Another week goes by and this episode returns to the here and now, specifically the school that Clara and Danny work at. The Doctor pretends to be the school’s new caretaker to investigate strange goings on.
I really liked this onedespite the fairly average plot. Capaldi has slotted nicely into the role now and Clara had improved immensely for me. In tonight’s episode, Danny revealed that he does in fact have a personality.
Questions (though as ever you are welcome to offer your own points on things you may have picked up on or noticed):
Did the door to the caretaker yard have any significance in that it looked like the front of the TARDIS?
The Doctor’s jealousy, is he getting the feeling he is about to lose another assistant?
Who might that man with Missy be? (Of course who he might be also depends on answering the question of who she is)
I felt that the plot on this one was lacking a bit. The robot didn’t give much feeling of threat but naturally it was meant to be another character-led story. I felt unsure about Danny before but I did like him in this episode.
I get the strong feeling that we’re being set up for Clara leaving the Doctor in favour of a life with Danny – perhaps there will be more conflict between the two men. The part where the Doctor clearly thought Clara was dating the Matt Smith-esque teacher, he was smugly accepting. Obviously this was for comedy’s sake but perhaps there was also a deeper aspect that will come up again – maybe the Doctor has problems with Clara liking anyone who isn’t like him? Danny’s comment about Clara being honest with him struck me as a big flashy bit of foreshadowing.
Missy being shoe-horned in at the end with a mysterious ‘she’s busy today’ felt strange indeed (why write in another character into Missy’s world? Either he’s significant or they really couldn’t think of another way to have Missy greet someone in ‘the afterlife’ without it being samey. Assuming he is significant (or at least going to get some more screentime) my feeling is that he’s Missy’s assistant. Or…henchman?
Anyone else catch the reference to River? Kind of amusing, but not sure if I like her being referenced so lightly in the Capaldi era – assuming she won’t appear again, she is effectively dead/saved in The Library, so the levity of the comment about having a tiff and going off to live with otters…well it jarred for me a bit.
Really hoping for a good strong episode soon…I am liking the series but can’t say I’ve loved the last few episodes.
I agree, another “meh” plot but for me, the character building adequately made up for that.
Oooh, good point! I suppose the jealousy we saw was noticing the inevitable that one day (as with every companion) they are going to prefer somebody that simply isn’t The Doctor. If your point here is correct, then that Matt Smith lookalike may have given The Doctor some comfort in the belief that she still prefers him, even if it’s a version of him that no longer exists.
I’m hoping the former, but suspect the latter. It would make sense if she is a Timelord for her as a female Timelord to have a male companion. Also, thinking back to how she is emulating him (“I like the new accent, I might keep it” and referring to him as her boyfriend) then she may have taken a male companion for that specific purpose. I hope he has some relevance though.
I have finally plucked up the courage to watch Doctor Who because Peter Capaldi is one of my favourite actors. That being said, except for Listen, and moments in Deep Breath, none of the episodes have been engaging enough. What whovians write are quite intimidating to me as a new viewer of Doctor Who, but they mostly seem to defend and let the flaws pass, out of respect for Capaldi’s acting, or dismiss the episodes altogether. I decided to find out for sure if Doctor Who really wasn’t my cup of tea by considering another underrated Doctor, Christopher Eccleston. And now, I am absolutely in love with the show! I hope the heaven episodes(likely the finale) are worth the wait, and it would be lovely to have a censored Malcolm Tucker-Ollie Reeder face-off!
You’re right, there are some fans for whom every episode is a BAFTA-worthy masterpiece. You will also find (as there will be at the moment) those that decide the new Doctor is the worst one ever and they are never watching again – happens every time!
I am too focused on figuring out the plot thread to get tooooo upset about the plots now though. I’m quite forgiving, but realistic too. I agree that the plots have been lacklustre. In all of my open threads since Deep Breath I have criticised the thin and recycled plotting. BUT Capaldi is superb and for me, Clara has been a MASSIVE improvement on last season. I love the dynamic they have now, though as a new viewer you are probably not going to see that until you catch up.
I strongly recommend working through Ecclestone, Tennant and Smith. For some, Smith is the greatest Doctor ever – though for me I put him on equal footing with Tom Baker which is massive praise indeed for this Baker uberfan :)