[Doctor Who Review] Eve of the Daleks

With the rather bland Flux storyline coming to an end, I was not expecting much. The drop in quality scripts under Chibnall made me very wary about this one and I was really worried this one would be a cringe fest. But let's get into it...

So the plot begins with two people stuck in a storage facility on New Year's Eve, a few moments before midnight. Then, the Doctor, Dan and Deadfish Yaz arrive.

This is a time loop episode. My eyes rolled.

After two loops, I was invested and found myself really into it, wondering "how the heck will they get out of this?" This was the most interested Doctor Who plot I watched in YEARS, easily the best of the Chibnall era.

Now, again we have Yaz who has no personality and really brings nothing to the show other than "Token Indian Woman." She gives some generic sass to Dan but it would've been much more fun if the Doctor had those interaction. So again, she's useless and brings nothing to the show.

Contrast with the quips Dan keeps making - the Manchester vs Liverpool early on was just funny. He comes off as genuine and funny. He is definitely a highlight of the season. Too bad he has been constantly sharing screen time with Deadfish.

The two throwaways are also interesting. Both have relatable problems and issues, and in the end came off as genuine people, something I found was missing in a lot of episode. Although their eventual fate is quite predictable, they go through the first cycles making a lot of sense. I enjoyed them.

The Doctor's plan felt "Doctor-y". It was fine.

Now the biggest let down I have with the episode comes towards the end when Dan makes Yaz realize she has a thing for the Doctor, then tells the Doctor about it. The scene, which could be a character-defining moment, falls flat, and has no heart, no warmth to it, I rolled my eyes in cringe at how bad the scene played out. Another failed attempt at something the should've been a personal highlight. By now, I don't care about Yaz and just want her gone as I will not miss her. Boring. Bland. Without personality.

I really expected to downvote this like crazy, but I was really seriously into it and liked it. So I will give it a 4/5.