Doctor Who: Face the Raven Recap

Maisie Williams starring in a show featuring a magic raven? This sounds strangely familiar. Ashildr is back once again, continuing her complex connection to the Doctor. Rigsy (Joivan Wade) is also back after his single appearance last season. But as some characters return, a regular leaves in the series' most gut-wrenching ending of an episode by far.

After discovering a mysterious tattoo on the back of his neck, Rigsy calls the TARDIS in the hope the Doctor and Clara can help him. This leads them to discovering a hidden street in London, where Ashildr poses as the mayor. The TARDIS crew soon realise the brutal laws of the street, as people sentenced to death are forced to "face the raven", whereupon said raven stalks and kills them. One such man sentenced to death is Rigsy, whose tattoo is counting down to the moment the raven will come for him. With time running out, the Doctor and Clara must convince the townsfolk of Rigsy being innocent of a murder case, and Clara is prepared to go to extreme measures to ensure this...

First things first, does the episode hold up without that big, emotional ending? I'd say it does for the most part, with there being a good focus on the mystery of the street, and not just endless build up to the climax. The street itself is a claustrophobic environment, and its residents are equally unsettling. They are disgusted by Rigsy's supposed act of murder, yet never act violently towards our protagonists. Instead, they silently declare him "murderer" whenever Rigsy is present, a much more nerve-wrecking attitude than a bombastic mob of grievers. There's this weird subplot that focuses on the daughter of the "victim", someone who can see the past and future. Both her and the victim have a more alien appearance, with them having another face on the back of their heads, and the daughter reveals that Ashildr is the mastermind behind Rigsy's predicament. Very little time is spent with this character, and so she feels like a simple plot device to quickly reveal everything the Doctor needs to know. Ashildr, however, is merely a puppet acting under orders. She leads the Doctor to her with the threat of Rigsy's forthcoming death, and plans to transport him far away. All of this comes to the fray very quickly, but it at least creates potential for the season finale, as we await to learn who exactly she is working for.

But the moment everyone's been talking about is the sacrifice of Clara, which many viewers have said was maybe a tad too emotional for a family drama. After learning the tattoo can be transferred to a willing taker, Clara becomes marked for death after convincing Rigsy Ashildr cannot break her word of endangering her. She does this without anyone else in the know, and it ultimately costs Clara her life. Ashildr promised her superiors to mark only Rigsy for death, and so the transfer of the tattoo to Clara cuts her out of the agreement, rendering her powerless to do anything. Not even the Doctor can prevent the raven taking her life, and he quickly resorts to threatening Ashildr to save her. From this point, Clara does what she has been doing brilliantly throughout her tenure as the Doctor's companion: reminds him of who he really is. Whenever the Doctor was lost, it was Clara that helped him through the struggle, and kept him motivated by the promise he made to himself: to help others (hence the title of Doctor). This was something she did in the Doctor's darkest hour, featured in the 50th anniversary special, and its resurgence here makes for a fitting send off for the character.

Of course, what makes this final scene work is the performances. Both Capaldi and Coleman are at their best here, and they deserve many plaudits for their work, with so many different emotions to cover in such a short space of time. I disagree with the opinion that the scene was too drawn-out, and therefore too over emotional. Since its revival in 2005, Doctor Who as ensured heartfelt and epic exits for its long-serving companions. Why some feel this one should have been lessened is beyond me, as the character has been involved in the show since 2012, and has been revealed as having a major involvement with the Doctor's past.

And so, as we say goodbye to Clara, the Doctor has no time to mourn as he is further involved in the oncoming danger. Who exactly set this plan into motion, and how will the Doctor survive? It's all to be expected as we move into the final episodes of this series...

