Here’s everything you need to know about Doctor Who Season 14 Episode 5, ‘Dot and Bubble’, including an episode recap and the ending explained.
The Doctor and Ruby Sunday have hopped over to another planet in ‘Dot and Bubble’ — one that houses vapid rich kids who become completely occupied by a social media platform that appears around their heads like a hypnotic halo.
The catch, however, is that the two travelers are mostly absent for the majority of the Doctor Who episode, save for appearing on digital screens. Instead, we follow Lindy, a young woman who has to break out of the city known as Finetime while monsters eat unknowing victims around her.
With ‘Dot and Bubble’’s surprising ending coming out of nowhere, it’s set to be a potentially polarizing episode for viewers. With that in mind, here’s an episode recap and the ending explained. (Warning: spoilers ahead!)
‘Dot and Bubble’ episode recap
Let’s set the scene: ‘Dot and Bubble’ is set on a planet known as Finetime, a pastel-colored playground for rich kids whose spots have been paid for by their affluent parents. The residents only work for two hours per day, and spend the rest of their time using their “dot and bubble” program, which acts like a social media platform.
The dot and bubble surrounds their heads, obscuring their view and allowing them to always communicate with their friends via little digital screens. (But don’t worry — the system also tells them where to step, so they know how to get where they’re going.)
Lindy is one such young woman living in Finetime. All is well, until one morning she gets a message from a friend mentioning that a mutual connection has completely disappeared. She also gets a message from the Doctor and Ruby, who she dismisses as being annoying and not being on her friends list.
Monsters take over Finetime
Lindy heads to work, where she gets another message from Ruby. Clearly, Ruby and the Doctor are trying to work out what’s going on. Ruby asks Lindy a series of questions and asks her to do the unthinkable and shut down her dot and bubble. When Lindy (reluctantly) does so, she realizes that none of her colleagues are around.
In fact, the person next to her is mid-way through being eaten by a giant slug-like creature. Literally. Eaten. Lindy freaks out and puts the dot and bubble back on, as she can’t even exit the office without it. (A poor side effect of the dot and bubble — everyone is so reliant on it that they literally can’t walk around without being guided.)
Lindy encounters a creature in the elevator, but instead of being eaten, it slides straight past her, uninterested. Lindy eventually manages to leave, walking through the street, seeing people be consumed by the monsters as she goes.
She quickly puts the dot and bubble back on, running into a tunnel to hide. The Doctor and Ruby try to calm her, all while asking questions to try to establish what’s going on. What is Finetime all about? Why are the monsters only eating some people, and leaving others untouched?
Lindy explains to them that Finetime is surrounded by woods, but is blocked off by force fields. (This makes sense, as the Doctor hasn’t been able to get into the city walls because of them.)
When Ruby asks what Finetime is, Lindy explains the deal. It’s an exclusive place away from their Homeland, designed for residents from the ages of 17-27. She even plays them a message from her wealthy “mummy”. (Would you guess it: it’s Susan Twist! And yes, the Doctor and Ruby both acknowledge her this time, before getting cut off from the subject.)
Only one way out
Lindy gathers her online friends and attempts to explain what’s going on. However, as she does so, she witnesses one of them getting eaten on camera.
Everyone panics, The Doctor assures them he has a plan. Finetime is surrounded by forbidden woods, but there’s a river running underneath the foundation of the city.
If Lindy and her friends can find the conduits, they can escape undetected. Just as he’s explaining where Lindy needs to go, her dot and bubble runs out of battery, leaving her stranded with only a vague idea.
She works herself up to leave her hiding spot, but she’s still learning to walk. Soon, she encounters a whole group of creatures. Just as she’s about to go straight into one of them, a familiar voice calls out to her.
Lindy finds an unlikely hero
It’s Ricky September — the most subscribed and most beloved resident of Finetime! Lindy has been following him and his dance-based videos for quite some time. Thankfully, he’s her hero, and guides her out of the way of the monsters by instructing her where to step, much like the dot and bubble.
