The Devil’s Chord – As this episode of Doctor Who begins, a young boy, Henry (Kit Rakusen), is taught to play piano in 1925. The teacher tells him about the devil’s chord which was banned by the church in medieval in case it allows the devil to enter the room. As the teacher plays it, the piano lid slams shut. They hear knocking before Maestro (Jinkx Monsoon) pops out from the piano. The teacher yells for Henry to get away from them. Henry explains that Maestro is his dad. Maestro explains Henry is the Harbinger before making him disappear. They tell Timothy Drake that he’s a genius and the greatest composer to have ever lived. Timothy (Jeremy Limb) admits he never had the luck and never got the break.

Maestro offers to set free the songs that are still wrapped around Timothy’s heart. They begin playing as the songs are freed. Timothy collapses to the floor before Maestro eats the songs. Ruby Sunday (Millie Gibson) tells The Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa) she wants to see The Beatles recording their first album. The Doctor admits he likes her idea before transporting them to that time. They change their attire before stepping out into 1963. The Doctor and Ruby head to EMI Recording Studios. Ruby finds an excuse to gain access to the recording studio. George Martin (Ed White) is at the controls. Ruby and The Doctor are not impressed when the band begins singing about a dog. Then, they check in on Cilla Black (Josie Sedgwick-Davies) who also disappoints.

They soon find out that something is wrong. Since music is gone, The Doctor suspects everything is changing. He tells Ruby to take John Lennon (Chris Mason) and he’ll take Paul McCartney (George Caple) to find out what happened. The Doctor gets tea before confronting Paul who says the waltzes started going wrong in the ‘20s or ‘30s. They started seeing sense. What they’re doing there is the last gasp. Paul thinks singing is embarrassing. John tells Ruby something similar. The Doctor suggests there are songs tucked away in Paul who asks how he knows that. As Paul talks about music, the Maestro appears to The Doctor and Ruby. Paul tells The Doctor he is disgusting with his ideas before leaving. Later, The Doctor has a piano moved to the rooftop. Ruby and The Doctor talk about all the things that are gone now.

On the rooftop, The Doctor tells Ruby where he lives with his granddaughter named Susan. He doesn’t know where his granddaughter is because the Time Lords were murdered. Vinnie (Simon Jason-Smith) helps get the piano to the rooftop. The Doctor tells Ruby to play it. Ruby tells him she wrote this song for Trudy when a girl broke her heart. People begin listening as Ruby continues playing the song. The piano is dragged preventing Ruby from finishing. The Maestro emerges from the piano. As they flee, The Doctor calls it the Giggle. They find a place to hide because The Doctor says he cannot fight this thing. The Maestro says they heard music and music is theirs. The Doctor uses a device that seems to silence everything.

The Maestro uses a tuning fork to restore the noise. A woman begins playing the piano in her house upsetting the Maestro. The woman is attacked. Ruby tries to get answers from The Doctor. He believes that thing must be part of the Pantheon. He isn’t sure he can survive it after the Toymaker. The Doctor worries the whole world could split into a pit. Ruby says the world did not end in 1963. They go to the Tardis and head back to 2024 to Ruby’s home. She steps outside and finds total bleakness. The Doctor tells her this is what they’re trying to stop. He believes the human race goes sour without music. Without knowing how to express a broken heart, they go to war without knowing why. The Maestro is watching them. The Doctor soon learns they are the child of the Toymaker.

The Maestro says music is not gone. Every song that goes unsung feeds the Maestro who talks about the universe and how it will stop turning. The Maestro will go solo when all of life is extinguished. The Doctor demands to know how they entered this world. The Maestro mentions a genius who found the lost chord. The Doctor believes a different combination of notes would banish the Maestro. The Maestro begins controlling the Tardis so The Doctor can only take them back to 1963. Once they return, it sounds like something has gone wrong with the Tardis. They run into the recording studio. The Doctor says they need to record the right tune on the sonic so they can use it as a weapon. They need to find the Notes of Banishment. The Doctor grabs Lennon’s guitar and tries to find the right notes.

Ruby hears music. She’s grabbed by notes and pulled out of the room. The Doctor finds himself locked inside. He makes it out and confronts the Maestro who yells Ruby is the only human left with music in her heart. The Maestro makes Ruby sing, but they don’t like what they hear. They keep looking for the hidden song. The Doctor says the Christmas music was playing the night Ruby was born. The Maestro stops her from singing. The Doctor catches Ruby before she can crash to the floor. Then, he uncovers the famous Abbey Road piano which The Beatles will play on their greatest hits. The Doctor begins playing Maple Leaf Rag. The Maestro plays and they play simultaneously. Ruby plays with The Doctor.

The Doctor tells Maestro why he can find the Notes of Banishment. He gets the last note wrong. The Maestro attacks them sending the piano out of the room. The Doctor yells for Ruby to get the piano. The Maestro ties them up to stop them. John Lennon finds the piano and the notes. The Doctor and Ruby are locked up in instruments. McCarthy and Lennon play the notes together and deal with the Maestro. Ruby and The Doctor go to the rooftop where they can hear music everywhere. The Doctor warns Ruby that there’s always a twist at the end. He performs a song. Then, they enter the Tardis and the episode ends.

 

Doctor Who Review

The second episode of Doctor Who’s 14th series was an improvement over the first although this one had issues as well. It seems the show is trying to be smarter than it needs to be. In return, it’s just complicating matters to the point that it makes no sense and isn’t enjoyable. The idea is better than the execution.

Who doesn’t want to see The Beatles record their first album or at least learn more about the band members around that time? Although that was the premise, we never really got to see it. The Maestro took up the bulk of the episode and a lot of that was just okay. It’s probably a good thing that The Beatles weren’t featured too much considering they didn’t look remotely like the real guys.

Nevertheless, this was a lot better than the first episode. It just seems like nothing is clicking as well as it could and it’s only going through the motions to reach the finish line. The episode scores a 5.5 out of 10. Recaps of Doctor Who can be found on Reel Mockery here. Find out how to support our independent site at this link.

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