In the fifth episode of the eighth season of Doctor Who, TIME TRAVEL HEISTS. Y E S. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to watch Doctor Who.
Trigger Warning: For body horror, consent, imprisonment.
I know that it’s hard to come off of “Listen,” and I know that I am utterly biased in favor of this episode. Look, I just spent a good part of 2015 falling in love with a show called Leverage, and it is basically a modern version of “Time Heist” with a whole lot more punches to the gut. It’s one of the only non-serialized shows I’ve watched for this site that I adored instantly, and I will constantly recommend that people watch it. Back when I was watching Farscape, I commented often about how much I love underdogs, heists, and ragtag bands of characters who are forced to work together. That last one is a trope that I’m always satisfied by. I’m sure each of you have one that just always does you in.
So I wanted to state that because that explains my excitement for “Time Heist.” A time-traveling heist in the galaxy’s most secure bank ever? YES. How could I not adore this? And while I definitely did, I can also acknowledge that this isn’t the greatest episode of Doctor Who. It satisfies me, but I can see a few flaws in it. I think the whole time travel circle thing is getting especially tired on this show, given that we just had an episode about it. Does it work here? Oh, totally. I love the idea that the Doctor was the Architect, especially since his and Clara’s “payment” was the rescue mission. Plus, the nature of the bank and of the Teller necessitated the time travel and the bizarre clues. But I can state that while also admitting that it’s a storytelling trope that we’ve seen quite a lot of on this show.
I also think that the final minutes of this episode feel super rushed, as if the original script had an extra ten minutes and they had to cut most of it out. After the montage explaining the entire heist unfolded, I expected more time spent on the aftermath, but it felt as if the episode just ended, you know? I don’t think any of the time prior to this was wasted, either, so I admit that this is a complicated thing to criticize because I wouldn’t want to get rid of anything else!
I think the story is fairly airtight, the performances are a delight, and goddamn, this is such a creepy setting. Like much of this season, the show has been relying on a number of unnerving images to tell their stories. I was utterly NOT READY for the sight of someone’s head turning into… WELL, YOU SAW IT. Holy shit, that is horrifying. But I think there’s a reason why we saw that instead of having the show just suggest the violence perpetrated by the Teller. We, first of all, need to understand how terrible Ms. Delphox (and by that logic, Madame Karabraxos) is, and this demonstrates it to us. Yes, she had a job, and yes, it’s fair for a financial institution to protect themselves. But that poor man was brutalized for something he hadn’t actually done!
As we watch the team try to figure out the clues left behind for them by the Architect, we also get a better sense for the cruelty enacted upon the Teller by Ms. Delphox. From the way the creature is tied up, to the parade through the hallways, to the constant demands that the Teller is given, it was obvious that this living being was nothing more than a resource to these people. Hell, even Ms. Delphox said that there was a price to everything, so what price had the Teller paid? The rescue mission, then, reminded me of the Doctor’s capacity for compassion, and I think that “Time Heist” is a worthy episode due to that aspect of the story. This entire beautifully complicated heist was plotted out so that the Doctor could rescue the Teller and their mate, all because he guilted Madame Karabraxos into contrition. I was taken back to the episode about the Ood back in series four with Donna, and I felt satisfied that Twelve could still care about other living creatures in the galaxy.
I say that because it’s not always obvious, especially when he is so callous about life at times. There’s an entire scene where Psi criticizes the Doctor for his reaction to Saibra’s death. (I’M SO GLAD NEITHER OF THEM DIED, OH MY GOD. I had an entirely different review planned out in case that had stuck.) While we don’t see much about it in the end, I still think it’s an important moment for the Doctor’s continued characterization. This is not the first time that we’ve seen behavior like this from Twelve. Why the change? How can a character want to defend Earth or humanity or creatures like the Teller, and yet care so little when life is extinguished? Well, I’m not so sure that’s actually what’s happening, given that in each of these circumstances, the person in question was either dead already or in the process of dying. What can the Doctor do then?
The issue, then, is his behavior. He moves on. He doesn’t linger. And after being responsible for so much death and destruction over the last few hundred years of his life, I wonder, then, if he’s moving on deliberately. I wonder if this attitude of his allows him to stop lingering on the guilt and the fear. We know from “Listen” that the Doctor truly is a frightened character, so maybe that fear is still hanging on here.
I’m really interested in seeing if this will be brought up within future episodes.
The video for “Time Heist” can be downloaded here for $0.99.
Mark Links Stuff
– I am now on Patreon!!! MANY SURPRISES ARE IN STORE FOR YOU IF YOU SUPPORT ME.
– The Mark Does Stuff Tour 2015 is now live and includes dates across the U.S. this summer and fall Check the full list of events on my Tour Dates / Appearances page.
– My Master Schedule is updated for the near and distant future for most projects, so please check it often. My next Double Features for Mark Watches will be the remainder of The Legend of Korra, series 8 of Doctor Who, and Kings. On Mark Reads, Diane Duane’s Young Wizards series will replace the Emelan books.
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