Face the Raven

"Details won't add up. Reality will have glitches in it."

Writer: Sarah Dollard
Format: TV
Broadcast: 21st November 2015
Series: 9.10

Featuring: Twelfth Doctor, Clara

Synopsis

The Doctor, Clara and Rigsy are trapped on an alien street in London, that is hidden from the rest of the world.

Ashildr, the immortal hybrid-girl, is taking care of some of the most dangerous creatures in the universe. Not everyone will get out alive; one of them must pay the price and face the raven.

Verdict

Face the Raven was an absolutely superb episode to set up the finale of Doctor Who's ninth series since the 2005 revival and if I was asked what my favourite episode of the series was prior to beginning my rewatch around a fortnight ago, I would have said this episode. That has now changed, up until this point at least, with The Magician's Apprentice/The Witch's Familiar remaining my favourite so far but that does not mean in any way that this episode has gone down in my estimation. The rating has remained perfect and I loved every minute of it. I'm not sure why I didn't quite appreciate the true quality of the series opener the first time around but that's the beauty of rewatching. Anyway, it was good to see Rigsy back after his first appearance in Flatline during the last series but I must admit I was surprised to see him back at all. He didn't exactly scream the character of someone you wanted to see again but then I guess the same could be said for Nardole and he's now ending up being companion for the next series! The idea of a tattoo that was counting down was terrific and I liked how the Doctor dismissed it as simply being boring until he actually saw the numbers change. That set his mind going and he was on his way to finding out just what was going on. The search for a London trapstreet was excellent and I loved just how much Clara loved the danger that came with dangling herself out of the TARDIS as it hovered above London. She was getting too comfortable with the Doctor and seemed to be getting reckless and that would come back to haunt her at the end of the episode. Once the trapstreet was located, the alien asylum was a very interesting place to say the least. The disguise of the Judoon was fantastic and I also liked that we got to see brief glimpses of an Ood, Cyberman and Sontaran. The Doctor had caused trouble on this planet and Lady Me, formerly known as Ashildr, was ensuring that the planet remained safe. It's an interesting thought to think that not every member of a species that invades the planet and encounters the wrath of the Doctor is there because they're evil. We saw that with the Zygons and The Zygon Invasion/The Zygon Inversion was mentioned very nicely. The meeting between Clara and Lady Me was fantastic and I liked how the latter's struggle with immortality was clearly illustrated. An immortal life with a finite memory must really be quite a challenge. The references to The Girl Who Died and The Woman Who Lived were fantastic and I like to think how it's been nearly a millennium by this point from when Ashildr was made immortal. The efforts to rid Rigsy of the chronolock were good and I liked how Clara thought she was being clever in taking it from him. But the Quantum Shade had made a contract with Mayor Me and in taking the countdown, the terms were changed and there was nothing Me nor the Doctor could do. Clara was courageous and accepted her impending death very well and used her last moments to comfort the Doctor. Me had laid the trap for the Doctor with an unknown 'they' and we would see that continued in the next episode but this was all about Clara. Peter Capaldi was incredible in demonstrating his anger at what was happening and I loved his warning to Me about staying away from him. The death of Clara was incredible and on broadcast it was one of the very few moments to make my cry as I just didn't expect it and although it was still emotional this time around, there was no danger of tears. The silent scream that saw her crumpled to the floor was brilliant and as companions don't often die, I thought this was done fantastically. Overall, a simply stunning episode!

Rating: 10/10