Doctor Who Review: The Girl Who Died (Season 9 Episode 5)

Another two-parter? No? Well it sure feels like it in this episode of Doctor Who titled “The Girl Who Died.” The title needs a little tweaking, because the girl doesn’t die until the last couple of minutes (Spoiler alert). It’s an interesting introduction for Maisie Williams even if she gets overshadowed by Clara the Hero, The Doctor making things worse, and a wasted reveal on why he chose this regeneration face.

Let’s talk about it!

Clara is The Hero

The episode opens with Clara being her usual self, complaining and asking The Doctor to hurry it up because she’s in trouble. She is battling something inside her suit, and they seem to be in the middle of a grand fight against some random, yet important, invading force. (The orange astronaut suit makes an appearance again!) When The Doctor rescues her and brings her in, Clara is still in fight mode. She doesn’t want to stop.

This leads them down a path where Vikings kidnap them and they meet the Mire. It’s a slow moving adventure after that. The Mire are not scary, the Vikings are not fierce men and women, and Odin in the sky is a big old lie. During all of the this, Clara takes the lead (Surprising right?!). She does not complain. She does not sit idly by. She throws herself into the situation head first and tries to assist the village in need even when The Doctor does not. She is the one who convinces The Doctor to help this small town because it matters to her. Because in all of time and space she values even the smallest of towns.

Clara ends up being the hero of this story despite The Doctor taking the reigns and “solving” the dilemma the Vikings were having. She does not ask for credit for what she has done or bounces around in glee like The Doctor does, either.

In Helping Her He Made Things Worse

The Doctor is a time traveller who warns against creating waves in time. He is a keeper and enforcer of the rules and has always stopped others from changing them to their hearts content. So why is Ashildr someone who is exempt from this rule? Why is The Doctor exempt from this rule? In making her immortal he has set off a tidal wave across time that he can’t take back. There will be someone present throughout all of time that can change everything with a simple wave of her hand.

To make it worse he runs!

Instead of staying to help this young girl and guide her through the twists and turns of immortality he bails. Again! A recurring theme in Doctor Who is the Doctor’s struggle with loneliness. He goes on and on about how he will outlive all of the people around him. That they will all wither and die. But here is an opportunity to share it all with someone. To not be alone anymore.

Does he take it? No. Foolishly, he brushes it off and runs away from the problem he has created. He doesn’t even think about the possible destruction this one girl can cause as time wears her bright soul down. The Doctor doesn’t see that she will come to resent her immortality as much as The Doctor does, for he has the Tardis and she is stuck on one planet until the end of time.

Wasted Face Reveal Opportunity

Out of all the things they could have come up with, this is the best they can do? Everything is going the way of The Mire when all of a sudden The Doctor gets a brilliant idea, his mind flying back to the events of his past and why he chose this face. Out of the thousands he could have picked he settled for one that had to do with a mysterious girl somewhere in the future who would one day become immortal. (Really? This is what we have to accept as the reason?) It’s lazy writing where they took an opportunity to weave things together that honestly didn’t make sense. Just because Capaldi has guest starred on Doctor Who doesn’t mean it has to be used in the Doctor’s storyline. Karen Gillan guest starred on the show before she played Amy Pond. Doesn’t mean that we recycled her storyline as well to fit with the story.

So many opportunities. All down the drain.

Final Thoughts

The season still has plenty of time to grow, mold, and reshape itself into something more than the bore fest that it is now. It also has enough time for The Doctor to get his butt into gear and rescue his people (has he forgotten about the Gallifreyan home world stuck in a pocket of time?)  and realize that his companion is ready to say goodbye. Clara is becoming more independent from The Doctor with each and every adventure. The way she handled this adventure is proof enough that she is ready to leave the man in the police box and take the universe by storm.

Other Observations:

• Lamest Vikings ever. You use real swords ONE time and you end up with a destroyed village?
• The Mire without their helmets…HORRIFYING. Those teeth would tear you apart in an instance. Besides those teeth, lame as well.
• Second hint on a Doctor Who hybrid theory that all shall fear.

 

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Doctor Who airs Saturdays at 8/7c on BBCA.