After a sonic mine injures the TARDIS crew, they find themselves aboard a ship facing a deadly creature and few ways to defend themselves. The Doctor and her companions are looking for some kind of salvage in a junk galaxy, with Graham becoming frustrated when he learns they may have searched the wrong place for four hours. When she brings up their trip rain-bathing on the planet Kinstarno, and after Graham explains that they're just in a "needle in the haystack" situation, he finds something. The Doctor uncovers it, and unfortunately, it turns out to be a sonic mine; the Doctor warns the others not to move and is unable to put the mine in a temporal lock because of protections, so the mine explodes seconds later. The Doctor wakes later in a hospital, with the workers confused why she and the others don't have medical tags to explain their history. The man, Astos (Brett Goldstein), scans the Doctor and tells her to take it easy, explaining that they know she and the others faced a sonic mine. He says they succeeded in stabilizing the group's organs; and as he explains how they work, he says a place called "Tsuranga" is wanting to investigate the area further, but a beeping draws him away. The Doctor recognizes "Tsuranga" but can't remember why, and after collapsing, decides to leave, despite Astos saying she needs to rest. Afraid that the TARDIS will get scavenged while they're on the ship, the Doctor heads away when Astos gets a notification. With no exit signs, the Doctor and the others stumble upon Neuro Pilot Eve Cicero (Suzanne Packer) and her android consort Ronan (David Shields) arguing with her brother Durkus (Ben Bailey-Smith) The Doctor geeks out, remembering Eve from the Book of Celebrants as she had managed an impressive military victory in her life that left her a legend. Durkas is less-than-kind about introducing Ronan, and Eve has a fan moment when she also recognizes the Doctor's name from the Book of Celebrants, asking if there was an entire chapter about her; the Doctor is nonchalant and excuses herself, then notes it was actually a volume. Looking for the exit again with the Doctor still in pain, the group stumbles upon a pregnant Yifftan male, Yoss Inkle (Jack Shalloo), who recognizes them as the sonic mine victims The others are shocked to learn that male Yifftan pregnancies last a week, and his explanation of his condition is interrupted when the other worker, Mabli (Lois Chimimba) arrives. Yoss finds it funny that the Doctor wants to "go," and when Astos says they were trying to tell her why, the Doctor realizes they're not in a normal hospital; it's an emergency medical spaceship. Mabli assures them they'll soon be at the planet Resus One, and Astos reveals they were out for four days; the frustrated Doctor becomes more determined to leave. Astos explains that there is no teleport on the ship, but there is at Resus One, and reminds her that she's not the only passenger as she hacks into the ship's system with her screwdriver. She remembers he was worried about something when she woke up, calling him a bad liar, and finds her way to the nav chamber as Astos warns her against running. While threatening to restrain her, Astos reveals there is no crew aside from her and Mabli; the ship is automated and the base at Resus One directs it. The crew are also not allowed to change course, and when the Doctor tries to hack the ship again, he tells her the base will take any change as a sign of hijack or hostility and detonate them. Astos finally manages to get through to the Doctor, who realizes he's right: she's being selfish and preventing him from safely getting the passengers to the medical care they need. The Doctor apologizes and asks where they are; Astos explains he was concerned before because the ship has led them through disputed territory they would normally avoid. He says there is nothing to worry about, but the Doctor notices a blip on the nav screen, and something suddenly slams into the ship, breaching the shield. With noises suddenly echoing through the ship, the Doctor tells Astos her name and requests the ship's layout; as he explains the different sections, he says they can't really treat people with what they have, since they're supposed to just keep people alive until reaching their destination. There are two life pods that can just fit everyone on board, but the breach alert suddenly goes off and the Doctor realizes the threat is in one of the pods. The creature is speeding through the ship to the other pod, and the two decide to go investigate, with Astos getting through the Doctor's stubbornness with logic to decide who goes where. Elsewhere, Ronan requests Adrenaline Blockers from Mabli, convincing her to get them without asking Astos by suggesting he would make a complaint otherwise. Graham, meanwhile, finds Durkus snooping through the files; he gets the man to admit he's looking into his sister's info because he can tell she's lying to him. Graham says she might have good reason to keep it hidden and Durkus explains he feels like Eve looks down on him for being a simple engineer when she's a great pilot. Over at the life pods, the Doctor and Astos don't see a creature anywhere, but his pod's power has been shorted and hers has gone out completely. Though hers has been drained, he checks inside his, and the Doctor suddenly realizes her life pod has actually been launched already. Astos realizes the creature is in his pod, which opens. When he goes in against the Doctor's advice, the door suddenly closes, and the computer comes on to say the pod is disengaging. With the controls not working and the system malfunctioning, Astos decides he can do only one thing: he contacts