Review: Doctor Who - 'The Robot Revolution'

*Spoilers for Doctor Who – Season 2, Episode 1*

‘The Robot Revolution’, written by Russell T. Davies (RTD), marks a start to the new season of Doctor Who. As an avid enjoyer of the sci-fi series, ever since I discovered it as a child, I have witnessed many ups and downs in the show’s long history. RTD’s return as showrunner in the last season was marked with celebration but left much to be wanted. However, this episode has left me significantly more hopeful for the future of the show, amidst circulating rumours of a hiatus.

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Belinda adds a fresh new personality to the Tardis team – which I think has been long overdue.

The episode introduces a new companion, Belinda “Bel” Chandra (Varada Sethu). Belinda is amazing and, although I liked last season’s Ruby Sunday (Millie Gibson), Belinda adds a fresh new personality to the Tardis team – which I think has been long overdue. Belinda reminded me of two of my favourite companions, Martha Jones (Freema Agyeman) and Clara Oswald (Jenna Coleman), as she is introduced as a nurse whom The Doctor is trying to find at the beginning of the episode. Despite callbacks, Belinda remains her own character whilst containing elements of previous companions that I enjoyed in the show. Belinda is also relatable, kind, and wants to do the right thing, a key strength of many of RTD’s characters, but also stands up for herself and refuses to be unwillingly swept into the action.

The episode introduces a refreshing Doctor-Companion dynamic as Belinda does not blindly agree to being a participant in The Doctor’s (Ncuti Gatwa) adventures. The Doctor has often fixated on companions as mysteries to solve, without considering if that is what the companion wants. Belinda, however, recognises that the Doctor can be ‘dangerous’ by nature and calls him out. This new dynamic exposes a side of The Doctor, who despite his hearts being in the right place, often involves his companions in life-threatening situations – which is further reiterated by Shasha 55 (Eveyln Miller) in the episode. Furthermore, Belinda becomes a reluctant companion as the Tardis is mysteriously unable to return her home, meaning Belinda and the Doctor will have to take ‘the long way round’. Belinda was by far the highlight of the episode in my opinion, and I am interested in seeing more of her character and her dynamic with The Doctor.

This episode brought back the level of charm and mystery I found missing in previous seasons and features the re-occurring character Mrs. Flood (Anita Dobson), the mysterious, fourth-wall breaking neighbour of Ruby. One of my favourite elements of RTD’s writing is the easter eggs he includes throughout each series, and I was excited to see the mystery of Mrs. Flood continued through this episode. More mysteries are established in the episode, including the connection between Belinda and her ancestor from the 51 st century – who The Doctor and Ruby met in Season 1 – as well as the Tardis’ inability to return Belinda to her own timeline.

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I was nervous about this first episode after being disappointed at the show’s recent writing, but overall I am glad that I refuse to give up on Doctor Who.

The main plot of the episode contains humorous moments which make Doctor Who such a fun show to watch. It also dwells on serious topics that I found relatable such as incel culture and Belinda’s experience with her condescending and controlling ex-boyfriend. Whilst the storyline did not rank amongst my all-time favourites, and at times I wondered if the plot was moving too quickly, it served its purpose well as an introduction to the main arcs and characters of the new season. I believe it is a great improvement to last season’s first episode. It started the series off strong with an episode set in space, providing exciting new world designs and characters such as the robots and ‘Polish’. Furthermore, it provided some very visually stunning scenes to signify time distortion.

It was lovely to see Ncuti Gatwa back in the role of The Doctor, continuing to bring amazing outfits and charm throughout the episode as well as displaying his chemistry with Sethu. I was nervous about this first episode after being disappointed at the show’s recent writing, but overall I am glad that I refuse to give up on Doctor Who. This introductory episode was very promising and, whilst I am not yet convinced this series will live up to previous finales such as ‘Hell Bent’ or ‘Journey’s End’, as a first episode it was a strong start to a hopefully exciting series to come.