When she reaches him, she hugs him — her first-ever hug, mind you. He tells her that he knows where the exit point is and that they can get out together. So, the two set off, and Ricky explains while they go that he only spends minimal time on the dot and bubble (enough time to post his videos), while he spends the rest of his days chilling at home, reading and learning.
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Together, the two run into the building that holds the conduit. Ricky gets the smart idea to send a message to their parents on the Homeworld while Lindy charges her dot and bubble, but when he logs on, he sees footage of an abandoned, destroyed place with the same slug monsters roaming. It’s too late: the Homeworld has already been attacked.
They run downstairs into the tunnels, looking for the exit. Lindy calls back the Doctor and Ruby to get the combination code that’ll unlock the doors so they can go further into the conduits. Ricky gets started, typing the numbers into the lock while Lindy catches up with the Doctor and Ruby.
It’s here that the Doctor works out exactly what’s going on. The creatures are eating people in alphabetical order, according to their name. There’s only one person before Lindy left: Suzie Pentecost. But, while they’re talking to her, one of the creatures kills Suzie, leaving Lindy as the next person on the kill list.
Lindy kills Ricky
Ricky assures Lindy that they’re safe, as the monsters can’t follow them down into the conduits. But the Doctor realizes that it’s not just the monsters that they need to be afraid of: it’s the dot and bubble that’s causing the trouble. The creatures were grown by the system itself as revenge for having to listen to the residents natter on for years and years.
As soon as they work this out, Lindy’s dot goes rogue. It chases Lindy around the room while Ricky tries to knock it out of the air. She takes over punching in the numbers, all while the dot is still trying to kill her.
As the dot approaches her, ready to kill, Lindy spills the truth: Ricky September is not his real name. It’s in fact Ricky Coombes — he should die before her. Ricky stares at her, utterly betrayed.
The dot then turns on Ricky and kills him. Lindy, now given another chance, pulls open the door and runs out and into the conduits.
How does ‘Dot and Bubble’ end?
‘Dot and Bubble’ ends with the huge bombshell that Lindy and the rest of the Finetime survivors are actually racist, rejecting the Doctor’s offer of help and leaving the city on boats, heading into the unknown.
Yes, you read that right. Lindy wanders into the area where the conduits meet the river. There, she finds the Doctor, Ruby, and a small group of survivors who are all getting ready to leave.
Lindy reunites with her friend Hoochy Pie. When the Doctor and Ruby ask about Ricky, she lies and tells them that he went back to try and save others. Lindy’s attitude turns sour when she sees the two in real life, and it only takes a short while to find out why.
It’s then revealed that Lindy (and her fellow Finetimers) dislike the Doctor due to the fact that he’s Black.
The Doctor offers them passage in his TARDIS instead of traveling into the unknown on boats. Lindy, looking at him in disgust, replies: “We couldn’t travel with you. Because you, sir, are not one of us. Screen-to-screen contact is acceptable, but in person? That’s impossible.”
The other Finetime residents agree, shaking their heads and looking at the Doctor with mean stares. They even go so far as to mock him, laughing at his “magic box” and calling it “voodoo.”
The Doctor insists he doesn’t care what they think — he only wants to help them. But still, the others don’t budge from their view. Another man tells Lindy and her friend to turn around, “before you’re contaminated.” So, they turn and head to the boat, leaving the Doctor and Ruby absolutely rattled by what they’ve just encountered.
The Doctor, shattered, screams at them, begging them to let him save their lives. He then starts yelling, in amusement and in anger. Together, he and Ruby retreat into the TARDIS after watching Lindy and the others sail away in the boat, exchanging one last loaded look.
That’s ‘Dot and Bubble’ explained. You can watch the episode on BBC iPlayer from Saturday June 1 in the UK and Friday May 31 on Disney+ in the US.
For more, take a look at all the Doctor Who Season 14 villains. You can also find out when the new episode of Doctor Who Season 14 is out, and take a look at our ‘73 Yards’ ending explained.
