Season three of FROM ended on a shocking cliffhanger, when Jim (Eion Bailey), left stunned after Tabitha (Catalina Sandino Moreno)’s news of reincarnation, suddenly out of nowhere sees a future version of his daughter, Julie (Hannah Cheramy), appear in a panic, followed by the mysterious Man in Yellow (Doug E. Hughes), who proceeds to rip his throat out in front of her. Season four does a fantastic job of picking up that momentum and carrying it throughout the first six episodes.

Julie’s storywalking continues to play a part the season as she tries to undo the threads that lead to her father’s apparent death and get a better understanding of how her ability works. The events in Julie’s life has made her have to grow up really fast, but I enjoy her perseverance in the face of what could be an unobtainable solution. I also really like how Randall (AJ Simmons) continues to be someone to look out for Julie and has stepped up, slowly starting to redeem himself.

There is of course fallout over the truth about what happened to Jim as Jade and Tabitha wrestle with how far they are willing to go for answers.

At the end of season one, Joel (Pedro Pascal) and Ellie (Bella Ramse) made it to Seattle only for Joel to realize that to create a cure to the cordyceps virus, Ellie had to die, which didn’t work for him. Joel then proceeded to kill all of the Fireflies, including the doctor who was working on the cure. Season two picks up five years after the events of season one. Ellie and Joel’s relationship is strained, but we don’t know why. During a snowstorm we meet Abby (Kaitlyn Denver) when she is rescued by Joel, but unfortunately, she’s hellbent on revenge because Joel killed her father, which leads to a violent confrontation between the two. When Ellie witnesses the violence firsthand, it starts her on her own journey of revenge against Abby.

To me, the best part of season one was the relationship between Joel and Ellie. While I knew that Joel was going to die going into the second season, I didn’t expect it to be so soon. I really would have preferred the season to spend more time with the two of them together; however, I understand that they were trying overall to stay true to the original story of the games. I did appreciate though that they spent an episode with Ellie grieving, and the flashback episode with Joel was the best of the season, perhaps of both seasons. Their time at the museum really showed the connection between the Ellie and Joel. Also, I appreciated seeing the last moments between the two and getting an answer to how much Ellie was aware of Joel’s actions, which apparently doesn’t happen as early in the game, so they could have kept it until the next season, which I personally believe would have been a mistake.

***The following contains major spoilers for 208, “The Reality War.” A review is also available***

The balcony containing the Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa) continues to fall as the buildings and reality itself crumbles around him. Suddenly a door appears behind him which reveals Anita (Steph De Whalley) from the Time Hotel. She pulls him inside.

Meanwhile, the Rani (Archie Panjabi) and Mrs. Flood (Anita Dobson) question that he’s used a magic door, but it’s too late for them to get him back, as it turns midnight and time resets. Ruby (Millie Gibson) and Belinda (Varada Sethu) wake up at the beginning of the 23rd.

The Doctor remembers Anita and thanks her. She explains that the world hasn’t been destroyed and opens a door midair above the city. It’s May the 23rd again; time keeps resetting after it gets to midnight as it’s done hundreds of times. The Doctor notices that Anita is pregnant and hugs her. She tells him about the baby boy’s father, Ricardo. The building shakes and a warning goes up around the building to abandon the hotel. She explains its in spasm, because they are in 4202, but the world keeps ending in 2025. Anita questions that the Rani is a Time Lord and starts to tell the Doctor that she looked for his TARDIS. She says that her time on the job taught her so much, and she would go looking for him on her days off.

***The following review contains major spoilers for 208, "The Reality War." A recap is also available***

“The Reality War,” the season finale of Doctor Who, dropped later than usual this Saturday on Disney Plus, as this afternoon it was simulcast with the UK. In the episode, the Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa) faces off against the Rani (Archie Panjabi) as she prepares to open a door to Omega (voiced by Nicholas Briggs). The Doctor must not only stop the threats and save the planet, but rewrite reality to save an innocent life that could mean the end of his own.

