© BBC Pictures
A fortnight ago the Doctor asked Ashildr, “Who are they?” before his companion bravely faced the raven and lost her life. Last week he spent billions of years punching through a wall four hundred times harder than diamond in order to find them, but now he’s reached Gallifrey it appears that he’s not actually in that much of a rush to meet the Time Lords after all.
There’s an abrupt change of pace in the first act, which I have to admit threw me a wee bit the first time I watched the finale as I expected angry Capaldi Doctor to get straight down to business. This has grown on me during my second viewing however, it is of course obvious that there would be important, nostalgic objectives for him once he reaches his old stomping ground at last, although there is strategy at play here too. The Doctor is quite happy to play the long game after all.
The passion and rage that the Doctor had been holding on to during his trip through the Confession Dial has been honed into something far more dangerous. He is out for revenge and knows exactly how to achieve it too, yet there’s a touch of petulance in his character which perhaps interferes with his sense of judgement at times too. The legend of the Oncoming Storm is one that the Time Lords will certainly remember after their hand in bringing the Doctor home.
Like
Heaven Sent, this is a very character driven plot, although due to embargoed details I am unable to reveal too much of what I would like to say about that to you – even though the promos for the episode do not adhere to these same guidelines. I think I am safe in saying that any material I am prohibited from mentioning is a delight, but I will leave that subject otherwise alone. Besides, there are plenty of other roles to pay tribute to, including Donald Sumpter (Game of Thrones, Being Human) as the fussy and obnoxious President, while Ken Bones and Claire Higgins return as the General and Ohila respectively. Someone from earlier in the season also gets name checked, but although their presence is most definitely felt, they are never actually seen in the flesh.
The episode has an extended sixty-five minutes slot in the schedule this Saturday evening – or an hour and twenty-five minutes if you’re a BBC America viewer. The preview run time is more or less bang on an hour, which leaves me pondering whether we’ll get an unannounced glimpse of
The Husbands of River Song tagged on the end. My only issue with that is that it finishes almost perfectly as it is – although I know this finale won’t be everyone’s cup of tea - so I would be happier with a trailer afterwards rather than another mid-credit teaser as per season eight with
Death in Heaven/Last Christmas.
Hell Bent airs on Saturday 5th December at 8.00pm 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, I won’t be confirming who says what this week but there a few extra ones added since it’s an extended episode. Don't forget to come back to vote in our poll on Saturday and let us know what you thought.
“It was sad, and it was beautiful. And it is over. We have no right to change who she was”
“You’re not supposed be there. I’ve just put all that back, it’s for the boys. If any of them ever want to come…”
“Hope is a terrible thing on the scaffold”
“Ahh well, sort of Glasgow…space Glasgow”
“He was a good man once. Isn’t this going a bit far?”
“Where you just being cruel? Or just being cowardly.”
“We all face a raven in the end, that is the deal”
“Dear lord, how do you cope with all that ego?”
“We needed to know. You have information about the hybrid, a danger to all of us”
“We’ll stick to the perimeter, no more than three paces from the lift. Do not enter the Cloisters”
“Four knocks. It’s always four knocks”
No matter where you go, there you are
“I can’t be the Doctor all the time”
“I don’t think I’ve got the chameleon circuit working”
“Doctor, please. I don’t want this. Put it down, please”
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 UK shows. She also enjoys watching and commenting on other shows such as Vikings, Orphan Black, Game of Thrones and The Flash.
