New Who Review The Woman who Lived

[puppetmaker]

Interesting episode that has some very clever concepts going on. No Clara for the most part, which means that it is a very Doctor-centric episode.

I think I can count on my fingers, with the Daleks and Cybermen aside, the number of episodes of Doctor Who that are about the consequences of his previous actions especially the consequence of his interactions with humans. He does find out what happened to Sarah Jane. We have a couple of episode with the Brigadier after he retired. And there is Captain Jack but I was never sure if Captain Jack was really human.

This is a skilled work about what happens after actions he took cause those ripples he is always talking about and we rarely see.

Top marks to all the actors involved. Maisie Williams is going to have a long and varied career. She does not have an easy role to play but she plays it with such ease that she makes it look effortless and that is the mark of a great actor.

Spoilers as always behind the cut and in the comments



Brilliant concept that the human brain can only take in so much information before things are forgotten to make room for new thoughts and memories. That she had to write down everything because she knew she would forget it was both a brilliant plot device and a nice twist on the immortality trope. And that she tore out memories that she no longer wanted to dwell on.

Was it my imagination or did the alien of the piece look a heck of a lot like the Tharil? If he was, did I miss him declaring his species? I do remember back in Warriors Gate that Biroc told Romana of the fate of his people who were a warrior class that had been overthrown by their slaves. If so, nice both set-up and nodded to the previous series.

And the Gallows Humor, oh that snappy patter with bad puns and worse banter. I loved every minute of it. Sam Swift was a fun character and that he ended up either like Ashildr or he won’t leaves him in play if they want him back at some point.

That Ashildr stopped feeling or thought she had due to the weight of time was an interesting way of looking at living forever. She had hit the point of apathy until she realized the consequences of her actions and inactions. Her conversation with the Doctor about why he won’t take her with him and why she shouldn’t go was brilliant. “We need the mayflies to remind us” was so poignant and explains so much of why the Doctor needs his companions as much as they need him.

Bonus points for the Captain Jack reference. I serious expect that there is already fanfic off of those lines.

Great episode with a lot to think about.

Next week we are back with the Sontarians and a dead person is not apparently dead.

I am grateful for episode of Doctor Who that make one think about concepts in new ways like Immortality.

Comments

[ericadawn16.livejournal.com]

Yes, I loved this one, too. I think Jack was probably human in the 51st century but not human by our standards. ..since he claimed the birth control in the water cycle was the only thing keeping him from being pregnant again.

I did wonder if the "success" of Jack still protecting the Earth and others, even at the expense of his grandson, made the Doctor assume that Ash would be just fine, too...he often has the weaknesses of arrogance.

[(Anonymous)]

I liked the tossed -off reference to the Fifth Doctor story 'The Visitation' and the Terileptils starting the Fire of London (with the then-destroyed sonicsonic screwdriver).