Death always stalks the Doctor, and this year, more than any
other, its presence has been a constant theme. In a year that has
been marked by more death than I am used to, this feels somewhat
personal. Far more so for many more viewers of course. From the
quietly devastating cold open of Dark Water,
this two-part finale is obsessed with the concept of death and what
comes after, exploring its philosophy and twisting it for shock and
horror. Danny dies in the most mundane and pointless way, the way
that so many of our friends and family have died. To then use this as
the starting point for an existential horror story told in the early
evening for a family audience is bold, to say the least.
Doctor Who frequently
makes the press for being “too scary” or “unsuitable for kids,”
ever since Terror of the Autons turned
toys into killers in 1971. Perhaps, this time, the papers were right.
This is frightening stuff by anyone's standards, but for a young
child watching, perhaps a child who has lost a parent or grandparent,
to be confronted with the notion that the afterlife is unending hell
and servitude... yes, perhaps Doctor Who did
go too far this time. This isn't the New Adventures, it's not for a
small, select audience of older readers. This is something that is
watched by thousands of children. It's made clear that 3W is not the
real afterlife, but nothing more than a computer matrix designed to
torment the uploaded minds of the recently deceased until they elect
to delete their own emotions. Yet it is presented as where millions
of souls have been sent over hundreds of years, awaiting resurrection
as Cybermen. In the Doctor Who universe,
this is the afterlife of humanity, and it's horrifying. How many of
us have cremated our loved ones? Even though the 3W was lying about
the dead being conscious of their bodies treatment, the idea is still
terrifying (and frankly I find the idea of an eternal afterlife
terrifying already).
It's interesting that the Doctor's first thought of the afterlife
is not Heaven, but Hell. It's very hard to swallow that whatever the
circumstance, the Doctor would go on a quest to find a soul in the
afterlife. His immediate response upon hearing the supposed truth of
life after death is that it's a racket, that the dead are gone for
good. This sounds more like the Doctor we know, which makes his
mission for Clara's dead love all the more baffling. Did he already
have his suspicions that something unnatural was going on? It's hard
to credit his actions otherwise, regardless of how much Clara has him
wrapped round her finger.
Clara's relationship with the Doctor has been at the centre of
this series, particularly the effect the Doctor's presence has had on
Clara's character. This story takes these developments to their
limit. The opening to Dark Water provides
the devastating set-up to one of the most intense scenes ever between
a Doctor and his companion. Clara's desperate ruse to force the
Doctor to change the past shows just how ruthless she is capable of
being, and Jenna Coleman gives her best performance of the series,
racked with grief and anger and the injustice of Danny's death and
the lengths she's been driven to. Capaldi is naturally more than
capable of holding his own in this scene, quietly reacting to
Coleman's performance before the Doctor turns events around. It's a
tremendously satisfying moment when the Doctor reveals that he has
been in complete control of the situation, allowing it to play out.
Dream sequences like this are a bugbear of mine, so frequently being
dramatically empty and unnecessary to the story. This example,
however, is vital and effective, showing us just how Clara has come,
what she is capable of and how much she loves Danny. The scene is
capped off with the Doctor's perfect response to the situation,
forgiving Clara for her betrayal in the name of her friendship. It's
an astonishing scene.
Death in Heaven continues
the theme of the companion becoming the Doctor. The opening of the
second part has Clara pretending to be the Doctor to delay the
Cybermen and keep herself alive. It continues on the same vain as her
Doctoring in Flatline, but
is strangely presented as if we are supposed to believe that she
might be telling the truth. Even teaser trailers for the story
focused on her claim that “Clara Oswald never existed.” Had this
come a year ago, we might have given it credence, but coming now when
we've gotten to know Clara, we know it's nothing but a ploy. The
tweaks to the opening titles are cute, giving Coleman top billing and
having her eyes peer out from the dark in place of Capaldi's. It's a
short-lived gimmick, though, and doesn't seem to serve any story
purpose. It does, however, push the series further in the direction
of the introduction of a female Doctor, something that is now looking
more likely than ever. For her part, Coleman is actually rather good
as an ersatz Doctor, playing the ruse through with charm and
confidence (and more Smith-like than Capaldi-esque).