There is a lot to unpack with the episode, which was jam packed with craziness and timely-wimey that only the Doctor can bring. First off, out of the gate, I loved Anita (Steph De Whalley) coming from the Time Hotel to save the Doctor. She was a great one-off character originally, and I also was delighted with the bits in this episode of old footage with her visiting other incarnations of the Doctor. Although her arrival was a way to a quick resolution to the conundrum that the Doctor (and the rest of the world for that matter) found himself in at the end of the previous episode, with him plummeting to the disintegrating Earth, it worked and left room for the rest of the action in an already extra-long episode. It also brings more examples in this season that have been throwbacks to earlier episodes in the current Doctor’s run as well as the classics.

The following contains spoilers for 2.07, "Wish World"

In Bavaria in 1865, the Rani (Archie Panjabi) visits the cabin of the Zufall family on horseback. She greets Otto Zufall (Atilla Akinci), who is the seventh son of the seventh son and himself has seven sons, his wife, Violett (Leni Adams) having just given birth to the latest. Letting them think she is the midwife, she asks to hold the baby, only to say she is taking him. When they protest, she blows on them, turning Violett into flowers, the other six children into ducks, and Otto into an owl. Taking the baby, she leaves, telling him that they have things to do in 160 years time with one very special wish.

In London in 2025, Belinda (Varada Sethu) and the Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa) wake up next to each other in bed and kiss each other good morning. He tells his wife he could stay there forever, but he has to go to work. Poppy (Sienna-Robyn Mavanga-Phipps), their daughter, comes in saying “meow” because she wants a cat.

Belinda turns on the television and on the screen is Conrad (Jonah Hauer-King) saying the weather across all the different countries all over the world is going to be nice, that’s his promise. Conrad says it’s time for the day’s story, holding up the book: Doctor Who and the Daily Wish, by I.M. Foreman. They move to the kitchen, and he continues on another television, talking about the Time Lord who ran away.

The following review contains major spoilers for 2.06, “The Interstellar Song Contest.” Detailed episode recap is also available.

In the all-new episode of Doctor Who, “The Interstellar Song Contest,” which dropped hours ago on Disney Plus, the Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa) and Belinda (Varada Sethu) arrive on the Harmony Arena Space Station where they are hosting the galactic music competition filled with entertainers from around the universe. Belinda, who up until this point has been keen to get home as soon as possible, decides to stay for some fun, but unfortunately it becomes a night she won’t soon forget when they must battle to survive the event that could kill a whopping three trillion.

This week’s episode was a really fun one. From the fantastically crazy array of alien species to the brightly colored costumes, to the outrageous original music (I think I’ll probably have “Dugga Doo” in my head for awhile), the over-the-top spectacle was grand, like a Met Gala on steroids. It definitely showed how much money Disney is putting into the production, and it really worked well in this instance. As an American, I may never have seen Eurovision, but I appreciated that they got Rylan Clark to be the host of the fictitious expanded event and even had the hilarious Graham Norton appear as a hologram. I could easily imagine how it could become something like this in the distant future. In addition, it’s neat that the episode is airing the same day as the final part of the real counterpart.

The following recap contains spoilers for 2.06, “The Interstellar Song Contest.” Review is also available.

In the year 2925 at the Harmony Arena, a female cat-like alien, Sabine (Julie Dray), introduces the immortal Rylan (Rylan Clark) as host of the 803rd Interstellar Song Contest, who walks out to a cheering crowd.

The TARDIS materializes in one of the VIP viewing booths. The Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa) brings out the Vindicator and sets it up as Belinda (Varada Sethu) takes in the arena, surprised to see Rylan, who explains to the audience that forty finalists from forty different worlds will be singing. Belinda quickly says they are staying, and the Doctor readily agrees.

Rylan says from the stage that the show is transmitted live to an audience of three trillion life forms to find one winner.

Meanwhile, backstage in the gallery, the crew works to run the show and cues the confetti canon. An ad goes up on holograms in the audience for the sponsors of the show, Poppy Honey, which it says is cultivated from 100% organic golden poppy.

Following the review is a detailed recap. Both contain spoilers for 2.05, “The Story & The Engine.”

