As Doctor Who Series Nine approaches its end, Chris Jordan reviews the fantastic first half of its finale, Heaven Sent.
Doctor Who
goes from the darkly fantastical world of Face the Raven
straight into the pitch-black
stuff of nightmares as series nine escalates towards a finale that
looks rather unlike anything we've seen on the show so far. Even
after the emotional punch in the gut provided by last week's episode,
Steven Moffat has found a way to crank up the intensity even more,
and in the process has given us the strongest script he has written
all year, if not longer. Rather than the action-packed epics that
Moffat so often loves writing, Heaven Sent is
a quietly brooding character and mood piece that expertly builds up
tension over a luxurious nearly-an-hour runtime. Peter Capaldi takes
center-stage in what is essentially a one-man show, and the result is
one of his strongest performances in one of his most compelling
stories.
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| "Visit Silent Hill," they said. "It's a nice town," they said. |
The
Doctor is trapped in a nightmarish personal hell: a giant castle-like
puzzle whose rooms and hallways constantly shift and move. The only
other being in the castle with him is a shambling, cloaked figure
that looks like death incarnate, and the whole place is a mystery that he
must solve – alone. It's like a setting out of H. P. Lovecraft
(specifically The Outsider),
transformed into an enormous version of Clive Barker's Lament
Configuration; one of the most memorable locations in Doctor Who history. It's also a location that makes for a very different sort of season finale. For those who complain about the amount of action-y
running-around that often happens in Moffat's finales, you'll be
happy to know that there's none of that here: this is a situation
that The Doctor can only face with his mind, and a
fatalistically-approaching threat that can't simply be run from. With
all his usual tricks rendered futile by the situation, we really see
Capaldi's Twelfth Doctor put to the test. Moffat is put to the test
as well, as he blocks off his typical plot-devices and must fully
work the storytelling muscles that made us first think of him as such
a great writer, back in the days of Blink and
The Girl in the Fireplace.
Both
men pass the test with flying colors. This is Steven Moffat's
best-written episode since at least Last Christmas,
with his strengths as a writer in full-force and his weaknesses
nowhere to be found. He can be pretty uneven, but Heaven
Sent reminds us why we wanted
him to be the showrunner in the first place. By now we're very well
aware just how excellent a Doctor Peter Capaldi is, but there is no
test of an actor's skills more powerful and revealing than an empty
stage. Isolated from any supporting cast or dramatic foil, acting
essentially in a one-man-show version of Doctor Who,
Capaldi propels this episode with emotion and intensity. Heaven
Sent will likely be one of the
moments that cements his reputation as one of the truly great
Doctors.
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| "I am the ghost of Christmas Future... oh, this isn't the Christmas special? Alright, I'll come back in a few weeks." |
The
third person responsible for the greatness of this episode is
director Rachel Talalay. While Talalay may be best-known for the
decidedly more bombastic Tank Girl and
Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare,
here she demonstrates a remarkable control of atmosphere and
suspense. The nightmarish world she creates drips with dread as the
extra-long episode explores all of its dark corners, and tightens its
grip with great skill. Last year at this time her first directorial
work on Doctor Who,
Dark Water, caused
quite a stir when a sizable chunk of the show's viewership complained
that the episode was too dark and nightmare-inducing for younger
fans. Those people must be freaking out now, as Heaven Sent
is easily darker, creepier, and
feels all around more like an actual nightmare; the most purely horror episode we've had
in a while. That may not make it an episode that everyone will love –
people who watch Doctor Who with
their kids may want to watch out – but I think it's fantastic. It's
also a much better episode than Dark Water,
proving once again that this is the year that the Capaldi era has
found its footing.
Now there's only one episode left in series nine – and the build-up in this episode suggests that it's going to be a big one. Aside from the mediocre Sleep No More, this series has been uniformly excellent. The stage is set for this to not just be a very good year for the show, but a truly great one that makes a lasting impact on the world of Doctor Who. The question now is whether Steven Moffat can pull it all together in a finale that does it justice, or if he will drop the ball as he has occasionally been known to do. So far, things are looking good – but I must admit, Moffat's unevenness with series finales has me feeling a little nervous. Next weekend's Hell Bent will likely make or break series nine's legacy, but in the mean time Heaven Sent joins a short and illustrious list of Capaldi-era episodes that are worthy of a perfect 10/10. This one is a classic.
Now there's only one episode left in series nine – and the build-up in this episode suggests that it's going to be a big one. Aside from the mediocre Sleep No More, this series has been uniformly excellent. The stage is set for this to not just be a very good year for the show, but a truly great one that makes a lasting impact on the world of Doctor Who. The question now is whether Steven Moffat can pull it all together in a finale that does it justice, or if he will drop the ball as he has occasionally been known to do. So far, things are looking good – but I must admit, Moffat's unevenness with series finales has me feeling a little nervous. Next weekend's Hell Bent will likely make or break series nine's legacy, but in the mean time Heaven Sent joins a short and illustrious list of Capaldi-era episodes that are worthy of a perfect 10/10. This one is a classic.
Score:
-
Christopher S. Jordan