Doctor Who: Sleep No More Recap

"You must not watch this" warns a frightened man right at the start of the episode. The man's name is Gagan (Reece Shearsmith), lead researcher aboard a space station orbiting Neptune. He informs us he'll show what happened aboard the station from found footage, and the episode gets underway without the famous Doctor Who intro for the first time in the show's history. After a promising start, Sleep No More ultimately turns out to be a mixed bag. Writer Mark Gatiss is no stranger to writing Doctor Who, and some of his ideas here are intriguing, but there is an overall sense of let down by the end of it all, making this week's episode pale in comparison to others in this series.

After Gagan' introduction, we meet four individual members of a rescue team, sent to investigate the strange happenings aboard the space station. They soon encounter the Doctor and Clara, and are promptly chased by humanoid like creatures. With the group split up, the Doctor uncovers the truth behind the monsters, and believes there is a mastermind behind their existence. As the rest of the group are stalked by the monsters, the Doctor and Clara must find a way to stop them from killing everyone aboard. But how do you fight something that can see you wherever you go?

Whatever your opinion of Sleep No More may be, there is no denying it's a unique episode in the show's history. Doctor Who has always prided itself on having frightening monsters and themes, but never before has there been a "found footage" style used for a story. Sometimes however, it is easy to forget this style is being used for this episode, as all the point of view camera angels are in high definition. For the most part though, this not too distracting, and the camera angels from the corners and television screens all work well. The episode's set design must also be mentioned, as it is clearly influenced by James Cameron's 1986 science fiction classic, Aliens. Some of the shots of the team walking through the space station's corridors, illuminated with red lighting, feel like direct copies from the film, but it is no bad thing to see the influence of one of my favourite films being shown in one of my favourite shows. 

A few negatives, however, are present in the form of characters and the monsters that pursue them. As with the Under the Lake/Before the Flood two-parter, the supporting characters are barley fleshed out. Given how this is only a single story, it doesn't help that one of the team is killed off quickly, as we never get a chance to get to know his personality and significance. The episode's biggest problem, though, are the monsters. Dubbed as the "Sandmen" by Clara, they derive from possibly one of Doctor Who's silliest ideas for a monster: sleep dust. Doctor Who has often been praised for its imaginative monsters and villains, but this really feels like a desperate attempt to make something as random as sleep dust into something scary. Not only that, but the monster's appearance and characteristics are almost exactly the same as the Marvel Comics super-villain the Sandman, so not a great deal is original about this week's threat except its bizarre point of origin. The reveal at the end isn't all that surprising either, making what build up the episode have fall flat by the time it's over.

Despite some good ideas with the found footage and influence of the sci-fi classic Aliens, Sleep No More will most likely fall under the radar when this series is finished. Its monsters aren't very threatening, and its conclusion feels rushed. Mark Gatiss has proven himself to be a strong writer of horror stories in the past, and Sleep No More isn't so bad that I won't be excited for the next thing he pens. A weak episode overall, but certainly not the worst.

Doctor Who: The Zygon Inversion Recap

The Zygon Invasion was a welcome return for some familiar faces, and was perhaps the best first half of a two parter of this current series. The concluding half, The Zygon Inversion, rounds the story off superbly, featuring clever twists, and perhaps Peter Capaldi's finest moment as the Doctor. The Zygon Inversion is, without doubt, this series' strongest episode.

After shape-shifting into the Doctor's most trusted allies, the Zygons continue to take control, and push hard for a full-scale war to break out on Earth. Osgood and The Doctor narrowly escape from the missile fired at them by the Zygon-Clara (now named "Bonnie") at the end of the previous episode. With time short, the two races descend on UNIT HQ in search of the "Osgood Box". Kept hidden in UNIT's vaults, the device is said to be powerful enough to box instigate or prevent the war. As UNIT and the Zygons arrive to obtain the box, the Doctor is caught in the middle, and must convince both parties not to pursue activating it and re-establish the broken peace between humans and aliens.

