Doctor Who

After the masterful solo performance we witnessed in “Heaven Sent”, “Hell Bent” had enormous expectations to meet. As the finale of Season 9, it needed to wrap up not only the intense emotional journey following “Face the Raven”, but also address the larger questions raised throughout the season, particularly in “The Magician’s Apprentice” and “The Witch’s Familiar”.

The episode opens in a familiar yet strange setting – a Nevada diner that keen-eyed viewers might remember from “The Impossible Astronaut”. This framing device, with the Doctor telling his story to a waitress who seems oddly familiar, immediately sets up the bittersweet tone that permeates the entire episode.

When we finally return to Gallifrey, it’s not the triumphant homecoming we might have expected. Unlike the political machinations we saw in “The Zygon Invasion”, here the Doctor’s approach is personal, almost vengeful. The man who talked his way through conflict in “The Zygon Inversion” now stands silent, wielding only a soup spoon and four billion years of accumulated rage.

The return of Rassilon (last seen in “The End of Time”) should feel like a major event, but it’s practically a footnote here. This isn’t a story about Time Lord politics – it’s about how far the Doctor will go for someone he cares about, reminiscent of the emotional stakes we saw in “The Woman Who Lived”.

The extraction of Clara from her fixed point in time echoes the dangerous territory we explored in “Before the Flood”, but with far more serious consequences. The Doctor’s actions here make his temporal meddling in “Under the Lake” look like child’s play.

What makes this episode particularly powerful is how it subverts our expectations. After “Sleep No More” played with narrative structure, “Hell Bent” goes further, making us question everything we think we know about the Doctor-companion relationship. The hybrid prophecy that’s been teased since the season opener turns out to be not about a single being, but about the dangerous combination of the Doctor and Clara themselves.

The ending, with its role reversal of the Doctor losing his memories instead of the companion (as happened to Donna in “Journey’s End”), feels both shocking and inevitable. It’s the kind of brave storytelling choice that Season 9 has become known for, from “The Girl Who Died” onwards.

Clara’s departure, flying off in her own TARDIS with Ashildr/Me, provides a fitting end to her character arc. It’s a far cry from her first appearance as a mystery to be solved – now she’s become almost too much like the Doctor, a development that’s been carefully seeded throughout the season.

The final scene in the diner, where we realize we’ve been watching Clara all along, brings everything full circle. It’s heartbreaking to watch the Doctor tell their story without recognizing her, but it feels right. Some wounds can only heal through forgetting, a theme that carries through to “The Husbands of River Song”.

Rating: 4.5/5 – A bold, emotional finale that prioritizes character over spectacle and isn’t afraid to take risks with its core relationship.

Next up: Join me for the Christmas special, “The Husbands of River Song”, where we bid farewell to River Song in style.

As a dedicated Whovian who’s seen every time travel story the show has attempted, I have to say “Before the Flood” delivers one of the most satisfying conclusions to a two-parter I’ve seen in recent years. Following the ghostly tension of “Under the Lake”, this episode shifts gears to explore one of my favorite sci-fi concepts: the bootstrap paradox.

The story follows directly from the events we saw in “The Witch’s Familiar” and “The Magician’s Apprentice”, maintaining Season 9’s strong commitment to complex storytelling. Like those episodes, it’s not afraid to challenge viewers with intricate plotting and moral ambiguity.

The pre-credits sequence immediately grabbed my attention in a way that reminded me of the tension we saw in “The Empty Child”. When Peter Capaldi’s Doctor looks directly into the camera and starts explaining the bootstrap paradox using Beethoven as an example, I got chills. It’s the kind of fourth-wall break that shows just how far the series has come since episodes like “The Long Game”.

The story proper takes us to 1980, where the Doctor, O’Donnell, and Bennett arrive at the military training town that will eventually become the underwater base we saw in “Under the Lake”. I love how the episode plays with our expectations – what seems like a straightforward “go back in time and prevent the tragedy” story becomes something far more complex and emotionally resonant.

The Fisher King, our alien antagonist, immediately reminded me of some of the best classic Who monsters. The design team outdid themselves here, creating something far more menacing than what we saw with the Slitheen in “Aliens of London”. This is exactly the kind of monster that would have terrified me as a kid watching from behind the sofa.

