If you have not seen this episode of Doctor Who, please note that this article is very spoilerific and I will give away plot points to not only this episode but the entire Series 11. If you do not want to be spoiled please do not read further or read at your own risk. Enjoy!

Many years ago, when a lot of us thought Paul McGann was going to do a series of Doctor Who for FOX, I imagined historical stories to look a lot like what we got in tonight’s episode “Demons of the Punjab”. The locations would be rich with attention to detail that would give us a mouthwatering look at how the production values could be for Doctor Who. Unfortunately, a series was never made with Paul McGann and unfortunately tonight’s story was not a historical.

It should have been! We get a story that tells us how exciting time-travel can be if you want to go back and meet a relative when they were younger. How many of you would love that opportunity? I know I would….badly. Yaz (who’s name I have been spelling wrong for the past 5 weeks) asks the Doctor to allow her to go back to see her Grandmother before she got married. She claimed to be the first woman married in Pakistan. Yaz’s grandmother also gave her the watch of Yaz’s grandfather.

The Doctor and friends go to India but little do they realise it’s just as India is broken up with part of the country becoming Pakistan. To make matters worse, Yaz’s Grandmother (who is now a young lady in 1947) is marrying someone who is not Yaz’s grandfather! Unfortunately it gets worse as fighting has started as the split in India is not just about physical location but the separation of Hindu and Muslims. Fighting is breaking out and it’s getting close. All that Yaz’s Grandmother, Umbreen, wants is to marry her love. If all that is not bad enough, the Doctor sees there is interference from assassins not of this world!

This is a story of love and once again how other people’s laws and governance stops people from living the life they deserve. It is a story about choices being made far away from the farm Umbreen and her fiancé Prem just want to live their lives. Prem’s brother Manish believes strongly in his religion and the side he is on even if it means to kill for it. Something I really like, is how the Doctor is wrong. The Doctor thought the two aliens, Kisar and Almek are assassins. She thought they came to Earth to kill the holy man that was to marry Umbreen and Prem. Then she believes they will kill Prem but she is wrong. They show up to be with people who die alone. They are a unique race and they are stunningly designed. I think they are the best looking aliens of the series and perhaps in the series in a long time. I can’t tell you how excited I get when I see a design, whether it is a set or an  alien, that is new and really beautiful in Doctor Who. This is one area of Series 11 that has been give a new leash on life. But it begs a question?

Why did this story need to have an alien influence especially one that really makes no impact on story? Is it possible that Doctor Who could ever have a purely historical story? I am asking as a question that hasn’t been answered since 1982. This is such a deep story of cultural and religious clashing and how love can flourish and be destroyed in a matter of minutes. Why can’t we have this just stand on it’s own without the alien tag? It would have worked so well. It was an emotional ride without that influence. Incidentally the Doctor marrying Prem and Umbreen was beautiful and lovely.

Segun Akinola continues to impress me with the music this series is producing. This is not a bash on Murray Gold, as I adore his music, it is just time for something different. The themes in this episode are haunting and beautiful. Even the closing theme took me by surprise. Plus now, we are way beyond quarries as locations. This was shot in Spain and was incredible! Everything had a golden amber grading that was peaceful but felt old, like in the time it was set in.

This story was non-linear in the sense of the journey Yaz took. What she knew before she met her younger grandmother and where she ended up at the end of the journey were two different places but with the same out come. This truly was a beautiful episode of Doctor Who.