{"id":4961,"date":"2015-09-22T08:00:10","date_gmt":"2015-09-22T15:00:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/?p=4961"},"modified":"2015-09-12T10:24:28","modified_gmt":"2015-09-12T17:24:28","slug":"mark-watches-doctor-who-s08e12-death-in-heaven","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/2015\/09\/mark-watches-doctor-who-s08e12-death-in-heaven\/","title":{"rendered":"Mark Watches ‘Doctor Who’: S08E12 – Death in Heaven"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the twelfth and final episode of the eighth series of Doctor Who<\/i>, the Doctor faces down Missy while Clara and Danny both face their personal demons. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to watch Doctor Who<\/i>.<\/p>\n

Trigger Warning: For body horror, consent, grief, death.<\/b><\/p>\n

Why has series eight of Doctor Who<\/i> felt so different to me? I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve struggled with the answer to that question as I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve enjoyed the vast majority of this season. The problems I had with series six and seven are seemingly gone here, as if someone else wrote the bulk of this season. But it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s still a lot of the same names, including Steven Moffat, so why the tonal differences? Why the dark edge to everything? Why so much terror and angst and moral quandaries?<\/p>\n

The Twelfth Doctor stands in glaring contrast to Eleven and that entire era. While I think Doctor Who<\/i> tried to address accountability in a manner similar to \u00e2\u20ac\u0153The Water of Mars\u00e2\u20ac\u009d-era Ten, but that message was lost in convoluted story threads and series-long arcs. (I still don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t understand \u00e2\u20ac\u0153The Wedding of River Song\u00e2\u20ac\u009d and I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve watched it three times since then.) While there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s absolutely a series-long arc here, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s much, much more straightforward. Both the Doctor\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s \u00e2\u20ac\u0153goodness\u00e2\u20ac\u009d and the Master\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Cyber-plan (see what I did there???) avoided that whole dangling carrot nonsense that plagued past series. This season was far more brutal, direct, and vicious than we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve seen of Doctor Who<\/i> in a long time.<\/p>\n

In that sense, I think I can absolutely understand why this might not have been someone\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s favorite season or why it would not have been an enjoyable experience. This is some gritty storytelling that addresses the horrors of time travel, the consequences of power and arrogance, and the pains of friendship and love. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not an easy journey by any means, and ever since Twelve first appeared to Clara, the two of them fought. Lied to one another. Said hurtful things without any consideration. Turned their backs on one another. They did this frequently throughout series eight. But why<\/i>? For the sake of the drama?<\/p>\n

If we look at \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Death in Heaven\u00e2\u20ac\u009d as the end result of this conflict, a full story emerges. Twelve\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s appearance was more than just a shocker for Clara; her entire life was upended by his introduction. Gone was the silly, exuberant fool she came to adore as she explored the galaxy. In his place was a man who was quick to insult her. Who was quick to challenge anything she said. Who treated her with a bizarre form of respect and a bizarre form of love. Who never, ever<\/i> made things easy for her. So what kind of story was going to result from this? The Doctor spent this series aggressively trying to determine what kind of person he was and whether he was \u00e2\u20ac\u0153good,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d and I think this episode answers that pretty definitively.<\/p>\n

No, he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not. He\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not evil, either, but the Master\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s gift to the Doctor highlights an aspect of him he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d rather ignore. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a haunting turn (in the midst of an unbelievably upsetting scene) for the Doctor because the Master isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t too far from the truth. It stings. She assembled a Cyberarmy as a birthday gift<\/i>. Why? Because the Doctor has consistently behaved in a way that made it seem<\/i> like this is what he wanted. He could save every life. He could defeat any enemy. He could control every situation. Isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t that what he does as the Doctor? Isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t that precisely what he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s wanted?<\/p>\n

What eventually matters most \u00e2\u20ac\u201c and what unravels the Master\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s plans right before her eyes \u00e2\u20ac\u201c is Danny Pink. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m not ashamed of the way this episode turned me into a messy, teary disaster, and that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s because I love Danny Pink. I love what he represents. I love that we were given a character (who\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s also a man of color) who cares so deeply about the people in his life and the world he lived in that he fought the Cyberman programming and won<\/b><\/i>. His love for everything saved the world.<\/p>\n

And it also broke my heart. One of the reasons this episode was so upsetting was the horror of knowing what becoming a Cyberman actually meant<\/i>. Now, I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know if we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve ever seen a Cyberman without their mask before; if we did, I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t remember it. And I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know if this is what was always<\/i> within a Cyberbody either, but the implication is horrifying. At least with the Master\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s plans and her Cyberpollen, human bodies were turned into these beings. Seeing Danny in this state was just\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 the worst. And bless Samuel Anderson for being able to take this character to this point. We knew it was Danny, and we also knew how far Danny was from who he used to be. We could see how much pain he was in every second that the inhibitor wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t activated.<\/p>\n

Now, I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t think this story is necessarily perfect, nor is series 8 perfect either. But \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Death in Heaven\u00e2\u20ac\u009d was sold to me by the performances. Samuel Anderson, Peter Capaldi, Jenna Coleman, and Michelle Gomez all made this feel<\/i> huge and emotional and important<\/i>. I mean, I haven\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t even had a chance to just gush about how incredible Michelle Gomez has been, either! BECAUSE HOLY SHIT. She survived the end of the episode, so\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 the Master isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t gone, right??? THERE CAN BE SO MUCH MORE, YES? Anyway, I thought the Cyberman weren\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t all that scary, as I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve never found them to be frightening, but Danny\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s use here as one certainly made them way more disturbing. The whole Cyberpollen thing was a bit confusing, but this is yet another instance where the story itself was good enough for me not to want to nitpick.<\/p>\n

So what\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s in the future for these characters? I interpreted Danny\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s final scene as absolute confirmation that he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll never return, which breaks my heart to even type. But at least in his last moments, he undoes the wrong he did in Afghanistan. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m upset about Danny\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s death, but it doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t irk me as it might have because\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 well, he got a story. A real <\/i>good story, I might add. He isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t killed off for shock value, and his death still matters<\/i>. And in the end, he gets to make a choice about it. As for the Doctor and Clara? Well, I initially read that final scene as both of them slipping back into their normal routine of lying to each other, but I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t think that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s quite the case. I think they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re trying not to shower one another with bad news. After so much loss and sadness, they offer each other a moment of happiness, one I suspect they both know is bullshit. But in that moment, they are tender with one another, something we haven\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t seen all season, and I think it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s an improvement. It makes me excited to see more.<\/p>\n

Onwards to the Christmas special! NICK FROST AS SANTA, OH MY GOD.<\/p>\n

The video for \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Death in Heaven\u00e2\u20ac\u009d can be downloaded here for $0.99<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Mark Links Stuff<\/b><\/p>\n

– I am now on Patreon<\/a><\/b>!!! MANY SURPRISES ARE IN STORE FOR YOU IF YOU SUPPORT ME<\/a>.
\n– 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.<\/a>
\n– My Master Schedule<\/a> is updated for the near and distant future for most projects, so please check it often.\u00c2\u00a0My next Double Features for Mark Watches will be the remainder of\u00c2\u00a0The Legend of Korra<\/i>, series 8 of\u00c2\u00a0Doctor Who<\/i>, and Kings<\/i>. On Mark Reads, Diane Duane’s Young Wizards<\/i> series will replace the Emelan books.
\n<\/b>-\u00c2\u00a0Mark Does Stuff is on Facebook!<\/a>\u00c2\u00a0I’ve got a community page up that I’m running. Guaranteed shenanigans!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"