Review - "Doctor Who: Dark Water/Death in Heaven"

Warning - This review will contain spoilers!

Well, another season of Doctor Who has come to an end. How did the finale, a two-part story scripted by showrunner Steven Moffat fair and how it stand up against the rest of the series? How did Series 8 fare compared to the other seasons of the show and what of Peter Capaldi? I hope to answer all of these questions in the following review, so without further let's dive right in...

Distraught over the death Danny Pink (Samuel Anderson), Clara (Jenna Coleman) almost incapacitates the Doctor and his TARDIS by throwing the time machine's seven keys into a volcano. Seeing how far she would go to save the man she loved, the Doctor (Peter Capaldi) takes Clara to 3w, a mysterious institute fascinated with death. The Doctor comes face to face with Missy (Michelle Gomez), the strange woman who has dogged his heels throughout the series, and together they manage to contact Danny in heaven. No sooner have they accomplished this does the Doctor learn that 3w is harboring Cybermen and Missy is in actuality his arch enemy, the Master! With the future of planet Earth hanging in the balance, the Doctor will have to use UNIT to save the day. But at what cost?

When it comes to two-part episodes like this, I tend to find one portion to be better than the other. Here, Dark water/Death in Heaven managed to remain consistent throughout. I must applaud Steven Moffat for keeping the tone the same throughout the two episodes, even when plot twists are introduced and the scale becomes much grander in the second half. I do not hesitate to say that these two episodes have been two of the darkest episodes in Doctor Who's recent history, dwelling on subjects like death and the afterlife, rather taboo for a children's show. However, I found it to be quite compelling and original. I would be lying if I said I wasn't drawn in - especially by the episode Dark Water which had to lay on the mystery extra thick.

The Doctor and the Master - or is Mistress?

We'll revisit the story itself in a minute, but I need to take the opportunity to address the performances from the principles. Peter Capaldi pulled out all the stops in these two episodes. He is without doubt the best actor to have taken on the role of the Doctor since the revival in 2005 and, aside from Matt Smith, is my favorite Doctor. The changes which we the audience have witnessed in his character since the start of the series have been tremendous - a truly brilliant character arc. I look forward to Capaldi's future in the role as I know he will retain that tremendous quality.

Also of particular note was Michelle Gomez as Missy. When it was revealed she was in fact the Master at the end of Dark Water, I wasn't quite sure what to think. (Not to sound too narrow-minded, but I have never been a big proponent of the whole gender swapping thing.) I reserved my judgment and I must say she did an excellent job. Gomez communicated a sense of the Master's true deranged character in a cold, quiet manner which was far more successful than John Simm's scenary-chewing attempts when he played the character. It wouldn't be too outrageous to liken Gomez's Master (Mistress, whatever) to Anthony Hopkins' Hannibal Lector; speaking quietly and delivering a genuine chill up the spine.

While the scripts for Dark Water/Death in Heaven fared well for Capaldi and Gomez, it fell rather short when dealing with the companions. Jenna Coleman delivered her usual fine performance but it seemed like the independent nature of Clara's character became a bit too outrageous when she virtually kidnaps the Doctor and nearly destroys the TARDIS. What's more, this scene, which really goes nowhere, was hardy linked to the rest of the episode. Samuel Anderson, who usually gave a pretty decent performance in the past, seemed rather flat here, especially once he's been turned into a Cyberman. I don't want to bash too much on the script - especially since it did afford Capaldi one of his greatest Doctor moments; skydiving from a crashing airplane without a parachute, tearing a page from James Bond's playbook in Moonraker.

As I said at the top of this review, both episodes of the finale fared equally. Therefore, I give them both 3.5 out of 5 stars. So, in all, how did Doctor Who series 8 fare? Rather well. It featured some truly excellent episodes, but a fair share of mediocre ones. I'd say the series did afford Peter Capaldi a nice introduction and I look forward to his future in the role.