Much of the episode deals with Clara and her evil counterpart, Bonnie. Having Jenna Coleman portray a villain was a good way to change the dynamic between her and Peter Capaldi, and she handles playing a villain and a hero with ease. The writing behind Clara and Bonnie's interactions is particularly gripping, as Bonnie is able to detect any lies Clara may be telling her, as they are both linking mentally and share the same pulse. The scenes with Clara tapped in a coma like state are also well handle, with slanted camera angles and a flickering television present throughout. It very much had the look of another of my favourite television series, Life on Mars, and the use of similar surrealism works within the context of the episode very well.

But Peter Capaldi's performance is the episode's highlight. In particular, his speech towards the end of the episode. Acting-wise, Capaldi is captivating, as he tries to bring the idea of war on Earth into perspective for Bonnie. He mentions his past experiences of war, and that nobody should ever have to go through what he went through. Previous Doctors, such as Matt Smith's Eleventh Doctor, have made passionate speech's about their experiences of war, and Capaldi's will surely be regarded as arguably the very best. For me, this is Capaldi's greatest moment in the role so far, and one that will be tough to beat for the remainder of this series.

As two-parters go, this is one of Doctor Who's strongest in recent years. Combining classic monsters and creative writing, The Zygon Invasion/Inversion is perhaps the best story of Capaldi's two season run. Coming off the back of the previous two-parter, it is certainly a return to form for the show. The Zygons are given new depth and the Doctor is at his passionate best. It doesn't get better than that!

Doctor Who: The Zygon Invasion Recap

Becoming something of a fan-favourite monster since the 1970's, it was about time the Zygons got their own story in 21st century Doctor Who. After only having a brief role in the 50th anniversary special (The Day of the Doctor) two years ago, it's good to see them become the focus of a two-parter. Clara is also back after her absence from last week's episode, as well as UNIT and some new faces.

After the events of The Day of the Doctor, the Zygons and the human race are at war after the agreed peace treaty between the two races collapses. Feeling suppressed by having to hide their true appearance from the human race, the Zygons launch a plan to claim the planet for themselves. The Doctor is called in by UNIT to help rescue Zygon captive Osgood (Ingrid Oliver), and Clara sets off to find the Zygon base of operations. With UNIT unsure as to whom exactly they can trust, The Doctor must assume his role of President of the World if he is to have any chance of ending the Zygon invasion. 

First things first, this is a massive improvement of the previous two-parter. A lot of that is down to the thrill of seeing a classic Doctor Who monster revitalised, but it also comes down to having much more happen in the space of 45 minutes. We are thrown straight into the action, with the Zygon revolt already taking place before UNIT have a chance to contact the Doctor. Added to that is a great use of the Zygon shape-shifting ability, which makes for one hell of a great ending to this particular episode. It's also a delight to see Rebecca Front reunited with Peter Capaldi, having appeared together in the BBC comedy The Thick of It. What's interesting is that there is a role reversal with their characters from each show: in The Thick of It, Front's character, Nicola Murray, would often be on the receiving end of a swear-fuelled rant by spin doctor Malcolm Tucker (Capaldi). In this week's episode, Front plays Colonel Walsh, who disregards the Doctor's advice at almost every turn.

Despite seemingly being killed off last season, UNIT member Osgood is back, and is shown to have developed a sisterly bond with her Zygon doppelgänger. It is revealed that no-one is sure as to whether it was the human or Zygon Osgood who was killed off, with her referring to herself as both human and Zygon. This continues the series theme of hybrid characters, as seen with Ashildr in the previous two episodes. Osgood also continues her role as being a walking reference to classic Doctor Who, this time wearing a Sylvester McCoy era jumper and once again wearing Tom Baker's iconic scarf.

With an ending that sets things in motion nicely, The Zygon Invasion is perhaps the series' strongest opening part of a story. With a dark tone and plenty of mystery, it breathes new life into the series, as well as a classic group of monsters. The second part has a lot to live up to, and I can't wait to see what becomes of this story in The Zygon Inversion...