I went into The War Between Land and Sea expecting a fairly straightforward Doctor Who–adjacent sci-fi drama. What I got instead was something messier, heavier, and more uneven than I anticipated. That’s not automatically a bad thing—but it does explain why the series feels so hard to pin down.
On paper, the setup is strong. Humans versus the Sea Devils, an ancient aquatic species pushed to the brink by environmental collapse. The cast, led by Gugu Mbatha-Raw and Russell Tovey, gives the project immediate credibility. And for a while, the show seems confident in what it wants to say. As it goes on, though, confidence turns into overreach. The ideas keep multiplying, and the story struggles to carry them all at once. YouCine currently has the series available, and it’s one of those shows that’s easier to appreciate in pieces than as a whole.
A Strong Premise Weakened by Narrative Overload
The opening episodes of The War Between Land and Sea do a lot right. The discovery of a Sea Devil corpse is unsettling, and the accusation that humanity has poisoned the oceans feels uncomfortably close to reality. Early on, the conflict is clear and focused.
Then the narrative starts branching—fast. Internal politics within UNIT, divisions among the Sea Devils, a symbolic romance that never quite convinces, and hints of radical factions pushing toward war. Each thread could have worked on its own. Together, they blur the central story. Instead of escalating tension, the plot keeps changing direction, and the emotional through-line gets thinner with every new detour.
Environmental Themes Delivered with a Heavy Hand
There’s no subtlety about what The War Between Land and Sea is saying, and sometimes that directness hits hard. The anger of the Sea Devils makes sense. The damage done to the oceans isn’t abstract here; it’s personal.
Still, the writing often explains itself too much. Characters stop the story to spell out the moral point, and some visual metaphors—especially the more literal ones—feel designed to shock rather than resonate. The message is important, but repetition dulls its edge. By the later episodes, the theme hasn’t deepened; it’s just louder.
Impressive Visuals Undercut by Pacing Issues
Visually, The War Between Land and Sea is one of the stronger Doctor Who spin-offs in recent memory. The Sea Devils feel physical, not cartoonish, and the underwater scenes have a cold, heavy atmosphere that works well. Real coastal locations help ground the fantasy.
Pacing is where things slip. The opening builds tension carefully, but the middle stretch drags. Certain scenes feel like placeholders, repeating emotional beats we already understand. When the finale arrives, it rushes to resolution, wrapping up conflicts that probably needed more time—or fewer side stories—to feel earned.
Characters with Potential, but Little Growth
Gugu Mbatha-Raw is easily The War Between Land and Sea’s anchor. There’s restraint in her performance, and you can sense an internal conflict even when the script doesn’t give her much space to explore it. Russell Tovey’s role works best when the show lets him react naturally, rather than pushing him into symbolic moments.
Beyond them, most characters remain sketches. Human authority figures are predictable, and Sea Devil factions are more conceptual than personal. When the story asks for emotional forgiveness or reconciliation near the end, it feels rushed—not because the idea is wrong, but because the groundwork isn’t fully there.
A Flawed but Intriguing Addition to the Doctor Who Universe
The War Between Land and Sea isn’t a failure, but it’s not a clean success either. It’s ambitious, visually confident, and clearly driven by sincere concerns about the environment and coexistence. At the same time, it’s overloaded, uneven, and often too direct for its own good.
What stays with you isn’t a single moment, but the sense of what the series wanted to be. There are flashes of something sharper and more focused beneath the clutter. If you’re drawn to sci-fi that aims big and doesn’t always land, this one is still worth engaging with. The series is available via the YouCine APK for viewers curious enough to judge its strengths and flaws firsthand.
Final Score: 6.5/10