The parallels between “Wish World” and last year’s “The Legend of Ruby Sunday” are numerous. Both episodes are the penultimate installments of their respective seasons of Doctor Who, and they both center around the return of a classic Doctor Who villain. Additionally, they both resolve a mystery that has unfolded throughout the season. Unfortunately, they also share a significant flaw: they are both aimless waiting games that lack substantial content as they count down to a last-minute cliffhanger reveal.

However, “Wish World” faces an even greater challenge than “The Legend of Ruby Sunday.” The latter episode could at least create tension and atmosphere by not revealing the return of Sutekh until the end, unless the audience had read the rumors. In contrast, “Wish World” is building up to a dramatic moment that the audience already knows is coming, but the main character does not: the Doctor’s encounter with the returned Rani and the understanding of what that means. This creates a strange experience, even before considering the mechanics of how Doctor Who is counting down to that big revelation.

The titular world of “Wish World” is a contemporary Earth on the brink of destruction, but it is a distorted version of our own. With the help of a magical baby, the Rani has created a reality where Conrad, a character from a previous episode, is the benevolent dictator of the world. He broadcasts from a bone palace in London, deciding the state of the world, the weather, and the pleasant lives of everyone in it. The Doctor and Belinda, now living as Mr. John Smith and his wife Belinda, are part of this world, with the Doctor working at UNIT, which has been transformed into an insurance team.

This world has a creepy atmosphere, with everyone acknowledging the roles of women as good daughters, wives, and mothers. However, when the Doctor passingly describes a male co-worker as handsome, reality almost turns in on itself, indicating that any thought of something non-heteronormative is an affront to this world. The episode also highlights Conrad’s bigotry against disabled people, leading to an underground society of disabled individuals who are practically invisible to the world around them.

As the episode progresses, the story starts to lose momentum. The Doctor’s role is reduced to sitting around, doubting the nature of his existence, until he remembers that he is the Doctor. Ruby’s investigation also loses steam as she teams up with Shirley and her friends in the disabled camp. The Rani, meanwhile, is waiting for the Doctor to figure out the truth about the world she has created.

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