Doctor Who Review: It Takes You Away (Season 11 Episode 9)

Team Tardis travels to another universe in Doctor Who Season 11 Episode 9, “It Takes You Away.” What starts off as a scary cabin-in-the-woods setup soon become a Labyrinthine-style adventure that eventually notches up to an emotional and heartbreaking conclusion.

Doctor Who is a series that can do very well with very little, particularly in their present-day timelines. “It Takes You Away” starts out little and ties into a bigger universe. 

There’s something about the way that the special effects department put the Anti-Zone together that feels like it was lifted out of an old Jim Henson film with equal parts Farscape and Labyrinth sprinkled in there to get the look and feel.

The journey through the Anti-Zone with a monster named Ribbons is entertaining and necessary for the structure of this episode. Simply stepping into the other universe would have read a bit too Alice in Wonderland, and while the color and feel breaks up the bucolic Norwegian landscape, it’s a welcome contrast to the world beyond the portal.

Mirror universes are a common trope, and the Doctor has traveled to alternate realities before (remember the Cybermen in Season 2.  In that instance, it was explicitly stated that alternate realities didn’t happen that often. Yes, that was nine seasons ago, but it is a slightly too convenient explanation for why someone’s deceased loved ones would show up.

It’s heartwrenching when Graham sees Grace again. It really brings the audience back to the relationship we first saw in Doctor Who Season 11 Episode 1, “The Woman Who Fell to Earth.” In the span of a single episode, the Doctor Who writers got us invested in Graham, Grace, and Ryan as a family unit, and broke us apart when she died.

Despite her absence, Grace has been an active element in the story. Graham openly states in Doctor Who Season 11 Episode 4, “Arachnids in the UK,” that he doesn’t want to stay in his house alone without Grace. He’s also shared memories of their life together.

The reconnection between them is strong and dynamic, creating a moment of turmoil for Graham and the audience when he ultimately has to say goodbye as the universe collapses and the Doctor uncovers the trap.

When I sit down and really think about this plot, I know I’ve seen it before. In fact, it feels a little bit like the Doctor Who Season 5 Episode 7, “Amy’s Choice,” in which the Doctor and the Ponds were going back and forth between two dream worlds. The difference here, being that the worlds are both “real” and that one of them is falling apart.

Yet, in the middle of a disintegrating universe,  it isn’t surprising that despite the trap, the Doctor attempts to understand the solitract.  The solitract and the Doctor sound very alike on paper; they’re both alone but with different ways of coping.

This isn’t the first time the Doctor has taken this action either.  The Doctor makes a speech that sounds very similar to Gods of Akhatan where the Eleventh incarnation offers up his memories to a parasite god where she appeals to the solitract’s desire for stories.

DOCTOR: You want a whole universe. Someone who has seen it all and that’s me. I’ve lived longer. Seen more. Loved more. And lost more. I can share it all with you. Everything you want to know about what you’ve never had. Cos, he’s an idiot with a daughter who needs him. So let him go and I will give you everything.

This speech underlined the one thing that bothered me about the solitract’s trap. If it was meant to lure someone to stay, why didn’t someone from the Doctor’s past show up? It felt like an oversight on the part of the solitract, unless it’s the fact that Graham and Eric’s grief was still raw.

The proceeding moments between the Doctor and the solitract are heartfelt and real. The Doctor is truly amazed at what she’s seen and she wants to drink it all in. For the first time, the Doctor is being shown a universe instead of showing someone the universe.

And while she’s doing it, she composes a love letter to it:

DOCTOR: You think words can do it justice? It’s really big and incredibly beautiful. And apparently, I’ve just said goodbye to it. But the thing I am going to miss the most is the people. My friends.

“It Takes You Away” strikes a good balance with emotions, as some of the best Doctor Who episodes have, but this is the first time we’ve seen something that doesn’t end happily. The Doctor is usually able to find a solution, and fix things, but she can’t fix this.

The Doctor and solitract can’t be in the same universe and she has to say goodbye, and she breaks it to the universe gently.

DOCTOR: You are the maddest, most beautiful thing I’ve ever experienced, and I haven’t even scratched the surface. I wish I could stay, but if either of us are going to survive, you’re going to have to let me go and keep on being brilliant by yourself.

On many levels, “It Takes You Away” is an episode that viewers can get lost in. It has an adventure, heartbreak, and wonder, and in the end, it makes us feel sorry for a universe that cannot coexist with our own. 

Stray Thoughts: 

• Wooly Rebellion? Are we going to see that? Can we please see the sheep overlords?
• Graham carrying a cheese and pickle sandwich is very dad-like. It’s good planning, but at the same time, please let the rest of Team Tardis know that you’re hoarding the snacks.
• Ryan calls Graham, “Grandad” for the first time. It’s such a sweet moment.
• Eleanor Wallwork gives a stunning performance as Hanne.
• I want to know everything about Time Lord family dynamics, please? The Doctor had seven grannies who told her bedtime stories about the universe! That’s brilliant and I want to know more. 

What did you think of this episode of Doctor Who? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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Doctor Who airs Sundays at 8/7c on BBC America. 

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