Doctor Who | Death in Heaven - Series 8 Finale
These are my thoughts initial about the Doctor Who series 8 finale aired on the BBC on the 8th November 2014. I hope to re-watch the episode soon and add additional thoughts to this item later.
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I'm not quite sure what to think about today's episode yet. Most Doctor Who season finales leave me laughing madly or crying a river or simply so stunned I can't stop thinking about the crazy-amazing plot. Today's episode, well, it left me wanting more. Don't get me wrong: The acting was spectacular, the special effects were wicked, the Cybermen looked amazing and the story was interesting and roller-coaster crazy as only Doctor Who can do yet somehow I'm left thinking...
Today's episode starts where the last finished - Clara's facing a Cyberman inside the Nethersphere, Danny is still dead and the Doctor and the Mistress are outside the cathedral as Cybermen are heading down the stairs.
As people start taking selfies with the Cybermen appearing all around the world, social media blows up, UNIT shows up, bow ties are cool and Kate Stewart speeches. UNIT proceeds to take the Doctor, the Mistress and the Tardis into custody on their aeroplane before bombarding the Doctor into the President of Earth. Ooo-kay, did not expect that but like it a lot as a way to make the Doctor question himself and his role and the way he thinks about himself. The madman with a box who comes by to help out in times of need is now head of earth and facing an adversary using our planet's dead as an army. How do you fight an army that size? How do you protect a world from a mad Time Lady and her scheming ways?
Well, after the aeroplane blows up you fly to your Tardis, after which you end up in a graveyard with numerous Cybermen roaming around. And then... It turns out you don't have to, because the Lady who's bananas wants to give her army to you. Say what? You read that right. TheMaster Mistress is lonely and wants things between herself and the Doctor to be like they were when they were growing up, back home on Gallifrey... which the Mistress says she has located, by the way. While the Cybermen look amazing and are reasonably scary at times, the 'zombies' just waking up and stumbling about in the graveyard didn't do it for me. Them turning into a 'real army' was a lot more like what I'd hoped for, however! The Mistress does her scary thing, the Doctor makes some big decisions about who he really is - with a lot of very nice flashbacks & significant moments - and Danny Pink shines as he saves the day.
The Mistress seems to be dead, but then maybe not... Danny on the other hand... Life, Doctor Who & Combom wrote a preview review thingamajiggy about tonight's episode which I read before watching.
It's my emotions talking right now but I'm going to write this anyway. No. Just, no. Not beautifully handled at all. Who was that boy? Why was he more important than Clara's happy ending? Than my happy ending? I get that Danny - soldier, protector, teacher - wants to save a child, cares for that child more than for his own happiness, it fits the character. But... But... Beautifully handled is Amy saying goodbye to her raggedy man one last time before following Rory into the past, leaving me crying my eyes out. Beautifully handled is Ten taking Donna home to her mother and grandfather and dear old Wilfred Mott being the only one who remembers what she did and what she meant to the universe. Today's ending, Clara and Danny's goodbye, it was bitter-sweet and true to character and very fitting, yet beautifully handled is not the word I would use to describe it.
For the record - I'm not complaining about the stellar acting or the beautiful goodbye scenes in the graveyard or the reasoning behind it all. Perhaps re-watching while knowing the ending will make the episode easier to watch, will give it the meaning I can't quite find right now. Yes, Danny and Clara got their goodbye. Yes, Danny Pink did exactly what Danny Pink would do, what Clara loves about him. Yes, the acting was amazing. Yes, the Mistress was an interesting adversary with an interesting story, a lot of great moments and an amazing actress bringing her to life. Yes I was intrigued by the (long overdue!) mention of finding Gallifrey. And oh yes Danny's face inside the Cyberman suit looked super creepy yet still human and full of emotion and yes, I so want to see close-ups. Den of Geek praises Samuel Anderson's performance as Danny Pink in words too good not to quote:
I want to watch the new Terminator before saying that I totally agree, however based on Anderson's stellar performance today I am tempted. I'll miss Danny Pink, he was a very real and wonderfully human anchor / companion to the Doctor's Companion.
Back to the emotional roller-coaster: Clara is left alone without the love of her life. What about the child / children she and Danny were supposed to have? What about the great-great grandchild or whatever from a few episodes ago? Is the child Danny sent to her somehow related to Danny and / or Clara? Is she currently pregnant perhaps or is that entire future just totally gone now? Is the boy Danny helps just someone Danny once failed to save & protect or someone not important to the Doctor Who storyline? we won't see again?
I 'crossed out' the last part of that sentence because after writing it, I read the words and realised that every single human is important in Doctor Who; that the one is worth saving just as much as the many, to mangle a Star Trek reference. That is what started the two-part ending to this 8th series after all - the quest to find Danny, to do the impossible and give Clara her happy ending... Or at the very least a real goodbye. The Time Lady bracelet Danny had could have brought him back to Clara, instead he chose to help a young boy. Bitter-sweet indeed (and I am coming to admit: beautifully handled). I took my time writing this post, read some of what others wrote and having had the time to think about it, am less shocked and more awed by the Danny / Clara ending. It fits. It is Doctor Who, after all.
At the end of the episode, the Doctor tells Clara he's off to Gallifrey while Clara tells the Doctor that she and Danny got their happily ever after, after all. They're both lying, it seems. The Doctor went in search of Gallifrey, yet all we see is empty space. Is is cloaked? Is it just not there at all? Is Gallifrey still lost? Is it moving around to return to those coordinates at a later time? Random thought - Was it actually there but so ravaged that the Doctor blamed himself for what he saw 'down below' and wanted to break things out of guilt / remorse? Will have to re-watch the episode to answer that question, I think. Speaking of - I am looking forward to doing just that - fingers crossed - tomorrow. My apologies for any errors or inconsistencies in this review, I hope to amend them tomorrow, after I get some sleep!