The biggest hint at the Doctor's
potential change of gender is, of course, Missy. After a season-long
mystery, the villain's identity is an inevitable let-down. Not that
having the Master back is a disappointment, far from it. It's just
that Missy=Mistress=Master is the first thing that everyone thought
of. It's so obvious that many of us fans dismissed it and tried
thinking up increasingly unlikely identities. Missy being the Master
is the most obvious answer imaginable, and her introduction across
the series is mishandled. As much as it provided an ongoing talking
point, having nine weeks of exposure to Missy dulled the eventual
reveal. Less “Oh my gosh, it's the Master!” than “Well, yes,
obviously.” None of which makes the return of the character in a
wholly new guise a bad thing. Michelle Gomez is a fabulous actor, one
who I have long included on my list of potential Doctors, should the
Time Lord ever be cast as a woman. Gomez once revealed a desire to
play the Doctor in a Radio Times interview,
and she's had the next best thing as the Master. Nonetheless, I am
not quite convinced by her as the Master. She is wonderfully
entertaining, dripping with lunacy and makes for an unnervingly
unpredictable foe... but she's not quite the Master to me. I guess
this is how fans felt when Eric Roberts or John Simm were cast, never
accepting them as the Master either. For me, the times when Gomez
actually felt like the Master were the quieter, more sinister
moments. I'd much rather see her show us how coldly psychotic she is,
than hear her shout about how she's “bananas!”
Nonetheless, having the Master
back is a fine thing, and the sex change is a good look at how the
series may be progressing. If the Doctor doesn't regenerate into a
woman next time I'll be very surprised. The outpouring of bile on
some fan groups shows just how much misogyny and homophobia there
still is in fan circles, especially depressing in a series that is
about change and acceptance. In a world where sex change and gender
fluidity is becoming evermore common and accepted, these sorts of
attitudes are appalling and outdated. I hope those angry few who have
declared they will never watch the series again follow through on
this “threat.” We'll be better off without them.
It's a pity that the BBC couldn't keep the Cybermen's involvement
a secret, but given that they were filming the creatures in broad
daylight in the middle of London, it's hard to see how they could
have. Instead, they made them the selling point of the story. It
would have been a treat had it been presented as a surprise, though.
The nature of the skeletons in their invisible support units is
screamingly obvious when we already know the Cybermen are coming, and
while the reveal is still very effective, it would have been
electrifying to see those handles appear had we not already known.
That said, the nature of 3W's logo didn't hit me until we saw the
doors shut and form a pair of Cyberman eyes. It's then that the old
Cyber music starts up and Dark Water's
cliffhanger climax begins, something that takes a full ten minutes to
put everything into place.
For once, though, the full horror
of Cyber-conversion is put centre stage. Once the Cybermen actually
begin rising from their graves, they actually do very little for much
of the episode. They're not here as stomping robo-soldiers, but as a
chilling reflection of our need for the promise of life after death.
There are a lot of people who would give up their emotions and
autonomy for the chance to live forever in an ageless new body. This
is the Cybermen as they were originally envisioned, a desolate
potential endpoint for humanity. Although the flying Cybermen are
kind of fun. They were lagging behind the Daleks with that, after
all.
It's good to see UNIT back, particularly as they are already
prepared to shoot down the cliffhanger. It's a joy to see Ingrid
Oliver back as Osgood, and the character's death is shocking and
upsetting, especially as it comes mere moments after the Doctor
offers to take her on a trip into time and space. Kate Stewart
maintains further continuity for this modern day UNIT family,
although Sanjeev Bhaskar is terrible wasted in his brief role as
Colonel Ahmed, though. UNIT's involvement was inevitable, of course.
For one thing, this story revels in its links to the past: a genuine
Tomb of the Cybermen gives way to a new take on the first UNIT story,
The Invasion. In fact, this
almost runs as the ultimate unseen story of the UNIT era; a remake of
The Invasion with the
Master in Tobias Vaughan's role. More importantly, though, is the
running theme of the Doctor's attitude to the military, that has been
an aspect of the majority of episodes this year. To not have his own
military employers turn up would be unthinkable. The setting up as
the Doctor as “President of Earth” is laughable – as if every
country in the world would vote in such an idea – and plays as a
one-shot joke that is never taken to its fullest extent. It does,
however, continue the exploration of Doctor-as-general, now
commander-in-chief of the forces of Earth.
