Overnight stats reveal that an average audience of 3.7 million watched Jodie Whittaker’s final Doctor Who episode.
As it was revealed that former Doctor David Tennant will return to the program the next year, a peak of 4 million individuals witnessed her regeneration.
The majority of reviewers awarded the episode, titled The Power of the Doctor, with four stars.
However, several argued that Whittaker “deserved better” for her farewell and that the climax contained too much information.
In October 2018, an average of 8.2 million viewers tuned in to watch Whittaker’s debut episode of Doctor Who.
However, the ratings for her farewell performance will improve in the coming weeks when catch-up viewers are added
After the 90-minute event, Whittaker was seen unexpectedly regenerating into Tennant, who had previously played the Doctor.
The actor, who previously portrayed the role from 2005 to 2010, has returned as the 14th Doctor and will appear in three episodes in 2019 before Ncuti Gatwa takes over.
The critics, who did not mention Tennant’s return in their original evaluations since the final minutes were omitted from advance screening copies, complimented the ending in general.
Michael Hogan of the Telegraph lauded Whittaker’s final episode as “a thrilling thrill-ride of nonstop surprises” in a four-star review.
“The Power of the Doctor was possibly the best episode of [showrunner Chris Chibnall’s] inconsistent five-year reign as supreme,” he said, adding that the program “regained its sense of levity.”
“The past of the program was honored. Its future was ushered forth. Only the ‘now’ portion of the equation was compromised. The story poured in so many amusing bells and fan-pleasing whistles that it became incoherent as if Chibnall had painted himself into a plotting corner from which he couldn’t escape.”
Rebecca Nicholson of The Guardian likewise rated four stars, stating, “This episode is so packed with Easter eggs and callbacks to the past that I doubt I even got half of them, yet it rolls through this hefty plot with Whittaker’s usual energy and a light touch.”
“Considering the episode’s length, it moves at a respectable clip and rarely slows down. Fans both old and young should find something to enjoy “She continued. “It is a moving send-off for Whittaker, which also serves as an appropriate introduction for Gatwa.”
However, Dominic Maxwell of the Times was unimpressed with the episode, assigning it three stars and claiming that the show was too complex for viewers to adequately grasp.
“[The show] reminded us that for the drama to be dramatic, there must be one or two dull moments,” he remarked. “Moments where what is occurring, regardless of how cosmic, epoch-hopping, or snarky, has time to register. Instead, it was a spectacle where practically anything could have occurred at any moment.
“Even after the conclusion of an incarnation, it felt as though nothing of it mattered, but at least the thoughts kept coming.
“Therefore, if you glanced at your phone or even blinked, you undoubtedly missed one of the numerous plot twists, cameos, or fans-only callbacks.”
Isobel Lewis of The Independent also expressed skepticism, stating that Whittaker “earned more for the end of an era.”
“The first woman to portray the Time Lord pushed the show into the present day, but the scripts have frequently let her down,” she remarked.
Referring to the episode’s conclusion, Lewis said, “Among the nostalgia and Easter eggs, the connection between the Doctor and Yaz, which I thought to be the main focus of this episode, gets sidelined.”
However, Patrick Mulkerr of the Radio Times gave another four-star review, stating: “The Power of the Doctor is not lacking in quality.
“It thrills. It surprises. It befuddles. It’s confusing. It comes to a satisfying conclusion a chaotic four-year chapter of this continually developing drama.”
He added, “Despite an abundance of distractions, Jodie Whittaker and Mandip Gill remain the throbbing heart of the story, as the Doctor and Yaz breeze through a rollicking adventure but must prepare for a sorrowful parting… the composition of the duo, perched atop the police box and gazing at planet Earth, is breathtaking.
Gabriel Tatt of the Metro concluded: “The callbacks and reunions warmed the heart without dominating the plot (a spin-off series of the companion support group would be a pleasure), the baddies were legitimately nefarious, and the film was visually stunning.
“No matter if the conclusion never fully lived up to the anticipation. This was in keeping with the greatest traditions of the show.”
