Beautifully shot by veteran series director Jamie Childs, the episode’s picturesque Norwegian setting continues this year’s trend of (quite literally) breaking new ground for the show, the isolated Scandinavian cabin joining the likes of Sheffield high rises and the freshly-forged India/Pakistan border on Chris Chibnall’s long list of fresh locales. But the location here is every bit as haunting as it is beautiful, even in the bright light of day which, if anything, only seems to add to the crippling tension. This story’s “monster” doesn’t need to wait for darkness to fall to take you away.
Similar could be said of Jodie Whittaker’s Doctor, who, for the first time in her reign, seems to completely own the situation from the outset. Indeed, her command of proceedings here is comparable to her four immediate predecessors’ default settings, as it were, which is especially important after last week’s much meeker interpretation. Hime has her acting quickly and decisively, even unravelling the mystery of - and agreeing terms with - the Solitract despite hardly breaking a sweat.
“It Takes You Away” is marked by some particularly arresting performances, young guest star Eleanor Wallwork’s chief amongst them. Apparently abandoned by her father to the mercies of a ravenous monster, the blind teenage character is brought to life with striking realism by Wallwork. An already well-written part is knocked out of the park as her initial terror recedes and her grief-fuelled teenage angst and misplaced aggression come to the fore. Tosin Cole deserves a lot of credit too for being such a great foil to her - “It Takes You Away” might be Ryan’s strongest outing yet, casting him in a pseudo-paternal role that achieves everything “The Tsuranga Conundrum” so spectacularly failed to.
Inevitably, though, a story built on remorse was always going dominated by Bradley Walsh's recently bereaved Graham. The temptation that he faces here might be the only thing in the episode not to smack of originality, but it’s undoubtedly its emotional high point, and its coda with Ryan would not have been out of place in next week’s finale, such is its resonance. Walsh is, once more, exceptional.
Flesh-eating moths, echoes of monsters, a woolly rebellion and a lonely and sentient universe in exile - “It Takes You Away” certainly delivers on the promise of its title, whisking its viewers away to an Anti-Zone where any conventions of tone or consistency are forsaken in favour of a high-concept antagonist, an antagonising protagonist and humour so silly that it makes farting Raxacoricofallapatorian seem high-brow.
The new series of Doctor Who airs on Sunday nights on BBC One and this episode is available to stream or download on BBC iPlayer in the UK, where the preceding 154 episodes are also currently available. A series pass is available from iTunes for £23.99.
