Can You Hear Me? Written by Charlene James & Chris Chibnall and directed by Emma Sullivan

Oh Brilliant: I’ve heard some grumblings online about how the final scene between Graham and the Doctor is played and I think there is something far more profound going on than an amusing (or insulting) scene between the Doctor and one of his companions. This isn’t the Doctor refusing to comfort somebody who is opening up to her. Because that would be a pretty awful thing to do. This is somebody who doesn’t know how to react to the horrible, personal truth that is being spelled out to her. Trust me, as somebody who has battled with mental health problems and somebody who has worked in mental health, I have both been the Doctor in this scene and experienced her awkward silence. That’s the point of the episode, I think. Can you hear me? Do you want me to say it again? Someone is trying to explain their fears and anxieties…and sometimes you just don’t know what to say, or you’re not equipped to give an appropriate answer and so just make some awkward excuse to extradite yourself from the situation. It’s worth remembering that the Doctor is an alien from the planet Gallifrey and not a social worker from Barnsley. Yes, she makes big grandstanding speeches about humanity because it is easy to step in a make sweeping generalisations about things but when one person is looking you square in the eye and opening up about their doubts, in a beautifully flawed way she simply doesn’t have the answers. That feels very real to me because I’ve seen it.

The Doctor is rubbish without her companions, she simply doesn’t know what to do. The TARDIS letting her know about an emergency on the other side of the Earth distracts her so she doesn’t realise what her biggest fear is. Being alone. If leaping from the TARDIS and talking to himself is good enough for Tom Baker in The Face of Evil, it’s good enough for Jodie Whittaker in Can You Hear Me?. The Doctor talks to the TARDIS in this episode and she is answering. Described as the living definition of impossible. The Doctor is bound to think that somebody locked away is a victim (she’s been in that position more times than she would care to remember) and doesn’t stop to think that there might be a very good reason for why Rakaya is being held. Blundering is at the top of her CV, along with plays well with others and excellent tap dancer in a crisis. Zellin brilliantly uses the Doctor’s friends against her. He targets them specifically to get the Doctor involved, the only person that could free Rakaya from her prison. He put the images in their mind precisely to get her here and now and to think that she was a prisoner of his making. It says something that she is the only person smart enough to release her, and empathetic enough to do it willingly. The Doctor magically summoning the sonic screwdriver irks but I was immediately distracted by the finger she winds up walking away with.

Yaz: The one episode where nobody can say that Yaz is underserved! At first, I thought that it felt like this was retrospectively inserting development into Yaz by heading back into her past and adding dark details that have never been hinted at before. Then I thought about if somebody met me fresh for the first time today and if they would be able to figure out if I have had mental health issues in the past. I’m a pretty jolly and confident sort of chap so I very much doubt it. Suddenly a lot of information about Yaz does make sense when you watch Can You Hear Me? Her willingness to jump on board the TARDIS this quickly, her desire to be a policewoman, her need to prove herself to the Doctor…all makes sense when you find out that at one point, three years ago, Yaz was going to commit suicide because life piled on top of her in so many ways and she could not see a way forward. She’s such a happy go lucky companion so to learn that there is an underlying sadness and revelation underneath all those smiles deepens her considerably. How this episode reveals her worst day is done with great delicacy and the dialogue manages to hit hard without being exploitative or disrespectful. It’s very sweet that Sonya chooses to mark the day that Yaz nearly took her life by being with her sister and celebrating the fact that she is still alive. When you reach that point and you manage to claw yourself back, it is worth marking that day each year. It’s a huge achievement. The sequence where Yaz is haunted by her suicide attempt is powerfully realised; her sister taunts her by telling her she should ‘do it right this time.’ ‘Nobody is coming this time, you’re alone in the dark.’ That’s some of the most frightening dialogue in all of Doctor Who. That smile that Yaz gives the police officer who saved her life is one of the most heart-tugging moments in NuWho. There are incredible people out there who make a difference and the 50p is a little reward for all the hard work they do. They deserve to see the fruits of their kindness. I’ve been the person who needed help and the person giving help. And both are challenging. I’ve never felt more connected to Yaz. What a triumph this episode is for her character.

Graham: It’s like somebody has looked at the three companions and decided to throw up two years’ worth of development in one episode. This is the sort of material we have been crying out for for these three all season. It’s very well done, as well. Very personal and frightening, and very human. Last year I felt all three companions were very human to the detriment of them enjoying their adventures. It felt like three soap opera characters had dropped into Doctor Who for a year. This year we have seen the three of them having a lot of fun and engaging far more with the Doctor’s lifestyle, and so development like this feels more like a reward. I lost my mum to cancer and know what a horrifying thing that is to go through for a person and so Graham’s fear that his condition might return feels very real to me. It’s something that a lot of people are terrified of, whether they have previously been diagnosed or not. For Grace to be the one who taunts him with a relapse in his nightmare, and to accuse him of not saving her is very cruel.

