This article contains spoilers for "Doctor Who" season 2, episode 5 -- "The Story & The Machine" 

Ncuti Gatwa's Fifteenth Doctor might be a fairly upbeat regeneration compared to some of his predecessors, but if needs must, that only makes him more dangerous than the average Time Lord. In "The Story & The Machine," he handily proves that he can deflate a villain with nothing more than a heartfelt laugh and some inside information. 

The unfortunate antagonist on the receiving end of this treatment is the Barber (Ariyon Bakare), who has just finished his big villain reveal monologue and unveiled himself as the God of Stories -- an eternal being who has been worshipped as the ancient Greek pantheon's Dionysus, Sága and Loki from Norse mythology, Akan folktale story lord Anansi, and many others in the same vein. The Doctor reacts to this information with a moment of stunned silence before breaking into...