For all the hype over it being THE BEATLES EPISODE OH MY GOD, it really is not about them all that much. You get the hook, the emotional beats with Paul and John, and then them being a part of the climax at the end. We'll talk about all that, but I can sort of understand people being mad at the bait and switch here, the narrative substitution at play. I get it, but also the narrative we're given instead is completely wild and I'm here for it. One gets the sense that it came about because of the simple question of logistics: How do you do a Beatles episode of Doctor Who when the rights to any Beatles songs would cost more than the budget for the season? The answer is that plot hook. The Doctor and Ruby go to Abbey Road to hear the Beatles record, but instead of any of the famous Beatles songs they are just singing some absolutely dumb shit about a dog. It's a funny beat, and also a great seed to sprout into more ideas for what the episode will do.
The idea that sprouts being, of course, doing The Giggle again but with music instead of games. Once again, a godlike entity from outside the universe has wormed their way back into our plane, focused entirely on one aspect of human culture, and threatens the very fabric of reality with their unlimited power and influence over the universe. There is a part of me that finds this a bit of a retread, and is hoping that we don't get absolutely swamped with gods from outside time slipping in and fucking with Earth in a hyperspecific way before needing to be challenged for the fate of all existence. It has only been four episodes since The Giggle, after all. I expect that the finale will have some other member of the Pantheon threaten everything with universe-ending stakes, but RTD has six weeks to prove me wrong.
With all that being said, Jinkx Monsoon as Maestro is fucking incredible. They are a perfect mix of camp, ham, and true menace, and the best antagonist the show's had since Missy. Even though it's quite similar to The Giggle, things are also helped by Maestro being an original creation and not, in fact, a 60 year-old legacy character with uncomfortable costume and naming choices. None of the excess baggage of the Toymaker gets brought over thanks to this originality, so you get all the menace of a god stealing music from the world with none of the drawbacks. Say, didn't we talk on this blog once about the power of music and how it's the song of the heart, a tune which weaves empathy and kindness for others into every note? Why, I do believe we did and I do believe you can see that power on display here when Ruby plays a lovesick song for a heartbroken lesbian, and everyone in a 1963 without music is utterly moved by it, as we all are. Without music, though, without the song of one's heart, the world will end. It's a trick Doctor Who has done before, showing a ruined timeline that will come about if the godlike entity isn't stopped, but Millie Gibson's grief and anguish over looking at the ruined London of 2024 that could be, will be, really hits hard. The song that Maestro wants to play for the universe is an elegy of emptiness, music without heart or soul. It is a terrible thing, and it must be fought.
Then, in the end, it's Paul and John who save the day and play the last chord that will banish Maestro back into the void. It's interesting to think on this nowadays. I'm fine with it as the resolution, as it gives two of the Beatles some focus and agency in the story beyond being a plot hook to get us into the story about battling a music god. It's foreshadowed well earlier, where even in this hellscape world that Maestro has created where nobody gives a shit about music, some essential part of them as creatives is crying out and mournful, wishing to express themselves. Even Maestro can't silence the song of the heart, and that comes through in the ending. On the other hand, I will admit my biases. If this happened in a Whitaker episode, it would be me railing yet again about how Doctor Who doesn't save the day and needs the guest characters to do it for her. I can admit that bias, but I guess the difference here is that Gatwa has had more consistent agency and character thus far.
God, so much of this is fun and inventive, though. The tense scene with the Doctor using the sonic screwdriver as a silencer to hide from Maestro, and the genuine terror he has over facing another godlike being when the last one basically killed him and ripped him in half. The way the fourth wall is just absolutely obliterated as Maestro plays us into the Doctor Who theme, and the theme ends with it playng on the Doctor's jukebox. The Doctor and Ruby hearing the Murray Gold music over their action scene as he swears it was non-diegetic. Hell, the entire musical number at the end which actually has Murray Gold in it! The Devil's Chord is just good plain fun. It may be a little derivative here and there, but there's enough creativity on display to make this a winner.
And, even better, next time I get to talk about Steven Moffat again. NONE OF YOU ARE SAFE! HAHAHAHAH!!!
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