The TARDIS crew meets a blind Norwegian girl who has a monster problem, and a trip to find her father takes them to a painful world.
Outside the TARDIS, the Doctor determines the crew has landed in Norway after sampling the dirt, and a scan of a sheep tells her it's 2018; she was worried they'd landed in the bloody "Woolly Rebellion" of 2201.
The Doctor is unsure where exactly in Norway they are, but Ryan points out a nearby, which the Doctor realizes doesn't have smoke coming from its chimney despite it being winter in Norway. Graham tells Ryan that he and Grace always wanted to come to Norway, but they never had time; they reach the cottage and find it has been boarded up. Though it seems abandoned, Ryan sees someone inside, so the Doctor unlocks the door. She points out the multitude of locks it had, and Yaz notices a child's shoes on the floor. While she and the Doctor investigate downstairs, Ryan and Grahamhead up, where they hear a noise from the closet. Ryan yelps upon opening it, getting the Doctor's attention, and they find the noise came from a girl (Eleanor Wallwork) cowering with a baseball bat. She doesn't respond when the Doctor offers help, or when Graham offers a sandwich, but she joins them downstairs as Graham explains he always takes a sandwich when they leave the TARDIS, since sometimes they are stranded without food. The girl demands to know who they are and how they got in, so the Doctor introduces the crew and asks who she lives with and why she's scared. She says there's a "thing" that her dad was defending the house from, and it took him. The Doctor asks what it looked like, and the girl quietly gets up to put her dishes away, at which point they realize she's blind and learn her name is Hanne. Asking for help finding her dad, Hanne explains that he was taken last night. Ryan is skeptical, suggesting he simply packed up and left, which upsets Hanna and annoys Yaz, who is able to relate to Hanne, and the group learns her mom is dead. Yaz spins Ryan's opinion to suggest maybe her dad got lost or hurt while working or going out; Hanne replies that her dad quit working when they left Oslo and their boat is still there. Her watch begins beeping, which she says is a warning that the monster is doing its hunting. Ryan is sure that he's right, but the Doctor says not to assume and sends him and Yaz to check the shed. Graham asks Hanne if she misses the city; she confirms that she is but they needed to get away when her mom died, and explains that her dad boarded up the house before he disappeared, telling her there are worse things out there than people. In the shed, Ryan is surprised by some dead birds and commends Yaz for being able to properly deal with Hanne before they notice a bunch of animal traps and hear a roar. They rush out to show the Doctor, and as the roaring continues, they get inside the house and the Doctor assigns everyone to either block entrances or keep watch. She assures Hanne, who is repeating "It takes you away," that they'll keep her safe, and upstairs, Graham doesn't see anything but hears a ringing behind him. He investigates a mirror, which doesn't have his reflection in it, and Ryan arrives just as confused; Graham touches the mirror, which shimmers as his hand goes through, and the Doctor arrives, telling him to get away and scanning the mirror. Their reflections appear, so Graham tells the Doctor what happened before just as the ringing noise echoes again, and their reflections disappear. The Doctor locks it midway through whatever's going on and sticks her head through, then yanks it back, saying she's a bit wonky but okay. Yaz and Hanne arrive, wondering what happened, and the Doctor shocks them with the news that the mirror is an interdimensional portal. She tells Graham the monster could've possible come through the portal, but isn't sure. The others protest when she decides to check it out despite the danger, wanting to join her. The Doctor accepts Graham and Yaz's help, but since she doesn't know what's on the other side, she can't risk Hanne getting hurt. She says she needs the girl defending the house, and says Ryan will stay with her, which Hanne isn't pleased about. Since Hanne can't see what she's doing, the Doctor scratches out a message for the others, claiming it's a map of the house's weak points, when really she's telling Ryan to assume Hanne's dad is dead and try to find out other possible guardians while taking care of her. Hanne tells the Doctor her dad's name is Erik, and the Doctor assures her she'll try her best to find him; she and the others then head through the portal.
On the other side, the group finds themselves in a dark cave; the Doctor says there's some problem, as they should've stepped into another world and the portal seems to be split in half.
