\n<\/p>\n
He\u2019s not human, he explains; setting off the land mine wouldn\u2019t just kill him, it would wipe out half the planet. \u201cI am a complex space-time event,\u201d the Doctor tells Mundy, teeth gritted and bared, warning her of his terrifying potential. \u201cI will shatter this silly little battlefield of yours into dust.\u201d<\/p>\n
Over the decades, the Doctor\u2019s human appearance has been the downfall of many an adversary. It\u2019s a fairly standard \u201cDoctor Who\u201d formula: Aliens fail to realize that the Doctor is a two-hearted Time Lord and underestimate him until he outsmarts and destroys them. The show\u2019s longstanding villains \u2014 the Daleks, the Cybermen \u2014 are so feared by the Doctor and loved by fans because they know what he\u2019s capable of, and how to play the Doctor at his own game.<\/p>\n
On Kastarian 3, the drama continues. While attempting to deflect the ambulance, Ruby ends up getting shot herself, and the Doctor responds with the pained gasp of a wounded animal. But when the ambulance tries to name her next of kin, it, too, falters. As in the last episode, snow falls, just like on the night that Ruby was abandoned as a baby \u2014 though this time, it hangs in the air on Kastarian 3.<\/p>\n
The only way to save them all, the Doctor tells Mundy, is for her army to surrender. For the first time, we see the capacity of Gatwa\u2019s Doctor for rage. \u201cThere\u2019s nobody else here. You declared war on an empty planet,\u201d he rants, adding that the army’s soldiers didn\u2019t notice they were alone because they were placated by faith: \u201cThe magic word that keeps you never having to think for yourself,\u201d the Doctor says.<\/p>\n
But the land mine\u2019s clock is ticking down, leaving little room for Mundy (or viewers at home) to seethe at the Doctor\u2019s jab at religion. The Doctor breaks through the A.I. to the real John, but the system glitches and the mine glows green, only this time with green Xs symbolizing a parting \u201ckiss kiss\u201d message between John and his daughter.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a satisfying ending, and Moffat walks back some of the episode\u2019s critique of religious warfare when the Doctor admits that just because he doesn\u2019t like faith, it \u201cdoesn\u2019t mean I don\u2019t need it.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n