Admittedly, I had my worries for this one.
I had high points, there must be a point why this Episode was such a secret and good lord.. while my hopes for a return of Susan wasn't there, I still feel good about calling this a masterful episode.
The Star Beast, while fun, throw me off with some wonky moments and a pacing that sadly didn't slow down. The directing was top tier (mostly), but still it felt like a very casual way to reintroduce doctor who to an audience that fell out of touch with the show after the tennant era.
And I am fine with that.
But this one is excellent!
As somebody who really hates the "Tennant-Clone "trope"" in Doctor Who, I am impressed how well this was done!
Just a really GOOD Episode, I might need to think about this one a little more before I can add more to this!

I'm never going to be over this one I think. It's got all my favorite things: evil doppelgangers, the Doctor and Donna Going Through It, weird body horror, and some genuinely terrifying moments. David and Catherine are so good at playing terrifying villains.

The first time I watched this, I loved it. However, on a recent rewatch, I didn't love it quite as much (don't get me wrong, it's still great, but more like 4.5/5 than 5/5). At first I thought that this may be due to already knowing the plot, but I watched it multiple times close to release and loved it each time then. As such, I think this is due to the context of when it was released (and hence when I first watched it): coming off the back of the Chibnal era and directly following The Star Beast, a story that I find dissapointing at best, this was incredible, and, in my opinion, probably the best Doctor Who aired in a while. Now that Ncuti's first season has concluded and I've also been rewatching a lot of older episodes, this story doesn't stand out quite as much. However, I do still think that it is excellent: with the exception of the slightly random opening scene, it is tight and well-paced, fitting togethger really nicely to create an exciting and intriguing narrative. The villains are a really cool concept. The set and CGI (which aren't really things you can talk seperately about for this episode) look excellent (although I didn't find it quite as realistic as I did the first few times I watched it). Overall, a really solid story and the probably the best in a while at the time of its release.

Perfection.

OFF WE GO INTO THE WILD BLUE YONDER, CLIMBING HIGH INTO THE SUNNNN, HERE THEY COME, ZOOMING TO MEET OUR THUNDER, AT EM BOYS GIVE EM THE GUN! GIVE EM THE GUN! 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