The Doctor says they're not in a world, though the others note they're obviously not still in Norway. Noticing a light nearby, the Doctor ties a string to make a path and they head on. They find a being named Ribbons (Kevin Eldon) plucking something and ask about Erik and the creature; saying the tragedy of a missing father makes him hungry, he claims he didn't see them. The Doctor asks to borrow his lantern to light their way,and he says they have to trade, threatening Graham with a knife when he gets close. The Doctor pulls out her sonic, which immediately makes Ribbons agreeable, saying he wants her "tubular;" he claims that trade is now possible because he did see Erik. Ribbons describes Erik for them, and he says they'll find out more when they arrive. He asks for the sonic again, but the Doctor says he'll only get his "payment" once they're done, and requires that he leave the knife. Graham and Yaz share their fears about following Ribbons, but the Doctor says she doesn't want them to follow him, but rather follow her. Ribbons warns them to stay quiet and gives them the lantern as he leads the way. Back in our world, Hanne tells Ryan she's always been blind but can see light if it's super close; she becomes angry when he says it must be hard to deal with. He asks why she doesn't like him, and Hanne reminds him that he thought her dad would leave him, so he apologizes, and she asks which part of the house is weakest on the map. Ryan botches his lie after looking at the Doctor's note, and Hanne realizes there's no map, notign that it sounded like the Doctor wrote something. As Hanne becomes upset, Ryan drags her out of the room, locking the door. She claims she could call the police, but he retorts that there's nothing logical she could tell them and it wouldn't help. She says his lying isn't okay, and a roar distracts them, so they rush off to defend the house, while in the other world, Ribbons remains vague about where they're going. He says he designed the lantern and it's the only light there, but refuses to explain where they are, claiming the Doctor doesn't have enough credit. Ribbons becomes interested in her brain when she points out he must live here, since he was right near the portal but doesn't use it. A "flesh moth" suddenly perches on the lantern, which he says is her fault, so he tosses a rat aside. The moth immediately goes to it, and he tells Yaz that while the moths won't hurt clothes, they'll strip the meat from bones. He says that luckily, anything can be distracted with a bit of food, and has them press on as he cleans up after the moth eats the rat; he cuts the Doctor's string as they walk. Back in the house, Ryan notices a wire that leads to a speaker on a fence outside. When he disconnects it, the roaring cuts out. When he returns to the house to tell Hanne, she is waiting for him by a door, which she knocks him out with to take the key.
In the other world, Ribbons reveals their weakened position without the string trail, and when the Doctor says he won't get the sonic without giving them Erik, he pulls another knife on Graham.
Ribbons says they'll have to renegotiate, but a flesh moth suddenly arrives, so he tosses his last rat, saying they have to get rid of it or else more will swarm in. Yaz suggests they get rid of the lantern, but he says the dark would be even worse, and reveals to the Doctor they're in an Antizone, which worries her. She explains the universe makes an Antizone wherever the fabric of space-time is threatened, to create a buffer between itself and the threat. Ribbons says he's always been here, and the ringing noise returns. The lantern goes out, and Ribbons says the moth summoned its swarm and suggests they run, yanking away the sonic, but Graham tackles him and gets it out of his hand. After Ribbons shushes the trio, the Doctor warns them not to move, since Ribbons had previously told them to run. This turns out to be a good choice, as Ribbons makes a dive for the sonic and the moths immediately swarm him. The others take their chance to run back to the portal, with the moths giving chase, having already devoured all of Ribbons. Once through the portal, the Doctor locks it, but Yaz notices everything looks different, so the Time Lady realizes they came through a different portal from before. The Doctor says they seem to be on the other side of the mirror, and back in the normal world, Hanne reaches the original one and goes through. Ryan wakes then, rushing to the mirror as Hanne follows the Doctor's line of string, while on the other side of the mirror, the group surprises a man downstairs; the Doctor surmises it's Erik. They bring up Hanne, but Erik assures them he hasn't abandoned her and that she has food, then reveals the truth about the "monster" outside the cottage. He explains the sounds are meant to keep Hanne from leaving the house while he's gone, and says the bear traps are for exactly what they sound like, since there are occasionally bears. Erik says they can leave and he'll join them soon; his aloofness about the situation angers Graham and Yaz, but the Doctor says they won't be hitting him like they want to, and asks who else is there. He plays dumb, so she points out he set two plates, and suddenly a woman named Trine (Lisa Stokke) enters, claiming to be his wife, and Erik adds in that she's Hanne's actual mom. To their continued surprise, Trine is just as confused as the Doctor about how this could be, saying she knows she died, yet here she's fine. Erik explains Trine can't get through the mirror, and he's afraid he won't be able to get back if he leaves; this further disgusts the trio, as he doesn't seem to miss Hanne. They again ask him to leave, but Trine asks if they want to see their "friend," who showed up when they did; they head out back where Graham's heart breaks upon seeing Grace.
