“73 Yards” is an episode of the 14th season of the new “Doctor Who” series, also indicated as season 1, and follows “Boom“. It’s available in the UK and Ireland on BBC channels and in many other countries on the Disney+ platform.
Beware that in various adverts and marketing materials, this season is promoted as season 1, marking the start of production by Bad Wolf and distribution by Disney+, hence the double notation. On BBC’s website, “73 Yards” is indicated as episode 4 of 8 while Disney+ indicates it as episode 5.
Note. This article contains some spoilers about “73 Yards”.
The Tardis takes the Fifteenth Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa) and Ruby Sunday (Millie Gibson) to the Welsh coast. Accidentally, the Doctor breaks a circle and Ruby reads a message contained inside it. Suddenly, the Doctor disappears and a mysterious woman starts following Ruby, keeping at a distance of 73 yards from her, and anyone who speaks to her runs away in terror.
You’d think the Doctor would have learned to watch where he’s stepping but this is the second straight episode where all of his and Ruby’s problems come from the fact that he stepped on the wrong object. The first part of this episode is linked to Welsh folklore and in some ways seems to be made to promote tourism in Wales given that it’s set on one of the beautiful Welsh coasts.
My problem with the first part of the episode is that I’ve seen so many horror movies that I can no longer feel the tension of the protagonists in these stories. Russell T Davies stated that he wanted to include more fantasy elements into the show and reprising the Toymaker set that tone.
Even when the plots in “Doctor Who” are purely science fiction, there are often no explanations about the technologies shown and that’s even more true when magical / supernatural elements are used. How does the fairy circle work? What does the woman say to the people who talk to her that makes them run in terror? The viewer must just let go and participate in Ruby’s emotions without asking too many questions.
For me, the episode gets really interesting when it turns into “The Dead Zone” in Welsh style. Ruby, left isolated but with the woman always 73 yards away, sees Roger ap Gwilliam (Aneurin Barnard) on television and understands what she must do. Actually, Russell T Davies took some elements from another of his shows, “Years and Years”, reworking them for this episode.
Seeing Ruby’s life, especially after starting what becomes a mission of sorts, intrigued me, leaving me curious to see how she would end it. Certain clues suggested at least some parts of the ending but there were still some twists, though Susan Twist appeared earlier.
Other viewers who are more impressionable probably enjoyed the first part of “73 Yards” more than me while I would have preferred it to be shorter. I’m fine with the references to folklore and images of the Welsh coast. Overall, my impression is positive because this episode with Ruby as its absolute protagonist becomes more and more interesting for me as the story develops.
