The Devil's Chord

306 – "The Devil's Chord"
Doctor Who episode
Promotional image
Cast
Doctor Ncuti Gatwa – Fifteenth Doctor
Companion Millie Gibson – Ruby Sunday
Others Jinkx Monsoon – Maestro Jeremy Limb – Timothy Drake Kit Rakusen – Henry Sherinne Kayra Anderson – Tea Trolley Lady Ed White – George Martin George Caple – Paul McCartney Chris Mason – John Lennon Philip Davies – George Harrison James Hoyles – Ringo Starr Chan Shoker – Studio Producer Josie Sedgwick-Davies – Cilla Black Susan Twist – Tea Lady Simon Jason-Smith – Vinnie Laura June Hudson – Elderly Woman Murray Gold – Himself Shirley Ballas – Herself Johannes Radebe – Himself
Production
Directed by	Ben Chessell
Written by	Russell T Davies
Script editor	Scott Handcock
Produced by	Chris May
Executive producer(s)	Russell T Davies Julie Gardner Jane Tranter Joel Collins Phil Collinson
Music by	Murray Gold
Series	Series 14
Running time	52 minutes
First broadcast	11 May 2024 (2024-05-11)
Chronology
← Preceded by "Space Babies" Followed by → "Boom"

"The Devil's Chord" is the second episode of the fourteenth series of the British science fiction television programme Doctor Who. Released alongside "Space Babies," it was written by Russell T. Davies, directed by Ben Chessell, and was released on BBC iPlayer and Disney+ on 11 May 2024. Ncuti Gatwa stars as the Fifteenth Doctor with Millie Gibson as his new companion Ruby Sunday, while Jinkx Monsoon also guest stars as the antagonist.

The story sees the Doctor and Ruby in 1963, who go to see the British rock band the Beatles, only to find that the world has lost interest in music as they are confronted by the mysterious Maestro.

The episode received generally positive reviews.

Plot

In 1925, a piano teacher shows his student the "devil's chord", which summons a being called Maestro, who consumes the teacher's musical essence, killing him in the process. Maestro then breaks the fourth wall, looking into the camera before playing the opening notes of the Doctor Who theme music on the piano.

At Ruby's request, the Doctor takes her to 1963 to see the Beatles record their first album at EMI Recording Studios but they are disappointed during a recording session with the band as they sing a poorly composed song about Paul McCartney's dog. After viewing similar sessions with Cilla Black and an orchestra, they talk to John Lennon and McCartney and discover that the world has lost its taste for music.

Fearing the impacts of a lack of music on humanity, the Doctor has Ruby play a song on a piano which summons Maestro, who emerges from the piano while laughing. The Doctor recognises this laugh as the same as the Toymaker's giggle.

After escaping Maestro, the Doctor takes Ruby back to 2024, discovering the ruins of London in a nuclear winter. Maestro appears and reveals that they are a child of the Toymaker. They explain that they plan to eradicate all life from the universe, leaving only Aeolian tones. Maestro claims that to defeat them, the Doctor would need to find the correct chord to banish them, believing he is incapable of doing so.

The Doctor and Ruby return to 1963 where Maestro attacks Ruby, but stops when "Carol of the Bells" begins to play and snow starts to fall. Maestro states that this music was present on the night of her birth, saying that this power is that of the "Oldest One". Playing the Mrs. Mills piano, the Doctor tries to find the chord that will banish Maestro but is unable to find the final note of the chord. Maestro sends the piano out of the room, trapping the Doctor and Ruby inside musical instruments.

Lennon and McCartney arrive outside and discover the piano, with the discovered notes of the chord floating above it. They are able to complete the chord, causing the piano to drag Maestro inside, freeing the Doctor and Ruby. Before the lid closes, trapping them, Maestro portends the coming of "The One Who Waits" to the Doctor. Music returns, and the Doctor and Ruby engage in a musical number before leaving in the TARDIS.

Continuity

The Doctor mentions to Ruby that in 1963 he was living nearby in Shoreditch with his granddaughter Susan, a reference to the first episode of the show, An Unearthly Child (1963), where the First Doctor and Susan Foreman lived in the TARDIS in a junkyard in Shoreditch. The Doctor contemplates the fate of Susan following the genocide of the Time Lords by the Master in "The Timeless Children" (2020).

Production

Development

The episode's title was revealed in December 2023 in Doctor Who Magazine, before the reveal of the rest of the fourteenth series' episodes on 31 March 2024. "The Devil's Chord" was written by Russell T Davies. Davies teased that the episode would be the first of many to feature gods at war. In the episode, the Doctor makes a joke about diegetic music. According to Davies, the joke was not well received by the production team who repeatedly suggested cutting it. Despite this it was well received by critics.

The episode was directed by Ben Chessell. It was filmed in May 2023.

Casting

Jinkx Monsoon appears as the god Maestro. Shirley Ballas and Johannes Radebe both make cameo apperences in the episode. Former Doctor Who costume designer June Hudson makes a cameo appearance as an elderly woman who is killed by Maestro. Composer Murray Gold also makes a cameo, playing the piano briefly in the final musical number.

Costumes

"The Devil's Chord" saw the Doctor and Ruby in 1960s period clothing. The Doctor's suit was inspired by images of The Rolling Stones. Costume designed Pam Downe designed three costumes for Maestro, including a keyboard outfit, a theatre dress, and an American bandleader outfit; the latter harks back to the Toymaker's bandleader appearance in "The Giggle". According to Monsoon, the looks were inspired by "iconic musicians" through history, with the theatre outfit referencing Adele, and the bandleader outfit referencing Sergeant Pepper from The Beatles.

Broadcast and reception

Broadcast

"The Devil's Chord" was broadcast on BBC One on 11 May 2024, immediately following the series opener, "Space Babies". The episodes were given an early screening exclusive for critics on 6 May.

The episode was simulcast on BBC iPlayer at midnight on 11 May in the UK and on Disney+ internationally.

Ratings

Overnight viewing figures estimate that the episode was watched by 2.4 million people on its BBC One broadcast, 200,000 less than the preceding episode. Writing for Radio Times, Louise Griffin attributed the low ratings to the episodes launch on BBC iPlayer nearly 20 hours previously.

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Rotten Tomatoes (Tomatometer)	92%
Rotten Tomatoes (Average Score)	8.1/10
Metacritic	72/100
Review scores
Source	Rating
Radio Times
The Evening Standard
Total Film
Vulture

On the review aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes, 92% of 12 critics gave the episode a positive review. On Metacritic, the two-episode season premiere received a rating of 72 out of 100 based on 18 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

Reviewing the first two episodes of the season, Total Film's Will Salmon gave them four out of five stars, finding "The Devil's Chord" to be "on surer ground and a more obviously crowd-pleasing episode" and writing "Gatwa and Gibson are brilliant, and Jinkx Monsoon crackles with malevolent energy".

Hoai-Tran Bui's review from Inverse was more mixed, though he described the episode as "an intriguing marriage of high-concept sci-fi with high camp that delivers a promising look at what this new era of Doctor Who could look like."

External links

• "The Devil's Chord" at BBC Online
• "The Devil's Chord" at the Doctor Who Stories Website
• "The Devil's Chord" on Tardis Wiki, the Doctor Who Wiki
• "The Devil's Chord" at IMDb