Doctor Who season 8, episode 2 just aired and the Doctor defeated the Daleks once again. Was anyone surprised?
Actually, all things considered, maybe the Doctor sort of held them off rather than defeated them. In any case, he’s alive. In an episode with Daleks, if you can come out alive, then you are ahead of the odds.
The Doctor’s dilemma
In every scene what is obvious is that this Doctor is darker and very internal. This Doctor, for lack of a better word, seems utterly pragmatic. He has no time for politically correct platitudes. He says what he thinks without a filter. There’s no remnant of David Tennant’s Doctor saying, “I’m sorry, so, so sorry.” There’s no trace of Matt Smith’s Doctor’s playful nature. It’s all lay it on the line and moving on. Perhaps the Doctor said it best when he describes Clara as his carer: “She cares so I don’t have to.”
On the other hand, this Doctor is clearly bothered by the notion that he might not be a good man. It’s evident in his dealings with both Clara and the Dalek. It’s a paradox. Without question there is no bedside manner going on, but perhaps the redeeming factor is that it bothers him. A truly evil man would not be bothered by not being good.
Meet Danny Pink
We got the briefest of glimpses at Danny Pink, the supposed new love interest for Clara. Of course there are more questions than answers. What did he do in the war that haunts him still? Has he met Clara before in another universe? Is he related to Journey Blue from the future? Could he have been her unseen brother, wibbly wobbly and all that? Also, is the teacher who introduces them Ian Chesterton, the supposed headmaster of Coal Hill School, and former teacher of the first Doctor’s granddaughter, Susan?
Turn a Dalek good
There’s now a good Dalek roaming the universe now that the Doctor and Clara helped it to remember what birth, goodness, and hope are. Of course, again, there are questions. Is this Dalek going to kill the others, try to convert them, short circuit them, or what exactly? Does this Dalek “know” the Oswin Dalek? Why didn’t Clara use her Oswin knowledge? Did she retain nothing from that experience? Is all the radiation Clara was exposed to going to be a problem in some way?
Clara stands her ground
Clara showed some backbone after the Doctor’s lack of human concern got to be too much. With one punch, she shocked him into caring and into focusing on the real issue. In a sense she returns the favor from last week when only the Doctor saw the point, and the rest of his friends were mired down in the results of their situation and not the root cause. Clara makes him focus and jump-starts his caring about the big picture.
The Missy mystery
Our deranged Mary Poppins was back. Missy was seen again, pouring tea and presumably ruling over paradise. Gretchen gets zapped by the Daleks and ends up in Missy’s version of paradise. What determines who goes there? Is it everyone, or just those in recent contact with the Doctor when he is near mortal peril? Is Missy someone we’ve met before in disguise, or is she someone new?
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