Extremis

"Only in darkness are we revealed."

Writer: Steven Moffat
Format: TV
Broadcast: 20th May 2017
Series: 10.06

Featuring: Twelfth Doctor, Bill, Nardole

Synopsis

The Vatican asks the Twelfth Doctor to investigate a mysterious book called the Veritas. All who read it immediately kill themselves. When a translation of the Veritas is leaked online, the Doctor must face up to the inevitable truth...

Verdict

Extremis was a very good continuation of the tenth series of Doctor Who. It had a very intriguing challenge with the Doctor being blind but I thought that was dealt with very well and it was good how that didn't become the focus of the episode. That seemed to be fully maintained on the Veritas, a mysterious book from the Catholic past that was of such significance that the Doctor was demanded and needed by the Pope himself. That was quite a surprise and seeing him just appear in Bill's house when she was on a date was rather amusing, if not a little silly. The secret of the vault was also revealed as it was confirmed that Missy was within. The Fatality Index were an interesting group and their desire to see Missy killed, by another Time Lord at that, was very interesting. Obviously they must have known of the evil she had committed but now it was hinted that she wanted to do good. It seemed like the Doctor was helping her too as once the contraction that was designed to inhibit regeneration did its work, she was still very much alive. The Doctor took an oath to guard her body for 1,000 years and it seemed that was exactly what he was doing. To what end remains to be seen, but Missy is very much alive and the Doctor has stated that given his current condition, he may well need her help. Now that's a precarious position for the Doctor but one that is very exciting. I thought the main story of this episode was very strong too and I liked how the Doctor, Bill and Nardole got to go into the hidden library of the Vatican. One thing I could have done without was the apparently amazing thing it is to say 'arse'. Nardole gave quite a powerful speech about how River Song had given him permission kick the Doctor's arse and I just thought that was stupid. The Doctor even said it earlier in the episode and it just seems forced to see how much they can get away with when it comes to some kind of expletive. I didn't approve as it just didn't add anything to the episode. The concept of the Veritas causing people to commit suicide was excellent and I liked how the Doctor was tasked with reading it. Of course, he was blind so that proved quite difficult. He did find the audio function of a laptop towards the episode's end which was good. We got a fleeting glimpse of the Monks here and they look grotesque which I like. They were running a simulation to see how they would invade the Earth and they even had a shadow Doctor, knowing that he would be tough to defeat. He seemed to get the better of them here though as he knew everything had been a simulation and sent the file to the real Doctor and sonic sunglasses. The reaction of the 'real' Doctor was great and he knew something was coming. He told Bill to call Penny which I thought was nice. Overall, a very intriguing and very good episode!

Rating: 8/10