Doctor Who: 5 takeaways from The Ghost Monument

There was a lot to take away from The Ghost Monument. What five key things did we learn from this episode?

(Image credit: Doctor Who/BBC. Image obtained from: official Doctor Who website.)

With the Doctor’s reunion with the TARDIS and hints of major arcs, there was a lot to take away from The Ghost Monument. But what five key things stood out the most?

The opening episode of Series Eleven, The Woman Who Fell to Earth, gave us a lot to take away from it. Not just in terms of plot, but also in terms of character, too. We had a lot to learn about the Thirteenth Doctor and her new companions.

And that continues with the second episode, The Ghost Monument. Like the previous episode, the plot was rather light. The story of two people trying to win a race, all the time trying to avoid getting killed on a deadly planet, is a rather familiar story.

It was clear that, like with the opening episode, Chris Chibnall wanted to keep the story light for The Ghost Monument. As a result this played to his strengths, at least partially. Angstrom and Epzo didn’t come across as the most fleshed out characters, but Susan Lynch and Shaun Dooley both gave great performances.

But it was the main characters who really stood out. Getting their reaction to their first alien world was fantastic, especially in such an incredibly dangerous situation. And throughout the story, Chibnall added just the smallest hints of what else we can expect from this series.

As a result, there was still plenty to take away from The Ghost Monument. Whether it was through character moments, major hints, or just the showrunner having a laugh at the audience, The Ghost Monument gave us a lot of moments and key ideas to take away from it.

With all of that said, let’s kick off by taking a look at a key character moment from the Doctor…

The Doctor is still very opposed to guns, as we’ve learned in The Ghost Monument. But is her attitude towards them even more strict than before?

(Image credit: Doctor Who/BBC. Image obtained from: official Doctor Who website.)

The Doctor is still very anti-gun

This aspect of the Doctor’s character isn’t exactly very surprising. It’s not just because the Doctor has been very anti-gun for the whole of the New Series, at least. (While he wasn’t exactly pro-gun in the Classic Series, he wasn’t completely against using them, from time to time.)

There was also the fact that the previous episode had already made it very clear that this new Doctor was a pacifist. At the very least, she would look for the least violent way to resolve the problem. She won’t simply do nothing, but at the same time, she also won’t get anyone killed, not even the villain, if she can help it.

So of course, it makes sense that in this episode, we get a big speech from her about not wanting to use guns. Perhaps the speech could have been inserted more naturally, but it was interesting to have a companion who was very pro-gun, at least when it came to resolving the situation.

What’s particularly interesting is that Ryan wouldn’t even be the first New Series companion to carry a gun. We’ve seen Jack, Mickey and even Martha use one at some point. River pretty much used guns on a regular basis. And yet, while the Doctor occasionally had a problem with it, the previous incarnations didn’t seem to mind their companions using guns themselves, overall.

Whereas here, the Doctor is keen for Ryan to avoid using them from the start. This could be because she’s worried that someone completely untrained will get themselves killed. But the general implication is that this is the Doctor at her most anti-gun yet. It’s quite an interesting development.

It also leads into quite the interesting moment…

If any moment showed us how much Chris Chibnall likes to have fun with the audience, then Ryan Sinclair gunning down several robots is definitely that moment.

(Image credit: Doctor Who/BBC. Image obtained from: official Doctor Who website.)

Chris Chibnall loves trolling the audience

Following the Doctor’s anti-gun speech, Ryan just picks up a gun, ready to take on several robots at once while referencing Call of Duty. Suddenly, he’s blasting every single robot in sight, showing off his moves and showing us how effective guns can really be. After the last robot falls, Ryan Sinclair is victorious, thanks to the awesome power of guns! Thank you, guns!

Except, no, wait…

Just as Ryan Sinclair is celebrating, all the robots start to get back up. Naturally, he runs away screaming, “Where’s the reload?!” over and over again in increasingly higher pitch.

This moment shows us two things. One, that Ryan has a lot to learn, both about the universe, and about how much smarter the Doctor is compared to most people, especially him.

Two, Chris Chibnall just loves to troll his audience. Just as we start to wonder whether guns really did save the day in this case (in a very over-the-top way), Chibnall brilliantly subverts this by having the targets get right back up. It’s a moment that’s clearly designed to play with the audience’s expectations, and I must admit, it is a funny moment.

The only thing I wonder about is whether Ryan was the best character to do this. Considering that he had no training, is an average guy from Sheffield and also has dyspraxia, the scene is, even for Doctor Who, stretching credibility. You make your aliens and planets as weird and wonderful as possible, so long as you keep your characters grounded. I’m not sure Chibnall succeeded with this moment.

Still, props for effort, at least, and I do love a writer who enjoys playing with the audience’s expectations, so long as they handle it just right.

The Stenza were a key threat in The Woman Who Fell to Earth. Does the reference of them in The Ghost Monument imply bigger things to come?

(Image credit: Doctor Who/BBC. Image obtained from: official Doctor Who website.)

