Doctor Who recap: “Legend of the Sea Devils,” Aired April 17, 2022
Nothing says spring holidays like Sea Devils!
It’s been a long, long time since we’ve seen this classic enemy on screen, and I’m delighted to see they haven’t changed much at all.
Also, how exciting to have a special with a classic villain and pirates?!
As the trailer said, swashbuckle your seatbelts!
“Sea Devil.” “Land Parasite.”
Based on the trailer, I was going to mention how the Sea Devils don’t look all that menacing, with their smiley beaks and big eyes. That is, until they brought out the glowy swords and starting killing. That is one sword I do not want to be on the other side of.
We got a glimpse of a Sea Devil statue, which was actually a Sea Devil frozen in time, a stone prison (I’m getting Weeping Angel vibes).
On a quest for lost treasure, pirate queen Madame Ching disturbed the statue and released the enemy. This is not going to go well.
“Stowaways”
After Madame Ching released the Sea Devils, one of them killed Ying Ki’s father. Ying Ki vowed to get revenge on Madame Ching for releasing the Sea Devils.
Dan, decked out in full pirate gear, including an eye patch and hook, wandered off with Ying Ki to Madame Ching’s ship to avenge Ying Ki’s father.
Ying Ki’s plans to kill Madame Ching changed when she revealed the reason she’s on her ship alone is because her crew, including her sons, were taken hostage. She went out on the hunt for the lost treasure to save them. She has two new crew members now in Dan and Ying Ki.
“No ship, Sherlock”
While Dan and Ying Ki swam to Madame Ching’s ship, The Doctor and Yaz headed back in time to Ji-Hun’s ship to retrieve the lost treasure to bargain with Madame Ching.
In the TARDIS on the bottom of the ocean, they had a run-in with a giant, toothy, proper scary fish who took them to the Sea Devils’ lair of sorts. Turns out they took Ji-Hun’s ship and made it their own.
Can we talk about the ocean floor dropping out under the TARDIS real quick? Because that was really, really cool.
Also, the haunted-looking, shipwrecked Sea Devil ship looked awesome.
“Say hello to my crew”
What’s a pirate adventure without swinging from ropes and lots and lots of swordfighting? Every character in this adventure got involved in fighting the Sea Devils on Madame Ching’s ship.
With her crew successful, just The Doctor was left fighting. She disarmed a Sea Devil, which Ji-Hun stabbed. There wasn’t much time for a lecture about not killing enemies, as things got worse before they got better.
Of course, The Doctor came up with a plan, and Ji-Hun redeemed himself by sacrificing himself so The Doctor and Yaz could escape. The Sea Devils, however, were not so fortunate. Another day, another enemy trapped by The Doctor. Madame Ching could go save her crew, and Team TARDIS could head out on their next adventure.
“I wish this would go on forever”
I can’t publish this recap and not mention the few Yaz/Doctor moments – the quip about The Doctor not being a bad date, and The Doctor saying if she dated nowadays, it’d be Yaz.
“You’re one of the greatest people I’ve ever known, including my wife.”
However, we’re reminded that time always runs out. We know the Thirteenth Doctor’s regeneration is looming, and she, too, knows something big is in her future.
The best part for me – that River Song reference!
All in all, a decent episode. It wasn’t my favorite, but it wasn’t too long, and I was entertained enough. There were some cool effects, and the TARDIS on the bottom of the ocean was pretty great. And leave it to Dan to provide the comedic relief. But by far the most exciting thing was that preview for the next special.
Tegan, Ace, Kate Stewart, The Master, Vinder – the Centenary Special looks beyond epic! As sad as I’ll be to see Jodie go, I can’t wait to see her final adventure!
Next time:
What did you think of “Legend of the Sea Devils”? Let us know at @PureFandom on Twitter!
Doctor Who Centenary Special coming Autumn 2022.
