Clara is the Doctor! Well, probably. After Dark
Water, you get the feeling that anything could happen, and it probably
would. This finale was, like that opening sequence, surprising and epic and
delivering on the character’s stories that have been building up throughout the
series. A mad ending, as well as a fitting one. Like Missy’s plan (happily all
that afterlife stuff is definitely an evil ruse), it might be a bit mad
if you had to explain it all afterwards, but it delivers emotionally.
From last week’s slow set-up we’ve moved into pure awesome
territory, though still with the big Moffaty ideas - he’s thrown a whole series
worth into this story. The showrunner has said in interviews that writing the
final two episodes this year was the most fun he’s had and you can tell. Huge
stakes! Huge deaths! Missy being bananas! It doesn’t need to be said any more that
it’s witty, or clever, or surprising, or brilliantly well made. And even with show’s
history breathing down its neck, it’s amazing how much new things they can do
with the character and the format. Everything in this episode feels like it’s
never been done before, as well as being at the top of its game.
Some of that is down to budgets - trying to match the
spectacle of a Marvel film at a fraction of the cost. The money clearly has
been spent on the UNIT jet scenes, which offer the glorious set pieces of a
Cyberman attack and Missy’s escape from captivity. There’s action, excitement
and horror, as she shows that she’s the same Time Lord at heart, actually
properly killing Osgood (oh no no no). Michelle Gomez is bonkers, relishing
every line, stretching out the accents to breaking point, and always acting in
impeccable character. She steals these last two episodes, if not the whole
series, and as her fate is as clear as mud she WILL be back. The Cybermen also
get a look-in whilst staying reassuringly silent with their new flying skills.
Whilst it’s not always convincing elsewhere, I’m glad they spent the money on
the night-time action sequence as it looks perfect and beautiful.
Then we’re abruptly back down to Earth and into (relatively)
low budget territory, with Clara getting stalked around a graveyard in homage
to horror, something in ace director Rachel Talalay’s
roots. That the end-game is simply our leads standing around in a graveyard
feels a bit small scale considering the whole of the human race is about to be
killed - and perhaps it needed a few more wide shots - but then the stakes here
are simply Danny and Clara. One man, who we feel for, disturbingly dead and
Cyberised. It’s a horrible scene made even worse by Jenna and Sam playing it so
bare and heartbroken. When the Doctor turns up, it turns into a character study
paying off twelve episodes worth of introspection, coupled with an impossible
dilemma about love and death and duty. Most dramas would kill for a scene like
that even once a year, but it’s just the latest in a series full of them. It’s
so much richer this year from the writers upping the drama, that we’ve truly
been spoilt.
Danny and Clara are at the heart of the story, leaving the
villains surprisingly in the shadows. This suits the Cybermen, who are back to
being essentially henchmen, but it fits their faceless, almost communist, roots
of an identikit inhuman race. They’re also creepy and horrific. Less well
suited is the new Master. Her choice of plan deconstructs the character down to
a notion that we’ve never really seen expressed before - evil yes, but only
wanting the Doctor’s attention rather than boring old world domination - but
doesn’t the character wait until they’ve won before they start bargaining? It
feels like Missy hasn’t shown nearly enough bite as her previous incarnations
by ceding so quickly.
The series has also been about the relationship between the Doctor
and Clara - though here, they only really talk to each other properly at the
ending. If you asked anyone’s for their favourite scenes this series,
guaranteed somewhere in their top five would be one between the Doctor and
Clara. The often powerful exchanges are the backbone of this series - think
back to “I’m
not your boyfriend”, “She cares
so I don’t have to”, “I’m against the
hugging”, “You
walk our earth, you breath our air”, “Goodness
had nothing to do with it”. And more
recently, “Do you think I care for you so little that betraying me would
make a difference?”, followed by “I’m exactly what you deserve.” It’s been the
heart of this series and it’s all been leading to this - Clara being equal to
the Doctor, and making decisions when he couldn’t go through with them. Even
the final scenes show them as equals, yet again hiding their feelings (and
their faces) from each other with their lies, the events causing irreversible
damage to their relationship. Both of their fates are genuinely horrible,
especially with Peter Capaldi’s strong reaction. Raw drama and raw emotion.
I’ve watched a lot of telly series, and I’ve come to a universal
truth: final episodes are bloody hard to pull off. For a show like
Doctor Who, with months of build-up and millions of fans, they must be even
harder. Raising the stakes is far easier than lowering them again -think of all
the comments on two-parters where the second half has ‘ruined’ it - especially
if you decide to go on a fake-out and not deliver the action you were building
up to all series. It’s a recipe for leaving viewers dissatisfied. Fortunately,
this episode delivered that, tying up the ‘Good Man’ debate (and the idea of
the Doctor being a General from The
Caretaker), having a proper confrontation between our hero and new arch
enemy (we’ve had too few of those in the last twenty years), and exploring
Danny and Clara’s relationship one final heartbreaking time.
It’s on the last front that I think the episode still
dissatisfies the viewer. The Doctor hates endings, and so does the show itself.
Whilst it might be in keeping with the characters, Danny’s sacrifice and Clara’s
last few scenes are realistic and downbeat and brutal compared with our dreams
of a happy ending and a perfect romance for them. I wished this one didn’t end
on two great big lies from our main characters, or three big lies if you consider
that we don’t even know if Clara is going to be leaving here or not, so should
we cry over it all or what? It’s the same with Danny - something about the
open-ended nature of the programme means that exits no longer have the same
impact. And the ambiguity elsewhere turns it into audience dissatisfaction for
this show; the next series should be working towards the right balance of
dramatic uncertainty and authorial intent that this year has wavered around. In
some ways it’s been a year to love for all the wrong reasons: the Doctor is
less immediately likeable, the companion doesn’t always get along, the journeys
are more dangerous and less fun. But it’s also, on a technical level in every
department, probably the best series of Doctor Who ever produced.
many thanks to
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