As much as I love Doctor Who and believe me, I really love this show, there are times when it feels like it is treading old water. This particular episode is one of those that ended up feeling like one of the many. That said, those many are fun adventures that can go dark places. This episode focused on people who were deep underwater in a base. That said it evoked a serious “The Water of Mars” mixed with “Hide” (Maybe a little bit of “The Impossible Planet”/”The Satan Pit” as well).
The mystery of the episode that the Doctor needed to figure out was the ghosts. There were ghost like creatures mostly incorporeal that were antagonizing the base’s crew. The weird thing about them was that they could grab things and they couldn’t go through walls of a particular room. The weirdest thing of them all is that the ghosts only come out at night. Yet in this under water base, night and day is artificial.
It’s brilliant that upon the Doctor realizing that this is an opportunity to ask questions. The Doctor would be the one to kind of find the idea that it is possible that there is something beyond. That led to a very interesting snippet of a conversation between Clara and the Doctor. The Doctor is clearly worried about Clara after she lost Danny, but she’s rather insistent that she’s fine.
For an episode that was one of the more case of the wee episodes it was interesting, but far from my favorite episode of the show. There were moments that shined like the group figuring out what was going on. The problem is that it didn’t strike any new beats. Clara and the Doctor got separated. They both need to rough it own their own separately. Like I said, it was much of the same things that we’ve seen from both this latest run of Doctor Who and in particular Clara and the 12th Doctor’s relationship. I am more than okay with that familiar formula, but it’s just hard not to feel like it feels similar to previous episodes and arcs.
That said there is the stasis pod in the episode that has yet to be opened which could prove to be an interesting element.
This is only the first part of two and we still need to hang tight to find out exactly what happens next. The tease that the Doctor became one of the ghosts is going to be an interesting twist. We know that the Doctor left with the Tardis to come back for the rest. That said, we saw that it ended up not being Clara in danger, but the Doctor died. It is a bit of a twist. It is setting up the next half of this arc to enter some compelling story territory.
What did you think of the episode?
So, I pondered... 