This review's a day or two late. My bad. Too busy watching Jessica Jones (that review will be up very soon). Now I have to shift from watching and taking notes on a dark TV series to reviewing and emotionally intense episode of Doctor Who. Hurrah.
I was really looking forward to this episode way before any trailers were released. The story about a search for a hidden street is very Doctor Who, and who wasn't excited when it was revealed that Rigsy (who last appeared in Series 8's "Flatline") would be returning along with Ashildr/"Me." It sounded like this would be a romp filled with aliens and stuff, and it was for the most part...
...until Clara faced the raven.
Let's take a step back a bit and get some context. The Doctor and Clara are contacted by Rigsy, who's woken up with no memory of the previous day and a tattooed number on his neck counting down to zero. It's called a chronolock and is a countdown to his death, and the Doctor knows where to find the people who gave it to Rigsy. The trio track down the entrance to a trap street, a street hidden to humans and a refugee camp for aliens stranded on Earth. Their mayor: Ashildr. She explains that Rigsy is marked for death because he stumbled into the street and apparently killed a woman. Once the countdown reaches zero, Rigsy will have to "face the raven"/be executed. But Rigsy didn't kill her, so who did?
Turns out, the woman isn't dead. Ashildr faked her death and placed the chronolock on Rigsy to bring the Doctor to the trap street. Some race has threatened to destroy the street unless she gave him to them. Rigsy was never going to die. Just one small problem Clara had Rigsy transfer the chronolock to her, believing her death will be pardoned by Ashildr. Big mistake, as the execution cannot be cheated. Ever. After an emotional farewell to the Doctor, Clara faces the raven and the Doctor is teleported away.
Clara's farewell and death were the grim highlights of the episode. The long goodbye scene was made even more emotional by the performances of Peter Capaldi and Jenna Coleman, and it really felt like it was the two actors bidding farewell to each other as it was the two characters they were portraying.The dialogue between the two was also fantastic, especially Clara urging the Doctor not to avenge her and for Rigsy not to feel guilt. The actual death scene was a bit too over-dramatic, in my opinion. Clara deserves to go out with a lot of fanfare, of course, but I felt like a lot of people watching would've found the scene hilarious more than saddening.
Now, then. Let's talk about the lighter aspects of "Face the Raven." The returns of Rigsy and Ashildr were welcome ones. I liked the reveal that, between the events of "Flatline" and "Face the Raven," Rigsy presumably got married and had a child. It was a fun little development for Rigsy and, of course, upped the stakes of his survival. I was kind of afraid Ashildr was going to be in this episode just for kicks and giggles, but her role actually makes total sense given her promise in "The Woman Who Lived" to be the patron-saint for those the Doctor leaves behind. Her role in Clara's death and the Doctor's warning for her to stay away from him should make their next inevitable meeting very interesting.
The trap street was oodles of fun to see explored, even though it's Doctor Who's take on Harry Potter's Diagon Alley. I liked the brief glimpses of the aliens in disguise who were taking refuge there, including Ood, Cybermen, and Sontarans. The Doctor, Clara, and Rigsy's search for the street was fun too.
One of the things I found wrong with "Face the Raven" is that the Clara's fate foreshadowing is so obvious. The episode's opening, with the Doctor and Clara having just returned from and adventure and recapping it with glee, was just really forced. I feel like the episode could've just opened with Steven Moffat sitting on a recliner and telling the audience that Clara was going to die in this episode, and then the title sequence would roll. A later scene, with Clara hanging from an airborne TARDIS and giggling with glee, and the Doctor's remark to Rigsy that it's an "ongoing problem," was better handled. The foreshadowing towards Clara's death has plagued the rest of Series 9 too, ultimately making Clara's actual death not that surprising, which is a huge shame.
The other thing wrong with "Raven" was that the "prove Rigsy's innocence" storyline wasn't that strong and turned out to be just a set-up for Clara's death. I think that if that story were in an episode that didn't end with the death of a companion, it could have been a lot stronger. The imagination and creativity behind some of the elements of the mystery have to be commended, though.
Other Thoughts:
- I liked the connection that was made to the Zygons and their freedom to walk around in public rather than hide in the trap street.
- The cue cards return! But not for a comedy beat.
- So, is the TARDIS going to have Rigsy's mural on it for the rest of Capaldi's run? The next time we see it, it'll probably be clean as if nothing was done to it. Probably.
- Did anyone else catch the Back to the Future/Star Wars easter egg? Google it.
Rating: 8.5/10 bad cops
Next week, the Doctor's on his own and fighting an unseen enemy and his greatest fears. Should be fun!
BONUS SECTION: Let's talk about Clara's death
DEFINITE AND POSSIBLE SPOILERS FOR THE FINALE AHEAD!! BE WARNED!!!
Ok, so do you think Clara really died there?
It sounds dumb, speculating over the survival of a character who died, but I'm sure the finale will reveal there was more to her execution than meets the eye.
First, it's basically been confirmed that Jenna Coleman will be in the finale, as she filmed one more scene recently in an American waitress costume:
Is this Clara? Or is it one of her echoes? Could be either or something completely different.
Another element from the finale that's been confirmed and could change Clara's fate is... (last warning for spoilerphobes)
...the return of the Time Lords and Gallifrey, as confirmed in the synopses for the "Heaven Sent" and "Hell Bent." Perhaps, PERHAPS, they could somehow save Clara as a way of thanking the Doctor for saving them?
I'm not completely invested in that theory, and it could very well turn out that Clara is dead, but it's fun to speculate like this.
Anyway, just wanted to throw my thoughts out there. You can go about your business.
Noah
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