“The Devil’s Chord” is too short of an episode. I mean this as a compliment—and a criticism of everything added to the episode that limits chances to tell more of this story. This should’ve been a two-parter. It needed to be a two-parter. It could’ve been a top-ten, all-time episode if only it had been a two-parter.
“Social Stigma” is a great episode that not only entertains by itself but redeems the previous episode “Hard Reset.” I like to think of them as a two-parter now. We get a ton of buildup to that strange Isaac Newton stuff, and then a payoff with an extended conversation.
“Space Babies” doesn’t seem like an episode to start a season with. Doctor Who is no stranger to weirdness, not by a long shot—but this episode is not only weird, it’s also goofy.
“Just Out of Jupiter’s Reach” is a fascinating, humanist piece of science fiction. Despite having almost no conflicts, barely anything that counts as a propelled plot, it’s intriguing all the way through. Reading it instills so many emotions: sadness, joy, wistful nostalgia, and the exact type of curiosity that incredible concepts have all the power to invoke.
“Hard Reset” is a weird, kind-of-bad episode. It’s obvious that it has great plot importance, and the few snippets of context we do get for “The Protocol” are interesting—but for the majority of the listening experience, it’s more befuddling than enjoyable.
“The Long Game” is actually a story about very short periods of time and the exploitation of a species. Its title refers to one idea in the story, among a few different, some related, some not, concepts—and the greatest strength of this one, like “How It Unfolds,” is how interesting those ideas are.
“Solo Work” is a fantastic episode. The horror is weird and cosmic. The character work is great, and we get a lot of it—and there’s a cameo that made the ending all the better.
“Saved Copy” is a setup episode. It’s clearly about one plot point, and plants ideas for that plot point—and that’s the whole point of it. There are barely any asides that don’t deal with the concept.
“Falling Bodies” is an outlier, so far, in this collection. The concept of time does play a part in the story, but no more than any story that deals with someone’s past. There are plenty of sci-fi elements, but it takes place on a normal time scale.
To review “Anti-Social,” I need to make some assumptions. I need to assume our main character, Madam Electrum, is an accurate representation of a type of internet personality/celebrity.
“Void” is a murder mystery story, front and center. And, with as much forthrightness, I’ll admit to my lack of knowledge of the subgenre. I don’t know the conventions.
“Well Run” is a chaotic, disjointed, flawed, but ultimately enjoyable episode of The Magnus Protocol. The main horror story is riffing on a classic concept that’s been explored in many other places but is still effective for a reason.