What really sets this episode apart is how it handles its time travel elements. Having watched Doctor Who tackle temporal paradoxes since “The Unquiet Dead”, I appreciate how this story manages to make its complex plot both comprehensible and emotionally meaningful. The moment when Bennett realizes he can’t save O’Donnell hits me with the same emotional impact we saw in “The Doctor Dances”, but with an even darker edge.

The way the episode handles Clara’s predicament back in the future (or present, depending on your perspective) adds another layer of tension. As someone who’s followed Clara’s journey since “Boom Town”, watching her take charge of the situation while potentially facing her own death feels like a natural progression of her character arc.

The resolution, when it comes, is both clever and satisfying. The Doctor’s ghost turns out to be a hologram, part of an elaborate plan that the Doctor could only devise because he’d already seen it work. As a fan of temporal mechanics in science fiction, I found myself grinning at how neatly everything fits together, reminiscent of the complex plotting we saw in “Bad Wolf”.

The way this episode handles its predestination paradox reminds me of the best parts of classic Who, while adding a modern sensibility that we’ve seen developing throughout Season 9. Unlike the more straightforward threats we faced in “The Woman Who Lived”, here we’re dealing with something that challenges both the characters and the audience intellectually.

What particularly strikes me is how the Doctor’s solution mirrors some of the clever thinking we saw in “The Zygon Invasion” and “The Zygon Inversion” – it’s not about brute force or technological superiority, but about outsmarting your opponent by thinking several steps ahead. The Fisher King’s defeat comes not from a weapon or a clever gadget, but from the Doctor’s understanding of time itself.

The emotional core of the episode really shines through in Clara’s reactions to potentially losing the Doctor. After everything we’ve seen her go through (which comes to a head later in “Face the Raven”), her determination to save him while maintaining his own plan shows remarkable character growth. It’s the kind of companion development that makes this era of Who so compelling.

The resolution also plays beautifully with our expectations. Much like the twist in “Sleep No More”, what we think we’re watching isn’t quite what’s actually happening. The Doctor’s apparent ghost, floating menacingly through the underwater base, turns out to be part of an elaborate plan that only works because it was already seen working – a perfect example of the bootstrap paradox in action.

What elevates this episode above standard time travel fare is its willingness to embrace complexity while never losing sight of the human element. Like the best moments in “Heaven Sent”, it combines clever plotting with genuine emotional stakes. The Doctor’s manipulation of time isn’t just a clever trick – it’s necessary to save lives, making the paradox feel earned rather than merely clever.

The episode’s conclusion leaves us with questions about free will and determinism that echo throughout the rest of Season 9, particularly as we approach “Hell Bent”. Can we really change time if our attempts to change it were always part of how it happened? The Doctor’s solution suggests both yes and no – we have free will, but sometimes our choices are predetermined because we’ve already seen their consequences.

Looking back at this episode from the perspective of “The Husbands of River Song”, it’s fascinating to see how the show continues to play with time travel concepts while keeping the emotional stakes high. “Before the Flood” stands as one of the cleverer examples of how to handle temporal paradoxes in Doctor Who, while never forgetting that at its heart, this is a show about characters we care about facing impossible situations.

In the end, “Before the Flood” demonstrates why Season 9 represents some of the strongest storytelling in modern Who. It takes risks, trusts its audience to keep up with complex ideas, and delivers emotional payoffs that feel earned rather than forced. While it might not have the immediate shock value of “The Magician’s Apprentice”, it offers something deeper – a meditation on causality, free will, and the price of being a time traveler who cares too much.

“Before the Flood” represents everything I love about modern Doctor Who – clever writing, emotional depth, and a willingness to challenge its audience. While it builds on the ghostly atmosphere established in “Under the Lake”, it creates something entirely its own. The bootstrap paradox might give you a headache if you think about it too hard, but that’s part of the fun.

As we continue through Season 9 toward the emotional heights of “Face the Raven” and “Heaven Sent”, this episode stands as a perfect example of how to balance complex sci-fi concepts with character-driven storytelling. It’s not just about solving the puzzle – it’s about what the puzzle means for the people trying to solve it.

