Doctor Who Season 2 Episode 6, “The Interstellar Song Contest,” is a wild ride from beginning to end. We see a new side to this Doctor, and Ncuti Gatwa absolutely kills it here. He channels the Doctor’s rage to a tee, cutting an imposing figure. After referencing Susan in Season 1 Episode 2, “The Devil’s Chord,” she finally returns in some trippy visions. What does this mean?
Oh, and Mrs. Flood is a Rani, undergoing bi-generation to bring forth the Rani. As for our eponymous Time Lord and his companion, the narrative culminates in a high-stakes cliffhanger as the doors are literally blown off the TARDIS as May 24, 2025, comes knocking. It’s a pulse-pounding, compelling episode overall.
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Doctor Who, “The Interstellar Song Contest”
We open on the Harmony Arena in 2925, a space station hosting the 803rd Interstellar Song Contest. Rylan Clark emerges from his cryogenic chamber to co-host alongside Sabine (Julie Dray). He joins Sabine onstage. At the same time, the Doctor (Gatwa) and Belinda (Varada Sethu) land the TARDIS in a box seat. The Doctor whips out the Vindicator for another reading, revealing they only need one more to get Belinda home. Belinda wants to stay, though, after spotting Rylan. Eurovision has gone — wait for it — interstellar, baby.
Elsewhere, Nina Maxwell (Kiruna Stamell) ensures the competition runs smoothly while behind the scenes. A host of drone guards stand at attention behind her and her employees. Mrs. Flood (Anita Dobson) is also in attendance. She spies on the Doctor with her binoculars. We see an ad for Poppy Honey, one of the sponsors of the contest. Hmm. Captain Poppy from “Space Babies” appeared on last week’s episode. Could “Poppy Honey” be another hint at what’s to come?
Ready and Primed
Belinda remarks that she and the Doctor were worried about Earth’s destruction on May 24, 2025. However, this contest proves Earth thrives after that. The Doctor points out the mavity shell encasing the Arena, protecting them, while also giving audience members a picture-perfect view of the stars. The Vindicator beeps, indicating that the reading is complete. “Vindicator ready and primed,” Mrs. Flood says to herself. She picks up a circular device, which lights up. She now has the final link.
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Next, a married couple, Mike (Kadiff Kirwan) and Gary (Charlie Condou) Gabbastone, learn that the Doctor and Belinda are in their seats. Gary is a mega-fan of the Interstellar Song Contest, while Mike is indifferent about it. Frustrated, Mike approaches a drone guard, demanding it do something. “Phase one activated,” it responds. That sounds ominous. A man named Kid (Freddie Fox), of the Hellion race from the now-dead planet Hellia, bursts into the gallery. He gains control of the drone guards as Nina tries to give him the boot.
Unfortunately, Kid has a lady on the inside — Wynn (Iona Anderson), another Hellion. Nina admits she took a chance hiring her because nobody hires Hellions. So, seizing the gallery and drone guards is phase one. Kid and Wynn share a passionate smooch. Phase two involves airing the dress rehearsal of the Interstellar Song Contest for all three trillion people watching. Will they notice Rylan isn’t present, though? Kid claims he’s prepared for that. Publicity comms can claim Rylan contracted food poisoning.
Phase Two
Then, the Doctor notices something is amiss. He sees both the dress rehearsal footage and the live show on his screen, switching between them. He leaps over the side of the box seat and opens the control panel on the side, utilizing his sonic screwdriver to examine its innards. Kid grabs Nina’s hand and scans it to grant him access to the Harmony Arena.
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While on stage, Rylan notices something’s amiss when Nina doesn’t respond to him via his earpiece. Kid pulls down a lever, which opens the roof. One hundred thousand contest attendees fly out into space, including the Doctor and the TARDIS. The shell on the box seat prevents Belinda from joining them. Said shell encloses the box seat, keeping her within. A contestant, Cora Saint Bavier (Miriam-Teak Lee), an Interstellar Song Contest legend, is also spared. Belinda starts sobbing in a moment that delivers a gut punch of emotion.
Wynn closes the air shield. Kid kickstarts phase three. Wynn calls for the retrieval of the device — the Delta Wave. Nina insists it’s not too late to save those people floating in space. The mavity shell is still activated. A drone guard brings in the Delta Wave. This ain’t Doctor Who‘s first rodeo with delta waves.
