"The Beast Below" thoughts

[kindkit]

Well, that certainly answers any questions about whether Eleven still has Time War issues, doesn't it? There's a coldness in him, a rage and a readiness to embrace the necessary evil without adequately checking to be sure it's really necessary. He should have thought of what Amy thought of (I mean, was there anybody in the audience who, hearing Liz 10's account, didn't think "Um, did you guys try asking the space whale nicely?"). But it didn't occur to him, because under all that antic charm there's still a deep pit of despair.

I'm not sure what I think of that. On the one hand, it's important that the Doctor not just get over the Time War and the choice he made; it's important that he be shown not to forget. And I like that New Who's Doctors don't have that slightly invulnerable quality of previous Doctors, where there's a sense that no matter what happens they'll fly away in the TARDIS without ultimately being affected. On the other hand, I worry that the show may end up stuck in the pattern of the RTD era, where the Time War was in large part a narrative convenience that could be pulled out to provide a plot point, or Doctorly anger or angst, but that never was really made to mean anything. That's just cheap; it's the standard issue Tragic Backstory that every hero comes equipped with nowadays. I believe Moffat can do better than that, if he can find the (storytelling) courage.

I'm not sure what I think of the episode, either. I loved the beginning, which had some great dark scary stuff (the Smilers OMG! scariest things I've ever seen on Who). I loved that there was a black woman who was strong and brave and in charge and didn't die! But, although I also loved Amy finding another way, I think the ultimate solution was a little too easy. There were no moral consequences. The space whale wasn't pissed off at having been tortured for 300 years (incidentally, I didn't love the space whale either, because I am a nasty old cynic who gets irritated at the sentimentalization of whales). No kids actually died, how amazingly fortunate! And a government that had been systematically feeding children, dissidents, and "undesirables" to the whale got to continue. Also, although Liz 10 was awesome, the episode's celebration of monarchy was a little weird.

Above all, I didn't love the return of "let's take 10 minutes to discuss how awesome the Doctor is." We know the Doctor is awesome. We know he's lonely and sad and kind, because RTD would not fucking shut up about it. Please, Mr. Moffat, could we take that as read and just get on with things?

I understand that Moffat can't just completely cut ties with the RTD era, but it would be nice to stop resurrecting its worst, most self-indulgent aspects.

And one minor point: I try not to nitpick Who plots too much, but I do find myself puzzled by what Amy was told in the voting booth: "If 1% of the population protest, horrible consequences will ensue." Given what we learned later about the fate of dissidents, that didn't make sense. Was it just meant to be a warning, discouraging people from protesting?

Anyway. Next week's episode looks fabulous. I'm not a Dalek fan, but somehow I love the twist of WWII Daleks; it seems like a clever new use for an iconic, but never all that interesting, villain.

Comments

[dingsi]

Above all, I didn't love the return of "let's take 10 minutes to discuss how awesome the Doctor is."

I was a bit disappointed in the last third of the episode, especially this -- it was so heavy-handed and clumsy, repetitive, and also not very convincing given that he had shouted at basically every human in the room just minutes ago.

Was it just meant to be a warning, discouraging people from protesting?

That's how I took it. People might usually think they are among the last few voters needed to actually cause those terrible consequences to happen, thus choosing to forget because they don't want to be the one(s) responsible for killing everyone.

[kindkit]

not very convincing given that he had shouted at basically every human in the room just minutes ago

Seriously. Kind? When what Amy mostly knows of him is that (a) he's the man who kept abandoning her, and (b) he just started yelling about how awful and unworthy human beings were, and told her he was sending her home. Okay, once he was nice to a crying kid, but on balance, he hasn't shown much kindness.

I mean, I do think the Doctor is kind, overall, and I'm sure so do most other fans, but that's because we've seen him over time. Amy hasn't.

[lilacsigil]

Given what we learned later about the fate of dissidents, that didn't make sense.

I thought that was the point - you have the illusion of choice, but in fact the "Ultimate Authority" (repeated several times) and only person whose choice really matters is the person who put them here in the first place, the Queen. And her uniqueness (and difference from actual royalty) was emphasised by her slowed aging - royalty is generational, not immortal. I wonder if we'll come back here later? Or maybe that's just an Australian Republican reading!

[kindkit]

I like that reading, but the episode itself didn't feel that critical. There was so much focus on the queen as a heroic figure. But you're right, there's a disconnect between the idealizing of the queen on the one hand and the way the country is shown to be run--the police state apparatus, the lack of any actual democracy, etc. It makes me wonder about authorial intention.

[lilacsigil]

Yes, I'm totally making it up, and I don't think that was the authorial intention at all! But there's so many gaps in the background to the story - for example, why would countries like Australia, Nigeria and India (let alone Scotland) all bugger off into space and leave England-plus-possibly-other-bits-like-Wales to burn to death? What did they do, or what purpose did they serve, to be left behind? Did all Liz Ten's family go off with other places of which she is Queen? It was satisfying to watch, but on second thoughts it feels like half a story. And Moffatt is usually pretty good at telling a complete story!