‘What every living creature wishes for: revenge.’ RTD’s finales always involved an end-of-the-world threat engineered either by the Daleks or the Master. Moffat’s brought season-long plots together, usually with universe-ending stakes. Chibnall stays true to his own choices with no returning villains or apocalyptic danger, although it’s hardly small scale given the Earth is the next planet on Tim Shaw’s revenge list. The real story is Graham moving past his own need for retribution to be the better man, embracing his role as Ryan’s grandfather and the Doctor’s friend over Grace’s avenger.

The problem is, it’s a fairly thin thread to hang an episode on, especially when Bradley Walsh hasn’t previously been asked to play Graham as a man driven by blood justice or ‘unfinished business’ with Tim Shaw. I can buy it to some extent, especially on the back of him having to experience losing Grace all over again in It Takes You Away, but the script and performances never really sell the stakes here: Graham’s travels with the Doctor, his relationship with Ryan, his soul. It’s just a couple of unpassionate chats like they’re deciding whether to terminate Tim Shaw’s contract at the supermarket rather than ending his life.

For it to work, it needed the conflict to be dramatized. The Wrath of Khan wouldn’t work if Khan was barely aware Kirk existed. Here, Tim Shaw cares about revenge on the Doctor, and his motives are driven by that conflict, not a reciprocal hatred with Graham. But maybe because Graham’s is the central story, the production shies away from giving the Doctor her hero moments. Chibnall includes some possibilities – like when the Doctor is laying down her rules of engagement – but the camera just looks blankly at her, rather than swooping in low for a big close up like it might have done with Tennant. As a result, Whittaker looks underpowered and ordinary.

This is a bad episode. It lacks drama and drive. It’s like The Doctor’s Daughter without the novelty of the Doctor’s daughter, just the bits where they trudge around a wet quarry and some space corridors. The script picks bits from The Pirate Planet, but doesn’t include anything approaching the power of Tom Baker’s big, ‘what’s it for?’ moment as he fails to appreciate the horror of the Captain’s trophy room. Chibnall has created the first female Doctor and hired Jodie Whittaker but he doesn’t seem to have put the thought in to how this could change the way the Doctor approaches adventures (a fault, to be fair, for the whole series, barring The Witchfinders). There’s next to nothing for the regulars to work with, and nothing at all for a guest cast that includes Phyllis Logan and Mark Addy in entirely forgettable roles. An annoyingly weak end to an inconsistently good series. There isn’t even a battle in it.

Next Time: Resolution