© BBC Pictures
Last week’s cliffhanger was an unusual one, though it was one of the most thought provoking one’s of the season so far. The Doctor admitted that breaking the rules by saving Ashildr because he was angry and emotional was possibly a terrible mistake, but will it cause a tidal wave that he must attempt to correct, or is his concern misplaced. The closing montage of a never aging Ashildr watching the centuries pass as she grew ever more disillusioned certainly left us with the impression that the conclusion to this tale isn’t going to be a simple one.
We’ve heard the Doctor’s thoughts on his own immortality many times before, including the incredibly poignant line to Clara at the end of
The Girl Who Died about it not feeling like you live forever, but instead it’s watching everybody else die around you. The Doctor freely admits that the way he copes with it is to run, slipping into the vortex and onto the next adventure, solving everyone else’s problems so he doesn’t have to face his own.
What happens if you aren’t able to run though, when there’s no escaping your pain and you have to live through every moment day by day, hour by hour, minute by minute…for ever. Could the ‘Knightmare’ poster that we see Ashildr holding in the promo be far more poetic than we first imagined. Is it simply a reminder of the stories she liked to tell all those years ago - the legend of her victory over the Mire - or is it an echo of the Doctor’s lament of what an eternal life is like to endure?
With this being a rather weighty subject matter for a family show to tackle it should come as no real surprise that the ‘Alien of the Week’ portion of the plot is a rather more light-hearted affair. That’s not to say it doesn’t bring its own complications and perils, although these obstacles are met with less apparent trepidation by the characters throughout. This is 1651, Cromwellian’s London is rife with thieves and the Doctor is on the trail of a mysterious gem, The Eyes of Hades. Unfortunately he isn’t the only one to have set his sights on this particular piece of loot, which gives rise to various capers, near misses and a close encounter with another of the cities outlaws, Sam Swift the Quick.
Once again the comedian guest star is poorly used, and as with Paul Kaye in
Before the Flood I’m sure Rufus Hound could have brought more to the episode had he been given the scope to do so. As it is Sam is an entertaining rogue, bringing some gallows humour to the story which may have become very dark indeed. The comedy is a tad unbalanced throughout the adventure however, which does give the story a slight top-heavy feel to it. Some of the earlier dialogue, compelling as it is, may be a turn off for some of the younger or more casual viewers before the main action starts to unfold.
It is Maisie Williams and Peter Capaldi who steal the limelight however (this is a very Clara-lite episode, as the teasers below suggest). Their tangled relationship and individual, nuanced performances are what make the episode shine brighter than it perhaps should, and will undoubtedly be what it is remembered for in the future.
The Woman who Lived airs on Saturday 24th October at 8.20pm on BBC 1 and BBC 1 HD in the UK, and at 9pm on BBC America. Below are a few dialogue teasers to see you through until then, if you want to have any guesses on who said what I will fill in any correct answers before the episode airs. Don't forget to come back to vote in our poll after the episode and let us know what you thought.
“I can’t remember most of it, that’s the trouble with an infinite life and a normal sized memory”
“You helped her out with her homework, imaginary interview with Winston Churchill”
“I read your journals, why are there pages missing?”
“There is an intruder on the premises, bring me my blunderbuss”
“I’ve had eight hundred years of adventure, enough to fill a library if you write it down”
“Stop calling me that”
“I really was planning to listen that time but basically, I didn’t. Usually someone hits me at this point but she’s taken the Year Sevens for taekwondo”
“He’s new at this, someone had to show him the ropes. Don’t worry mate, you’ll get the hang of it”
“I live in a world you leave behind because you abandoned me to it”
“Says Sam Swift the Quick? That’s trying a bit too hard isn’t it, or are you or are you a bit slow?”
Trailer Teaser
“I think you might be right” “About what?” “The end of the world”
About the Author - Sandi
Sandi is part of the Senior Staff at SpoilerTV having been a contributor from back in the Lost days of DarkUFO, and who now writes previews for Banshee, The Musketeers, Poldark, and other BBC shows. She also enjoys watching and commenting on other shows such as Reign, Orphan Black, Game of Thrones and The Flash.
