Warning: This review contains full spoilers for Doctor Who Season 1, Episode 5, “73 Yards”
“73 Yards” is a soul-crushing and downright weird tale that holds its own alongside some of the finest horror of recent years. It’s also our first instance of a "Doctor-Lite" episode in this new era of Doctor Who, featuring minimal presence of The Doctor and allowing other characters to take center stage.
This concept has been explored many times in Who history; in "Blink," we followed Sally Sparrow (Carey Mulligan) as she encountered the Weeping Angels, while "Turn Left" showcased Donna Noble (Catherine Tate) navigating a timeline unraveling without The Doctor. Following up on a tremendous showcase for Ncuti Gatwa in "Boom," "73 Yards" gives Millie Gibson her time to shine. While she has had significant screen time in the first three episodes of Season 1, none have showcased her talent as powerfully as this episode.
“73 Yards” begins with Ruby being ensnared by an eerie folk tale, unleashing an ominous entity that trails her from, as you might have guessed, 73 yards. Imagine It Follows, but without the relentless pursuit and the shapeshifting. Here, the baddie always looks like a senior citizen; it also possesses a sinister ability to petrify anyone who dares to interact with it – and, by proxy, Ruby – turning the terror factor up another notch. But, this episode doesn’t just nail the building blocks of horror – it also captures the world-shattering moments that ground these horrendous tales of grief.
Several moments in “73 Yards” are as painfully sad as they are horrific. It’s heartwrenching when Ruby’s adoptive mother rejects her after encountering the 73-yard entity, leaving Ruby screaming for her mom in the middle of the street, desperately trying to break the spell she’s under. These scenes highlight a captivating performance from Gibson, who expertly portrays the burden of trauma that’s following her as relentlessly as the old-woman-shaped thing on her tail. It’s a somber watch: Ruby is abandoned by everyone she loves, and her life descends into a cruel mundanity.
The rest of “73 Yards” unfolds with an ever-preceding bleakness, but it’s not long before we’re taking a signature timey-wimey detour. Following the introduction of politician Roger ap Gwilliam (Aneurin Barnard), the script shifts from a series of soul-crushing events to an urgent mission to thwart nuclear armageddon. I much preferred the episode's initial explorations of horror, but there’s still plenty to enjoy in this punchy third act. Infiltrating a political organization because The Doctor mentioned a future Prime Minister almost ending the world is as outlandishly fun as it sounds. Plus it’s immensely satisfying when Ruby eventually drives away Gwilliam using her curse.
By its conclusion, the episode returns to its unnerving jumping off point, but there’s also an underwhelming and cryptic finality to “73 Yards” that lacks the satisfaction I was hoping for. Some horror fans might appreciate the ambiguity of this ending, but there's a limit to how effective it can be. Questions go unanswered, and despite everything that has happened, we still get pushed back to square one, with any consequences seemingly remaining unexplored.
“73 Yards” achieves that “hide behind the couch” goal Doctor Who so often strives for.
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While I wish “73 Yards” didn’t pivot away from Ruby’s unnerving plight in order to prop up a side plot, I still feel immensely pleased by its attempts to explore so many of the most traumatizing themes in modern horror. This episode is an incredibly memorable experience and achieves that “hide behind the couch” goal Doctor Who so often strives for. More importantly, Millie Gibson’s tremendous performance flawlessly carries an emotionally arduous episode; the young star continuing to show her acting prowess in this new era.