The fifth episode of the season of Doctor Who, “The Story & The Engine,” just dropped on Disney Plus. In the episode, the Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa) visits his old friend, Omo (Sule Rimi), who runs a barbershop in Lagos, however, upon entering a place where stories hold real power, he discovers that a mysterious figure known only as the Barber (Ariyon Bakare) has taken over, and no one is able to leave.

This week’s episode of the series touched on themes of belonging and community, which is universal and relevant and I enjoyed. Overall, story-wise it was interesting, and I liked it, because was a novel idea, and the notion of stories actually having true power was a unique concept, and visually bringing them to life the way they did on the screen was smart. Adding in the regrowing hair, though a bit silly, made sense with the plot and was unexpected. The creature was also very different, and I appreciated how they incorporated both African culture as well as various gods into the story. Although I’m not quite sure we needed another storyline involving the gods, this one was done in a way we haven’t seen, and I’m really curious to see why some of the barber’s “stories” involved the Doctor and what that actually means. I also really liked how this time, by the end of the episode, the villain was able to change, as was not the case last week, so it was fun to mix it up.

That being said, I have a couple problems with the episode. The main point, which is a big one, is that once again Belinda (Varada Sethu) was sidelined. We are only getting eight episodes this season and have not had much time to get to know Belinda as a companion, and once again, she was cut out of the episode almost entirely, and it’s becoming a problem. The writers want us to connect with her and her relationship with the Doctor, and viewers need the time to do that.

Following the review is a detailed recap. Both contain spoilers for 2.04, "Lucky Day"

In this week’s all-new Doctor Who, which just premiered on Disney Plus, Ruby Sunday (Millie Gibson) tries to adjust to life without the Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa), when she meets podcaster Conrad Clark (Jonah Hauer-King), who is eager to have her share the stories of her adventures. But when the terrifying Shreek has its sights set on her new boyfriend, she and UNIT must work to save him as well as reveal some truths to the world before irreversible damage can be caused by a devious prank.

I really feel split about this episode. While I liked the way it fell in the timeline and it was nice to see Ruby back in action, as she was an enjoyable companion, I would have preferred to see her go on an adventure with the Doctor and Belinda (Varada Sethu). While scheduling conflicts may have been unavoidable, in a season with only eight episodes, having one that is Doctor-lite was rather disappointing, and also cutting out Belinda almost entirely made it only more so. That being said, it was great to see Ruby team up with Kate Lethbridge Stewart (Jemma Redgrave) and the gang, who it’s always a treat to see. I’m excited for the upcoming UNIT spinoff and am always happy to see them involved, whatever the alien threat may be.

Following the review is a detailed recap. Both contain spoilers for 2.03, “The Well.”

The newest episode of Doctor Who, “The Well,” which was just released on Disney+, starts off with the Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa) and Belinda (Varada Sethu) venturing to a planet in the distant future after the TARDIS has once again bounced off of Belinda’s timeline. Immediately it throws them in the middle of the action when they are forced to jump out of a moving spacecraft, leaving them sans TARDIS for the next five hours. Joining a rescue mission to a planet where contact was lost with a group of people mining Carbon 46, they arrive to find everyone dead, surrounded by broken mirrors, except for one woman, Aliss Fenly (Rose Ayling-Ellis), who has somehow been spared from an enemy the Doctor met a long time ago. The other problem? No one has heard of Earth or the human race.

“The Well” is classic Doctor Who creepy. How can you defeat something you can’t approach, that you can’t even see without it attacking?

I like that the story brought back an alien from a previous story, that of “Midnight,” and loved the build up of the reveal that the Doctor has met the creature before, because it was unexpected and packed a punch. As a fan, I appreciate that it didn’t feel spoon-fed to me. The Doctor doesn’t recognize the antagonist at first either. It’s only when you hear about Xtonic radiation and that the planet’s surface was once diamonds that something clicks. Where have we seen this before? The mention of carbon was there to clue you in early on from the beginning, but like the Doctor, I saw it only in hindsight, yet I knew what the original name of the planet was before Shaya (Caoilfhionn Dunne) even said it.