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Face The Raven, being mostly set in a Middle Ages-decorated street, felt more like a level in one of the Thief games than an episode of Doctor Who.
It began with Clara’s student Rigsy, last seen in last year’s best episode – Flatline, telling her about his tattoo… but it wasn’t just any ordinary tattoo, since this one was counting down to zero. Known as a chronolock, when it hits zero, you die. And you have to face a raven – hence the title – which chases after you and kills you.
But what could he have done to deserve this? Inadvertently commited murder against a woman called Anah, it seems, yet his memory of the past 24 hours was missing. With the help of The Doctor and Clara, they figured out the place he was in was a “trap street”. It’s when London streets start disappearing out of view. Clara thought it was like a fake street on a map, invited by a cartographer, where they’ve named it after, say, their child, so if anyone copies their map then they’ll nkow it’s been stolen. However, in Who-land, it’s not an issue for Google Maps, it’s something brought about by a misdirection circuit. It also makes baddies look like humans, or something like that. To be honest, at that point the episode was starting to tie itself in knots unnecessarily.
After far too much faffing about, they eventually found it and there, the trap street’s floor lights up like a futuristic version of the Vortex segment from The Adventure Game . However, it soon returned to its Middle Ages-style roots. And once they entered, they found that Ashildr (Cyberbully‘s Maisie Williams, returning far too soon to this show) is the Mayor of London. That would’ve been an interesting vote between her, Boris Johnson and Ken Livingstone.
Rigsy was sentenced to death, yet they know that he didn’t do it, they just wanted a patsy because otherwise fingers will point within the community, and so they’re just trying to save their own skin.
And if you’re wondering about the time she appearing in the background of a photo, a few episodes ago, it was apparently her way of letting the Doctor know she was okay.
Some random thoughts about this episode:
- I’m not a fan of tattoos at the best of times, but when it comes to the chronolock tattoo ending your life, that’s probably a bit too far… then again, I would reserve the chronolock effect for thigh tattoos. Ewwww, they’re gross!
- And on that subject, Ashildr’s daft swirly neck tattoo coming out towards anyone about to die was referred to as the Quantum Shade. At least it’s not the Quantum Of Solace Shade!
- On bringing Rigsy on board the TARDIS at the start, when the Doctor said: “Bring the new human… no, *don’t* bring the new human. I might get distracted”… what the hell did he mean?
- There was an amusing moment when he brought out the cards “in an effort to be nice” (Clara’s words), but the mood darkened when the Doctor declared, “There’s no way of saying you’re about to die.”
- I’m warming to The Doctor using the sunglasses as a sonic screwdriver. It’s brave to try something different, but despite all that Steven Moffat has done which *doesn’t* work, this one is seeming to.
- The trap street was another place where The Doctor enters and everyone seems to sense what he’s all about. Just what is THAT all about??
- I was quite impressed by the charcters known as The Janus – one face looks into the future, and one to the past – so they literally have two faces! Just like your ex.
- The number of times I’ve typed “Rigsby” instead of “Rigsy” while writing this review: Counless!
- Ashildr says she has an infinite live but a finite memory, hence why she couldn’t remember her own name. But she has her diaries, So why does she forget her own name?
- And so much for her attempt at placating him, given what was to follow:
Ashildr: “You’re perfectly safe here”
The Doctor: “Yes, that’s usually followed by lots of running and screaming and bleeding.”
Go to page 2 for more thoughts and conclusions about the episode.
In the end, Anah wasn’t dead, she was just resting… And when the Doctor freed her, he got lumped with a teleport bracelet to a location of Ashildr’s choosing. In return to turn everything around, Ashildr demanded the Doctor’s confession dial (Why? Who knows. It may contain his last will and testament, but tbat’s only of use to his solicitor), but when she went to free Rigsy of the chronolock, she didn’t realise it had been passed over to Clara… and that causes a problem – she’s rather stuck with it. She should’ve read the terms and conditions of the contract!
What followed was quite a decent scene – one of the first for this series – where Clara resigned herself to her fate, saying she thought she deserved it because she’s been reckless, and that why can’t she be reckless when the Doctor always is? In addition, as he begins to get angry about the potential outcome, she begs him not to avenge her death because others will most likely suffer if he rampages through time after Ashildr.
In the past week, I’ve woken up every day to hear this episode’s trailer echoing softly out of the TV, with Clara praying “Let me be brave, let me be brave…”, which rather stuck in my mind. And in wanting to be brave as she faced the raven, she was suddenly brown bread, but she had a wazzo pair of jugs while doing it!
However, is this really the end for her? We know Jenna Coleman is leaving during this series, but she was also killed off along with Missy in The Magician’s Apprentice, at the start of this series, and both were fine! Even still, while this was a fairly strong ending for Clara, you just know Moffat will ruin it and make a big thing about her in the Christmas episode, if not during the final two episodes of Series 9, prior to the brief break before Christmas.
Clara has been around longer than most recent companions, so Jessica Gaye summed up a nation’s thoughts on the Doctor Who Facebook page:
The ‘attack eyebrows’ then came out as The Doctor threatened Ashildr to keep out of his way because otherwise, “You’ll find it a very small universe when I’m with you.”
And then, after the forever-shouted-over-by-continuity-announcers credits, we saw an abandoned TARDIS turned into a shrine for Clara.
Next time: The Doctor’s in a maze with a recogniseable individual in front – who hasn’t been revealed. He then bellowed: “I’m the Doctor. And I’m coming to find you. And I will never, ever stop.”
Face The Raven is available on the BBC iPlayer until December 20th.
Doctor Who Series 9 Part 1 is available to buy on Blu-ray and DVD, you can also pre-order Series 9 Part 2 on Blu-ray and DVD ahead of its release on January 4th 2016, and individual episodes can be bought in HD and SD here.
And click on all the images in this review for the full-sized version.
Score: 7/10
Director: Justin Molotnikov
Producer: Nikki Wilson
Screenplay: Sarah Dollard
Music: Murray Gold
Cast:
The Doctor: Peter Capaldi
Clara Oswald: Jenna Coleman
Rigsy: Joivan Wade
Ashildr: Maisie Williams
Kabel: Simon Manyonda
Rump: Simon Paisley Day
Anahson: Letitia Wright
Chronolock Guy: Robin Soans
Alien Woman: Angela Clerkin
Habrian Woman: Caroline Boulton
Elderly Woman: Jenny Lee
Jen: Naomi Ackie
Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.
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