“Demons of the Punjab” is another Doctor Who episode which stars Jodie Whittaker in her first year. Finally, there is a story written by someone other than head writer, Chris Chibnall. Vinay Patel presents a story where Yasmin Khan convinces the Doctor to take her back to 1947 India where she could meet her grandmother in her younger years. Yasmin learns a secret in her grandmother’s past and is not sure that history will unfold correctly so she would be born.
Meanwhile, the Doctor learns of an alien presence observing events as the Partition of India occurs and a murder complicates matters even further. Mandip Gill performs well enough as this episode centers on her character.
I was hoping for something a bit more above average since Chibnall does not have or share writing credit, however the season of mediocrity marches on. It’s too bad this episode did not grab me more because there was some basic ideas that I could appreciate and have wanted in this episode. It had new aliens and it explored a fairly not commonly discussed piece of history.
There ended up not being much the Doctor needed to do once answers were revealed. The other companions played by Tosin Cole and Bradley Walsh were fine. Walsh, in particular, still engages me the most out of the four main cast members.
I think it’s getting long past time that Whittaker’s version of the Doctor get into a real fight with an adversary where there is no doubt about the dark and corrupt intentions.
I was never a proponent of the Doctor changing gender, but I am having more problems with the types of stories being told this year. I really wanted to enjoy this series in spite of the reservations concerning the direction and production decisions. If BBC wants to keep going with Whittaker in the lead role and the rest of the main cast, there needs to be some overhaul concerning the writing and overall direction of the series..
I am ready to be more impressed than this.
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