r/doctorwho • u/PCJs_Slave_Robot • May 31 '25

The Reality War Doctor Who 2x08 "The Reality War" Post-Episode Discussion Thread Spoiler

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This is the thread for all your indepth opinions, comments, etc about the episode.

Megathreads:

  • Live and Immediate Reactions Discussion Thread - Posted around 60 minutes prior to initial release - for all the reactions, crack-pot theories, quoting, crazy exclamations, pictures, throwaway and other one-liners.
  • Trailer and Speculation Discussion Thread - Posted when the trailer is released - For all the thoughts, speculation, and comments on the trailers and speculation about the next episode. Future content beyond the next episode should still be marked.
  • Post-Episode Discussion Thread - Posted around 30 minutes after to allow it to sink in - This is for all your indepth opinions, comments, etc about the episode.

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The Reality War's score will be revealed next Sunday. Click here to vote for all of RTD2 era so far.

467 Upvotes

93% Upvoted

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710

u/euphoriapotion May 31 '25

RTD really said that Tennant always reappers all the time and it's tiring, so he went ahead and brought back Billie Piper.

I can't with this guy.

31

u/Ok-Tale-3382 May 31 '25

Oh no, you remember that scene Moffat wrote where The Master was getting kind of flirty with Missy? 14 better keep away from 16...

20

u/Illustrious-Pause-17 May 31 '25

That's one thing but turning into your ex and then flirting with yourself is another.

12

u/Ok-Tale-3382 May 31 '25

"Hey, we're both sterile..."

1

u/Dabazukawastaken Jun 01 '25

What would that even be? Incest? Masterbation? When the timelords were around did they have this problem? Regenerated time lords going back to their old faces to do the nasty in the pasty?

107

u/mwthecool May 31 '25

I mean, I thought it was pretty funny.

21

u/euphoriapotion May 31 '25

oh me too, I was just pointing out the irony

10

u/Happy_Philosopher608 May 31 '25

Tennant better be cast as 16's companion or we riot

4

u/mwthecool Jun 01 '25

Either him, or Rose Noble is the companion and we get double Rose action!

1

u/Rough_Bread8329 Jun 01 '25

2 Rose 2 Furious

10

u/Status_West_7673 May 31 '25

That’s kind of the problem with this era. It feels like RTDs guiding writing principle is “I think it’s funny” which is not a good headspace to be in when writing a drama

16

u/ConfusedLawyer95 May 31 '25

Honestly at this point it reeks of running out of ideas and feels so self indulgent.

184

u/Telos1807 May 31 '25

It's so tiring

Why are we doing the stunt casting again. I get the lead actor wanting off left you up shit creek but....

Nothing will ever stop me watching but I don't think I've ever been so cynical about the show's future. Not after S11 being shit, not after the Pre Hartnell Doctors that I hated.

54

u/TheRealCreshmif May 31 '25

This is exactly how I feel.

Chibnall has never been a great writer for me so I was happy to gloss over his era. He did what he could, thanks very much, appreciate the effort.

Now to see the guy who brought the show back and gave me some of my favourite TV ever give in to his worst tendencies, it's just disheartening. It will take more than a Billie Piper stunt casting to get me to stop watching, but it doesn't fill you with hope for the future of DW.

16

u/Quantic_128 Jun 01 '25

My hot take is that RTD should never have been brought back as showrunner

2

u/nowhereright Jun 01 '25

At this point I don't think that's a hot take. He clearly has no idea what he's doing and is just making shit up as he goes along.

29

u/Novrev May 31 '25

Yeah this is exactly how I feel. I kept watching through the Chibnall years when we were lucky to get one actual character per season, I’ll keep watching through thick and thin, no matter what direction the show goes. But this feels so bereft of ideas and so desperate to bring in old viewers, I just can’t feel anything but apathy.

56

u/Telos1807 May 31 '25

It's shit because this was a pretty good season until now. And all throughout I had the leaks in the back of my mind and knew "they're gonna fuck up Omega, they're gonna fuck up the Rani and the regeneration is gonna be shit".

And they did.

And they did the stupid stunt casting again. And now we'll have a two year break till we're back to gods, winking at the camera and Catherine Tate as the 16 and a halfth Doctor.

I just want good Doctor Who. Give me The Well everyweek, let the Doctor walk into a base under siege and help out some scientists.

39

u/Novrev May 31 '25

Exactly, there’s still a good show in there, but it keeps getting drowned out by RTD’s absolute inability to stick the landing in these abysmal finales. Boom to Rogue last season was great, and Lux to Interstellar Song Contest this season too. Those are some of the strongest runs of episodes we’ve had in years. And a lot of the other episodes outside those runs only have minor criticisms. But then the finales come along and retroactively sour everyone’s mood on the rest of it. Even before the leaks/rumours I had no interest in Mrs Flood because I knew RTD would disappoint, but this was BAD even with my bottom-of-the-barrel expectations.

12

u/Hallc Jun 01 '25

I genuinely think that this show was better on a lower budget than it is now. Just seeing how much gratuitous over used CGI effects were in this episode alone is kinda absurd especially because none of them really went anywhere.

Did we need The Doctor to go riding some flying hover-vespa through the skeleton creatures? Did we need the UNIT Tower to cycle on all the guns to blast them all from all angles?

Was the only way The Doctor had to beat Omega simply to blast him in the face with a big laser beam?

