DOCTOR WHO: JOY TO THE WORLD. Review of the Christmas special

The latest Christmas episode of Doctor Who starring Ncuti Gatwa in the lead role has arrived and is available on Disney+. Fans’ criticisms of too many woke-style references persist. I remember having my own reservations, not so much about the “woke” elements themselves but rather the way certain ideological issues were presented, seemingly in a narrative vacuum. Steven Moffat, one of the show’s showrunners and the writer of the Christmas episode Joy to the World, even responded to fans’ complaints. His response was not conciliatory but rather factual, and he astutely noted that in everyday life, nobody really cares whether something is woke or not. Interestingly, in the 2024 Christmas episode, there’s nothing that could be overtly misinterpreted—unless, of course, the very reflection on Christmas itself seems too libertarian or culturally inclusive to some.

We are already familiar with Ncuti Gatwa’s portrayal of the Doctor: a cheerful, somewhat mad and chaotic scientist who seems to transcend classical gender divisions in terms of romantic relationships. He often breaks the fourth wall, suggesting that the audience should maintain a degree of detachment from what they are watching, including the Doctor’s own actions. The story told in the Christmas episode titled Joy to the World is, at first glance, not particularly Christmas-like. It begins in a classic Gatwa-era style, with his compulsive time travel escapades. He’s searching for something in the most abstract, comedic way possible. Naturally, he encounters someone who helps drive the episode’s adventure forward. This time, it’s Nicola Coughlan, known from Bridgerton, who serves as the Doctor’s bridge to the real world. As we know, through his travels and constant regenerations, the Doctor has become a sum of his journeys, losing, in a sense, the ability to lead a mundane life or even address his basic needs, always thinking about others at various points in time. Joy, whom he meets in a mysterious hotel room, reminds him of this as she struggles with him to preserve both her life—threatened by a mysterious suitcase—and a sense of self, which the Doctor has begun to erode. She effectively confronts him, and while she doesn’t retaliate too harshly, she does provoke some serious reflection. I won’t reveal the entire story here because the 57 minutes are worth discovering on your own, especially the references not just to Christmas but to a redefined approach to the holiday.

The most intriguing part of the episode is revealed to viewers only in the final five minutes. The Doctor travels far back in time, to when a certain star appeared in the sky—a purely cosmic phenomenon that people of the era were unable to interpret. Today, we are left to humanistically and humanely use this multicultural myth, avoiding tying it to a single religion, as it is universally narrative in scope. It will be interesting to see how this Doctor Who episode is received because it’s absolutely not woke—or if it is, it’s done in a very subtle and understated manner, the way I had hoped Gatwa’s series would be. I won’t hide my slight disappointment, but I appreciate the quality of the message in this Christmas episode. I have no issues with the naturalness of the delivery, though, as always, I’ll complain about the nervous energy of this Doctor’s acting. Gatwa still hasn’t mastered balancing emotions. He invests too much into them, giving the impression of flailing in his role, trying too hard to project intensity to the audience. He could slow down at times—save the breaking of the fourth wall. Smile less, as it’s obvious he wants to be clear to viewers. However, overexplaining emotions can become tiresome in the long run. It may come across as naïve and could unjustly feed critics of woke culture, even though those moments are not where such criticism would truly apply. The creators have left themselves too exposed to the whims of psychotic woke critics and conspiracy theorists.

The story in Joy to the World may not be groundbreaking, but the conclusions drawn from it and how Joy, alongside the Doctor, turns it into a meaningful finale are delightful. Additionally, for a modern TV show, the episode is technically well-crafted. Perhaps there’s an overuse of CGI in some scenes, especially in the visualization of the Himalayas, but thankfully, the shots are brief, so they don’t linger long in memory. Overall, the episode is positive, colorful, and filled with the Doctor’s smiles, as it should be for a Christmas special intended to bring joy to viewers, even when addressing difficult or profound topics. This balance was undoubtedly achieved, ensuring that no accusations (not even mine) of artificially inserting libertarian or freedom-oriented woke attitudes should arise. It seems Steven Moffat, the showrunner, fully understood the meaning behind his own words.