Doctor Who: Joy to the World – 2024 Christmas special recap

A year ago, we saw Ncuti Gatwa for the first time in his full role. Now, a year later, he stands before us with an entire season of experience, shining brightly as he navigates a storyline that blends various Christmas movie styles, albeit with a somewhat thin plot.

In this story written by Steven Moffat, we experienced a thrilling scene on a train, a hidden treasure tucked away in a rocky vault, a drawn-out romantic comedy moment, and even a dinosaur that, rather amusingly, ejected a key element for the Christmas storyline. The episode also had a deep emotional core, likely bringing tears to many viewers’ eyes before they went to sleep.

Joel Fry delivered a delightful performance as Trev, even though his character felt like it was originally created with Richard Ayoade's quirky Maurice Moss persona in mind instead of being tailored specifically for Fry. Nonetheless, Fry made the best of his moments on screen. Nichola Coughlan, who shared the spotlight as this year's guest star, was unfortunately underutilized for a large part of the narrative. She did have a chance to showcase her acting skills in a potentially villainous role for a time, before shifting to the more endearing character we recognize from Derry Girls and her engaging social media presence in real life.

Doctor Who Christmas specials have often balanced a mix of holiday themes, featuring elements like sinister Santas, murderous Christmas trees, and robotic angels, while avoiding direct religious references. Including a fantastic supernova as the source of the bright star over Bethlehem at the start of the first millennium was definitely a daring move, directly connecting the show's narrative to the nativity story.

The main focus of the story was the Doctor spending a year stuck in a hotel with Anita Benn, played by Steph de Whalley, as her unreturned feelings for him grew gradually. This scene could easily fit into films like Love Actually or Four Weddings and a Funeral. This isn't the first time in recent episodes that the Doctor has had to confront the loneliness of his existence without a companion. However, his habit of collecting tiny police box figurines hinted at the person he missed the most.

Living Inside The TARDIS: An Adventure Awaits

The setup featured three back-to-back two-person scenes where Trev, Anita, and Joy tried out as possible partners, but then circumstances took a turn. In the end, at least Anita landed a better job, even though she experienced heartbreak in the process.

This episode stood out for not featuring a typical monster-of-the-week. Instead, it delved into deeper themes of loneliness, regret, and the fear of dying without companionship. It resonated with real-life experiences by depicting the painful and solitary farewells that many faced during the Covid lockdowns, particularly through characters like Joy. These moments were likely to evoke memories for families who felt the absence of loved ones around their holiday tables this year.

Get ready for Doctor Who enthusiasts to passionately debate whether Gatwa's mention of knowing the suitcase code because of "bootstrapping" was a smart reference to past critiques of Steven Moffat’s complicated storylines, or simply a convenient way out of a plot issue that feels insincere. When Joy questioned the Doctor about whether people genuinely feel reassured after he explains things, it might as well have been the fans addressing the former showrunner directly about this very tendency in his writing.

Exploring The Depths Of The Vortex

The episode was filled with references to things the Doctor had mentioned before, such as the need to take "the long way round," and the concept that experiencing each day as it comes was a journey they could never embark on. These ideas resonated with iconic lines delivered by Gatwa's forerunners in "Day of the Doctor" (2013), "Dragonfire" (1987), and "Doomsday" (2006).

The 15th Doctor made a trip to New York in 2025, though he didn’t have his reliable time machine with him. He needed to go back to the Time Hotel. In "The Angels Take Manhattan" (2012), he mentioned that he couldn’t ever return to that location with the TARDIS, claiming that the “timelines are too tangled” and that coming back would “tear New York apart.”

Joy's mother was at the Royal Hope Hospital located in central London, a place that experienced an extraordinary journey to the moon and back during the happenings of Smith and Jones (2007).

The 15th Doctor mentioned that he was "skilled with rope," which references the time he learned about rope technology aboard the goblin ship in The Church on Ruby Road (2023).

Villengard and its arms manufacturing facilities have appeared in multiple episodes written by Moffat. This includes his inaugural story for the revived series in 2005, "The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances," as well as his final three episodes for the series: "Twice Upon A Time" (2017), "Boom!" (2024), and the upcoming Christmas special.

In the credits, Joy's complete name was listed as Joy Almondo. This isn't the first instance of Moffat using a straightforward translation; a similar approach can be seen in The Return of Doctor Mysterio (2016).

Thanks to the events in The Giggle (2023), it seems that while the 15th Doctor was trapped in that hotel with Anita, David Tennant's 14th Doctor was relaxing at Donna's house, taking it easy and enjoying retirement — with a spare TARDIS nearby.

Doctor Who is set to return in the New Year! Ncuti Gatwa stars as the Doctor, alongside Varada Sethu as the new companion Belinda Chandra. Millie Gibson will also appear as Ruby Sunday for a portion of the season. Mrs. Flood is making a comeback too! Showrunner Russell T Davies hints that it will premiere "sooner than you expect" and promises plenty of thrills, featuring "a frightening planet in the distant future" and an adventure in Miami aboard the Tardis. Looking forward to it! Wishing you a fantastic New Year!