That’s right my friends. We’re in double digits now! I’m behind again, but not as bad as last year. See? I’m getting better. Last year my second Talk encompassed episodes 2, 3 and 4. This time I’m only two behind! Take that! Well we have a couple of really good episodes to talk about so stay tuned. Remember, my TARDIS Talks are FULL OF SPOILERS so if you haven’t seen the episodes yet then turn back right away. Let this picture of my cat sitting in front of my sonic screwdriver be your final warning.
Episode 2: The Witch’s Familiar
Life happened. That’s why it took me so long to get to this one. Work, family emergencies, and The Martian coming out, all conspired to push it back. I’m kind of glad I waited though. Two episodes of Doctor Who back to back were just what the Doctor ordered. After the recap we find Clara swinging upside down with Missy whittling a stick into a pointy stick. I really like seeing Clara and Missy together. It’s like watching Clara with a chaotic evil version of the Doctor. The comedy in this episode wasn’t side splitting but a lot of Missy’s lines made me chuckle. That’s why I think she makes such a great adversary. One minute she’s making you smile and the next she’s hinting at eating Clara or offering her up as a bargaining chip to the Supreme Dalek. I liked the explanation Missy gave for how they both survived even though I was expecting a little more out of her story. The way it was building up made it seem like it was going to be part of some sort of epic reveal for why the Doctor acts a certain way. But it wasn’t and I was left a tad disappointed.
The episode takes us back to the Doctor and his attempt at an escape, which was pretty cool. You all probably realized this too, but it couldn’t be that easy. Sure it was the type of scene we’re used to but if he was really going to escape and win the day then this would have taken place later in the show. It was a cool idea, very Doctor like but alas, Colony Sarff had the last word. I love this Doctor more and more with each episode and his delivery of the line “this exact nightmare” when talking to the Daleks in the control room. It was just so cool and had so much bravado.
This scene leads right into the next case of Missy mischievousness when she pushes Clara down the hole into the Dalek sewer. This was so telegraphed that Anne and I saw this coming a mile away. It was funny but it felt force fed. The actual scene in the sewer was really gross and made me wonder how the Daleks in the sewer were surviving without their casing? I can see how they could live forever inside the case, but with no case and just brown goo? But I digress. I found Missy easily poking holes in the Dalek to be a little too easy. Missy just happened to be wearing a brooch that could puncture the otherwise impenetrable hull of a Dalek? Fine, I’ll let it pass but only because of what comes later.
It’s probably just me, but I really liked the line about the Doctor sitting on the only chair on Skaro. If you think about it, a Dalek would never need a chair, so finding one for the bipedal Doctor to sit in was quite a feat, unless it was Colony Sarff’s chair, in which case it’s not a big deal. Anywho, The next scene is the really interesting one. I love learning new things about old favorites and when Clara climbs into the Dalek armor. No matter what Clara tries to say, the suit is in control of what comes out. I could really feel her frustration not just in this scene, but in the later scene with the Doctor, Missy, and Dalek armor Clara.
Okay, let’s pause. Was I the only one who, for a moment, thought this was going to tie into one of Clara’s first appearances. Back in the Matt Smith years when she really was a Dalek? I’m really glad they didn’t do that because it wouldn’t have made any sense…. okay. I’m done.
The scene shifts back to Davros’ room and the HOW DOES THE DOCTOR NOT REALIZE COLONY SARFF IS IN THE ROOM? Of course he could realize but we’re never told if he did. We know that The Doctor knew about Davros’s plan the whole time and thus gave him the regeneration energy on purpose. But we don’t know if he knew about Colony Sarff or not. It doesn’t really matter. It was just something that gnawed at my mind. The scene between the Doctor and Davros talking about the war and saving of Gallifrey got really emotional and I wonder if it was all a show. Yes, I know that it was a trick but that scene was too deep. I bet that we saw what little humanity was left in him.
So the Doctor knew all a long and the decaying Daleks from the sewer rise up to take vengeance on the still fully functional ones. My question is, if it really was regeneration energy, wouldn’t the ones in the sewer turn back into normal Daleks and not stay in their current muddy poop state? Again, it doesn’t matter too much seeing as how even if they took their old forms back, without the armor casing of course, they’d still be angry and still want to fight the others who left them to rot.
It’s not time to escape and Missy shows her true colors, which she never really tried to cover up in the first place, and tries to get the Doctor to kill Clara. I was about to say “we knew he wouldn’t because of plot armor,” but Doctor Who is one of those shows where plot armor never really applies. Sure, a companion and the Doctor will last the season, but every once in a while Moffat will throw a wrench into our preconceived notions and change it all up. Anywho, back to it. You can see that the Doctor really wants to kill the Dalek, especially when Missy says it was the one that killed Clara. But one too many things were off and made the Doctor second guess himself. It was then that the Dalek vocabulary expanded and learned the word “mercy” which was the epiphany that caused the Doctor to realize what he has to do.
So Missy got away as did The Doctor and Clara, but the final scene of the show is the Doctor going back to the very first place we say in the premier and again at the premiers ending, but not to kill the young Davros, but to save him. I figured that’s what would happen but it was still a great scene. The Doctor shoots all the handmines and leads the young Davros away and teaching him the lesson of mercy. Awww. What a happy ending. That sounded sarcastic, but I really did like it. Parts of it were predictable, but such is the case with Doctor who. Lots of the time we may see the main body of the ending, but its the smaller parts that color it and make it awesome. We may know where the journey starts and where it will end, but getting there is what keeps us glued to the TV.
I’m actually going to stop here. I’m way too tired to keep going so tomorrow after work I’ll write up the TARDIS Talk for episode three and then be ready to watch four this Saturday and hopefully have the Talk done by Monday. Thanks for reading and if you have any questions, comments, or constructive criticism then please drop me a line at BilliamReviews@gmail.com