Mabli to tell her he can't get back and assures her that he's always believed in her and she can handle the job. The life pod is then jettisoned and explodes, and the radio goes quiet for both Mabli and the Doctor, the latter finding a small, strange creature eating ship pieces outside Astos's pod. When the others arrive, horrified to see the creature, the Doctor tells them it's dangerous and catches them up on what happened with Astos. The Doctor orders the creature to get off the ship, but it ignores her and devours a piece of metal; she doesn't know what it is or how it can eat the metallic objects. As the Doctor tries to scan it, the creature swallows her screwdriver, then spits it back out lifeless, and escapes into the walls. While Ronan returns to Eve with her Blockers and news of the attack, Mabli takes the gorup back to the nav room, where the Doctor helps prevent her from panicking. Mabli tries to get data on the creature using what Yaz points out are similar to dash cams, and though Graham points out their poor situation, the group is confident they'll win. Mabli matches a picture in her database to the creature: it's a "Pting," classed at threat level Chalice, which is the most dangerous. The database reveals little is truly known about the Pting, because attempts to research it were thwarted by its violent nature and their ability to eat through anything that would contain them. Yaz is relieved at first when they learn the Pting is non-carnivorous, but Graham points out it'll eat through the entire ship, and they are further terrified when the database says Ptings move fast, can be stunned but not injured or killed, and have incredibly toxic skin. The report concludes by warning to never engage a Pting due to their high threat level, and the Doctor is at least relieved to have info, telling everyone to gather the others for a briefing in seven minutes so she can think; the Pting is meanwhile causing more destruction as it eats. Durkus finds Ronan injecting Eve with her Blockers; he is immediately suspicious because he knows she can't take them with "Cordon Fever," the disease she claims to have. He leaves in a huff, while over in Yoss's room, Yaz and Ryan arrive just in time for him to request they feel his baby kicking. They learn that for his species, males give birth to males while females have females, and he amazes them with pictures of his speedy pregnancy as the baby developed. He and Ryan are both amazed as they really consider the fact he's growing a person, and he sadly reveals he'll be giving the boy away, as he feels he's too young to be a good parent, especially due to turmoil in the world. Yoss is caught off guard when Ryan asks if he'd miss the child, and they leave when he says he'll be at the briefing. Ryan points out to Yaz that Yoss is about his age, which is also the age his dad was when Ryan was born, which has given him a new perspective on his dad's decision. He reveals he saw his dad a year before; he got angry at him for his few and poor decisions involving his son. Yaz asks about Ryan's mom, and he explains that she suddenly had a heart attack one day; he's the one who found her. She offers condolences and he says he had never realized life can just throw you terrible things, and now understands even adults might not be able to cope. He notes that, because people say he looks so much like the woman his dad loved, it must have been hard for the man. The Doctor is meanwhile trying to concoct a plan to beat the Pting, and though Mabli soon loses hope, the Doctor compares the situation to medicine. Just like patients having problems, so doctors figure out the issue and offer solutions, they need to diagnose the situation. The Doctor confuses Mabli with her long list of education, and says to have hope, you have to imagine the solution and work to get there; she is broadly imagining the Pting off the ship and trying to figure out how to get it there. She points out that every living thing wants something, and when Mabli notes that the first thing it did was kill Astos, they realize it's redirected them to an asteroid field. An alarm suddenly goes off, which Mabli explains is Resus One asking to confirm if the ship's sensors are correct and something is onboard. If they say yes, the haven planet will detonate the ship; if they say no after three requests, they will be detonated anyway. As the Pting continues crawling through the ship, the Doctor meets with everyone and tells them what's going on. To her surprise, everyone stays calm without question, and Eve reveals she faced a Pting once that massacred her fleet. The power goes out, and when Mabli says they'll eventually run out of oxygen, Eve begins taking charge with the Doctor and suggests they use stazers to stun the Pting. She and the Doctor explain they'll have to protect the antimatter driver, and after explaining the issue behind manually piloting the ship, the Doctor says she could send a false signal to Resus One that they're on course as usual. Though Ronan protests, Eve chooses to take Ronan to the drive chamber with herself and the Doctor, and Yoss interjects with the news that he's going into labor. Mabli manages the situation and keeps him calm as she directs him to another room where the backup generator will help with his situation, and he requests that Graham and Ryan be his "Dhulas," or birth partners. As everyone else leaves, Eve requests another Blocker from Ronan, but he reveals she's used them all, so she simply tells the Doctor she's fine and they leave. Mabli pulls the Doctor aside, and though unwilling to say exactly why due to doctor/patient confidentiality, she suggests the Time Lady check Eve. The Doctor