Most significantly, in this story
and across the season, is the contrast between the Doctor and Danny,
between general and soldier. While the Doctor may declare that he is
no hero, no general, no president, Danny's scathing assessment of him
is hard to argue with. Danny's story is painful to watch, from his
death to his inhuman resurrection, and Samuel Anderson is brilliant
throughout. While some moments in the season haven't shown him in a
very good light, like Coleman, when given strong enough material
Anderson excels. Their scenes together, in particular, are
heartbreaking and hugely affecting. Whether it's by coincidence or
design, having the final episode broadcast just before Remembrance
Sunday (and before Veterans' Day in the US) lends a particular
poignancy to the proceedings. Danny's encounter with the nameless
Afghan boy in the Nethersphere is haunting, and highlights the
difference between him and the Doctor. Danny, at least, looks the boy
in the eye and tries to help. It's hard to see the Doctor confronting
one of his victims in such a way.
Indeed, as Danny points out, the
Doctor's hypocrisy is evident here. As Danny stands there, his face
distorted by cybernetic implants, he calls the Doctor to task for his
unwillingness to get his hands dirty. He shoots down the Doctor's
profound words, knowing that once a tactical advantage is made clear,
he will have to go back on them. It's hard to argue with the Doctor's
logic, but emotionally his hypocrisy is hard to bear. Which is, of
course, the point of the story, of the involvement of the Cybermen
and the Master and the ongoing debate of military force. To be an
effective soldier means disconnecting, if only temporarily, from ones
emotions. To respond emotionally to the things a soldier must do can
break someone. Hence the Cybermen are perfect soldiers, unquestioning
and unencumbered by emotion. Danny packages away his emotions to do
his duty, but never gives them up; even when his inhibitor is enabled
there is, as the Doctor puts it, the promise of love. The alternative
is to become a Cyberman, or worse, to revel in the darkness, as does
the Master.
With so many very strong elements
in play, it's hard to say why the story doesn't quite work. It's
certainly better viewed altogether, even rewatched with the knowledge
of what's coming, able to focus on the meat of the episode rather
than the excitement of twists and revelations, such as they are.
Perhaps there is simply too much going on, but it's more a question
of tone. This is an unusually bleak story, and yet the normal moments
of comedy are still present. More often than not Doctor Who
balances these things well, but
in spite of such gems as Chris Addison's performance as Seb (such as
shame he didn't get a reunion scene with Capaldi), or the Doctor's
Malcolm Tucker-esque meeting with Dr. Chang (a very Matt Smith-like
performance by Andrew Leung), the comedy moments seem out of place.
Nowhere is the tone more uneven than in the climactic scenes. We have
the truly beautiful goodbye scene between the Doctor and Clara, both
Clara and Capaldi quietly dignified while their characters lie to
each others faces for what they perceive to be their own good. We
have the Doctor's explosion of anger as he faces the fact that Missy
lied to him about Gallifrey's location. Yet we have the misjudged
soldier speech from CyberDan, no doubt incredible on paper but
over-the-top and pompous on screen (I kept expecting him to announce
that he was “cancelling the Apocalypse!”) And the
Cyber-Brigadier. A charming tip of the hat to a beloved character, or
a rather crass joke? The jury's out, and the scene is so tonally
mismatched that it's hard to know how to take it. The same has to be
said for the sudden magical rescue of Nameless Afghan Boy by Danny,
necessitating a hurried moment of exposition and so totally out of
keeping with the rest of the episode it's impossible to swallow.
Finally, the powerful final scene
is punctured by a teaser for the Christmas special, the first time
the narrative element from the festive episode has broken into the
main series in this way since the days of David Tennant. As joyful as
it is to see Nick Frost playing Santa Claus, and as baffling as the
implications of this are, it just doesn't sit right with the
emotionally draining scene we've just witnessed. Which perhaps sums
up the whole story; full of such brilliant moments, but, like the
Master's plans, incoherent when taken as a whole. If ever there was
room for a director's cut of a Doctor Who story,
it's this one. It could have been something more.
