| 07 – "The Metaphysical Engine, or What Quill Did" | |||
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| Class episode | |||
 Dorothea (Pooky Quesnel, center), Ballon (Chiké Okonkwo, right) and Miss Quill use the Metaphysical Engine to travel to a world long gone. | |||
| Cast | |||
Starring
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Others
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| Production | |||
| Directed by | Wayne Yip | ||
| Written by | Patrick Ness | ||
| Produced by | Derek Ritchie | ||
| Executive producer(s) | Patrick Ness Steven Moffat Brian Minchin | ||
| Music by | Blair Mowat | ||
| Series | Series 1 | ||
| Running time | 45 minutes | ||
| First broadcast | 26 November 2016 | ||
| Chronology | |||
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"The Metaphysical Engine, or What Quill Did" is the seventh episode of the British science fiction television series Class. It was released online by BBC Three on 26 November 2016. The episode was written by series creator Patrick Ness and directed by Wayne Che Yip; it acts as a companion piece to the previous episode "Detained", also written by Ness and directed by Che Yip.
Class follows four students of Coal Hill Academy and their alien teacher, as they deal with various alien threats. The episode takes place concurrently with "Detained", following Miss Quill's (Katherine Kelly) perspective instead of the students'; in it, Quill goes on a journey with headteacher Dorothea (Pooky Quesnel) and a shapeshifting alien named Ballon (Chiké Okonkwo) in an attempt to remove the Arn from her brain, which would free her from Charlie's (Greg Austin) authority.
Unlike all other Class episodes in which she is credited last in the main cast, Kelly receives first billing credit in the end credits, due to the other main cast members having little screen time in the episode. The episode received very positive reviews from critics, who praised its performances (most notably Kelly's), characters, themes and visuals.