This didn't need to be a Midnight sequel. This creature has it's own rules, its own lore, and is distinct from the Midnight entity - even if the story admits they're one of the same. The Well entity never once mimics anyone, nor does it show any signs of evolving to a further stage.

The episode is great. I do wish we witnessed some of the prior massacre, and, reminiscent of 'Aliens', we got to see a slow, visual reveal, without The Doctor and Belinda saying what we can already see - written as if for an audio. "Shot in the back", "broken mirror", etc...

Aliss and her actress carried this episode. There's something so haunting about a deaf girl, surrounded by bodies, rendered the unwilling occupant of a symbiotic creature. When it utters The Doctor's name, something deeply personal, and intimate, only worthy to be heard by his lovers, this also demonstrates the parasite's breach of privacy, boundaries, and respect. It reflects the hell that Aliss exists in prior to her being found.

The creature design is one I love. A silhouette, igniting primal fears of the darkness and the unknown, yet inviting it's host to turn to look at them with a soft, feminine, almost tranquil whisper. The same, calm voice the entity uses to whisper The Doctor's name, imitating the companions he trusts the most, his lovers, his family....And a whisper which drives those who aren't deaf to insanity. And how it moves without a host, shrouded in voids, crawling, before latching itself into the shadows of humanity.

I can't help but think that RTD saw this script, for a unique, terrifying monster, which would create so much mystery for audiences....and cannibalized it into his own idea. It makes the Whoniverse feel drastically smaller, emptier...

I would rate the episode lower but I genuinely do prefer to imagine this creature as its own being - as (possibly) intended by the original script. A parasitic animal, survival dependant upon not being witnessed by the gaze of carbon-based life-forms. And yet, requiring a host to not be lost to the cold darkness of its home planet.

This creature has it's own mythos, and doesn't have to be one conjoined into the mystery of another to keep audiences engaged. Just as the show doesn't need to reference it's Tennant-era past. This episode could've explored parasites, Lovecraftian insanity, the way some real-world beasts slaughter upon making eye-contact....

And instead, this idea was cannibalized needlessly, for something that happened 17 years ago. A great tragedy...

I really hope this won't be my highest rated episode of Ncuti's era. This episode was a delight, and in my opinion, more imaginative, fun, and creative than any episode of his run so far.

Mr. Ring-a-Ding has great intentions, his plotline makes sense, and he's beautifully animated, loving his final scene.

For me, the meta jokes were genuinely funny. I loved how when the "Whovian fans" were speaking about "blinking out of existence", the camera cut only to The Doctor and Belinda multiple times - moments where the fans did cease to exist. The animated depth-joke also made me giggle, such an inventive way to include otherwise needless exposition. 

As this was my most-anticipated of Season 2, I'm so glad that it delivers, and I hope I will be similarly impressed by later episodes. ♥️🎥🎩

Pretty fun opening if you don't take it too seriously, and nice to see Jonny Green on-screen after listening to the Torchwood audio seasons..

My only gripe is the fact it seems to be written as if originally intended for an audio- lots of exposition, when the audience can see what's happening.

But I can't, in good faith, give a Favourite Heart to an episode featuring cat death. 💔

-After thinking on this episode for a few hours, my ratings dropped from a 4 star to a 2.5 star -

I haven't read the novel nor have I watched any of the 5th Doctor's run as of writing this review, and yet this story was beautiful. I love the Great Vampire lore, the Rassilon intro monologue, and the Tegan and Nyssa moments in this one 💜 🦇 🌙

How beautifully harrowing...

Out of all of the stories in this collection I'd say this is the closest a Whoniverse adaption has been to it's original telling. The beauty of Cinderella's story with an underused villain. "Vampires of Venice" was a great introduction for a new monster that has since been criminally forgotten about. This story uses them perfectly.

I adore how the 11th Doctor is a parallel to Cinderella's Fairy Godmother, the chariot being the TARDIS, and the final dance having sinister purposes. And a fairy tale like this would be incomplete without - as the 11th Doctor would say - "happy endings 😊🎈"

A beautiful story ♥️

This story reminded me of Aliens (1986), with a woman trapped in cryo-stasis, and the Wirrn acting as a parallel to the facehuggers (ovamorphs), which is a great sign.

Sleeping Beauty was always the fairy tale I adored the most, and creating a sci-fi retelling like this is stunning. The threat of Maleficent is dropped, and instead replaced with not only the Wirrn but the "Final Frontier", demonstrating how space-travel can be just as unforgiving as any other monster or beast. This story does a fantastic job at describing the empty vastness of Space, a sort of horror that rarely gets explored in the main show...

And rather than having Sleeping Beauty be a Princess, it's so delightfully meaningful having her instead be a Captain of an interstellar ship, and the awakening final kiss not being sexual/romantic in nature.

Considering the dark origins of Sleeping Beauty (the version as told by Giambattista Basile in 1634), this Whoniverse adaption is a welcome progression, and one I love dearly ♥️

To date, this is my favourite Weeping Angel story. It's beautiful with such a heartwarming ending. I really hope to see it one day become a televised story. This story perfectly reminds the reader that not everyone is The Doctor, and can easily be at the peril of cosmic beings. But similarly, it demonstrates finding the light in an otherwise dark and depressing situation, as many of the stories in this collection do. I truly hold this story close to my heart since I first read it as a child... ♥️

A wonderful little story and a wholesome conclusion to the anthology book of fairy tales. I loved the absence of The Doctor in this, likewise with a few other entries in this set. However, to situate this certain story at the end of the book, about a knight going to face an Ice Warrior honourably, and the Ice Warrior not being a hostile threat, is certainly heartwarming. This short story is one of hope, optimism, and a sense of wonder for what lies ahead in life. And, of course, shows that not every alien wants to invade or upset people, some are just passing by, on their own journeys...

<3

(Light spoilers ahead):  Well this was a depressingly beautiful story that left me in unexpected tears. The girl duo grew on me over the hour's listen, as they did on Jack's character. I love the character development with Jack attempting to see "beyond the veil", with him believing that there is an afterlife he just doesn't have access to- its such a more haunting concept than RTD's more usually atheistic approach to the afterlife. Didn't expect to cry in a story situated in-between two light-hearted stories. Definitely one of the best stories that this range has to offer =)