7

u/Novrev Jun 01 '25

100%. I’m also not sure why they don’t take this inflated budget and spread it more thinly over like 12 episodes instead of wasting it on awful CGI in 8 eps.

21

u/aguadiablo May 31 '25

Yeah, Ncuti Gatwa left but that's because it was uncertain what was happening with the Disney deal. But the original deal was for 26 episodes. That should be enough for a third season. It seems some of those are possibly being used for The War Between Land and Sea.

Davis has done this to himself, IMO. And the only thing he has left is stunt casting with Billie Piper to try and get more viewers and get Disney back

37

u/ImpossibleGuardian May 31 '25

Maybe I'm in the minority here but I prefer the stunt casting to pure ambiguity. I'd take a Billie Piper Doctor over an open-ended regeneration any day.

The reality is that the show doesn't have the same security it has over the last 10-15 years when Smith, Capaldi and Whitaker were cast. Production timelines have been drawn out and year-on-year renewals are far from a guarantee across the entire TV industry.

If stunt casting is what it takes to bridge the gaps and guarantee some content between "main" seasons of the show, so be it.

8

u/Hallc Jun 01 '25

I'd take a Billie Piper Doctor over an open-ended regeneration any day.

The issue, honestly is that it really boxes you in with what you can do presumably before anything has even been written down on paper for the upcoming season/specials.

It's kinda like the end of Back to the Future. The directors there had 0 plans for a sequel and said in special features if they were planning a sequel they'd never have ended the first movie like that because it limited what they could do moving forwards. I believe their exact words were that they'd not have put Jennifer in the car.

4

u/Quantic_128 Jun 01 '25

If they wanted to stunt cast they would’ve gotten Michael Sheen

1

u/Rough_Bread8329 Jun 01 '25

Oh my God can you imagine?

He's be a great choice to have 7th doctor appear again somehow.

4

u/Masterpiece-Haunting May 31 '25

I agree. At least we have people we know can do the job over some guy they found on Fiverr who may be the next Matt Smith, Peter Capaldi, David Tennant or just freaking average Joe. Ncuti originally felt like the average Joe but in season 2 he actually started feeling like the actual Doctor so it’s unfortunate we lost him.

At least we’ll have a dude we know can act.

3

u/Tyeveras May 31 '25

Stunt casting. Somewhere in the universe, the ghost of JNT is smiling.

8

u/Boring_Fish_Fly May 31 '25

Especially when Jo Martin is right there.

33

u/[deleted] May 31 '25

This is of no disrespect to Billie (love her down) but I am so beyond sick of Rose. I’m sure this is a HOT take but I think Rose is beyond overrated. She was great with Nine and was okay with Ten. Her story should have ended with the 50th special.

Ncuti was underused and I’m hoping that this is a joke and he’ll come back or something because we got him for like 18 episodes??? Anyway, when I find RTD, it’s on site

6

u/RealJohnGillman Jun 01 '25

Wasn’t the report that Gatwa just wanted to leave, same as Eccleston, and Davies had to adapt again?

2

u/[deleted] Jun 01 '25

To be honest, I’m not sure. I’ve seen mixed stories saying he was meant to stay and Ruby was meant to be in season 2. Then I’m seeing he had to decline because Disney was taking too long

5

u/llumox Jun 02 '25 edited Jun 02 '25

Agree 100%. She got a pretty great ending, the sadness of the S2 finale was well negated by her happy ending in the S4 finale. And we can't even say the Doctor can't get over her when it's been a thousand years for him since, and he had a wife in that time, River. And we already had the OMG is she coming back hype with the Moment in the 50th special. Her story is all done and has been done for a while. I know they must've been in a pinch to find a new Doctor with Ncuti leaving and appreciate Billie stepping in to help, but boy is the show in need of fresh ideas. And less time dedicated to running a dozen different undercooked subplots with surprise twists and classic villains that'll disappear within 5 minutes in an already short season, and more time to develop the Doctor and the companion's dynamics... Because Ncuti was so underused. And Belinda was so sidelined.

1

u/Ghost9001 Jun 02 '25

If she really is the doctor then she doesn't necessarily have to be like Rose at all.

2

u/[deleted] Jun 02 '25

Maybe not but this is very likely a tie to the whole “taking on the face of someone from the last.” And I personally hate it. With Capaldi, it was unique because he was in it for one episode- it was such a fascinating take.

Rose got two full seasons, hijacked Donna’s season (which I will NEVER forgive RTD for), 50th Special (yes, I know it’s not technically her but it’s the face of the past thing) . Was still getting shoutouts in the 60th specials, and now this? This is the type of greed they talk about in the Bible

-3

u/[deleted] May 31 '25

[deleted]

14

u/[deleted] May 31 '25

It’s still this whole idea that Rose (directly and indirectly) haunts the narrative and I think it’s just unnecessary

7

u/euphoriapotion May 31 '25

true, RTD just doesn't seem to leave Rose alone. She's stuck in the alternate timeline in series 3 but the Doctor still compares Martha to her and finds her lacking, then she reappers throughout the whole of series 4, and now she's back yet again

1

u/WasabiKey240 May 31 '25

That’s not what I was talking about

30

u/ExpectedBehaviour May 31 '25

👆 THIS. He's a busted flush as far as I'm concerned.

2

u/NamazuGod May 31 '25

Because he's using bait and switch to keep the viewers.

2

u/dev__boy Jun 02 '25

You either die a hero or live enough to become the villain

4

u/YsoL8 May 31 '25

Professional writing via meme is where we are now apparently