Doctor Who 8x05, "Time Heist"
I didn't like most of this episode. My revulsion at the mind-wiping or killing of two black characters within the first twenty minutes, plus the killing of Psi which didn't make emotional sense (why would he die for Clara, whom he's known for about two hours?) and seemed to confirm that one-off characters only exist in New Who to sacrifice themselves for the leads, was mollified by the reveal that they weren't dead, but I still have a lingering feeling of distaste.
Plus, boring. I love heist stories, yet somehow I was bored throughout this episode. And the reveal that it was secretly all about saving the Teller and his girlfriend was sort of pointlessly soppy, in that there was no emotional buildup to us caring about the
Teller and it also relied on an implausible change of heart from Madame Karabraxos.
About the only bright spot for me was Psi's flirtation with the Doctor at the end and the Doctor's positive response. It's a sign of how frustrated I am with the ubiquitous heterosexuality and lack of queer inclusion in Moffat's Who* that it made me happy even though there was absolutely no indication before that moment that Psi was interested in the Doctor. I badly want to take this as canonical proof that Twelve is romantically interested in men, but I suspect that onscreen at least it's going to turn out to be a one-off joke that'll never be referred to again.
BTW was Kalabraxos the same person as the heaven!woman from earlier episodes this series? They looked very alike to me but I'm not so good with faces.
*Yes, yes, Madame Vashtra and Jenny, and wossisname played by Mark Sheppard if we go back several seasons. Not enough to make up for the wearisome focus on heterosexual romance for all the main characters including the Doctor.
Crossposted at Dreamwidth (
comments); you can comment here or there.
Plus, boring. I love heist stories, yet somehow I was bored throughout this episode. And the reveal that it was secretly all about saving the Teller and his girlfriend was sort of pointlessly soppy, in that there was no emotional buildup to us caring about the
Teller and it also relied on an implausible change of heart from Madame Karabraxos.
About the only bright spot for me was Psi's flirtation with the Doctor at the end and the Doctor's positive response. It's a sign of how frustrated I am with the ubiquitous heterosexuality and lack of queer inclusion in Moffat's Who* that it made me happy even though there was absolutely no indication before that moment that Psi was interested in the Doctor. I badly want to take this as canonical proof that Twelve is romantically interested in men, but I suspect that onscreen at least it's going to turn out to be a one-off joke that'll never be referred to again.
BTW was Kalabraxos the same person as the heaven!woman from earlier episodes this series? They looked very alike to me but I'm not so good with faces.
*Yes, yes, Madame Vashtra and Jenny, and wossisname played by Mark Sheppard if we go back several seasons. Not enough to make up for the wearisome focus on heterosexual romance for all the main characters including the Doctor.
Crossposted at Dreamwidth (
comments); you can comment here or there.