An Hour of Who a Day: July 26: "Face the Raven"

July 26: "Face the Raven"

Stuart Manning's poster for "Face the Raven"
(from Incredible set of retro Doctor Who
series 9 posters)

Our second female writer for the series -- this time it's newcomer Sarah Dollard, who's provided a really well-scripted story about hidden streets and refugee camps, in what sort of appears to be the first part of a three-part finale. ("Sort of" because this installment is written and directed by people different from the last two parts, but the story really does seem to carry on directly into the next part (which is itself very distinct from the final part, and those two are generally accepted as being the same story), and with repercussions that will be addressed in the final part. And even Steven Moffat notes that this feels like part 1 of 3 in the Doctor Who Extra accompanying "Face the Raven".) And while we're here, can we just take a moment to acknowledge how gorgeous that dark red jacket the Doctor is wearing is? That color fits him to a T, with a slight Pertwee vibe to it. It may be my favorite look so far for the twelfth Doctor.

We also get to say hello again to Rigsy from last series' "Flatline" -- and now we see he has a wife and a baby that the Doctor seems completely enamoured with. But it's not a social visit; no, Rigsy needs help with a mysterious tattoo on the back of his neck that's slowly counting down.

I have to say, the idea that a trap street is real is quite clever, and the efforts to find such a street in London are nicely entertaining. And we get some more evidence that Clara's starting to be a bit too cavalier about what she and the Doctor do, as she enjoys herself despite nearly falling out of the TARDIS as it hovers above London. "She enjoyed that way too much," Rigsy remarks. "Tell me about it," the Doctor replies; "it's an ongoing problem."

But once the trap street is located the emphasis shifts to the alien refugee camp inside, hiding from the humans and being governed/ruled over by their mayor, Ashildr/Me. (She keeps calling herself Me, the Doctor keeps going with Ashildr -- and this time around the credits agree with the Doctor.) What's notable here is that, 365 years after the last time we got to chat with her, Ashildr seems less bitter but still just as cold. Now, part of this might be an effort to seem like a proper mayor, above it all and such, but she still comes across as uncaring and still blaming the Doctor for several of the world's woes. So while she's not exactly the Doctor's enemy, she's hardly his friend either.

What's clever about this part of the episode isn't just the way the tension mounts as time begins to run out, as the three of them begin to unravel the mystery of what Mayor Me is really up to. It's the way Clara's actions, the way she believes she's acting just like the Doctor would when she takes Rigsy's chronolock tattoo, ultimately lead to her downfall. But we don't know that until it's too late; here it's just another matter-of-fact move, a way for Clara to laugh in the face of danger. Only this time it backfires.

It's a hell of an affecting eight minutes at the end, as the Doctor realizes that Clara has signed her own death warrant ("Clara, you didn't!") and there's absolutely nothing anyone can do about it. Ashildr was trying to hand the Doctor over to some unseen party (ostensibly in order to protect the trap street), but Clara's actions mean that the mayor can't remove the chronolock, like she would have done with Rigsy. "You cut me out of the deal," Me tells her; Clara is going to have to deal with the Quantum Shade, to face the raven. ('Cos the Shade takes the form of a raven, remember.) "This is my fault," the Doctor says. "...I let you get reckless." "Why? Why shouldn't I be so reckless?" Clara demands. "You're reckless all the bloody time. Why can't I be like you?" "Clara, there's nothing special about me," the Doctor replies. "I am nothing, but I'm less breakable than you." (And more knowledgeable too, although he doesn't say that.) And so the Doctor can do nothing but watch as Clara decides to face her death with bravery ("Well, if Danny Pink can do it, so can I") and tells the Doctor not to be a warrior. And so she dies, facing the raven.

And it's a very strong ending moment from the Doctor right after. "What Clara said about not taking revenge," he says to Ashildr, visibly furious. "Do you know why she said that?" "She was saving you," Ashildr says. "I was lost a long time ago," the Doctor replies. "She was saving you. I'll do my best, but I strongly advise you to keep out of my way. You'll find that it's a very small universe when I'm angry with you."

"Face the Raven" is an impressive début for a writer who clearly understands Doctor Who and can easily write for these characters. It's smart and sad and affecting and brilliant; thank goodness Sarah Dollard is writing for series 10, because if it's anything like this it'll be a knockout. This definitely makes you want more -- not just from Dollard, but from the next episode as well.

(And the final tag scene after the credits is sweet.)