Previously on Doctor Who: Rigsy calls The TARDIS when he finds a mysterious tattoo on his neck and no memories of how it got there. When The Doctor and Clara investigate, they find an old friend who’s up to no good … and Clara takes her “final” bow.
Regardless of how great episodes are (or aren’t) with the companion and secondary characters, it’s really awesome to see the Doctor on his own occasionally. And Peter Capaldi didn’t disappoint.
Here We Go Again
Ashildr’s teleportation device transports the Doctor to a strange, lonely castle in which he’s haunted/hunted by one of his childhood nightmare made flesh (the Veil). The only way to stop the nightmare is to confess a secret, and each time the Doctor does, the castle moves and new rooms are revealed. While he investigates the castle, the Doctor finds clues that lead him to realize that there’s never been anyone else held in the castle—he’s just been there a really, really, really long time. Or a version of him has, at least.
After 2 billion-plus years of punching the Azbantium wall and being burned by the Veil soon after, the Doctor finally breaks through. … and finds himself stepping out of his own confession dial, on Gallifrey.
Fantastic!
The Doctor’s the hybrid? But … How …
Don’t Blink or We’ll Exterminate
Childhood nightmares are nothing to mess with, particularly when they’re corporeal, and can burn you to death.
But even scarier, to me, is the idea of having to come to terms with killing yourself and starting completely fresh over and over and over (ad infinitum) again.
We’re All Stories
Winner: The Doctor. He overcame his own confessional dial, and found himself on Gallifrey.
Loser: The Doctor. More than 2 billion years, stuck in the same loop, punching the same wall. How he didn’t go crazy crazier boggles the mind. (And, why didn’t he use one of the shovels to speed things along?)
Words from the Madman
Doctor: “Clara said I shouldn’t take revenge. You should know … I don’t always listen.”
Doctor: “Um … I can’t actually see a way out of this … I’ve finally run out of corridor. There’s a life summed up. Now, this is new. I’m scared. I just realized that I’m actually scared of dying.”
Doctor: “Am I spoiling the magic? I work at this stuff, you know.”
Doctor: “It’s funny, the day you lose someone isn’t the worst. At least you’ve got something to do. It’s all the days they stay dead.”
Doctor: “I’m not scared of hell. It’s just heaven for bad people.”
Doctor: “Personally, I think that’s a hell of a bird.”
Keep Moving
I am so excited to see what happens now that the big reveal—that the Doctor is the hybrid—has, well, been revealed. I’m not quite understanding how that’s possible, considering the prophecy, but hopefully it’ll be explained in the series finale. Also, did the Timelords work with Ashildr to send the Doctor into his own confession dial? How did it get on Gallifrey? (Is that just part of its timey-wimey makeup?) So many questions!
But, what did you think of “Heaven Sent”? Let’s discuss in the comments.
