One week on from that head-spinning premiere and Doctor Who has some big questions to answer. Did Missy and Clara survive? How did the Doctor end up back on ancient Skaro? And will episode two – ‘The Witch’s Familiar’ – be anywhere near as bonkers as last week’s show?
In short, the answer is teleportation, TARDIS and no – this is a far more controlled and focused affair than series opener ‘The Magician’s Apprentice’, with a marked change in pace and tone.
The method of our girls’ survival here is the same as Missy’s in ‘Death in Heaven‘ – and while it’s a rather cheap out, the explanation is at least presented with a good deal of panache – all played out in stylish monochrome.
Missy might insist she’s not “turned good” but the character works far better as a deranged alternative to the Doctor than as his nemesis. From the off, Michelle Gomez performance has been pitched in such a way that it’s fun rather than frightening, so to recast her as an unpredictable ally is a smart move.
Yes, with her regular companion trapped at the heart of a Dalek empire, Clara (Jenna Coleman) is paired with Missy – becoming ‘the witch’s familiar’ – and though circumstance has forced them together, there’s an enjoyable simmering tension between these two former foes.
It’s just as well that this peculiar double-act injects a little fun into ‘The Witch’s Familiar’ – because elsewhere, in what’s a rather bleak episode, humour is rather thin on the ground.
We’re presented early on with a Doctor who’s lost his best friend – and with her, all hope – and while Capaldi sells the torment and new reckless attitude, you can imagine some fans blanching at his use of a Dalek gun (“The Doctor doesn’t use weapons!” croaks a Dalek, with unintentionally perfect comic timing).
But while subsequent scenes between our effusive hero and a creepily still Davros (Julian Bleach) are dark and uncompromising, they’re also utterly scintillating.
Their confrontation makes up a hefty chuck of the episode, but Capaldi and Bleach are throughly captivating as they delve into the episode’s two major themes – that recurring question of what it means to be a good man, and the idea that appearances can be deceptive.
On the latter point, there’s Clara inside the Dalek – a scenario that could easily have been comical, if it weren’t for Steven Moffat throwing in some interesting ideas about a Dalek’s loss of identity and empathy – and how the monster on the outside might not be reflective of the creature within.
Then there’s Davros, who overtly appears to be softening, but in fact proves himself a far worse monster than his creations – taking advantage of the same compassion that he warned the Doctor would be his undoing.
Except the Doctor too is being deceptive – he’s nowhere near as helpless as his enemy assumes him to be, leading to a terrific twist climax revealing which of he and Davros is the true puppet-master, pulling the other’s strings.
On the latter point, there’s Clara inside the Dalek – a scenario that could easily have been comical, if it weren’t for Steven Moffat throwing in some interesting ideas about a Dalek’s loss of identity and empathy – and how the monster on the outside might not be reflective of the creature within.
Then there’s Davros, who overtly appears to be softening, but in fact proves himself a far worse monster than his creations – taking advantage of the same compassion that he warned the Doctor would be his undoing.
Except the Doctor too is being deceptive – he’s nowhere near as helpless as his enemy assumes him to be, leading to a terrific twist climax revealing which of he and Davros is the true puppet-master, pulling the other’s strings.
In its own way, ‘The Witch’s Familiar’ is every bit as ambitious as ‘The Magician’s Apprentice’. Series overlord Moffat is sometimes criticised for recycling the same old ideas, which seems a harsh indictment for a man who has rewritten Doctor Who history before (hello, the War Doctor!) and is now at it again.
Here, he serves up the most nuanced portrayal of Davros the show’s ever attempted, and throws up a whole new reason for the Doctor leaving Gallifrey, beyond just a lust for adventure.
Just as ambitious then, but less breathless than its predecessor – paring down the spectacle for a macabre and moving tale that features some terrific performances, particularly from Bleach.
It perhaps feels a little too dark and static for very young viewers – light on action, with a specific emphasis on meaningful dialogue and character development. But the final scenes are agreeably optimistic – and as a one-off experiment, ‘The Witch’s Familiar’ is a bit of a treat, certainly for the established Doctor Who fan.
– Sonic sunglasses? I’m with Clara on this: “Seriously?”
– So the Doctor can bring on a regeneration at will? As far as I recall, that’s only been implied in the past – never established as writ.
– What happened to Colony Sarf in the end? Did he perish when the Dalek city fell, or did he manage to slither away?
– “The only other chair on Skaro.” – in a rather grim episode, that line made me laugh out loud.
– I demand to see the adventure of Doctor Who and the Vampire Monkeys.
– “You keep saying that, you keep not dying. Can you give it some welly?” – possibly Capaldi’s most Malcolm Tucker moment on Who to date.
– “Tell him the bitch is back.” – a swear in Doctor Who? Ofcom will hear of this!
– “Let me see it again, with my own eyes.” – shades of Darth Vader’s demise in Davros’s ‘dying’ moments.
– “The Doctor gave it to me when my daughter…” – MOFFAT. YOU. TROLL.
News Source: Digital Spy
