Doctor Who 1x12 review
Doctor Who 1x12 Bad Wolf
This was a fantastic episode which just demonstrated how the writers have planned this season very carefully, laying seeds for the end nearly from the beginning with all the Bad Wolf references, always with their final moves in mind. The title of 1x07 "The Long Game" suddenly makes sense with the Doctor's words: "Someone's been playing a long game." And they're on a Game Station, playing insane games with deadly endings. And Jack: "these games don't have a happy ending." Which is ominous foreshadowing for the series end. Games, nasty, evil games wtih unhappy endings.
This episode also played out the theme of consequences that was so important in 1x11 with the Slitheen. We see the Doctor faced with the results of his actions in "The Long Game," where he was so cheerfully convinced that by destroying the Jagrafess's hold over Satellite 5, that humanity would be freed from its mental slavery. Instead humanity was plunged into another kind of slavery, the results of which we see here in which all humans are potential contestants in deadly game show programs. (However, I do wonder how much is due to the Daleks' influence, who as the Controller says have been watching and shaping Earth for hundreds of years).
I was entirely shocked when Rose was disintegrated. Nothing had prepared me for that. Poor Rose, trying to save the Doctor by keeping him out of the Anne Droid's sights, and of course she's the one who buys it. The Doctor's and Jack's reactions are so emotional, so poignant. The Doctor falls to his knees, his fingers in the grey dust left behind, and he shuts down. Jack, on the other hand, dives in with his big gun, screaming: "What did you do to her...Don't you touch him, leave him alone!" as the security guard takes the Doctor, and then: "You killed her! You killed her! Your stupid freaking game show killed her!" I still shiver to hear the horror and anguish in Jack's voice. And I'm thoroughly chilled by how frozen and locked down the Dcotor becomes. It's beautiful when he snaps back to life and turns to Jack: "Let's do it." And the two of them battle their way out of their holding cell, arm themselves and race to level 500. Brave heroes!
The revelation of the Daleks at the end was thoroughly creepy, even though I was expecting it from the preview. The hundreds of ships, the thousands of Dalek killing machines...an armada of death poised around the planet Earth...And the Doctor vows to defeat them, to save Rose and save humanity, with no plan, no nothing. Except a faithful companion and their own ingenuity.
Dalek: I will talk to the Doctor.
Doctor: Oh, will you? That's nice, hello.
Dalek: The Dalek stratagem is completed. The fleet is almost ready. You will not intervene.
Doctor: Oh really? Why's that, then?
Dalek: We have your associate. [awww, where's Shipper!Dalek when you need him?] You will obey or she will be exterminated.
Doctor: No.
Dalek: Explain yourself.
Doctor: I said no.
Dalek: What is the meaning of this negative?
Doctor: It means no.
Dalek: But she will be destroyed.
Doctor: No! 'cause this is what I'm going to do. I'm going to rescue her. I'm going to save Rose Tyler from the middle of the Dalek fleet, and then I'm going to save the Earth, and then, just to finish off, I'm going to wipe every last stinking Dalek out of the sky! [check out Jack's look at the Doctor--he's never seen him like this before]
Dalek: But you have no weapons, no defenses, no plan?
Doctor: Yeah...and doesn't that scare you death? Rose?
Rose: Yes, Doctor?
Doctor: I'm coming to get you.
This was just brilliant. So calm, so collected, so determined. Just gorgeous. I adore Chris Ecclestons's delivery. Bloody brilliant.
Once again, Jack was terrific in this episode, even better than the last. He's resourceful, clever, cool under pressure, and didn't bat an eye when the Susannah and Trinny bots made to "face off." *trying not to think about where the laser gun was* As I said in my review of 1x11, he is a proper companion for the Doctor, an equal, someone the Doctor can count on, and he doesn't need rescuing. It's thanks to him that they found Rose, even if they couldn't get to her in time. Did anyone else think "John Crichton!" when he took off from the What Not To Wear set dressed in black leather pants, black leather vest and T-shirt? And two guns? Just lovely. Our new JC. *grin* And loved his "Do I look like an out of bounds sort of guy?" And he has a key to the TARDIS!!! It took Rose 4 episodes to get one, and here he is, only one episode on board the TARDIS, and he's already got a key. And the look on his face as he saw Rose's denim jacket: so sad, yet he presses on like a soldier does, all stoic-like. Love the "oh, do you think?" and the HUG! The joy between these two men that the woman they both care for has not been destroyed!
And Jack recognizes the Dalek ships?? Hmm.
I also like the Controller...she reminded me of someone, but I couldn't place it. Maybe Samantha Morton's character in Minority Report, but not quite.
Did anyone else notice that the music was awfully loud? While I didn't have any trouble understanding the dialogue, apparently a lot of people did. However, I usually watch the first time through with big headphones, so it always sounds good.
The bond between the Doctor and Rose was so palpable in this episode, even though they had no scenes together. The Doctor remembers the transmat beam that grabbed them all, and his last memory is of Rose reaching out towards him...Rose has such faith throughout her entire ordeal that the Doctor wouldn't leave her, wouldn't abandon her. And of course, the Doctor's first thought is to find Rose as well.
I'm not even going to touch the preview for next week. It's just Too, Too, Sad. Except we still don't know who the Bad Wolf actually is. Someone mentioned that it would have to be someone that Rose had already met by the time she met Gwyneth who saw The Big Bad Wolf in her mind, but what if Gwyneth could see something in Rose's future, not necessarily her past? So I don't know. Lots of theories--everything from Davros to Adam to the Face of Bo to the Shipper!Dalek, but who knows? I guess we'll find out in a week.
ETA: deadflowerss has a new amazing music video(spoilers through 1x12). To comment, visit her original post.