Reanimating this thread because I just rewatched this episode last night, and came away with some additional subtext I hadn't spotted previously, which makes me feel better disposed towards the episode.
I'll quote someone else's analysis of the Tim Shaw character as depicted in "The Woman Who Fell to Earth":
Actually I think he's VERY interesting and well-picked for a villain. So Tzim-sha is the potential new leader for a galacttic superpower of murderers, invaders and hunters. Needless to say he's killed a lot to get to where he is, judging by all the teeth in his face.
This is a contest, an election if you will, they have chosen him to be their leader. He just has to pass one test. And what does he do? He cheats.
A great hunter, a powerful warrior. He's clearly strong, so why exactly is he cheating? Is he not supposed to be proving himself? Well, that's the thing - he isn't the Predator, this isn't about a code of honour. Or if it is, he does not care.
He was born to lead. So why take the risk something happens and he fails? I mean, clearly he won't, he says to himself, so using the extras is just time saving. It's a strong example of the privilege of power - that he believes he has already earned it, and cheating does not matter, because he COULD do it without cheating, and he deserves to lead anyway. Tim Shaw is very much a monster for our times.
This fits perfectly with all the social justice themes of the season. A Trump figure - born into privilege with all the power he could want but absolutely zero empathy for anyone who isn't him - cheats to get even more power, but a racially and sexually diverse group of 'social justice warriors' (a phrase I use as a compliment) spoil his plans.
That brings us back to "Ranskoor", in which we find two religious worshippers who have their faith hijacked by this same Trump figure. They have such power as to build the universe thanks to their faith, but he twists it and makes it destructive, and they go along with it because they have been convinced this figure is "holy" and he has taken advantage of that.
So basically this is talking about how heartless people in power have convinced good people of genuine faith that they are on the side of their god. How the right wing of politics has taken over the religious communities of the world, and used it to turn the power of that faith towards destructive, selfish, hateful, murderous ends. But the Doctor makes sure to emphasise that it's not faith per se that is at fault, but rather it's following a false god that is dangerous.
And then the Ux themselves - note that it's the old white woman who follows Tim Shaw's edicts most willingly, and wants to stay where they are and not question anything. Meanwhile the young black man questions from the start. The episode stops just short of declaring the Doctor as the "true" god as opposed to Tim Shaw's false god, but it does hint in that direction - she convinces them to the use their strength to build, not to destroy, and they follow her example in the end by going out there to explore the universe. And honestly, there are worse examples to follow than the Doctor's, as the episode was also saying on a smaller scale with the Graham conflict.
So while it's less obvious, these two episodes do still have a social relevance, and that's making me appreciate them and the whole season more than I did.
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