I washed away Teacup’s rancid taste by diving into the second season of this fine show. Given the high quality of the first season (seriously, go watch it if you haven’t), I was confident the second season wouldn’t disappoint me. And it didn’t. Rather than treading water, Moran broadens and deepens the series’ mysteries. 

With Lucy Chambers (Jessica Raine) now “awake”, she can recall her previous lives. She reluctantly teams up with Gideon Sheppard (Peter Capaldi) to hunt down a terrorist in a yellow hoodie who, in several weeks, will bomb a toy store, killing 17 people, including 11 children. Bubbling in the background is Lucy’s relationship with DI Ravi Dhillon (Nikes Patel)—they were married in a previous timeline—and her tightening bond with her son Isaac—who has a unique connection with time.

The plotting, the performances (Capaldi plays Gideon as the Doctor as if he were an utter bastard… so basically, the way he played it when he had the role), and the direction is all top-notch. This is a series where everything has been thought through and where the genre stuff is in service to the emotional connections between the characters. That the final episode doesn’t provide the big reveal you’re expecting shows how much confidence Moran has in his material. 

And while I’m sure Tom Moran has no interest in being the showrunner of Doctor Who (and who would wish that on anyone), I think he’d be the perfect choice if Russell pulls the plug. Ain’t gonna happen, but one can dream.