Stories Television Doctor Who Season Two Episode: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 The Well 1 image Overview Characters How to Watch Reviews 60 Statistics Related Stories Quotes 3 Transcript Overview First aired Saturday, April 26, 2025 Written by Sharma Angel Walfall, Russell T Davies Publisher BBC Directed by Amanda Brotchie Runtime 50 minutes Time Travel Future Tropes (Potential Spoilers!) Authority Figure, Base Under Siege, Flashbacks, Lost the TARDIS, Mining, Sign Language, The Doctor’s Name Inventory (Potential Spoilers!) Psychic Paper, Communication Technology, Vindicator, First Aid Kit, Sonic Screwdriver, Space Suits Location (Potential Spoilers!) Midnight Synopsis The Doctor and Belinda find themselves stranded on the inhospitable Planet 6-7-6-7. They team up with a platoon of troopers who have been sent to investigate Colony Base 15, a mining operation that they’ve lost contact with. Arriving at the installation they soon discover something is very wrong indeed… and that something soon reveals itself to be at the heart of the Doctor’s worst nightmares… Watch Watched Favourite Favourited Add Review Edit Review Log a repeat Skip Skipped Unowned Owned Owned Save to my list Saved Edit date completed Custom Date Release Date Archive (no date) Save Characters Fifteenth Doctor Ncuti Gatwa Belinda Chandra Varada Sethu Mrs Flood Anita Dobson Spoiler!Click to reveal 👀 It Has No Name Spoiler!Click to reveal 👀 Show All Characters (4) How to watch The Well: Watch on iPlayer Watch on Disney+ Doctor Who Unleashed BTS on YouTube Reviews Add Review Edit Review Sort: Date (Newest First) Date (Oldest First) Likes (High-Low) Likes (Low-High) Rating (High-Low) Rating (Low-High) Word count (High-Low) Word count (Low-High) Username (A-Z) Username (Z-A) Spoilers First Spoilers Last 60 reviews 5 May 2025 · 1035 words Review by uss-genderprise Spoilers 5 This review contains spoilers! I really want to say I enjoyed this episode and just leave it at that. Unfortunately, I have far too much to say to be able to do that. It definitely has its strengths, but it also suffers from a lot of the same problems as the rest of RTD2 so far. The episode opens immediately after we left off with Lux, with the same sort of odd characterisation choice for Belinda no longer having any sort of antagonism with the Doctor. They change clothes in a shot-for-shot remake of the previous clothes changing scene from the very last episode, with Toxic playing overtop. I really don't get that choice; it was fun, meta, and an obvious joke in End of the World, but here it just feels tacked on. The repetition of the scene (while we still don't get to see any other rooms in the TARDIS!) definitely doesn't help immerse me in the episode. I've seen arguments both for and against the Doctor and Belinda ending up with the exact same space suits as everyone else, and while I didn't mind it that much, it did take me out of the story a little. What bothered me more is the Doctor flashing his psychic paper, apparently showing up to test the troopers, but then ending up in control of the whole operation. I almost agree with Cassio in hindsight, though I found his actions a bit too extreme while watching. Still, as the episode continued I left my worries behind and got properly invested. The atmosphere was potent. Aliss, especially, did a phenomenal job making everything more tense,being obviously distressed and the only one left alive. I really appreciate the Deaf representation. I think it was handled really well; there's a lot of aids without eradicating the condition, while still showing how some people remain subtly bigoted. You can really feel her frustration when people turn their backs on her or turn off their subtitles without even noticing. Belinda got to shine as a nurse again, though I felt she was somewhat sidelined for most of the episode. The first jumpscare was really expertly done in my opinion, fast enough and jarring enough to make me thing I was just imagining something behind Aliss, affected by the musical sting and Belinda's reaction more than anything. Really fantastic. And now we get to the big twist: this is a sequel to Midnight. I thankfully went into this episode not knowing that, having avoided spoilers and leaks. I think I wouldn't have been able to enjoy the first half of this episode as much as I did if I had known. That being said, I really don't think this episode needed to be a sequel. Worse, I think it suffered for it. I think the monster acted too differently to be the same one, especially taking its motivations into consideration - I genuinely don't believe the original Midnight entity was toying with