surprises the Ciceros and Ronan by saying she's a time traveler, and the Doctor explains to Yaz how dark matter is work and that the future has found a better way to handle it than the present time, just like any other advancements; Durkus actually calls it old-school. Yaz and Ronan are chosen to defend the engine, despite Ronan's insistence to protect Eve, and the Doctor leaves Yaz a blanket in case she has to pick up the Pting, which they hear in the ceiling. The Doctor turns away another request from Resus One, and the Ciceros begin squabbling when Durkus claims he can set up a rig for his sister to use. While the Doctor heads out with Eve, she scans the woman and realizes she has "Pilot's Heart," which can kill her if too much adrenaline gets to her heart. Eve kept it secret because she doesn't want people to lose their poster woman, and it turns out Durkus is nearby and found out; he says he's just disappointed in her and that he finished the rig. The Doctor volunteers to fly, but Eve notes it takes decades to train and chooses to do it herself, saying everyone, including her, will live. Yoss struggles to deal with his pregnancy, especially when he learns the backup generator isn't working; he has typical pregnancy rage and fear. Back at the engine, Yaz and Ronan manage to stun the Pting, and Yaz hurries it away with the blanket, punting it into a hallway. Durkus helps Eve into his rig, though it becomes clear she's not well enough to survive, and the Doctor finishes sending the signal to Resus One. The Doctor then has a revelation: the Pting doesn't care about them; it wants the ship's power. Astos was collateral damage when it drained the life pod, and now it's going after the massive energy of the antimatter engine. Durkus's rig works, and he hands over control to Eve, who struggles to stay calm but says she's missed piloting; nerves rise when the Doctor sends the third and final "no" to Resus One. With the Doctor still hurting internally and the ill Eve taking a risk to pilot the ship, it's time for one last plan from the Doctor to save the ship and those onboard. For me, this episode was a lot of tense fun and in a way felt like an homage to the sci-fi classic Alien, which reminded us no one can hear you scream in space.
The Pting is, in an obvious way, incredibly different from the Alien: it's small in stature, and at first glance, isn't really menacing. In fact, to me it looks like a cross between a frog and Disney's Stitch. On the other hand, however, it's apparently one of the Doctor's deadliest foes yet, with little data about it and apparently no way to defeat it. Along with its violent nature, it's incredibly tough, and like the Alien's acidic blood, the Pting's skin is lethally toxic to most creatures. It also gets around the ship by going through the walls, ceiling, and floor, similar to how the Alien can get around with ventilation systems. In another difference that separates this creature is the fact that it doesn't want the people; they are merely in its way as it wants to eat the ship. In this reverse of how the Alien wanted the crew of the ship it was on, the ship becomes more of a time bomb than a trap, as it's the only way they can survive in space, but with enough time, the Pting will eat the entire thing. We get to see a moment of fear and quick irrationality from the Doctor early on as she worried about the TARDIS, with Astos pointing out she's putting the others in danger. Once she realizes this, however, she takes things slower and becomes an asset, of course, and it's nice to see how she interacts both before and after this with Astos. I enjoyed Astos considering the minimal screen time he really got, as it's apparent that he isn't just trying to pull rank and be a bossy jerk when he takes charge. HE has a real point when telling the Doctor he's caring for the patients and that she's injured, with a somewhat shocking moment where he gets her silent while deciding which pods they'll each search as she realizes he's right. His last message to Mabli shows the kind of courage he had in life, and is instrumental in some later moments like Yoss's pregnancy due to how he reassures her that she can succeed There isn't too much of Graham in this episode, but I continue to love all the sass he brings to the table, and we get some touching moments with Ryan as he deals with Yoss. Growing up with a parent is obviously a difficult and confusing situation for many, and it's interesting to see Ryan trying to maturely consider why he dad did what he did as he meets Yoss, who fears that he won't be a good parent. The realization that his dad was struggling like him gives Ryan new insight into the situation his father was in, and could be a good way of leading up to a forgiving reunion. Obviously it doesn't fully make up for what his father did, but as Peter Capaldi's 12th Doctor pointed out in his war speech, someone has to be willing to forgive to break the cycle of pain. Ronan was a fun part of this episode, with Goldstein effective an an emotionless android as well as having his own funny moments, and Yoss was both entertaining and touching as struggled with his situation. Though Durkus was a bit of a jerk most of the time and the moment where he and Eve squabble felt odd, considering you would assume they'd be more mature, it's nice that he didn't ever serve as a character who was just getting in the way and was genuinely concerned for his sister. A fun episode full of tension and laughs, I had a great time watching and, since this one came later than I'd hoped it would, will immediately get to watching the next to see what it has to offer.
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