Rating: 4.5/5 – A clever, compelling story that rewards multiple viewings and demonstrates why Season 9 is one of New Who’s strongest.

Next up: Join me for a look at “The Girl Who Died”, where we meet a very special Viking girl who will change everything.

As a long-time Doctor Who fan who cut their teeth on classic base-under-siege stories, I have to admit I got genuinely excited when I first realized what “Under the Lake” was doing. There’s something deeply satisfying about watching the show return to one of its most reliable formats while adding new twists that keep it feeling fresh and relevant.

The Setup: Ghosts, Water, and Corporate Greed

The Drum, our underwater base for this adventure, immediately reminded me of the claustrophobic atmosphere we got in “The Waters of Mars”, but with its own distinct personality. The production design team deserves serious kudos here – from the corporate logos to the safety protocols plastered on the walls, everything feels authentic in a way that reminds me of the lived-in quality of Alien’s Nostromo.

As someone who grew up devouring both ghost stories and science fiction, I can’t help but appreciate how perfectly this episode marries the two genres. What starts as a classic haunted house setup gradually transforms into something more complex and science-fiction oriented, much like what we saw in “The Impossible Planet”. It’s this blend that keeps me coming back to Doctor Who – no other show manages to mix genres quite so effectively.

Character Evolution and Performance

I’ve watched Peter Capaldi’s Doctor evolve since “Deep Breath”, and it’s fascinating to see how much more comfortable he’s become in the role by this point. His childlike excitement at the prospect of ghosts (while simultaneously trying to debunk them) perfectly encapsulates what makes this incarnation so special. When he whips out those index cards to communicate with Cass, I couldn’t help but smile – it’s such a perfect character moment that shows how far he’s come from his more abrasive early episodes.

Having followed Clara’s journey since “The Bells of Saint John”, I find her character development here particularly intriguing. There’s something both exciting and worrying about watching her become more Doctor-like in her approach to danger. As a fan who remembers how Ace’s similar trajectory played out in the classic series, I can’t help but feel a sense of foreboding about where this might be heading.

The supporting cast shines particularly bright in this episode. Sophie Stone’s portrayal of Cass breaks new ground for the series, and as someone who’s watched science fiction for decades, it’s refreshing to see disability represented in a way that feels natural rather than forced. The scenes from her perspective, where the sound drops out entirely, create some of the most effective moments of tension I’ve experienced in recent Who.

Creating Effective Horror in Science Fiction

Having watched my fair share of ghost stories, I appreciate how this episode manages to make its spectres feel unique. The hollow-eyed apparitions suspended in water create images that I’d rank right up there with the gas mask zombies from “The Empty Child” in terms of memorable Who monsters. The rules governing their behavior feel well thought out and consistent – something that’s crucial for good science fiction horror.

The careful world-building reminds me of classic Who stories like “The Moonbase”, where the environment itself becomes a character. The underwater setting adds an extra layer of isolation and claustrophobia that even the best base-under-siege stories sometimes lack. When combined with the ghost story elements, it creates a unique atmosphere that had me on the edge of my seat.

As someone who grew up watching classic Who, I have a special appreciation for a good cliffhanger, and this episode delivers one of the best I’ve seen in recent years. The sight of the Doctor apparently becoming a ghost himself hit me with the same sort of shock I felt watching “The Stolen Earth” cliffhanger. It’s the kind of moment that had me counting the days until the next episode.

What impresses me most about “Under the Lake” is how it manages to feel both classic and contemporary at the same time. As someone who’s watched Doctor Who evolve over the years, I appreciate how it honors the show’s traditions while finding new ways to tell stories. The base-under-siege format might be as old as the program itself, but episodes like this prove there’s still plenty of life in the old formula.

For me, “Under the Lake” represents everything I love about Doctor Who – its ability to blend genres, its commitment to character development, and its talent for making the familiar feel strange and new again. While some viewers might prefer the faster-paced style of episodes like “The Eleventh Hour”, I find myself increasingly appreciating these slower, more atmospheric stories that give us time to really sink into their world. As the first part of a two-parter, it left me exactly where I wanted to be: desperately eager to see what happens next.