the passengers or laughing at them (whether or not the Doctor believes it, or if it's in character for him to say that, is a matter of some debate that I would be very open to having). It doesn't help that the way it acted in this episode alone was somewhat inconsistent. The reveal itself doesn't really work for me either; I find it hard to believe that people 400,000 years in the future know the old name of the planet. I don't have an opinion on the flashback either way - it's the most necessary of the *three* flashbacks we've had in these *three* episodes (gosh, talk about repetitive and formulaic), but I don't think it added much. The Doctor crying also felt the most deserved in this one and as such didn't take me out of the story, but it's definitely cheapened by having happened every episode so far. The way the monster flings the soldiers around didn't bother me as much as some other people, but I do think there were probably scarier ways to have it kill that are just as safe for TV. I really like the way Shaya weaponised the monster to stop Cassio, it was clever and powerful. The ending felt a tad bit rushed. The mirror thing had been set up pretty obviously, though I'm not exactly sure how (or even if) it worked, or how the creature went about smashing the mirrors in the first place (did it swing people at them?). While I appreciate them not fully showing the monster, I would have preferred to not even see the silhouette of it in the hallway. I didn't notice the airlock counting an extra person, but I definitely thought it was possible that Belinda was just imagining the whispers, only hearing them after everyone else said they didn't have the creature on them. I liked Shaya sacrificing herself and the implication that it didn't work. It was obvious to me, as the Doctor was running behind her the whole time and never got flung back, even when Shaya paused at the edge of the well. A needless sacrifice is one of the best parts about this episode. The mystery of what happened to Earth continues to intrigue. I think it would be even more poignant if the non-humans looked a little more alien - even just Star Trek-style forehead bumps would do the trick, especially now that Doctor Who has the budget to make its aliens look the part. I also think it could have been integrated into the story a bit better. The ending is dragged down a little for me with the appearance of Mrs. Flood. I really enjoyed her little cameos up to this point, but in this episode she just feels like amother Susan Twist, and I *do not* trust RTD to have it pay off after the way that plot was handled last time. All in all, I think this is a really solid episode bogged down by the stories around it. I think it could have been a 10/10 for me if it was more of a standalone, without the season-wide mysteries and the ties back to Midnight. I would love to see the earliest drafts of this story. uss-genderprise View profile Like Liked 5 4 May 2025 · 75 words Review by kawaii2234 1 I love the ending of this episode so much. not only is it a fun nod to just about every horror movie ever but we don't see it which means we can't be certain if the creature escaped. instead it just creates this uncertainty, and paranoia which is a wonderful call back to the midnight entity also russell's commitment to blowing the budget on getting the rights to 'toxic' is easily the best thing ever. kawaii2234 View profile Like Liked 1 3 May 2025 · 350 words Review by Dastari Spoilers This review contains spoilers! Maybe three stars is a bit generous. I feel about this episode in a way that defies stars, really. I think I enjoyed it, but it was definitely mediocre. But it's mediocre in a different way than The Robot Revolution. It's mediocre in a way that compels a reaction, which I think makes it better. About halfway through I was thinking, "This is pretty much just a ripoff of Midnight" and then of course it turns out to be a sequel. Perhaps one might consider The Well to be to Midnight what Attack of the Cybermen was to Tomb and Tenth Planet. I don't know if I'd personally endorse that analogy, but it's food for thought. There was definitely a lot of Idiot Ball tomfoolery. People were constantly being stupid and were only smart when necessary. I'll admit, this annoyed me a bit. Conversely, I was actually laughing during the scene where half the cast got killed. The lighting, camerawork, and soundtrack all came together to create one of the most unintentionally funny scenes in all of Doctor Who. Great job! Also, the ending lasted way too long. I was mortified to see seven more minutes remaining after the story had completely run dry. It was great to see a