The Stenza may be more important than we thought

One moment that really leapt out was when the Doctor found out exactly what had happened to the planet. Not at first, as the explanation seemed to be pretty generic, in some ways. Scientists were building weapons on the planet, some of the weapons wiped out all life on the planet. It wasn’t exactly a major resolution to the mystery, really.

Until we found out exactly who used Desolation as a weapons testing site: the Stenza. The same race as Tzim-Sha in The Woman Who Fell to Earth.

We had heard that Chris Chibnall wasn’t planning any major arcs. Maybe he isn’t, and this scene was just a nice little reference.

But somehow, I doubt it. It’s not just a casual mention. The Stenza are clearly being established as a very major threat. Tzim-Sha wasn’t memorable, but it was also established that he cheated at his major test at becoming leader. So who knows just how much more smarter or dangerous the rest of them are like?

Honestly, I’m in two minds about the Stenza being expanded on. On the one hand, it’d be great for the New Series to have a “Big Bad” that wasn’t a previously established enemy from the Classic Series.

On the other hand, however, a Big Bad should be memorable. It should be something that challenges the Doctor and raises the stakes. It should also be something that stands out in a big way.

But that’s not what we got with Tzim-Sha. While it was cool that he had teeth in his face, overall, he was a pretty forgettable villain. So the Stenza have a long way to go before they can earn that level of status. However, I’m still intrigued by the potential of a new major monster for the series.

Especially since it looks like the Stenza won’t be the only arc of Series Eleven…

Was the mention of the Timeless Child a hint of things to come?

(Image credit: Doctor Who/BBC. Image obtained from: official Doctor Who website.)

“The Timeless Child” – a new mystery for Doctor Who?

Another key moment was the Doctor facing the Remnants. The cloth like creatures seemed to read her head and were able to know a lot about the Doctor very quickly. Including something we – and apparently she – doesn’t know: the “Timeless Child”.

What is the Timeless Child? We have no idea, at least, not yet. But there are a few possible theories.

The first is the Doctor herself. Perhaps referring to something that happened when she was a young boy on Gallifrey, in her first incarnation. Something the Doctor once was, and has forgotten about.

Or perhaps, it’s her own granddaughter, Susan Foreman. The one abandoned on Earth by her First incarnation. If so, it would be interesting if Chibnall addresses what happened next to the character in Big Finish’s audios, especially the short Time War story All Hands on Deck, or if he decides to go off in his own direction.

Of course, and this is the most likely option, it could be something else entirely. A brand new arc for a brand new era. Regardless, it certainly sounds intriguing, and I hope it’s a mystery that we come back to later on in the series.

I also hope that, if it is developed at all, that it’s a mystery with payoff. We’ve had many arcs in the show with fairly disappointing resolutions, particularly during Moffat’s era.

“The Hybrid” arc of Series Nine particularly stood out. There was an intriguing idea there, but the answer given to resolve it wasn’t a very satisfying one. Especially as it was supposed to have been a key reason why the Doctor left Gallifrey in the first place.

Regardless, it’s great to have something else to speculate over this series, and a nice hook beyond the standalone story of the week to keep viewers watching.

We finally got to see the new TARDIS at the end of The Ghost Monument. What was it like?

(Image credit: Doctor Who/BBC. Image obtained from: official Doctor Who website.)

The new TARDIS

This was something I was wondering about all episode. Not just if there would be a new TARDIS, but even whether the Doctor would find it. It wouldn’t be the first time the Doctor had been separated from their ship for a full season, after all.

But of course, Chibnall avoided that option, and quite rightly so. At the end of the story, the Doctor had finally been reunited with her ship. It was a scene that was beautifully played by Jodie Whittaker, who looked so incredibly happy to have her ship back.

More from Winter is Coming

But of course, with a new Doctor and a new era comes a brand new look for the TARDIS. How does it look so far?

Currently, I’m not too keen on it. Certainly, it looks more organic than the two TARDIS sets we’ve seen since 2010. It certainly owes a nod to both Nine’s and Ten’s TARDIS which was coral themed.

The console area looks rather smaller than previous sets, though. Gone are the wide open spaces that we’re familiar with. Instead, we’ve got something of a rather closed off, almost claustrophobic looking area, with several columns sprouting off and keeping it enclosed. As a result, it takes away from the impression of size that so many console rooms have given us over the years.

Still, I’ll expect it’s a room that I’ll get used to over the coming series and beyond. And I’m glad that the TARDIS is featured in this series.

So the Doctor and her new friends are finally with the TARDIS. She can therefore take them straight home. The big question now is: what stops her? What drags them off course to Alabama in 1955 in the next episode, Rosa? We can’t wait to find out!

Next. Series Eleven and story arcs: Rule one – Chris Chibnall lies. dark

What did you takeaway from The Ghost Monument? Any moment that stood out to you? Are you intrigued by any of the new potential story arcs? Let us know in the comments below.

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