Doctor Who recap: The Tsuranga Conundrum focuses more on characters than on monsters

The Tsuranga Conundrum begins with the Doctor and her friends on a junk world, where an unexpected discovery sends them straight to the Tsuranga…

(Image credit: Doctor Who/BBC.

Image obtained from: official Doctor Who website.)

The Doctor and her crew are stuck on a medical spaceship with a very small but life-threatening problem, in tonight’s episode of Doctor Who, The Tsuranga Conundrum.

The Tsuranga Conundrum begins with the Doctor and her friends looking for parts in the middle of a junk world. Of course, this being Doctor Who, what they instead find is a sonic mine that activates and leaves them unconscious.

The Doctor wakes up, still in pain and healing from her injuries, inside the Tsuranga. Looking for the nearest exit, she encounters several strangers, including celebrated General Eve Cicero, her brother Durkas, her android Ronan, and the very heavily pregnant Yoss Inkl.

However, it’s only after meeting all the people in the Tsuranga that she finds out what it actually is – not a hospital on the junk world, but a passing medical ship. It took them a few days to recover, and the junk world is far behind them – with the TARDIS still on it.

Unsurprisingly, considering how long it took her to get it back at the start of this series, the Doctor is desperate to get back there instantly. This is one of the rare times where we’ve seen a more vulnerable, more desperate side to this incarnation.

It’s only because of the chief medical officer’s Astos’s calm reassurance and reasoning, as well as reminding her that other patients are on board with urgent needs, that she eventually accepts the situation and calms down.

A shocking moment

However, it’s not long before the ship runs into trouble. Something has landed on board the ship, and it’s up to the Doctor and Astos to find out what. Clearly, Astos is set up to be the best person to work with the Doctor for this episode.

So it’s actually a genuine shock when, after entering an escape pod, it suddenly launches before immediately exploding. As a result, this then leaves his assistant Mabli in charge of the ship. She’s not only on just her second tour, but she’s very conscious of her own lack of experience, even getting gently pushed around by Ronan at one point for limited medical supplies.

It doesn’t help when they find out exactly what’s arrived on board the ship: the Pting. A very small creature, it is nonetheless incredibly dangerous and can cause destruction on a huge scale. It doesn’t eat organic matter, but it can eat anything metallic very, very quickly.

Even worse, if the ship gets near its destination with the Pting still on board, it’ll be blown up instantly. So overall, the situation is rather desperate for everyone.

The Doctor and Yasmin solve the conundrum in a very unusual way.

(Image credit: Doctor Who/BBC.

Image obtained from: official Doctor Who website.)

A mix of relationships

But while the Doctor aims on fixing the problem as quickly as possible, the episode mainly focuses on the drama and relationships between all of the characters.

For example, during a conversation between Ryan and Yas, we finally learn how Ryan’s mum died, and even when. When Ryan was just thirteen years old, his mother passed away from a heart attack. Ryan’s dad left not long after, but after meeting Yoss and finding out just how much pressure he’s feeling, Ryan is beginning to understand why his dad left.

Eve and Durkas have some family issues to work through, particularly with Eve lying about a condition that she has. It’s eventually revealed that she’s suffering from a condition called “Pilot’s Heart”, which could kill her if her adrenaline levels are too high. When Durkas learns of this, he’s not surprised in the slightest. Despite the danger to her, however, she aims to fly the ship safely.

It’s not long before the Doctor starts to worry about the Tsuranga’s anti-matter drive, and gets both Yasmin and Ronan to protect it. She also gives a big scientific speech on how it works and how amazing it is. It’s clear that this Doctor really, really loves her science.

All the while, Graham and Ryan both help to be Yoss’s birthing partners. It’s an experience that neither one of them is truly ready for (despite how many episodes Graham’s watched of Call the Midwife). However, it all goes well, and Ryan helps to reassure Yoss that, while Yoss may not be feeling ready to be a dad, he could still turn out to be a great one.

A unique solution

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The Doctor finds the solution to the problem when she works out exactly what the Pting is looking for: a huge source of energy. Taking a core component out of the anti-matter drive, she places it inside an open escape pod and uses it to lure the Pting there. Once it’s both swallowed the component and absorbed the energy from it, the Doctor ejects the pod from the ship.

Eve dies while trying to pilot the ship. Durkas takes over, at least. He might be more of an engineer than a pilot, but he has been given plenty of training, at least.

Mabli has also gained more confidence in herself. She may have been more than a little anxious at the start of the episode. But by the end, she’s proved to herself at least that she can handle even the most desperate situations.

The episode closes with a prayer given for the general in remembrance, which everyone joins in.

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Did you enjoy tonight’s episode? What did you like about it? What didn’t you like? Let us know in the comments below.

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