Doctor Who: Legend of the Sea Devils Gets a Release Date

Television

The end is nigh; the absolution of Doctor Who or its final destruction is only two episodes away, and that penultimate episode finally has a release date. As it was rumored for many months, The Legend of the Sea Devils will air on Easter Sunday, April 17th. This upcoming episode is described by DoctorWho.TV as:

“. . . a swashbuckling special adventure[.] the Doctor (Jodie Whittaker), Yaz (Mandip Gill) and Dan (John Bishop) come face to fin with one of the Doctor’s oldest adversaries: the Sea Devils. Why has legendary pirate queen Madam Ching come searching for a lost treasure? What terrifying forces lurk beneath the oceans of the nineteenth century? And did Yaz really have to dress Dan up as a pirate?”

This episode has two important landmarks for this particularly divisive Doctor Who era. First and foremost, and most appealing, this episode will mark the beginning of the final countdown to the regeneration of Jodie Whittaker and her departure from the show, along with showrunner Chris Chibnall. The closer fans get to their departure – and the closer we get to Russell T Davies taking over again – the closer fans get to receiving good Doctor Who once more. Second of all, this episode sees the return of Classic Who villains the Sea Devils, not seen in many years. As Chris Chibnall has done in the past with the Weeping Angels, the Sontarans, the Judoon, and many other previous villains, fans can expect the Sea Devils to be summarily destroyed, their mystique and power reduced in order to prop up Jodie Whittaker.

When Chris Chibnall’s first season, comprised of wholly original villains, failed completely, he pivoted 180 degrees to nearly entirely utilizing past villains, bastardizing them to prop up his political agenda. He hoped that the ’member berries of previous villains and characters would be enough to hold fans’ attention through his propaganda and his biggest insult to Doctor Who canon, The Timeless Children. Unfortunately for him, this was not the case, as fans have been abandoning this series in droves, allowing the viewership to reach lows hitherto undreamt of.

Surprisingly, this is one of the first episodes that fans have looked forward to since Chris Chibnall began his desecration of the franchise. This episode and the one following it are the only ones of Jodie Whittaker’s era that fans feel a semblance of excitement to see – not to watch nor enjoy the episode, but to finally survive this era and make it to the other side in hopes of getting good Doctor Who once more. Jodie Whittaker’s farewell will not be met with tears of loss, nor regret and sadness, as all previous Doctors received. Her departure will be met with raucous applause and cheering heard ’round the globe; all fans united in glee to see her stain removed from their screens. Doctor Who may never come back, but her departure, along with Chris Chibnall’s, may mark the first hope for this beloved franchise in so many years.

Picture courtesy of BBC.