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Doctor Who "S9E10 Face The Raven" - Review: Mystery and incredible dialogue deliver another outsanding episode


Doctor Who "S9E10 Face The Raven" - Review: Mystery and incredible dialogue deliver ano...
10 out of 10

Fascism - System of government categorized by extreme dictatorship, and according to Hot Fuzz, it’s also the answer to 7 across. It’s easy to vilify those imposing such a system of extremes because like all the greatest villains, they believe that their actions are ultimately righteous. This comes with a perspective that can be sympathised with. Sometimes, things get so bad that it takes extreme measures to fix them. The question of morality becomes whether the reward is worth the sacrifices, and all too often we find that it isn’t. This has been a classic ideal for many Doctor Who villains. The Cybermen believe that the world will be liberated by ridding it of emotion.... but emotions are still worth the problems and failures they cause. In this week’s episode, we meet a society where peace is maintained only by a zero tolerance policy of fatal consequences, but are its people really safe by living in such fear?

Face The Raven – The Doctor and Clara get a call from Rigsy (their friend from last season’s Flatline episode) having woken up with no memory of previous night and a strange tattoo on his neck that’s counting down. This leads the three of them to a hidden London street acting as an asylum sanctuary for all manner of alien creatures with the tattoo is their death sentence and a very familiar face in charge.

The main idea of this episode could be labelled as a Who episode's recycling ground but it’s executed extremely well, and comes with plenty of imagination that draws nicely from known sources. The setup is a mix of Harry Potter meets Men In Black. While the hidden street in the middle of London feels an immediate nod to Diagon Alley, the idea of a secret alien refugee sanctuary on Earth is a more localised version of Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones. It makes perfect sense for some of the fallout and cast-offs of Earth’s many invasions to seek refuge in such a place. The “Trap Street” location will find a surprising resonance in the fans of this summer’s Paper Towns, and the idea of the distraction circuit provides some great imagery as its momentary breaks reveal the various alien species concealed behind the facades of human characters. Then there’s the idea of the death-dealing raven that works well as a naturally dark and cunning creature with the Edgar Alan Poe seal of approval. Making the bird an on-screen feature the rest of time gives it a simple ominous presence and produces some good laughs as The Doctor tells it to shut up while they’ve still got time left. Despite orientating itself heavily around impending peril, in true Who style, the humour still pokes its head into proceedings. Such as Clara being asked to, “go back to the Tardis, pick up all my most annoying stuff” of which there is no shortage.

The story develops into a talk-heavy episode (a real sign of confidence to put the action aside in favour of heavy dialogue) with a full braid of small plot twists. Things take many quick unexpected turns so the choice inclusion of Rigsy as a relative newcomer helps keep the narrative running smoothly. Like what we perceive as the audience, he knows the basics from his previous Doctor encounter but the these alien goings on are still... well, alien to him. So his inclusion provides easy grounds for explanations, especially concerning the highly welcome return of Massie Wiliams’s Ashilda/Me as the Mayor of the sanctuary. Her introduction scene makes some good plays with here “infinite life, finite memory” concept. Her actions throughout play on the continuing uncertainty over her character and whether or not The Doctor should have created her as her actions are still questionable despite underlying good intent as she he upholds the sanctuary’s peace and order under threat of death for any violation of their rules. There are still good arguments in favour of her work, “What’s better, that they’re in here with me peaceful and cooperative or out there like the Zygons?”. Yet still the feeling is clear that the ends do not justify her means, especially the story sees her go full Lando Calrissian. The central murder mystery develops very nicely, really helped the “ticking clock” effect of the tattoo reaching near real time levels for two thirds of the episode in a similar feel to the David Tennant real time episode, “42”. The ultimate dramatic consequences are as emotionally hard-hitting as they should be in this first episode of the three part finale. At the moments the score heightens, all of this to movingly beautiful levels. Forget hiding behind the sofa, you may need to hug it instead.

The episode makes some interesting side examinations into Clara’s character, focusing on the continued idea that she is becoming too reckless. Writer Sarah Dollard does well to show this in both negative and positive ways to her character. While some cases transpire more as thrill seeking, like Clara’s immensely fun first act Tardis dangling routine. However, others stem from her undeniable faith and belief in The Doctor from their years together. Having seen him do the impossible countless times has crafted an illusion of safety, leaving her doubtless that together they will always find a way leading to only one outcome: the one time that they can’t. It’s almost a parental metaphor: telling your child they can do anything that will inspire them with confidence but inevitably, they will still have to deal with failure. Like many of the episodes this season, this plays well on the known factor of Clara/Jenna Coleman’s departure. Yet implying that she might become equally if not more responsible for her fate is a twist we haven’t seen for a long time in Doctor Who companions.

Face The Raven soars on powerhouse performances by Capaldi and Coleman in their central roles to produce some of the most outstanding moments this season (only beaten the Osgood box standoff from the Zygon episodes). The episode has brilliant production values to it with the main street location looking every bit as real as it should. It even delivers an excellent conclusion to show the series accelerating towards its finale and a send off that has a real feel of Demons Run to it, “You’ll find that it’s a very small Universe when I’m angry with you”. It had some early stutters, but this is really turning into a wonderful season of Doctor Who at the testament to its writers and cast. Anyone involved facing their own raven should do so with pride and dignity in what they’ve achieved here.

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