traditional science fiction setting again, but there really isn't anything in this episode that we haven't seen before. It's literally just an inferior ripoff of the episode it's picking up from. Also, while I personally am not affected by this, I must wonder what it must be like for new viewers on Disney Plus, who haven't seen Midnight. This episode doesn't give sufficient context. Even I was a little confused, since I only watched Midnight once, several months ago. But I know others have complained about this enough already. I personally doubt there are that many new viewers tuning in at this point, anyway. I haven't been paying attention to leaks or Dr. Who-related news, so I don't know what's currently in store for the show's future. But if the choice were mine, I wouldn't renew this for another series. Dastari View profile Like Liked 0 3 May 2025 · 79 words Review by doctortor Spoilers This review contains spoilers! I loved this episode and was so excited for a sequel to my favorite episode "Midnight", BUT I didn't really see any similarities in behavior that linked the alien in "The well" to the alien in the original "Midnight" besides it's shifty-ness... bummer. I was hoping to see the alien learning at some point and its evolution/process into becoming the version we see here. Still a wonderful watch but it was missing some key elements in my opinion. doctortor View profile Like Liked 0 1 May 2025 · 157 words Review by Callandor 1 I unfortunately had the reveal spoiled for me (thanks Instagram), but I might as well address the elephant in the room: yep, this is a sequel to Midnight. My feelings on that are complicated. On one hand, this is ultimately an enjoyable episode, and it'll stand as a relative high mark for the Fifteenth Doctor. On the other hand... that isn't exactly saying much at this point, and it utterly fails at even approaching how good Midnight itself is. For starters, I kinda think that this was retrofitted to be the Midnight creature; the rules it follows and how it behaves don't really match up at all. Other than that, we've got the standard RTD2 stuff: messy exposition, Ncuti crying, an excitable costume change, and uninteresting side characters. Still, for all that criticism, I did genuinely really like the horror here. I like it when Who gets dark, and the concepts here are fun to play with. Callandor View profile Like Liked 1 Show All Reviews (60) Open in new window Statistics AVG. Rating527 members 4.11 / 5 Member Statistics Watched 613 Favourited 110 Reviewed 60 Saved 3 Skipped 2 Related Stories Doctor Who S4 • Episode 10 Midnight Rating: 4.66 Story Skipped Television Reviews(12) More Actions View Sets Close Related Sets Set of Stories: Doctor Who Series 4 Set of Stories: Doctor Who (2005-2022) Set of Stories: Tenth Doctor Add Review Edit Review Skip Skipped Unowned Owned Save to my list Saved Quotes Add Quote Link to Quote Favourite ALISS: Don't turn your back on me. Please, don't turn your back on me. — , The Well Show All Quotes (3) Open in new window Transcript [TARDIS] (Straight on from the previous episode... the TARDIS still won't go to 2025.) DOCTOR: No! No, no, no.BELINDA: So, if we can't get home, and if the TARDIS isn't broken, then it means... what, Planet Earth is broken, or 2025 is broken? Have we been invaded? Or hit by a meteor? Or swatted by a giant moth?DOCTOR: Oh! Imagine a moth that big!BELINDA: But really. Cos my parents are back home, and if this is Friday, then they go to this bar with their mates, and my dad sings and everyone laughs and then the whole room ends up singing. Is that still happening, Doctor? Are they safe?DOCTOR: I hope so.BELINDA: You hope?DOCTOR: Come here. I will meet your mum and dad, and I will make your dad laugh, and your mum can whistle at my behind. And I will sing. I will do the singing. That is a promise.BELINDA: But you can't promise.DOCTOR: Look at me. I can. I will. I do. (The TARDIS lands.) DOCTOR: Oh! Ha! Right. Right. Belinda Chandra, we go out there, we take another Vindicator reading, because each single reading brings us closer to home.BELINDA: Where have we landed?DOCTOR: Oh. Five hundred thousand years in the future. We have jumped, baby.BELINDA: But that's... massive. Do we still exist? I mean, I mean me, I mean human beings. Is there still a human race in 500,000 years?DOCTOR: There is always a human race. You voyage out there, and own it. Far and wide, across the stars. Come and see?BELINDA: Wait. Do they still speak English?DOCTOR: The TARDIS translates. Try it.BELINDA: Do we get to change our clothes?DOCTOR: Girl, you are beginning to enjoy this! At last. Come on! Show Full Transcript Open in new window