Last week’s Doctor Who episode, ’73 Yards’, has proven to be a standout, captivating audiences in a way rarely seen in recent years. While Doctor Who often leans into scares for younger viewers while entertaining adults with its sci-fi concepts, ’73 Yards’ struck a different chord, unsettling even seasoned fans. This episode, the fourth of the latest season, has garnered significant praise, evidenced by widespread five-star reviews and enthusiastic ratings on platforms like Gallifrey Base. This overwhelmingly positive reception is notable within a fanbase known for its critical engagement with the long-running series.
However, the very elements that have made ’73 Yards’ so compelling for many – its ambiguity and refusal to offer easy answers – have also been a source of frustration for some viewers. The lack of explanation surrounding the mysterious woman stalking Ruby Sunday, and the episode’s deliberately opaque conclusion, have left some feeling confused or even dissatisfied. It’s important to acknowledge that episodes like ’73 Yards’, by their nature, are designed to be more divisive than straightforward adventures. They prioritize atmosphere and unresolved tension over clear-cut resolutions, setting them apart from more conventional Doctor Who fare.
Delving into the Unexplained: Beyond Puzzles and Mystery Boxes
Millie Gibson as Ruby in
(Image credit: BBC)
To truly appreciate ’73 Yards’, it’s crucial to understand what kind of story it’s aiming to tell. Many television shows thrive on mysteries, often employing puzzle-box narratives where astute viewers can piece together clues, or mystery-box formats that slowly reveal a larger, hidden mythology. Think of classic whodunnits or series like Lost, which, despite its complexities, ultimately provided answers to its central questions.
’73 Yards’, however, operates on a different plane. It aligns more closely with the tradition of the ghost story, evoking a sense of unease and inexplicable phenomena rather than presenting a solvable puzzle. This episode shares a kinship with the eerie tales found in the ‘British Library Tales of the Weird’ series, collections of unsettling stories by authors like Algernon Blackwood and Arthur Machen. These narratives are characterized by their uncanny imagery, defiance of rational explanation, and reliance on atmosphere to create a sense of dread. Similarly, ’73 Yards’ resonates with the BBC’s A Ghost Story for Christmas films, Mark Jenkins’ Enys Men, and even David Lynch’s enigmatic Twin Peaks: The Return.
Aneurin Barnard as Roger ap Gwilliam
(Image credit: BBC)
In ’73 Yards’, a chain of events unfolds from the moment the Doctor and Ruby step out of the TARDIS near a faerie ring. The Doctor’s accidental disruption of this ring seems to trigger his disappearance and the subsequent haunting of Ruby by a silent apparition. This spectral figure relentlessly stalks Ruby, maintaining a constant distance of 73 yards, until a pivotal moment later in her life when she appears to merge with it. Following this, an entity, possibly Mad Jack, seemingly offers Ruby a chance to alter the timeline by preventing the Doctor’s initial misstep. This action breaks the cycle. Crucially, the mechanics of these events and the precise nature of the relationship between Ruby and the apparition remain shrouded in mystery. The episode deliberately avoids providing concrete explanations, enhancing its unsettling and ghost-story-like atmosphere.
The Ambiguity of Identity: More Questions Than Answers
The episode’s ending has sparked debate, with some viewers suggesting that the stalking woman was Ruby herself all along. While intriguing, this interpretation is not definitively supported by the episode. The older Ruby and the apparition are portrayed by different actresses, Amanda Walker and Hilary Hobson, respectively, who bear little resemblance to each other. However, in the spirit of the episode’s ambiguity, definitive answers are elusive, and multiple interpretations remain valid.
Millie Gibson as Ruby in
(Image credit: BBC)
’73 Yards’ intentionally subverts audience expectations of long-running series. It immediately breaks convention by omitting the iconic title sequence and theme music, signaling a departure from the norm. The episode establishes familiar tropes, such as the unsettling village pub filled with strange locals, only to then disrupt these expectations by revealing the locals to be ordinary individuals frustrated by prejudice. Ruby’s attempt to confront Roger ap Gwilliam initially leads the narrative into a more recognizable parallel world scenario, but this is then dramatically undercut by the “40 years later” time jump card, highlighting the futility of her actions in the grand scheme of things. Whether Ruby’s intervention made a difference or was ultimately inconsequential remains unresolved. The episode instead emphasizes the human tendency to seek patterns and create explanations for the inexplicable, echoing Kate Lethbridge-Stewart’s earlier observation: “That’s what we do, all of us. We see something inexplicable and invent the rules to make it work.” The apparition itself remains perpetually out of focus, both literally and metaphorically.
Ultimately, ’73 Yards’ is not concerned with providing neat answers. The silence of the stalking woman and the reason for people’s fear of Ruby are deliberately withheld. The episode’s true achievement lies in immersing the viewer in Ruby’s experience of confusion, frustration, fear, and isolation. Elderly Ruby’s poignant line, “Everyone has abandoned me my whole life,” resonates deeply because the circumstances of her life have been so profoundly and inexplicably cruel.
’73 Yards’ stands as a bold Doctor Who episode that embraces the show’s renewed focus on supernatural narratives. It genuinely explores the frightening aspects of the unexplained, moving beyond simple monster-of-the-week scenarios. By presenting a truly unsolvable mystery, ’73 Yards’ engages the viewer’s imagination, leaving the blanks to be filled in by their own interpretations and lingering long after the credits roll.
Doctor Who is currently streaming weekly on BBC iPlayer in the UK and Disney Plus in the US. For further information, refer to the Doctor Who release schedule.
