12.18: The Girl Who Died
In which they really should have settled on a tone.
Broadcast: October 2015
Watched: March 2022
“A good death is the best anyone can hope for, unless you happen to be immortal.”
The first episode I’d remember being a bit rubbish in ages. I think it’s probably the weakest Capaldi episode to this point.
The issue is it’s insanely uncertain of its own tone: it’s not remotely clear if it’s meant to be funny or dramatic. The scene when the Doctor speaks baby is a case in point: the idea of it is inherently silly, and Clara’s explanation makes it more so... but the actual message is meant to be poetic and sad and unnerving. So which do they want?
In the same way, the Doctor makes an entirely convincing case that if he enables one village to beat a deadly warrior race, then he’ll be marking the Earth as a target. THEN he does it anyway. What? It feels like they should maybe have gone for The Myth Makers, the full blown comedy episode with the nasty sting in the tail... but that’s not what they made.
While I’m complaining, there’s a really upsetting amount of subtext/text, and other forms of unsubtlety:
“You’re always talking about what you can and can’t do, but you never tell me the rules.” Thanks, Clara.
The Doctor does a lot of Doctor worrying about Clara being in danger, “duty of care”... They’re really laying the “SHE’S GOING TO DIE, GUYS” stuff on thick this year. Although having said that I didn’t notice at the time so what do I know.
Ashildr does this whole “I know I am different” routine which is a pretty good illustration of why no one wants to be friends with her.
The Doctor remembering the “save someone” scene is annoying as f*ck and subtle as a brick.
Etc,etc.
As to the plot... we’re told the Mire are a terrifying warrior race, but since we only see them trick a bunch of viking warriors in a cowardly fashion, then try to massacre a bunch of farmers and civilians, the show doesn’t sell it at all.
It does successfully sell that Clara is not quite as good at this as the Doctor, but that she can almost get herself out of trouble when the warrior Vikings are all dead... but then Ashildr stuffs it up again.
That of course is the real story being told here – the business with the Mire and the Vikings is all just there so that the Doctor can do something incredibly dumb and thoughtless and make one little girl immortal. But she’s too annoying for it to come off: the effect of her smile slowly fading through time at the very end should be haunting, but we don’t see anything to emotionally engage us.
“Immortality isn’t living forever. That’s not what it feels like. Immortality is everybody else dying. She might meet someone she can’t bear to lose. That happens, I believe.”
This could have really been something. Unfortunately, it’s this.
Other things:
Once again, we see the climax of another missing adventure in the credits, to show these guys are living on the edge. This is all very fun, but a) they’re using this trick a lot right now and b) ffs that episode looks way more fun than the one we’re actually going to see.
Are these meant to be vikings in the Danelaw bit of England? It’s never spelt out, but since that’s where Ashildr is next we see her I assume so.
Bit of an odd coincidence that “Odin” appears and the harvest begins literally moments after Doctor arrives, after he’s spent two days in a long boat. That said, Odin appearing in the sky while the Doctor is trying to impress everyone with a yoyo is quite fun.
The sonic shades are dead. Thank f*ck.
It’s a real, real shame it isn’t Brian Blessed as Odin. [It was supposed to be.] David Schofield disappears into the part so well I hadn’t even realised it was him, but isn’t especially good. Fun how both the main corrupt policemen from Our Friends in the North are in this season. [The other is Donald Sumpter, who’s been a recurring guest star in Who since 1968, and will show up this season as Rassilon.]
And Williams, despite being amazing in Game of Thrones, suddenly sucks. She just doesn’t get the tone at all.
Boo! I generally agree with your reviews, but have to draw the line here - I like your writing generally so felt a bit bad about this, but included your corresponding tweet about TGWD 'not knowing whether or not it wants to be funny' (spoiler: it does, and it is!) in my Black Archive book written on the episode as an example of reviewers/critics who unfortunately missed the tone/style it was aiming for. I'd go so far as to call it one of the best Capaldi episodes, an absolute standout - and the fusing of serious lyricism and ridiculous bad panto is exactly *why* it's good, why it works.