While it's not as drastic as last week’s superb, “Doctor-Lite” episode “73 Yards,” both The Doctor and Ruby take a considerable step back in “Dot and Bubble.” Instead, we’re treated to Lindy Pepper-Bean (Callie Cooke) as our de-facto lead – and she’s remarkably naive, insufferably privileged, and just an all-around idiot. With The Doctor and Ruby’s limited guidance, Lindy is tasked with escaping the city of Finetime, where citizens endlessly distracted by their screens are preyed upon by slow but deadly creatures.
It’s an intriguing setup, but I can’t help but be disappointed about losing time with Ncuti Gatwa and Millie Gibson. It wouldn’t be such an issue if we were still doing the customary 13 episodes of Who-past, but since Season 1 is limited to a nine-episode run – generously including “The Church on Ruby Road” – duds like “Dot and Bubble” stand out. While this is another brilliant showing from Gatwa, his harrowing speech in the closing minutes only illustrates what we could’ve had if “Dot and Bubble” leaned into the show's strengths rather than trying to imitate what works elsewhere.
I’ve recently become somewhat of a technophobe, so this episode’s gloomy exploration of digital addiction had initially intrigued me. The shifts into a darker tone are the most memorable parts of “Dot and Bubble,” contrasting the glitz and glimmer of the Finetime backdrop. The monster’s design exemplifies this: comically pokey yet terrifying creatures who manage to decimate a civilization too placated to notice the apocalypse.
Everyone in Finetime is just as excruciatingly irritating as Lindy Pepper-Bean – and this is entirely the point. Cooke is especially spectacular in the role, nailing that stereotypically unbearable rich girl who personifies entitlement. These are meant to be the worst people you’ve ever met, and it was undeniably satisfying to watch most of them blindly walking to their deaths. As in a slasher flick, there’s a maniacal joy to it all. Unfortunately, this untimely fate also extends to Ricky September (Tom Rhys Harries), the most redeemable citizen in Finetime, who’s brutally sacrificed by Lindy to ensure her survival. It’s a nice touch and the most compelling part of an otherwise disappointing episode.
The social commentary in “Dot and Bubble” isn’t especially subtle, putting our unsavory social media habits up for judgment. The episode also progressively becomes a scathing indictment of the upper class who think the world revolves around them, only pulling down the blinkers when anything threatens the protective bubble of wealth. Doctor Who has never been shy of exploring these themes, but it’s clear “Dot and Bubble” was striving to go further this time. It wouldn’t look out of place in another UK-produced, tech-critical anthology series, but this ends up appearing more like an imitation than an inspiration. While it’s great to see the show experimenting with its format again, nothing lands that effectively because of it.
That’s the tragedy of “Dot and Bubble.” It has plenty of ambition and a clever setup, but nothing melds together to form anything particularly memorable by its close. This is the most Black Mirror-like Doctor Who has ever been, reaching only the middling heights of that series’ Netflix incarnation. No matter the joys of its clever tonal shifts, “Dot and Bubble” is ultimately diminished by the lack of screen time for The Doctor and the irritating characters we’re forced to follow instead. It’s a disappointing dip in form for Season 1, which has otherwise been exemplary up until now.
