Oh what a fun little teaser story. Ellams captures the Doctor perfectly and I'm even more excited for The Story and the Engine now.

I really expected this to be a mid-season filler episode. Boy, was I wrong.

This episode hits hard. Fantastic writing, brilliant acting, mindblowing twist. Not at all what I was expecting.

I thought it was really interesting to see Ruby adjust to a live without the Doctor and thought this would be the main plot point for this episode until the reveal. Conrad was an amazing villain for two main reasons: 1. He comes off as extremely likeable at first and the twist is a real gut punch and 2. He is someone you know exists in real life. You probably had a conversation with someone like him either IRL or online. The last scene with the Doctor felt really cathartic for exactly that reason and I can't remember the last time a Doctor had such a grand moment in a Doctor-lite episode. Hats off to Ncuti (Like in every episode this season).

UNIT was great. Loved seeing Kate go real dark at the end, after her Father was mentioned. The Brigadier get's name-dropped a lot in the new series, usually holding him in really high regards. But as far as I recall, this is the first time his name is actively dragged through the mud by someone and that was a real gut punch. So Kates reaction, even though the Doctor would not approve, was oddly understandable. I felt like this episode also laid some breadcrumbs for the upcoming spinoff, with Kate apparently having some sort of relationship with Colonel Ibrahim and Mel being in Sidney because "Something weird is happening in the harbor". I really dig these interconnections, teasing us for the next Whoniverse release. Hope to see more of this in the future.

To finish this unstructured rambling, I'm just really relieved we got a decent Pete McTighe episode, as he is obviously the number one contender for Showrunner when RTD2 inevitably comes to an end. After Kerblam I had my doubts, but this gave me hope for the future.

I definitely have more good than bad things to say about this. The plot is weird and very timey-wimey, which I love. It was a bit convoluted at times and there are a couple of things left hanging in the air, which I hope will be resolved in later episodes.

The production design was gorgeous, though some shots felt very Marvel CGI heavy.

What makes this episode stand out is Belinda. She is instantly likeable and interesting, has some great moments in her first episode and the idea of a companion that right out rejects the Doctors call to adventure (and is then dragged along anyway) is insanely intriguing. My only complaint about her is that she was so incredibly relaxed about the whole situation, that it almost broke immersion. When she sits in the Robots spaceship after being abducted, she comes off more annoyed then terrified about what's happening, which isn't something any normal person would do. Loved the character beats with her instantly going into nurse mode with the rebels though. That was sweet and really endearing character writing.

No notes on Ncuti. He is just as fun to watch as always.

Overall I'd rate this as one of the stronger season openers and definitely miles ahead of Space Babies.