Ryan: He gets a massive wake up call in this episode, and realises that whilst he is off gallivanting the universe, his friends are back home moving on without him. Or in the case of Tibo, stuck in a rut without him. His friend needed his help because he is finding life a struggle and Ryan has not been there to see his life falling apart.

Sparkling Dialogue: ‘I’m that little bit smarter than you thought I was’ sums up the Doctor perfectly.

The Good: Another female director, more astonishingly atmospheric work being done. Just take a look at the opening few scenes to see how much effort is being put into making the show look as stylish as possible. The recreation of Appello (complete with a realistic CGI shot of the entire city), terrific lighting, convincing sets, a seriously creepy monster (with enormous fingers that wrap around your face) and well-cast parts. What I love is how this is just a side issue, it’s not even where the meat of the episode takes place and this much effort is put into making it as convincing as possible. It’s nice to see a pre-credit too. I guess the show only does that when it feels the need to now. With his creepy score, detachable fingers, and Ian Gelder’s sinister presence, Zellin is the most effective bad guy that Whittaker’s Doctor has stumbled across. The way he can whisk into a room and stir up your nightmares so insidiously is really quite a scare for children. Imagine waking up in the middle of the night and seeing him standing there, smiling, and sending his icky fingers at you to bring your phobias to life? Brr. It’s really chillingly done. The musical sting and screeching violins help sell the horror of the home invasion. Some fun in having everybody call the Doctor at once and having her merge the call. It’s a nice way of pulling all the threads together in one bunch to propel the story forwards. I adore the set for the Control Hub with its Top of the Pops style scaffolding, creepy lighting and harpsichord scanner functions. It’s a designer putting that little bit of extra effort into what could have been a very functional bit of set dressing. Instead its visually very imaginative. Two planets colliding in an extinction event holding a destructive God in a stellar prison being fed nightmares. That’s the sort of premise that would give Douglas Adams a hard on. It’s not often that the Doctor meets the elementals that can play about with the fabric of the universe and it always forces her to up her game when she does. It’s nice to make the villain of the piece so epic because until now (the Master aside) it has been second rate bad guys like Krasko and Tim Shaw. The animation impressed me because it was a creative way to spell out exposition whilst making you go wow. Two Gods walking down a misty street at night sucking in people’s nightmares and feasting. This is Moffat style nightmare fuel.

The Bad: Dash, dash, dash. Series 11 was practically standing still. Series 12 hasn’t stopped running. Not for one single episode. It’s always running from one scene to the next. I like a fast pace and momentum but it would be nice to put the breaks on for a little bit and take a look around. Even in an episode as introspective as this there is a sense of urgency and movement throughout. They are built up as an epic Big Bad but the Elementals are brought down rather quickly and easily by the Doctor pulling the threads of the narrative (the prison, the monster, the fingers) around them. It’s clever but feels like a humiliatingly brief defeat for two villains that have been so well built up.

Result: Dark, schizoid, imaginative and brave, Can You Hear Me? marks a turning point for Yaz, Graham and Ryan in a huge way. How this episode fools you into thinking it is going to be all about people’s phobias and then winds up saying something profound about mental health in general, and how we need to talk is hugely impressive for a family show. With racism, environmentalism and now mental health under his belt, Chibnall isn’t afraid to have a point whilst it is entertaining you and I will keep saying this until I am blue in the face but these things are real, they’re out there and they are worth discussing as families. I’m going to say that that is the most vital and individual proponent of Chibnall’s vision of Doctor Who. It has a point. I have seen loads of fans opening up about their own mental health issues, sharing stories, supporting one another and healing some of the hurt in the day since this episode aired. That a piece of entertainment and a community that enjoys it can take that away is incredible, especially when fandom of television shows in general is getting pretty toxic. Can You Hear Me? has a real punch to it because of its character work. It’s the most accomplished character piece in years, especially when it comes to the regulars. The plot works extremely well to a point, but ultimately that is wrapped up with little ceremony (and to its detriment) to allow for the ten-minute coda, which is where all the striking material is. Last week it wasn’t the monsters that affected me, it was what I learnt about our reliance on plastic and what it is doing to the planet. This week it isn’t Ian Gelder and Clare Hope-Ashitey that scared me (as fantastic as they are), it is the idea that people are struggling invisibly around me and I might realise too late to help them. Mandip Gill is astonishingly good in her first real showcase but the rest of the regulars are only a heartbeat behind her. The Doctor is still a weird, quirky, awkward alien having adventures and trying to keep herself together in the knowledge that her planet has gone up in flames. But her companions are real people; struggling, asking questions about their existence and coming to terms with the demons of their past. They feel so much more real to me now as a result of this episode. Stunningly realised and acted, watch this more than once, it benefits several viewings. I make no apology for loving an episode that spreads a message that I have banging on about for years. If you’re struggling, talk: 9/10