This was a really strong episode of Doctor Who. But hang on… haven’t I seen you before?
WARNING. SPOILERS.
A sequel to Genesis of the Daleks – of sorts. From the moment the child at the start said ‘My name is Davros’ I clapped my hands together in glee. It’s that speech. The one Tom Baker’s fourth Doctor delivers when he asks:
“If someone who knew the future pointed out a child to you and told you that that child would grow up totally evil, to be a ruthless dictator who would destroy millions of lives, could you then kill that child?” We are about to find out what the Doctor would do in that situation (although, surely we know the Doctor would save him… right? Of course he would. I think we’ve worked this character out by now).
It was a barnstorming, relentless, dialogue-driven episode of ideas. There was the Shadow Proclamation. A pub filled with random monsters (because that’s where the Doctor would be if he was hiding, right? In a pub). Mines that are hands with eyes on them. Planes stopped in the sky. Skaro. A bad guy made of snakes. A medieval axe fight with the Doctor playing an electric guitar. On a tank. The Master. The Daleks. All sorts of Daleks. Davros. UNIT.
It was exciting and I was left feeling like I had just witnessed an episode of Game of Thrones, such was my shock and immediate desire to watch the very next episode.
But there were a few things that didn’t sit with me. And maybe you’ll agree.
The first is The Master – or Missy if you’d prefer. I really hate her. Not Michelle Gomez, oh no, she’s scene stealing. But the character. I’ve always wanted The Doctor to beat the baddies, but I’ve never wanted him to maliciously bludgeon one to death with his History of the Time War book.
I know I’m supposed to hate her, she’s a baddie. But I feel she’s unnecessarily nasty for what is, really, a kids TV show. There is an entire essay to write on death in Doctor Who, and the role it plays and how it is presented. I am not going to write it here. But that scene where Missy destroys those guards and gloats about how one of them was married and had a new born child was vindictive, sadistic and unlike any other villain in the show. Missy’s murder of Osgood remains the most horrible thing from the previous series. Not because it was the death of a beloved character, but because there was no reason for it, and it was followed by: “Aww, she was so scared, it was classic!”
This was the same. Missy randomly killing people just to prove to Clara that she’s still a twat. And then a few minutes later she’s partnering with the Doctor, dancing with him, and I think, I think, we were supposed to be upset by her extermination. Really? Because quite frankly, it was just too clean for my liking. I’d rather she was left alone in a field full of hand mines, who are prepared to drag her underground so she can suffocate.
The other issue, and this is the biggest one, is that I’ve seen this episode before. Well no, I haven’t. But what’s this? Daleks from all eras of Doctor Who? It’s Asylum! The Doctor has a Last Will and Testament disc thingy, another secret to go alongside that other secret he had (you know, the one that featured a Doctor that looked distinctly like John Hurt). He’s going to die, preparing for his death, and there’s nothing you can do. Just like in Series 6. or Name of the Doctor or Time of the Doctor. In fact, I think this is the third or fourth time Clara has witnessed the Doctor go to his ‘certain death’. If I was her I’d just go: “Blah, blah blah, get on with it, and I’ll see you back at mine for tea.”
Oh and Clara the know-it-all is finally starting to irritate me. Perhaps the end of last series should have been it for her.
I did absolutely love The Magician’s Apprentice. I just felt I had been here before. And in a show which can go anywhere and do anything, I’m not sure we should be retreading previous ground quite so much.
Upon saying that, this is a two-parter. That Last Will and Testament will probably turn out to be some MacGuffin that saves the day, rectifies whatever it is the Doctor did, makes Davros shake his metal fit screaming ‘DOCTOR’, all while Missy twirls her umbrella and disappears into the night’s sky, accutely aware she had failed once again.
Or something.
Dringo 