Flux: War of the Sontarans

"You will lose every man in the battlefield if you engage."

Writer: Chris Chibnall

Format: TV

Broadcast: 7 November 2021

Series: 13.02

Featuring: Thirteenth Doctor, Yaz, Dan

Synopsis

During the Crimean War, the Doctor discovers the British army fighting a brutal alien army of Sontarans, as Yaz and Dan are thrown deep into a battle for survival. What is the Temple of Atropos? Who are the Mouri?

Verdict

War of the Sontarans was an outstanding episode of Doctor Who and a pretty incredible continuation of Flux! This really was a sublime episode from start to finish and with the end of the universe entering the TARDIS as the cliffhanger to The Halloween Apocalypse, this had a lot riding on it. And it certainly did not disappoint. I have been yearning for the Sontarans to return for thirteen years now and it's incredible to think that it's been that long since they properly appeared as the enemy in a story. I would argue that they have never been presented stronger than they were here. Their use of the Flux to plan their invasion on Earth at just the right time was excellent and it was pretty ingenious to attack one second before the Lupari shield went up to protect the planet. I love the idea of Sontarans dabbling with time technology and their possession of temporal weaponry was very exciting. The prospect of the Sontarans attacking on a temporal front was just marvellous and I thought their testing ground being 1855 and the Crimean War was wonderful. The image of the map and what should have been Russia actually being Sontar was pure magic. I loved that being a big proponent of history and all it entails. Having Mary Seacole feature was a lot of fun and it allowed opportunity for the Doctor to fangirl once again. Dan's introduction was quick and I liked his reaction to encountering an actual historical figure. He and Yaz were soon thrown into the deep end though as they were shimmied away from the Doctor. Dan was back in Liverpool in his own time but the Sontarans had taken over in a big way, even landing a ship on top of Anfield! Maybe that will buck up the team after a dreadful performance against West Ham today! I'm a Liverpool fan so thankfully this episode cheered me up after the defeat. Dan's mum and dad were very fun characters and the use of a wok to attack the probic vent was magnificent. The Doctor communicating with Dan from 1855 was great and I loved how when she asked for his resources he was able to say he had a wok. A fantastic moment and a wonderful reaction. Jodie Whittaker was on top form here and her parle with Commander Skaak was iconic. The smirk she gave when revealing she was actually the Doctor was sensational. Skaak was a tremendous character and I just loved everything about the Sontarans in this one. Even if a group of them couldn't strike down Dan! The design is something I touched upon in then last episode but my oh my is it good. They really haven't looked better. It's so good and the image of them horseback and doing war with the British Army was just outstanding. I'm mightily intrigued by the Temple of Atropos and Yao's involvement there with Swarm and Azure. They seemed to know everything about this location and its importance and it supposedly being the planet Time was interesting to say the least. The way they talked as if Time was a force was brilliant and the Mouri being the ones to hold Time together in the universe presents us with a very exciting episode next week. Especially after that cliffhanger! Yaz and Vinder are in big trouble, and Time seems set to destabilise further. It was also startling to see how bad of shape the TARDIS was in and I'm surprised it's got this bad with only two episodes in! The return of Karvanista to save Dan and send the Sontarans packing with a temporal explosion was fantastic and a lot of fun. I liked how the Doctor enlisting Seacole and ensured the Sontarans were retreating, only for the General to blow them all up anyway. Overall, a quite spectacular episode that looked incredible and felt important all the way. A special mention for the background music too! That really enhanced the feel and atmosphere. A spectacular episode!

Rating: 10/10