Doctor Who: Flux Review: Chapter 3: Once, Upon Time (Season 13 Episode 3)
Things are getting timey-whimey on Doctor Who: Flux Season 13 Episode 3, “Chapter 3: Once, Upon Time,” when the Doctor steps into a timestorm in order to save her companions.
Going in, we already know that this isn’t going to go well. Clara stepped into the Doctor’s time stream at the end of Season 7, and we got a glimpse at what happens to someone in those conditions. However, we are greeted instead with our characters reliving moments of their recent past.
This has a lot of potential and it may have worked under different circumstances, but unfortunately, the episode ends up feeling a little cluttered. Some storylines are more compelling than others but as the viewer is taken to different places in space and time it becomes hard to keep all the threads in check.
Furthermore, the premise feels characteristic of a Doctor-light episode where the Doctor would only appear in short scenes. However, given that Doctor Who: Flux is designed to be a story that tells one arc over a series of six episodes, the formula doesn’t quite work.
This is especially true since the audience needs answers now that we’re halfway through the arc.
Fortunately, the episode delivers with the Doctor unearthing a buried memory of Doctor Ruth from last season. The unveiling and reveal of what happened on Atropos is an intriguing narrative, but much like the Doctor, we’re left wondering how it all resolves.
The thing about serial television is that we don’t need all the answers upfront, and the one place that Doctor Who: Flux has been really strong in, is creating those threads that allow us to be drawn into the story.
In the end, we walk away from the episode with a lot more questions about the Doctor and their history, and that’s a good thing.
However, while the episode does clear up some questions “Once, Upon Time,” also lacks focus in what it’s trying to do, setting up future plots while trying to move current ones forward.
Entwined with this story, is the story of Bel. She easily has one of the strongest storylines, even though it’s not completely clear how she’s connected to the actions of our main three characters at first.
Bel has a perspective I often hunger for in post-apocalyptic stories. Bel represents a survivor trying to figure out how to live in a world that is screwed up.
Her mission isn’t to save the world, it’s to live and cope with the new reality.
It’s a nice contrast that intersects perfectly with the Doctor’s mission. The Doctor is a character who thrives on hope, and Bel believes in love above all else. Her exchange with the cyberman is especially interesting.
CYBERMAN: Love is not a mission. Love is an emotion. Emotions are not missions.
BEL: And that’s why you’re dead on floor, and I put you there. Love is the only mission. Idiot.
This scene encapsulates so much of what Doctor Who is about. It’s about adventure and a Time Lord, yes, but also about love in many forms.
When Bel calls out the Cyberman’s quest for universal domination, mentioning that it would be a hollow victory, she sounds a bit like the Doctor giving one of her speeches. The energy is so similar, and it feels like there’s a possible foreshadowing.
The fact that we find out that she just happens to be looking for Vinter makes me wonder how this love story might be connected to the larger plot.
Vinter and Bel have a compelling story, and all signs point to the fact that we’ll see them again. After all, why would the Doctor give Vinter a direct line to her if he wasn’t going to one day use it?
Overall, “Once, Upon Time,” gives us an interesting premise that gives us more questions than it answers. There are three episodes left in the season, and with such a tight storyline it gives me hope that the story will be pulled together.
My only concern at this point is the integration of the villains. So far, it feels like each villain is getting their own spotlight. From a narrative, and production perspective, this would make sense, but I have to wonder how much of the story is being structured to deliberately lead us from one monster to another.
With three episodes left in this season, we won’t have to wait long to find out.
Stray Thoughts:
- Does anyone else think that the world would benefit from more people with Vinter’s integrity?
- Yaz’s storyline seems to be the most disjointed and meant solely to introduce the Weeping Angels for next week.
- Dan and Diane seem like they would make an adorable couple, and I liked that their scenes let us get to know Dan a bit more. If he’s going to stick around throughout this season and beyond, we need to form an attachment to him. And it’s kind of nice to have a companion that breaks the mold of a 20-something. It shows that growth doesn’t end once you hit 30.
- After seeing Vinter and Bel’s story I really want a side character anthology of people just trying to live through the Flux. Potentially, in different time periods.
What did you think of this episode of Doctor Who: Flux? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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Doctor Who: Flux airs Sundays at 8/7c on BBC America.
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Lauren Busser
Lauren Busser is an Associate Editor at Tell-Tale TV. She is a writer of fiction and nonfiction whose work has appeared in Bitch Media, Popshot Quarterly, Brain Mill Press Voices, and The Hartford Courant.