Doctor Who spoilers: What did ’73 Yards’ really mean?
At this point, is it fair to say that Doctor Who has entered a new creative renaissance in season 14? Following the fantastic “Boom,” there was more magic in “73 Yards.” Russell T. Davies created a slice of Welsh folk horror that raised a lot of questions about restoring the natural order of things, and how one decision can radically alter the course of history.
The Doctor’s disturbance of the fairy circle early on, after all, created a situation where Ruby ended up being abandoned time and time again throughout her life, while also being haunted at a particular distance by a much older version of herself. This is a story that was about her coming around to the truth, but also about how sometimes in life, you can’t understand everything. There is not always an all-knowing eye and that is okay — even if it may not feel that way at times.
In a new video on the show’s official YouTube channel, here is some of how Davies himself explained this story, and the origins within that fairy circle:
“Something profane has happened with the disturbance of that fairy circle. There’s been a lack of respect. The Doctor, who’s very respectful of alien cultures and alien lifeforms and alien mythologies, he’s just walked through something very, very powerful … so something has gone wrong, and something has just corrected.
“[It is] like Ruby had to spend a life of penitence, in which she eventually does something good, which brings the whole thing full circle, which kind of forgives them in the end.”
While we do not necessarily think that this story brings us closer to understanding the One Who Waits or some of the larger stories this season, it does still put us in a curious spot moving forward. It also raises another big question about Ruby and snow — what is her connection there?
What did you think about the events of “73 Yards” tonight on Doctor Who?
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