#when doctor who is vaguely abstract and batshit insane with implications that make you go ???? it's typically good

[awkwardtuatara]

okay so. various takeaways from Space Babies and The Devil's Chord (in which I have vague dweu brainrot):

The Doctor can regenerate butterflies and manipulate time to some degree without the TARDIS. And that's not wholly new information, but still. How did you do that.

Star Trek the show exists within the DW universe, and the Star Trek universe (as in the people and the ships) also exists

LOOMS????? Kind of???

The Doctor will speedrun his backstory to literally anyone. Sometimes this even helps the situation.

Wow, reality's fragile. They're living in a story now and the Doctor knows it

All these years and the Doctor still can't park the TARDIS. Never change. just please clean up the kitchen.

And for The Devil's Chord:

An enemy who's the embodiment of sound/music begins playing the theme song between parts. sounds oddly familiar - IS THIS THE SOUND CREATURE AGAIN

"If you take away music..." you mean like if music is banished from your kingdom? and people don't have the words to express how they feel but they know it's wrong? you know what other Doctor Who media is inextricably connected to the concept of music, and also has a title connecting to music? That's right, Scherzo-

Still not sure if that scene is supposed to foreshadow Susan appearing but that would be such a possibility. Wonder what happened to her and First with the reality shenanigans going on in 1963.

ELDRITCH DOCTOR ELDRITCH DOCTOR ELDRITCH DOCTOR ELDRIT-

the Doctor only gets really mad when someone tries to harm the TARDIS, and that really doesn't change

WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU CAN HEAR NON-DIEGETIC MUSIC. DOCTOR. DOCTOR. SINCE WHEN COULD YOU DO THAT.

Extradimensional presence in this universe Doctor????? is that still a possibility? I mean, he also goes by a title that defines his very being, and the way he told Ruby about his name made it sound like other Gallifreyans gave it to him, but really he's the one that chose to be the Doctor. A title that, in terms of power and significance, seems to be closer to the all-encompassing roles of the Toymaker and Maestro than, say, the Master or the Rani. On the other hand, this could just be a normal Time Lords are Aliens kind of thing.

So it's clear that he knows he's in some kind of story, but how long has he known that?

Also how diegetic was that musical number at the end? Was that like. residual energy from Maestro's banishment or something?

Anyway. Wild episodes. I do like how they're leaning into how Doctor Who has developed into something of an abstract mythos; to me it's the most unique part about this show.