Her Only Way Home
Later, Belinda realizes she’s not alone. She meets Cora and Cora’s partner, Len Kazah (Akemnji Ndifornyen). Belinda wonders if the galactic police or authorities could be on their way. Cora reveals that “gambling rules” are in place to ensure no one can contact the outside world from inside the Arena and vice versa. That means they’re alone. Belinda breaks down, realizing the Doctor is gone. He was her only way home.
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Meanwhile, Nina calls Wynn out for saving Cora from flying through the roof. Wynn orders her not to say a word to Kid. Out in space, the Doctor has a vision of his granddaughter, Susan Foreman (Carole Ann Ford), who’s in the TARDIS. Susan calls out to her grandfather, urging him to come back to her. The Doctor wakes up. He grabs a floating confetti cannon and uses it to blast himself back to the Harmony Arena. Mike and Gary, who bear witness to the Doctor’s confetti escape, open the airlock so our titular Time Lord has a place to land.
Once safely inside, the Doctor collapses. Thankfully, Mike is a nurse. Mike inspects the Doctor, in awe of the Gallifreyan’s two hearts. He revives the Doctor. Funny how the Doc keeps running into nurses. Our trio notes that the mavity shell is still in place. Those thousands of people can be saved. Sure, their life signs are suspended, but revival is possible.
Delta Wave
Later, Kid and Wynn install a deadly upload, noting that song 14, Cora’s tune, will blow everyone’s minds. The Delta Wave will kill all three trillion people watching the Interstellar Song Contest — well, the dress rehearsal. The Doctor uses his sonic to access the control panel, but stops in his tracks when the new software Kid and Wynn uploaded takes effect. The Doctor notes the text is Hellion script. Mike and Gary explain that Hellia was gorgeous — Hell poppies as far as the eye can see. The consensus is that the Hellions destroyed their own planet.
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The Doctor touches the screen, which emits a high-pitched signal that practically bursts the eardrums. The Doctor uses his sonic to cut through the deafening noise. Afterward, the Doctor wipes his nose in bewilderment, realizing it’s bleeding. This is the Delta Wave — the aforementioned deadly upload. The Doctor realizes Kid and Wynn’s objective is to transmit this Delta Wave signal through the station to kill everyone watching the song contest.
Our Time Lord springs into action. To combat the signal, he needs a caustic hyperlink. Gary’s quite tech-savvy, and our trio finds a tech desk in the Interstellar Song Contest museum. This museum documents the history of the competition, from its humble Eurovision roots to now. The Doctor encounters a hologram of Graham Norton. He remarks that Belinda would love this. He has another vision of Susan in the TARDIS.
Fifteen’s Rage
The Doctor finally makes contact with the enemy — Kid. Belinda sees the Doctor on the screen, overjoyed that he’s alive. The Doctor is pissed. I love that we’re seeing Fifteen’s rage, undoubtedly fueled by thinking he lost Belinda. He vows to put an end to Kid’s evil plan and exact justice. Belinda watches the Doctor deliver his threats and notes that she’s never seen him this angry before. He’s not himself.
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After this, Belinda and Len learn that Cora is a Hellion. She reveals the horn nubs underneath her hair. Cora shares that they were forcefully removed. Len feels betrayed. We learn that Hellia was a harmless planet. The Corporation bought it for one reason: to harvest the Hell poppies for honey. Her planet was invaded for honey flavoring. The Corporation burned all of Hellia’s fields to ensure the people couldn’t grow more Hell poppies. So, Kid blames the Corporation, and the latter sponsors the competition.
Cora begs Len to help her reach Kid and Wynn so she can talk some sense into them. Belinda will accompany her because the Doctor will likely find the Hellion duo. In the museum, the Doctor feverishly constructs a solution to combat Kid. Mike and Gary try to warn him that two drone guards are behind him. Our Gallifreyan simply uses his sonic screwdriver to explode the drone guards’ heads.
Holographic Pain
Now, Cora’s performance is on the docket — song 14. The Delta Wave upload is at 99 percent. Kid insists that the Corporation will be held responsible for the massacre of three trillion people (and the thousands floating in space). The Doctor enters the scene. He claims he’s met so many Kids in his long lifetime, people who relish the kill and slap on revenge as an excuse. Kid fires on the Doctor, but we see he’s really a hologram.
