The Fisher King rises to set in motion his sinister plan. With the Doctor seeing his own ghost appear back on the underwater base, he knows his time is short. As he prepares to confront the giant, Clara must learn how to defeat the ghosts before she and the rest of the crew become pawns in the Fisher King's plans...
Following on from the steady build-up of Under the Lake, Before the Flood feels like it could have been the middle piece of a three-part story. The ghosts weaknesses are exposed when it is discovered Lunn cannot be harmed by them, as he was the only one not to read the cryptic message from the previous episode. With that taken care of, its time for the Fisher King to take centre-stage and reveal to the Doctor why he needs the ghosts. The Doctor, not being one to back into a corner, manages to halt the monster's intentions by causing the flood that was shown to have happened with the establishment of the underwater base in the same location as the town many years into the future. A bizarre ending, but it works so long as you make sure you're paying attention.
So lets talk about the Fisher King, as he is the big selling point of this week's episode. Three people portray this imposing creature: Neil Fingleton (standing at 7ft 7in!) as the physical part of the character, Peter Serafinowicz (the voice of Darth Maul in Star Wars) saying the dialogue, and heavy metal vocalist Corey Taylor (Slipknot and Stone Sour) providing the monster's roar. All three do fantastic jobs and, combined with a striking design, help to make the Fisher King one of the best Doctor Who monsters of the modern era. Such a shame, then, that he barely gets any screen time. While he is by far the best thing about the episode despite only a brief appearance, think about how much better it could have been with his role being expanded, or have the story be a three-parter.
The only other thing that I didn't enjoy was the forced romance between the crew members. When the Fisher King first appears, he kills crew member O'Donnell (Morven Christie). Bennett (Arsher Ali) is particularly effected by this, as it is suddenly revealed he had feelings for her, despite there being little to no indication of this, nor any chemistry between the two of them. Then, after the Fisher King is defeated, Bennett gets Lunn to admit his feelings for Cass, as life is too short. Lunn does so (in sign, of course) and he and Cass end up together. It's slightly more believable this time around, with them being together in many scenes due to Lunn needing to translate Cass' sign language. However, its still pretty sporadic as there was never any hints of romance between them.
Before the Flood's fast past certainly makes up for any complaints involving the characters, though. The ghosts are still out to catch the remaining crew members, which are the more intense scenes in the episode. The build up and first appearance of the Fisher King is handled with a good deal of tension, with us only being able to see glimpses of him at first, as well as only hearing his terrifying roar. Peter Capaldi and Jenna Coleman have to carry the majority of the episode, with them cut off from one another by being in different time zones. They maintain their great chemistry and performances throughout, making them, for me, a fantastic pairing and one of the best since the show's revival in 2005.
To summarise, Before the Flood will stand out in the series for introducing a great new monster. It concludes the story in a complex manner, but not too complex that it doesn't leave you unsatisfied. I preferred Under the Lake for its focus on horror elements and style, but Before the Flood is still a worthy entry in this so far strong season of Doctor Who. Next week, we journey to a land of Vikings, and a mysterious character (Game of Throne's Maisie Williams)...
So lets talk about the Fisher King, as he is the big selling point of this week's episode. Three people portray this imposing creature: Neil Fingleton (standing at 7ft 7in!) as the physical part of the character, Peter Serafinowicz (the voice of Darth Maul in Star Wars) saying the dialogue, and heavy metal vocalist Corey Taylor (Slipknot and Stone Sour) providing the monster's roar. All three do fantastic jobs and, combined with a striking design, help to make the Fisher King one of the best Doctor Who monsters of the modern era. Such a shame, then, that he barely gets any screen time. While he is by far the best thing about the episode despite only a brief appearance, think about how much better it could have been with his role being expanded, or have the story be a three-parter.
The only other thing that I didn't enjoy was the forced romance between the crew members. When the Fisher King first appears, he kills crew member O'Donnell (Morven Christie). Bennett (Arsher Ali) is particularly effected by this, as it is suddenly revealed he had feelings for her, despite there being little to no indication of this, nor any chemistry between the two of them. Then, after the Fisher King is defeated, Bennett gets Lunn to admit his feelings for Cass, as life is too short. Lunn does so (in sign, of course) and he and Cass end up together. It's slightly more believable this time around, with them being together in many scenes due to Lunn needing to translate Cass' sign language. However, its still pretty sporadic as there was never any hints of romance between them.
Before the Flood's fast past certainly makes up for any complaints involving the characters, though. The ghosts are still out to catch the remaining crew members, which are the more intense scenes in the episode. The build up and first appearance of the Fisher King is handled with a good deal of tension, with us only being able to see glimpses of him at first, as well as only hearing his terrifying roar. Peter Capaldi and Jenna Coleman have to carry the majority of the episode, with them cut off from one another by being in different time zones. They maintain their great chemistry and performances throughout, making them, for me, a fantastic pairing and one of the best since the show's revival in 2005.
To summarise, Before the Flood will stand out in the series for introducing a great new monster. It concludes the story in a complex manner, but not too complex that it doesn't leave you unsatisfied. I preferred Under the Lake for its focus on horror elements and style, but Before the Flood is still a worthy entry in this so far strong season of Doctor Who. Next week, we journey to a land of Vikings, and a mysterious character (Game of Throne's Maisie Williams)...
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