World of Who: Thin Ice

This was an episode that I like just because it reminded me a bit again of the episode "Beast Below" and also because of how it didn't go as full social commentary as I've always felt the show gets close to. Bill totally mentions that slavery is still legal in this time to which I wondered if that really mattered since no one cared in the "Shakespeare Code" or "The Next Doctor" about black people being in London and I kind of wanted the Doctor to say "that sounds like a you problem" for thinking about it. It is interesting to see an episode that doesn't really have that big of a threat level to it and again it is like the "Beast Below" but kind of the opposite. While both have a huge monster that is being exploited, "Thin Ice" spends more time on the Doctor and Bill going through the world they live in and it being a sort of "check your privilege" than focusing on the mystery of the monster. This isn't a detractor really as the story itself is focused more on finding out who is feeding the monster over anything else along with how to keep it from eating people. 

Bill and the Doctor had a great dynamic, once again focusing on the sort of teacher and student relationship. The Doctor tells Bill not to get emotional as they meet the man who feeds people to monsters but that goes out the window when the man is revealed to be a racist and the Doctor punches him. Bill also did a great job feeling that she may be getting in over her head and wondering if the Doctor even cares about the people that die around him. I think I kind of ruined the episode on my end by laughing when Bill asked if the Doctor had ever killed anyone because he has totally committed genocide like three times if we count the Time Lords. The mystery of the vault was again brought up as Nardol hears it knocking (though only three times as opposed to four). It does seem that the Doctor is supposed to stay on the planet and in 2017 because of what is in there and we haven't gotten anything special other than Nardol talking to it. On the subject of Nardol, I kind of wonder what people have against him, granted this is only the 4th episode I've seen him in. He seems like the harmless assistant and I'd honestly like to see him travel with Bill and the Doctor as I've always liked a three person TARDIS Team.

Overall this episode was all right and I liked it better than "Smile".