Doctor Who season 11 came to a close tonight and, well, the big finale didn’t exactly go down a treat with fans. Sure, many people enjoyed it, but a lot of others were left underwhelmed by what the production team served up as the grand conclusion to Jodie Whittaker’s debut run as the Thirteenth Doctor.
Titled “The Battle of Ranskoor Av Kolos,” the episode saw the return of a familiar foe. No, not the Daleks or the Master but… Tim Shaw. Remember the guy with the teeth in his face from the season premiere? Yeah, him. Fans had been theorizing that he’d make a comeback to get his revenge on the Doctor for weeks now, and when it finally happened in the episode, the reaction from viewers was mostly a shrug.
OH NO, TIM SHAW! #DoctorWho pic.twitter.com/6mraalfV7W
— Charlie Ashby (charlieashby on Bluesky) (@CMWAshby) December 9, 2018
You have to be kidding me, Tim Shaw?? #DoctorWho
— Nath (@Bilbokenobi) December 9, 2018
Remember how everyone didn't care about the villain of the episode one because it was en episode centred on the Doctor ? The revelation is the fact is Tim Shaw is big villain.. #DoctorWho
— Jude 🏴🃏 (@phanaticbeast) December 9, 2018
For others, Tim Shaw – Ok, ok, his real name is T’zim-Sha, but the TARDIS gang call him Tim Shaw to mock him – was just one of the many problems the episode had.
https://twitter.com/HardfactsI/status/1071853804184879105?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Sadly I think it might’ve been my least favourite episode of the season 😕 This series deserved a better conclusion. Tim Shaw wasn’t a good enough character to have as the shock return of the finale, & overall it felt like a filler. Definitely my least favourite finale, sorry! 🙁
— Bad Wolf Archives (@BadWolfArchives) December 9, 2018
In “The Woman Who Fell To Earth,” Shaw was attempting to complete a hunting ritual on Earth that, if successful, would make him the leader of his people, the Stenza. However, he was defeated and teleported away by the Doctor. In the finale, the Time Lord discovered that Shaw had manipulated the powerful Ux into believing he was their god and had got them to do his bidding, which included shrinking and destroying the planets of his enemies.
As I said in my review, “The Battle of Ranskoor Av Kolos” would have been a fair middle-of-the-run episode, but as the season finale it just didn’t cut it. Hopefully the New Year’s special, titled “Resolution,” will leave us with a much better impression then before Doctor Who goes on hiatus until 2020.