Then, the real, tangible Doctor appears. He tosses the Delta Wave cube into the air and explodes it with his sonic screwdriver. He also knocks the gun out of Kid’s hand with it. The Doctor explains he’s converted his hologram to hard light, which can inflict pain. He puts on a glove, activating the hologram. The Doctor’s hologram touches Kid’s shoulder, causing him to convulse. The Doctor does this repeatedly.
At one point, Kid is on the ground, curled up in the fetal position due to the pain. We’ve never seen this side of Fifteen before. Suddenly, Belinda and Cora arrive. The Doctor embraces Belinda. Cora kneels to chat with Wynn, who’s hunched over an unresponsive Kid. Wynn accuses Cora of being spineless and cowardly, hiding behind her music. Nina regains control of the Arena and the drone guards. She orders them to take Kid and Wynn to the Justice Monolith. Kid, now responsive, warns the Doctor that he’ll see our Time Lord again.
Revival
Belinda reminds the group that there are still 100,000 people trapped in the mavity shell. At least three trillion people are now spared from the Delta Wave. A lightbulb goes off in the Doctor’s head. They can use Rylan’s cryogenic chamber and fashion it into a revival booth. Gary can convert the hard light of a hologram into a tractor beam, which they’ll use to retrieve the contest attendees.
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Belinda and Mike launch into nurse mode, conducting medical checks on those they revive in the booth. Len also helps convert the box seats in the Arena into revival chambers, so, you know, they’re not doing 100,000 times.
After saving everyone (thanks to the Doctor’s “insane genius”), the Interstellar Song Contest is back on track, with Rylan and Sabine as the co-hosts. Cora takes to the stage to perform. She shares with the audience and those watching from home that she’s Hellion. So, she’ll sing a Hellion song to honor her fallen planet. Kid and Wynn watch from the Justice Monolith. Wynn looks emotional. The Doctor and Belinda watch from the audience, the song also moving them to tears.
Once the song concludes, the Harmony Arena is silent … that is, until Mike and Gary initiate the clapping. Then, the whole Arena fills with applause. Cora beams with pride.
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Destruction Date: May 24, 2025
Later, one space station employee reveals they found the TARDIS on the asteroid spar. The Doctor and Belinda see it now sitting in the museum. Before they depart, Belinda tells the Doctor she thinks he’s wonderful. He embraces her. Still, the Doctor scared her earlier when he was torturing Kid. The Doctor admits this event struck close to home. He was thinking about Gallifrey and his people, all dying in the blink of an eye.
When the Doctor mentions getting Belinda back to Earth, the Graham Norton hologram materializes, revealing that Earth died “many years ago.” As it turns out, Earth disintegrated on May 24, 2025. Cause? Unknown.
The Doctor and Belinda rush inside the TARDIS. Our Time Lord hooks up the Vindicator, revealing they have enough readings to take her home. How could the planet disintegrate on the day Belinda left, though? The Doctor vows to save Earth.
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Suddenly, something prevents the TARDIS from moving. An alarm blares as the light within turns red. Belinda and the Doctor hear a peculiar groaning and a knocking from outside the TARDIS doors. The Doctor reveals it’s May 24 — the source of the noises. Then, the TARDIS doors explode open as fire pours inside. Well, that can’t be good.
Let Battle Begin
Mid-credit scene time! Gary and Mike save the last person floating in the mavity shell. It’s none other than Mrs. Flood, emerging from Rylan’s converted cryogenic chamber. She asks if the Doctor has left, to which Mike and Gary reveal he has.
“Then, it’s safe,” Mrs. Flood says. She remarks that her double-brain stem has frozen, which is lethal for a … wait for it … Time Lady. Bi-generation energy swarms around Mrs. Flood as she tries to think of “famous last words.” “Let battle begin,” she declares as another woman (Archie Panjabi) splits from Mrs. Flood, à la the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Doctors. Both are the same person — the Rani. Well, Mrs. Flood is a Rani, while this new one is the Rani. Mrs. Flood hands the Rani the Vindicator readings. The Rani declares she has a date to arrange and plans to bring the Doctor “absolute terror.”
Oh, Panjabi is going to demolish this role.
Doctor Who Season 2 airs on Saturdays at 3 am EST/12 am PST on Disney+ and 8 am BST on BBC iPlayer in the UK.
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