Well, that was no “Robot of Sherwood”…! /s

This was absolutely lovely. A story about stories, and about the Third Places where they are told, both being perverted for ulterior motives. The Barber’s grudge against the gods of stories made him repeat the perceived injustice done to himself. Hurt people hurt people, but the Doctor heals.

I’m probably going to mull over this for days to come, so for now just a bullet list of highlights that stand out after the first viewing:

• Loved the way they segued into the intro on the barbershop story displays. Fits perfectly with the meta narratives of the episode.
• All of the sets were so atmospheric and lived-in, what a great job giving character to the marketplace, the barbershop, even the backroom labyrinth and engine room.
• “I used to call it the World Wide Web, until the humans named something much uglier after it” (paraphrasing). I had to chuckle, and again later when the Doctor brought that back on him.
• Aw, of course Omo married the girl with the blue earrings! If you know you know 💙
• I cringed audibly at the bottom rung fantasy art renditions of the story gods — but the Doctor’s and Belinda’s immediate reaction to the Barber’s story they represented smoothed that over quickly. To me, the ridiculous artwork is now a signifier that it’s part of a ridiculous story.
• So wait, the Doctor retroactively hung out with a bunch of literal gods over the years? I thought the whole god/magic thing was supposed to be recent. But whatever, it fits this story and I’m rolling with it.
• The Fugitive Doctor! For all of thirty seconds! Whatever happens, we will only ever see too little of her. Jo Martin commands the screen, and her character is just bursting with potential.
• You can tell Inua Ellams has spent a lot of time with mythology, stories and their meanings. Abena’s explicit braid ruse was a nice story-based nod to more veiled messages. There is some of the same subject matter and deftness here as in some of Neil Gaiman’s better work — and that’s all we need say about him.
• The resolution to stopping the Barber’s plan had a bit of thematic repeat from “Rings of Akhaten” to me — but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t work here, as well! We’re all stories in the end. Just make it a good one (or two).
• I’m glad we didn’t see more of Mrs Flood than we did this week. Her appearances have begun to oversell the season arc a bit too much. But I guess the theory that she’s a pantheon god of stories is shot down after this episode.

It’s been a few years since I’ve been able to say with each successive episode of Doctor Who that “this one was even better than the last!” I may have little objections to one or other (“The well” didn’t need to be a sequel. “Lucky day” was too easy on UNIT), but this season just might be one for the ages — depending on how the finale lands…