#chibnall i Want to say family is something you’re distant from

[seveneyesoup]

episode was. fine. not sure why they set things up like the family ruby has is what matters and then also make a big deal out of her biological family. weird decision there but the stuff w coincidence and language and knots and rope. speaking my language there. definitely an approach to timeless child we’ll see how it shakes out tbh. also sideeying rtd a little bit over rubys mom. she’s only been in one episode and she’s shown to be not Necessarily a caring mother etc but still much closer to the mammy archetype than i would like

#idk. bc like i said she Has only been in one episode and when ruby gets taken she Is shown not to be interested in like. Caring For Anyone #not even her mom #and like. caring is a thing a person can be regardless of anything #it’s just. a character trait #and one common to doctor who characters it’s very much a show about caring for and about people #writingwithcolor talked about offset characters - specifically used this archetype as an example #and said that in order to show the caring as a trait of This Black Woman Specifically and not a trait of Black Women #have a character who is a Black woman who is for example ambitious and relentless #anyway. also a lot of the stuff about fostering felt kinda. feel-good #and idk a ton about adoption and fostering but i know it’s mostly not feel-good #keep thinking about that post. rtd family is something you come back to moffat family is something you leave #chibnall i Want to say family is something you’re distant from #but mostly i’m thinking about yaz and tecteun and mostly Not thinking about ryan and graham #hm

[kendrixtermina]

Reaction to The Devil’s Chord

Ok, seems like this will be a silly episode, which has rarely been my favorite, but at least they’re clearly having fun with it & commited to the bit, which must be respected. And they’re doing something based on a little legend.

Speaking of respect, my respect for Ruby just went up a notch, cause, if the Doctor asked me for where to go for my first TARDIS trip, my answer would have been to go see a Nirvana concert.

Plus I think we’re still in the ‚getting to know Ruby‘ arc so maybe we’re exploring her as a musician today.

...and oh, for a moment you thought the Doctor was gonna raise an eyebrow but he loves it! I feel loved.

Aww he’s such a nerd, and they’re so excited to be doing fun stuff together.

And oooh they’re having so much fun with the outfits!

They’re having so much fun with the clothes & the infiltration! They’re such besties already

(And here’s another way that you organically show that two people are friends without just having them say they like each other while acting like distant coworkers at best, Chibnall.)

That bit with the Doctor getting all nostalgic for when he was hiding out in the 60s… :(

Ruby’s song is pretty good actually, kudos to the composers.

Interesting that what she choses for this is something she made to cheer up a friend. It speaks about what she values. & it’s paired with a different friend of hers looking melancholy.

In ‚An Unearthly Child‘, we see that Susan being into the music from the 60s, so, maybe Ruby isn’t the only one who has some treasured memories involving the beatles.

I love the whiplash from the Doctor finding it odd that he would be scared of a beast in the last episode to panicking when one of the toymaker’s goons appears, just underlining how they’re a totally different, out-of-this-world threat level. That’s the exact expression that 14 had in the toymaker’s endless labyrinth.

They are putting a lot of effort into the little aesthetic touches.

Just a few seconds earlier Ruby was talking about how music can’t be stolen. Hahaha. So much for „there is no such thing as the bogeyman“.

For once the Doctor uses the sonic screwriver to actually do something sound-related (probably emiting soundwaves to cancel out the existing noises)

It’s kinda weird how time has passed. Like, in 2004 Rose is, just a short time before we met her, Clara is 14 with her mom still alive, and Ruby is a baby.

Notice how, at this point we know that the destroyed version of 2024 isn’t going to stick, but the ruined landscape lands, because the characters are reacting & emoting.

Like that was so fucking missing from Chibnall’s dry exposition.

Child of the toymaker? Of course. They wouldn’t be a pantheon if they didn’t have a fucked up family tree that is also a metaphor. Music being a result of play makes sense cause creativity is chaotic.

They’re really hamming it up & it makes all the sense for a metaphorical ‚god‘. I think if you’re doing gods right they must be metaphor, like, that take gets it. Aaand of course, everything is vibrations, friggin quantum & stuff.

I like the idea that just like the Doctor (in a way the ultimate trickster) set free the toymaker, that music genius guy set free the music devil.

So instead of alons-y, 15 says it in turkish? Why not xD

Of course they short out the sonic the second time… by singing.

And of course the one they want is Ruby, because she’s the one who played the piano.

Oh. OH. So here’s some mystery. Poor Ruby. Is she a demigoddess of some kind? A changeling? We’ll see I gues.

Also this is reminding me of the song battle of Sauron vs Finrod in the silmarillion. I love that they did a duett.

And oooh, Ncuti getting his first epic speech~

Even if it comes to nothing, it’s a nice touch that the Doctor told Ruby to get try getting to the piano, like having the faith that she might fix it.

Though it’s fitting to have a little eucatastrophe & have John & Paul be the ones who finish saving the day.

The dance number was kina over the top for my taste, but I guess it fits the nature of the beast.

And maybe, like with the toymaker, the ‚magic‘ always lingers a little bit after its deity was banished.

Still, it’s a fun idea to have the Doctor having to save the day with his musical skills rather than his scientific ones for once, since he’s spent a long time playing the recorder, spoons, e-guitar and whatnot.

Similar to how he’s adapted his knowledge of linguistics to the magic.

Like I wasn't wowed by this ep but in this age of irony poisoning you gotta appreciate when something commits to the bit.

#doctor who #ruby sunday #fifteenth doctor #the devil's chord