Doctor Who season 2, episode 8 spoiler review: 'The Reality War' is "a mix of the good, the bad, and the truly baffling"

Published: Sunday, June 1, 2025 at 9:45 pm

Doctor Who's "The Reality War": A Baffling Finale with Emotional Highs

Doctor Who's Season 2 finale, "The Reality War," is a sprawling, ambitious episode that delivers a mixed bag of thrills and head-scratching moments. The episode picks up where "Wish World" left off, with the Doctor facing peril and the return of familiar faces. The review highlights the episode's maximalist approach, cramming in old characters, resurrected villains, and multiple realities colliding.

The episode features the return of Anita, a character from a previous Christmas special, who saves the Doctor. The Doctor then works to free his friends from Conrad's altered reality, which leads to a complex situation involving Belinda and her role as a mother. While the episode has some emotional moments, particularly in the second half, the review criticizes the resolution of Belinda's storyline, calling it "awkwardly fumbled."

The episode also sees the return of the Ranis and Omega, and the Doctor's defeat of Omega. The episode then shifts to a more personal focus, with the Doctor and Belinda planning their life with Poppy. The episode also features Ruby's final confrontation with Conrad, where she chooses kindness over vengeance. The episode concludes with the regeneration of Ncuti Gatwa's Doctor, with a cameo from Jodie Whittaker's 13th Doctor. The review acknowledges the episode's flaws but ultimately praises the season's overall hopefulness and humanism, while also hinting at a bold future for the show.

Keywords: Doctor Who, The Reality War, Season 2, Finale, Spoiler Review, Ncuti Gatwa, Belinda, Regeneration, Jodie Whittaker, Ruby, Omega, Rani, BBC iPlayer, Disney Plus, Sci-Fi, TV Show, Episode Review

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