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| Doctor Who series 8 finale |
S
P
O
I
L
E
R
S
P
A
C
E
I'm not quite sure what to think about today's episode yet. Most Doctor Who season finales leave me laughing madly or crying a river or simply so stunned I can't stop thinking about the crazy-amazing plot. Today's episode, well, it left me wanting more. Don't get me wrong: The acting was spectacular, the special effects were wicked, the Cybermen looked amazing and the story was interesting and roller-coaster crazy as only Doctor Who can do yet somehow I'm left thinking...
Wait?? What?? THAT was the finale? But... but...but...
Today's episode starts where the last finished - Clara's facing a Cyberman inside the Nethersphere, Danny is still dead and the Doctor and the Mistress are outside the cathedral as Cybermen are heading down the stairs.
As people start taking selfies with the Cybermen appearing all around the world, social media blows up, UNIT shows up, bow ties are cool and Kate Stewart speeches. UNIT proceeds to take the Doctor, the Mistress and the Tardis into custody on their aeroplane before bombarding the Doctor into the President of Earth. Ooo-kay, did not expect that but like it a lot as a way to make the Doctor question himself and his role and the way he thinks about himself. The madman with a box who comes by to help out in times of need is now head of earth and facing an adversary using our planet's dead as an army. How do you fight an army that size? How do you protect a world from a mad Time Lady and her scheming ways?
Well, after the aeroplane blows up you fly to your Tardis, after which you end up in a graveyard with numerous Cybermen roaming around. And then... It turns out you don't have to, because the Lady who's bananas wants to give her army to you. Say what? You read that right. The
The Mistress seems to be dead, but then maybe not... Danny on the other hand... Life, Doctor Who & Combom wrote a preview review thingamajiggy about tonight's episode which I read before watching.
Jenna Coleman and Samuel Anderson are absolutely wonderful as they attempt to get round the challenging events surrounding the episode, although I cannot go into further detail there! Lets just say that the fate of both are beautifully handled.
It's my emotions talking right now but I'm going to write this anyway. No. Just, no. Not beautifully handled at all. Who was that boy? Why was he more important than Clara's happy ending? Than my happy ending? I get that Danny - soldier, protector, teacher - wants to save a child, cares for that child more than for his own happiness, it fits the character. But... But... Beautifully handled is Amy saying goodbye to her raggedy man one last time before following Rory into the past, leaving me crying my eyes out. Beautifully handled is Ten taking Donna home to her mother and grandfather and dear old Wilfred Mott being the only one who remembers what she did and what she meant to the universe. Today's ending, Clara and Danny's goodbye, it was bitter-sweet and true to character and very fitting, yet beautifully handled is not the word I would use to describe it.
For the record - I'm not complaining about the stellar acting or the beautiful goodbye scenes in the graveyard or the reasoning behind it all. Perhaps re-watching while knowing the ending will make the episode easier to watch, will give it the meaning I can't quite find right now. Yes, Danny and Clara got their goodbye. Yes, Danny Pink did exactly what Danny Pink would do, what Clara loves about him. Yes, the acting was amazing. Yes, the Mistress was an interesting adversary with an interesting story, a lot of great moments and an amazing actress bringing her to life. Yes I was intrigued by the (long overdue!) mention of finding Gallifrey. And oh yes Danny's face inside the Cyberman suit looked super creepy yet still human and full of emotion and yes, I so want to see close-ups. Den of Geek praises Samuel Anderson's performance as Danny Pink in words too good not to quote:
Danny the Cyberman? We couldn't take our eyes off him, and not just because of the weird way his robotics pinched his face. It's Samuel Anderson, not Matt Smith, who should be cast in the new Terminator film off the back of his work here, and the gripping exchange with the Doctor, where Danny listened to the big speech and predicted what would happen, was arguably Anderson's finest hour in the series. "Clara, watch this. This is who the Doctor is", he said, with pretty much perfect delivery. ... He was the heart of the episode.
I want to watch the new Terminator before saying that I totally agree, however based on Anderson's stellar performance today I am tempted. I'll miss Danny Pink, he was a very real and wonderfully human anchor / companion to the Doctor's Companion.
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| Danny Pink. Photo source: Piccadilly 1819 blog |
I 'crossed out' the last part of that sentence because after writing it, I read the words and realised that every single human is important in Doctor Who; that the one is worth saving just as much as the many, to mangle a Star Trek reference. That is what started the two-part ending to this 8th series after all - the quest to find Danny, to do the impossible and give Clara her happy ending... Or at the very least a real goodbye. The Time Lady bracelet Danny had could have brought him back to Clara, instead he chose to help a young boy. Bitter-sweet indeed (and I am coming to admit: beautifully handled). I took my time writing this post, read some of what others wrote and having had the time to think about it, am less shocked and more awed by the Danny / Clara ending. It fits. It is Doctor Who, after all.
At the end of the episode, the Doctor tells Clara he's off to Gallifrey while Clara tells the Doctor that she and Danny got their happily ever after, after all. They're both lying, it seems. The Doctor went in search of Gallifrey, yet all we see is empty space. Is is cloaked? Is it just not there at all? Is Gallifrey still lost? Is it moving around to return to those coordinates at a later time? Random thought - Was it actually there but so ravaged that the Doctor blamed himself for what he saw 'down below' and wanted to break things out of guilt / remorse? Will have to re-watch the episode to answer that question, I think. Speaking of - I am looking forward to doing just that - fingers crossed - tomorrow. My apologies for any errors or inconsistencies in this review, I hope to amend them tomorrow, after I get some sleep!
