As Doctor Who season
12 continues with a string of one very strong episode after another,
it feels safe to say that Chris Chibnall has really hit his stride as
a showrunner – and a distinct trend is emerging that might reveal
where his strength lies. I've said in past reviews that Chibnall is
an uneven writer, but it would appear that he is an excellent
collaborator, and at his best as a showrunner when he has strong
writing partners. Can You Hear Me? is
the third episode in a row that he co-wrote with someone else, and
all three have been very good ones. Until the season's special
features emerge on blu-ray and DVD we may not know exactly how these
collaborations worked: was Chibnall there to guide the season arc and
write the material providing the through-lines, while the other
writers handled the standalone plot elements, or is each episode
developed as a whole between both writers? Whatever the method,
though, the results have been great: Can You Hear Me?
is another excellent, ambitious tale with many layers, all of which
work very well.
Across
time and space, a mysterious robed figure is probing into people's
brains and amplifying their nightmares. From 14th
century Syria to present-day Sheffield to an ominous space station in
the far future, this strange man is leaving a trail of carnage and
damaged psyches without a clear motive – except that he is clearly
targeting The Doctor and her friends. As they set out to unravel the
mysteries, each member of the TARDIS “fam” also finds themselves
plunged into their own worst fears and anxieties, and the result is
both a very strong mix of sci-fi and psychological horror, and a very
human story about mental health struggles. Without being overly
heavy-handed the episode works very well as a story about how
psychological struggles and mental health issues are an integral part
of the human condition, whether people are willing to face those
realities or not, and the character arcs in the episode are very
grounded in reality. The sci-fi/horror aspects of the episode, on the
other hand, are fantastically surreal and out-there, with some very
well-shot dream sequences, and eerie imagery. The
nightmare-manipulating villain (Ian Gelder, from Torchwood:
Children of Earth) with his very
creepy visual motif of detachable fingers with minds of their own is
particularly good.
This
villain also gives a new spin on some fan-favorite elements of Doctor
Who lore. While not explicitly a
returning character himself, he is very clearly based on a small but
memorable string of villains from throughout the original and new
series. These villains are mysterious reality-bending figures who
appear to be explicitly supernatural (or at least not of our reality)
in nature, whose powers are immense and whose motives appear to be
simply to sew chaos for their own amusement. The first of such
villains on Doctor Who was
the 1st-Doctor-era cult favorite the Celestial Toymaker, played by
Alfred himself, Michael Gough. Then there was the Black Guardian, who
was the big bad in both the 4th
Doctor's season 16 and the 5th
Doctor's season 20. The Dream Lord, played by Toby Jones in
new-series season 5's Amy's Choice,
appears to fit the bill as well, although his origins went
unexplained in that episode's cryptic final moments. Gelder's villain
in this episode makes a perfect, very ominous addition to their
ranks, even if he is more of a spiritual successor than an explicit,
direct sequel.
While
Can You Hear Me? may
be a standalone episode, the way in which it taps into the psychology
of all four main characters allows it to propel their personal arcs
forward, and makes this feel like an important episode in their
stories. It also gives all four leads good moments to shine, and
again underscores just what a solid TARDIS team they have grown into.
Between the multiple layers on which this story works, and how well
it showcases what this era does best, this episode is definitely a
winner, and continues season 12's streak of high-quality episodes.
This will likely end up being a fan favorite from this season, and
deservedly so.
Score:
- Christopher S. Jordan
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