'Doctor Who' Season 2 Episode 5 Review - 'The Story And The Engine' Weaves A Moving Tale About The Power of Stories And Community

Geek Vibes Nation

10-05-2025

Barber (Ariyon Bakare), The Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa), and Omo Akiyemi (Sule Rimi) | Photo Credit: James Pardon/BBC Studios/Disney/Bad Wolf
After last week's detour to visit Ruby and the UNIT crew, The Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa) and Belinda's (Varada Sethu) journey back to May 24, 2025, takes them to a barbershop in 2019 Lagos, where a mysterious Barber (Ariyon Bakare) seeks out the strongest stories he can find. Written by Inua Ellams and directed by Makalla McPherson, 'The Story and the Engine' weaves a tale about the ways stories bind us. Steeped in real-world history and Doctor Who's fictional history, it's an ode to the power of community and a thrilling watch in its own right. In a season packed with unique Doctor Who adventures, 'The Story and the Engine' stands wholly unique in all the right ways. Led by breathtaking performances from Gatwa, Bakare, and Michelle Asante, 'The Story and the Engine' is a strong, confident debut from Doctor Who newcomer Ellams and a modern classic in the making.
A Story for a Shave
When the Doctor and Belinda land in Lagos, the Doctor pays a visit to his favorite barbershop and its owner, Omo (Sule Rimi). But instead of the welcoming shop he expects, the Doctor finds himself trapped in a cold, unfamiliar prison. For Omo's barbershop has become an intergalactic vehicle crewed by a mysterious Barber who forces his clients to tell stories to power the vehicle's engine. Can the Doctor break the Barber's spell? Or will his story end here, on the back of a giant spider crawling across the Nexus? Set almost entirely within the barbershop, 'The Story and the Engine' sees the Doctor, Belinda, Omo, the Barber, Abena (Michelle Asante), Rashid (Stefan Adegbola), Tunde (Jordan Adene), and Obioma (Michael Balogun) sharing stories from their personal pasts and the pasts of their culture in a tale that explores the power of storytelling and how it connects us to each other.
In the process, Ellams' script dives into both the Doctor's past (and the show's itself with a poignant cameo from Jo Martin as the Fugitive Doctor) as well as the cultural history of Nigeria and its people. Visually, the episode utilizes some really clever bits of animation to illustrate the barbershop's stories, drawing on both traditional and more modern imagery. There's a real sense of magical realism that permeates the episode, creating both a sense of horror and a sense of wonder. It's a moving tribute both to the power of storytelling and to the power of community. After all, Omo's barbershop draws the Doctor in because it's one of the few places on Earth he truly feels at home in. And it's that sense of community, that longing for togetherness that holds the episode together amidst its more fantastical elements.
The Gods and Their Stories
That emotional core proves vital to the episode's success as it explores the stories of literal gods—though not those in the Pantheon of Chaos as seen in previous episodes. No, these are real gods, steeped in Nigerian tradition. There's Abena, a daughter of Anansi, the African trickster god, who's got a complicated history with Jo Martin's incarnation of the Doctor—and a grudge she holds against Gatwa's Doctor to this very day. Then you've got the Barber, who is woven deeply into the gods' lives as the teller of their stories, whom they tossed aside after he kept them present in the minds of humanity. So, naturally, the Barber's looking for revenge against the gods—and he's not afraid to lie to the daughter of a god if it gets him closer to that revenge. And then there's the Doctor, caught in the crosshairs, as usual.
'The Story and the Engine' ends up being a three-hander of sorts. Carried by Gatwa's powerful performance that walks the line between warmth and anger, Bakare's vicious-yet-vulnerable turn as the Barber, and Asante's no-nonsense performance as Abena, 'The Story and the Engine' explores the way these god-like figures' stories intersect—and the effect that intersection has on the humans who surround them. In Ellams' script, the gods are not divine beings, but flawed ones, intrinsically tied into the lives of those who worship them. And it's a really interesting take, especially within the over-the-top context of a Doctor Who episode. The fact that real gods like these can exist alongside the likes of Lux and Maestro is both a testament to the resiliency of Doctor Who and the strength of Ellams' script.
Final Thoughts
In a season defined by unique, genre-defying episodes, 'The Story and the Engine' might just be the least Doctor Who-y of the bunch—in the best way possible. Less a sci-fi thrill-fest and more a rumination on the power of community and storytelling, Inua Ellams' 'The Story and the Engine' delivers a powerful, emotional watch that keeps you glued to your seat from start to finish. Though it may be small in scale, it hits hard in all the right ways. Led by Gatwa, Bakare, and Asante's breathtaking performances, 'The Story and the Engine' is an impressive debut episode from new-to-Who writer Inua Ellams and a modern classic in the making.
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