In the antizone, Hanne unknowingly stumbles upon Ribbons's corpse, where Ryan tells her to stop. He takes the lantern and leads her forward.
Ryan describes the cave for her, and though she knows he's lying again, she apologizes for slamming the door on him. He tells her the truth about the monster noises, upsetting her with the news her dad was lying. She points out he's lying about the cave, but he says he's trying to take care of her. In the other world, Grace is as confused about her situation as Trine, and though both she and Graham know it's not possible, she proves she's "real" by saying things only Grace would've known. The Doctor confirms that Grace and Trine can't be real, and the latter says that while she knows, they certainly seem real. The Doctor and Yaz go to the attic, where the former calms herself down and lists what they know about the portal and the antizone. Since it's a buffer zone to protect against a threat, they realize the world they're in is dangerous, and the Doctor realizes it must've been made by the "Solitract." She explains that before time, nothing could work cohesively, because the Solitract, a living consciousness, was there, and our universe can't work with Solitract energy. The universe then managed to exile the Solitract to a separate world, and was able to work; she thinks they're in this separate universe. She wonders why the Solitract would build a doorway to their world and create copies of loved ones, and Yaz points out it sounds like a trap. With the puzzle solved, the crew still has a problem as the Solitract fights to keep those it has already ensnared, and Ryan and Hanne make their way to the world.
This was another sort of hit-and-miss episode for me, as it started off with an interesting premise that felt somewhat confusing by the end.
At the beginning, we had a mysterious situation as the group came upon Hanne's house, and you wonder what sort of monster could be outside. With the house so boarded up, it would have to be quite a beast, and then the crew finds the bear traps and actually hear the roars. At this point I had assumed we were going to get a fleeting glimpse of the creature as the characters looked for it, but then Graham encountered the mirror. Here there was potential for something yet again, as after the group goes in, we see a dark, dreary place with at least some creatures, and the Doctor had said it was at least possible the creature got in through the portal. Ryan's discovery, followed by Erik's own admittance, however, completely throws this all away to get to what's really going on. It's great when you can have an interesting twist in the story, but I felt like the lengths Erik went to in order to keep Hanne in the house were odd given the situation. He tells the crew he was worried he wouldn't be able to make it back after discovering that Trine couldn't get through the mirror, which is why he's been away from Hanne. However, since his plan with the monster was a way to keep Hanne safe while he was gone, doesn't that mean he discovered the mirror and went between worlds at least once time before concocting the monster story? Obviously it's possible that when he said he boarded the house to keep Hanne from wandering, it could be he meant "gone" as in anytime he leaves the house. But given the extreme nature of his precautions, it seems like he was just already aware of the portal. If he indeed was already aware when he boarded things up, why didn't he just bring Hanne with him, since he wanted to reunite her with her "mother?" There's definitely an important lesson in this episdoe about being able to deal with grief and let go of those who have died. Erik has been unable to let go of Trine, and now when he's found what seems to be her, he's almost abandoning his daughter to be with her. Graham is obviously heading in the same situation upon meeting Grace, as well, as her knowledge of their past is very convincing. With her death still a relatively fresh thing, it's especially painful for Graham, who likely feels like he's gotten another chance to be with the woman he loved. Erik's revealed issues, however, also sort of counteract some of what we got earlier in the episode, when Ryan was portrayed as a bad guy for suggesting that Hanne's dad had left. He certainly wasn't in the right for blatantly telling her that her dad could've run off, but everyone else seems to judge Ryan, who has experience with this particular issue, for assuming that could be what happened, even if he was wrong to a certain degree. In the end, he was right that Erik, while still loving Hanne, was indeed abandoning her in a way, as even Graham says that's what's going on. More comes later in the episode when it comes to dealing with loneliness and losing loved ones, and it's well-performed, but overall I just felt kind of confused with the turn the episode took. There is a segment I was honestly a bit disappointed with later in the episode when the Doctor encounters the Solitract. As both Graham and Erik's loved ones appeared tot hem int his world, I had assumed the Doctor would get a visit from an old friend in a nice callback, like having the return of Billie Piper, Amy, or River. This doesn't happen, however, and instead the Solitract makes a choice that just feels kind of odd. The cast does a great job as always, especially Bradley Walsh, who shines during the scenes with Grace, showing true pain felt by a person in a situation people often wish they could be in. Eleanor Wallwork does a great job as Hanne as well, having more character than just being a blind person with her stubborn courage in wanting to find her dad, and being smart enough to know when something is going on. The cast delivers great performances in this episode, and really it's just the setting and writing that felt a bit off to me this time around.
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