12.12: Death in Heaven
In which the Brigadier is back! Sort of.
Broadcast: November 2014
Watched: March 2022
“And didn’t all of those beautiful speeches just disappear in the face of a tactical advantage?”
I think maybe doing the 50th anniversary makes Moffat rethink his idea of a finale. Before Name/Day, his finales, of which there are two to four depending on how you count, are generally entirely about the story being told now. After 2013, though, he realises he can supercharge them by mixing in a load of stuff from the show’s history and targeted directly at fans, as well as lengthy agonising about what it means to be the Doctor.
This specific episode, I think, is Moffat’s Last of the Time Lords. Firstly because it has the classic RTD structure, in which the emotional plot provides the answer to the monster plot (cyberDanny and the “love is a promise” bit). Secondly, because it has the classic RTD finale structure, with a lead in to the Christmas special (Santa??) popping up at the very end.
But mostly because it’s audacious and mind blowing and thematically rich, but also... maybe kind of messed up? There are loads of bits that are sort of amazing – so many I’m going to do a list...
Clara Oswald never existed. I'm the Doctor.” Absolute nonsense, but incredibly bold nonsense. I only noticed on this run that they change the titles to put Coleman first and have her eyes in the titles. Then they *immediately* cut to the real Doctor, which rather undermines things, but still, it’s a good moment.
Osgood’s entry, playing on our expectation that she might be a bit confused, is brilliant.
Ditto the flying cybermen.
The Doctor as president!
And Osgood instantly guessing it’s the master!
Almost, but not quite, everything about Missy. Gomez’s performance, the evil Mary Poppins thing, the bit where she sings like Marilyn Munroe. “I need you to know we're not so different – I need my friend back”.
“If you've ever let this creature live, everything that happened today is on you.” See, I've often been down on Clara, but... finally, somebody said it. The Master’s life clearly matters to the Doctor, no matter how many people they kill, and that is problematic.
Then there are the bits that go too far, but in sort of a good way, which are basically all about Missy: the genuinely shocking death of Osgood; the cybermen on the wing, pulling Sanjeev Bhaskar out of the window; the bit where it genuinely looks like Kate is dead.
...but then there are two really horrible things that I’m really not sure are appropriate. The apparently sentient rain that can track down corpses and turn the dead into cybermen. Just... this is still sort of meant to be a kid’s show! This is water, turning people’s grandparents into cybermen! Christ.
In the same way, Danny’s corpse in a cybersuit, asking Clara to help in his assisted suicide... as with the “the dead remain conscious” stuff from the previous one, I really think this is just too scary.
In the past I would have put the cyber-brig stuff in that box too, it’s tacky as f*ck. But this time, between the mirroring with the Clara plot and the salute, it kind of got me. Maybe I was tired
Anyway, I’m willing to forgive a lot for the very end. Danny sacrificing his chance to come home to save the life of the kid he killed, messing up the Doctor’s clever plan but for a good, moral reason, is perfect. Ditto, the Doctor and Clara going their separate ways, lying to each other. For all the structural similarities, there’s a neatness and a finality to the end of RTD’s stories, no matter how horrible they are. Here, it ends, but everything and everyone is a total mess. Danny chooses to do the right thing rather than slot neatly into the Doctor’s plan for a happy ending. There’s a criticism of the show and its protagonists you don’t really get with RTD.
Anyway, other random thoughts:
Turning the Doctor into the president is basically giving him the ancient Roman dictator powers. [I think I may have been reading a book about Cicero at this point, sorry.]
The idea there are 91 significant settlements in the UK is nonsense, there’s no way you can get that clean a count. Also, why are the cybermen heading south and east from London rather than, y’know, north and west? (Also, Missy’s list of cities sounds like cybermen are already there?)
The Doctor falling towards the TARDIS is also extremely silly.
There are a lot of rhymes with other bits of this season: “Pain is a gift. Without the capacity for pain, we can't feel the hurt we inflict” is like “Fear is a superpower”. Also, the line “Do as you are told” runs through it like a stick of rock.
A lot of key moments between Doctor and Clara involve cafes and restaurants don't they? Bells, this, Hell Bent.