Mark Watches ‘Doctor Who’: S02E09 – The Satan Pit

In the ninth episode of the second series of Doctor Who, the Doctor confronts the ancient being held captive deep inside of Krop Tor and is forced to re-evaluate his philosophy of life. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to watch Doctor Who.

FINALLY. FUCK YES. A second part that is JUST AS SATISFYING AS THE FIRST PART. Matt Jones, the most highest of high fives.

Man, WHERE DO I EVEN START. The episode opens with Ida and the Doctor staring into the unending blackness of the pit of the Beast. (HOW AMAZING DOES THAT SOUND. This episode is like one giant Iron Maiden record.) Meanwhile, the advancing Ood on board the base have sadly transformed these amazing creatures into the scariest things ever. THEY CAN ELECTROCUTE YOU WITH THOSE WEIRD ORBS. What the fuck, guys. It sucks because I actually think the Ood are kind of cute? They seem so benevolent and this entity exploits their telepathic powers to use them for evil. WHATEVER YOU ARE, I HATE YOU. What makes this all worse is when they manage to contact the Doctor and Ida and he actually recommends they retreat. Seriously, when the Doctor wants to give up, you probably should.

Matt Jones then continues to ramp up how shockingly confusing this is when the Beast begins to speak through the Ood, having an unbelievable conversation with the Doctor. The Beast says that he is not Satan. Or Abaddon. Or any specific demon from one religion. He is actually ALL OF THEM.

The Doctor: Then you’re…what? The truth behind the myth?

The Beast: This one knows me, as I know him: the killer of his own kind.

The Doctor: How did you end up on this rock?

The Beast: The Disciples of the Light rose up against me and chained me in the pit for all eternity.

The Doctor: When was this?

The Beast: Before time.

The Doctor: What does “before time” mean?

The Beast: Before time and light and space and matter. Before the cataclysm. Before this universe was created.

The Doctor: That’s impossible. No life could have existed back then.

The Beast: Is that your religion?

The Doctor: It’s a belief.

HANGING ON EVERY WORD. Matt Jones and Russell T. Davies, seriously, this is some of the best writing I’ve seen on Doctor Who. You both have taken what is, admittedly, kind of an “out-there” theory, and you’ve made it intriguing and frightening. BRAVO. (I was told Davies contributed heavily to rewrites on this and the last episode, so props must be given to him, too.)

Unfortunately, the cable that holds the lift snaps, trapping the Doctor and Ida below the surface of Krop Tor and this awesome moment is TOTALLY RUINED.

Back to the Doctor. It was completely fascinating to see him spend so much time with Ida because Jones transforms her from a side character that moved the plot along to a full-fledged character who becomes integral to the Doctor exploring his own personal philosophy. He’s faced with an interesting predicament: with little oxygen left to keep them both of alive, it almost seems imperative that Ida and him spend their last moments descending into the pit to find out what’s at the bottom of it. I really love that Ida is so adventurous even in these final moments, helping the Doctor devise a method for him to rappel down into the hole. It’s only when faced with her mortality, right when the Doctor reaches the end of the cable from the now defunct lift, that she expresses reservations about his journey into the pit. It’s actually a really sad moment to me because she wants him to return solely because she doesn’t want to die alone. You can hear the fear wavering in her voice when she says it.

Completely contrasted with this is another character who doesn’t have the Doctor around, Rose, who acts totally fearless. Watching Rose rally the remaining crew, using the words of the Doctor to inspire them, is one goddamn fantastic character moment for her. I’d say that the only real “complaint” I have about this episode (and it’s a very weak complaint, at that) is that the Ood subplot kind of becomes nothing more than a chase scene to me, though I have to admit that it WAS creepy and watching Jefferson SUFFOCATE TO DEATH was just awful.

I think it’s my only complaint because in comparison to what’s happening with the Doctor, it just pales in comparison. One of the most beautiful shots of the entire show is the Doctor hanging from a silver cable in utter blackness. Though, yes, I have to acknowledge that there wouldn’t be any light shining on him to compose the shot since he was in ~total darkness~, but whatever. POETIC LICENSE. I was also willing to completely shed my disbelief about the moment the Doctor reaches the end of the cable just so the writers can do the most awesome thing ever: have him take a literal leap of faith. If this episode is about the Doctor confronting a world that contradicts his beliefs, than this is the moment he decides it’s best to simply accept that he might be wrong. And he rushes to face that reality with nothing but excitement, a reaction that is so deeply inhuman. Humans are prone to sticking with what they know and what supports their beliefs. The Doctor merely casts it aside.

Without spoiling it for those who haven’t watched it, was anyone else reminded of the last season of LOST while watching “The Satan Pit”? I couldn’t help but notice the…mum…similarities.

Actually, on that point, the way that Jones/Davies wraps up this episode is brilliant because it never provides us with every answer. The Doctor never vocalizes his thoughts on what the Disciples of the Light were or how they were able to create a gravity field around a black hole and guess what? I DON’T EVEN CARE. The idea that there was some ancient society BEFORE TIME EXISTED that managed to capture “Satan” and trap him with a black hole is seriously the COOLEST THING EVER. Right? Right? Of course it’s cheesy, but it’s done so creepily that I end up not caring at all.

It’s even made scarier by the concept of Rose being forced to leave the Doctor behind and riding along with the mind of the devil. RIGHT. It sucks that Toby is the one who has to be possessed and ultimately die because of SATAN, but it makes the “escape” scene a lot more claustrophobic by stick the three survivors in a rocket with him.

I think the crucial detail to making this whole epic plot work is that the Doctor is, once again, faced with saving the entire universe or sacrificing Rose. However, the difference this time is that he refuses to believe that Rose is just an unwilling victim. After nearly two years of traveling with him, he can’t believe that she is the type of girl to simply give up, and his gamble proves correct. He destroys the gravity field and Rose takes it as a sign to shoot out the cockpit’s window. I get how Toby’s body gets sucked outside, but should the rest of them have suffocated? A small plot hole, I think, but not enough to distract from the whole episode.

THOUGHTS

• TORCHWOOD! I heard it! I thought that maybe I missed something in “The Impossible Planet,” but it was in part two. So they are on that planet because of Torchwood? WHAT THE FUCK. I don’t get it.
• “If I might choose the manner of my departure, sir, lack of air seems more natural than, let’s say, ‘death by Ood’.” OH, JEFFERSON 🙁
• When the Doctor said, “That’s so human,” at one point in the episode, all I could of was, “That’s so Raven.” my brain.
• This is really the only episode that has an overt reference to God. So if this “satan” here is real, is there a God in the Who universe?
• “…tell Rose…tell her…oh, she knows.” OH GOD WHAT. You sly dog.