'Doctor Who' Season 12 Episode 6: The Doctor and her 'fam' race to save Earth from plastic-consuming aliens
It would be quite hard to top an episode of 'Doctor Who' that featured both the return of Jack Harkness (played by the ever-so-charming John Barrowman) and the introduction of the first black woman to play the Doctor (played by Jo Martin).
But, that might be what's needed as 'Praxeus', the sixth episode of the 12th season of 'Doctor Who' shows the Doctor and her companions scattered across the world as they try and figure out how certain events on different parts of the world -- Peru, Madagascar, Hong Kong, and in the middle of the Indian Ocean -- are causing people to explode into dust and birds to go crazy.
'Praxeus', much like 'Orphan 55', is an episode that delves into the ongoing ecological disaster on Earth. There are two aliens in this episode -- one is the plastic-consuming bacteria and the other is a humanoid species that is using the Earth as a living laboratory. The bacteria, named Praxeus, attacks the plastic in an organism. When plastic ends up in the ocean, birds end up consuming them. The Doctor also explains that humans are full of microplastics, which is why they too are a target for the bacteria.
Microplastics are everywhere -- even in drinking water. We also see that Praxeus was able to form a sort of alien colony under the Indian Ocean after they were able to feed off of the plastic littering the ocean.
The episode also saw three additional companions along with the Doctor (Jodie Whittaker), Yaz (Mandip Gill), Ryan (Tosin Cole), and Graham (Bradley Walsh). Yaz went on a solo mission with Gabriela (Joana Borja in a guest role) accompanying her. Yaz at one point thinks she discovered an alien planet and is quite disappointed to learn that she didn't.
The episode may have been confusing with the multiple settings and many supporting characters -- the Guardian calls the episode a "twisted sci-fi 'Love Actually'". What was quite disappointing was the lack of acknowledgment of last week's events, though, that may have been expected.
'Doctor Who' airs on BBC America on Sunday nights.
