is ultimately one of harm reduction, of refusing to be the first person to escalate a given conflict, and valuing words over weapons. Considering that we're dealing with non-sentient sniper bots who are already shooting at the gang in this instance, however, none of these points really apply. The Doctor's scolding of Ryan after he doesn't quite manage to take them all down makes my eyes roll, because it feels like the episode has remembered the form of the Doctor's principles without actually recalling their function.

I was also surprised, on the first watch, to find that relatively little happens in the way of characterization for the companions in this episode. Their reactions to their first arrival on an alien planet are curiously muted in comparison with previous companions, which feels like a bit of a missed opportunity. Yaz and Graham don't get a lot of discrete character beats aside from showing mild concern at Angstrom's trauma or Epzo's dog-eat-dog ethics. Ryan gets a little more, but the one major moment, his rushing out to fight the sniper-bots, feels very much at odds with his more cautious and deferential characterization in the previous episode. By this stage in most other seasons of NuWho, one already has a clear idea of who the companions are as people, and how they'll react to new situations. At this stage, I could not say the same about this TARDIS team, and that really perplexed me.

To round off this stream of consciousness with a more positive note, my favorite moment from this episode is the second scene, where Yaz wakes up on Epzo's spaceship to find the Doctor already in full crisis mode. It's very nice stuff.

Altogether, a decent story on a structural level, but it has enough dragging it down that I can't say I outright like it.