2nd Opinion, Take 1 “The Devil’s Chord” – A Pleasant Surprise
Gustaff Behr reviews the second episode of Series 14.
The prospect of a “musical” episode of Doctor Who brings back fond memories of listening to Colin Baker belting out a spirited rendition of ‘I am the very model of Gallifreyan Buccaneer’. But when news broke of Doctor Who doing a live-action musical number, I couldn’t help but worry at the potential for gimmickry and the risk of it landing squarely on the cringe pile. The disappointment from the lackluster “Space Babies” episode before this one only fed my concerns. “The Devil’s Chord” pleasantly surprised me though—it felt like a significant improvement and, frankly, I think it would have been a stronger choice for the season opener.
Jinx’s performance as Maestro was incredibly hammy, but the scenery chewing kept me well entertained. The episode’s best scene is easily Maestro and the Doctor’s confrontation in the present day, while the best comedic moment goes to the sight gag of the Doctor visibly becoming more distressed while listening to the poor musicianship at EMI Studios. The first act of the episode is a treasure trove of moments that ‘resonated’ with me. When the Doctor and Ruby talk to John and Paul, the way they describe music is so beautiful.
The natural flow of dialogue and chemistry between the Doctor and Ruby felt more earned in this story. Even from the teaser clip released online for “Space Babies,” where Ncuti’s Doctor pulls Ruby in for a hug, I found myself questioning how they could already be so physically comfortable with each other on the same day they met. Their scenes on the roof together provided a nice backdrop for showcasing Ruby’s musical talents and organically revealing more about both characters. Not only that, but we got a Susan reference too.
However, I couldn’t help but feel disappointed that Russell opted not to introduce some conflict between the Doctor and Ruby by addressing the fact that the Doctor essentially abandoned his granddaughter on an alien, post-apocalyptic world with a man she had only met several hours prior, with no method to return home. I suppose while Doctor Who is living in the House of Mouse, expectations should be tempered.
The episode also lost me for a bit with the Doctor exhibiting a really out-of-character fear of the Toymaker and other beings like him. This despite the fact that the Seventh Doctor gleefully took on the Old Gods, played games with Fenric and the like. Across 60 years, the Doctor in a lot of incarnations have fought with beings from other dimensions that operate on very bizarre physics. I’d also like to correct Fifteen when he said he barely survived the Toymaker. He didn’t. He played a two-against-one game of his own choosing against an adversary who doesn’t cheat where he selected a game. It’s your own fault for picking Catch of all things.
From the moment Ruby started playing the piano, I had a hunch the episode would culminate in a musical showdown. Unfortunately, the battle itself lived up to the same level of creativity put into the one in “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness”.
Whilst on the topic of Disney, how come they couldn’t spend some money on securing the rights for an actual Beatles song? The lack of focus on the actual band members feels like a missed opportunity too, especially considering the significance of their era. It’s disappointing that Ringo or George didn’t even have any lines, which unfortunately caused the climax where John and Paul save the day to fall on a flat note.
The episode drags heavily in Act 3 with the climax leading to a secondary ending which really felt out of place and disrupted the already poignant moment with John and Paul rediscovering their musicality. It also seemed odd that if the episode was going to include a musical number, it didn’t find a better way to incorporate it, like in the battle with Maestro?
We got some heavy-handed exposition regarding a mysterious Old One (seriously, was Maestro addressing the audience) who may or may not have been present the night Ruby was abandoned. Given the information we have right now Ruby is likely the child of one of these extra-dimensional Pantheons. It’s either that or the Doctor will be revealed to be from the same dimension as the Toymaker and his Pantheon.
Take your pick.
