12 Great Moments From Before the Flood

Mark McCullough picks out 12 faves from the 4th episode of Series 9.

Four episodes into the new series and I would say we finally have the standout episode. Not to say that the series hasn’t been great so far, it has, but this one tops them all. Never would I have thought I would have been saying that about a Whithouse episode, but I am happy to be able to. So what made the story stand out for me, find out in my twelve key moments below:

12. The Dam Breaks

The Doctor set a trap for the Fisher King, and the antagonist of the two-parter did not sea it coming. In fact you could say he fell for it hook, line, and sinker. Someone who I’m sure did know it was coming however was the production team who done an absolutely amazing job. As a viewer I could really feel the power of the water as it drowned the Fisher King adding him to the collection of recent monsters who have been woefully underused. As you probably gathered last year, I’m a sucker for scenes which showcase the power of nature or the beauty of our planet. So don’t be surprised that I’ve given this scene a spot on my list.

11. The Casket Opens

I’m not going to lie to you, I knew from the moment we first saw the casket located in the past and the present that the Doctor was going to be the one inside. This idea was practically confirmed when the TARDIS as a means of return was removed. If it hadn’t been so obvious, this moment would have been even better, akin to the Amy in the Pandorica reveal. In fact (because of this) it marked another reference to previous series which is a nice touch in the tenth anniversary of New Who

10. O’Donnell’s Ghost Takes the Phone

With most of the focus in the past, something needed to happen at the base to keep the viewer interested there. This was done via the ghost of O’Donnell stealing the phone that the Doctor had asked Clara to keep nearby. Traditionally you can’t have a proper ghost story without at least one scene that makes you jump, and this scene facilitated that. A gentle reminder that you shouldn’t get too comfortable when the ghosts are still about. One of the few times that Doctor Who has actually sacred me.

9. Cass and Clara’s ‘Doctor/Companion’ Dynamic

Towards the tail-end of the previous series we had suggestions about how Clara was becoming like the Doctor. First we had her essentially take up his role in Flatline with Rigsy as her companion, then we had her claim to be the Doctor in Death in Heaven. Here we see her act as a surrogate for the Doctor again through her relationship with Cass who is essentially her companion for the episode. We see some elements showing typical of a Doctor-companion dynamic such as the companion wandering off, and the companion challenging the Doctor’s decisions (More on that one later)

8. The Doctor meets the Doctor

I love scenes where the Doctor gets a chance to meet himself, and this one was really funny in that he was talking to a ghost. Of course his ego was going to come to the fore and it was an obvious source of humour for the episode. Another thing that I picked up on in the scene was the move away from the sonic screwdriver has allowed integration of more real world technology, which I think makes a nice change to the show.

7. Bennett Challenges the Doctor

There was an interesting scene between Bennett and the Doctor shortly following O’Donnell’s death in which the former accuses the latter about only caring for himself. The far more interesting aspect of the scene whoever was the Doctor’s reaction to the accusation. We are told by the Doctor himself that he is already dying himself, which makes sense as we haven’t seen the confession dial from the opening two-parter open yet. Interesting enough too was the massive foreshadowing of Clara’s inevitable departure. I think it was quite smart how Whithouse used a traditional scene and tweaked it to get much more from it, but a better use was yet to come.

6. The Doctor Faces the Fisher King

The Fisher King was a beautiful creation who looked absolutely stunning on-screen. I don’t care what anyone says about him, there is no way that he shares an unfortunate similarity with a Vervoid. From his intimidating posture, to his winged back, even his voice was intimidating. The scene where he shared a war of words with the Doctor was a particular highlight of the episode. With both creatures essentially gods capable of bending the rules of time and life respectively, how fitting that they faced off in a church.

5. Cass Challenges Clara

I mentioned a better use of the standard, the Doctor’s moral code is questioned by a one of character trope: this was it. Not only did it reinforce the evolution of Clara’s character to become more like the Doctor’s due to its placing after the scene with the Doctor and Bennett, but it developed Cass too. Cass was easily my favourite character from the story and she stole every scene she was in, so tremendous credit to actress Sophie Stone. There’s very few characters I would love to have back after their episode, but Cass would have to be one.

4. The Doctor’s Plan Revealed

I’ve used the word clever a lot of times to describe this episode, and it is evident that Whithouse is a clever man. This is proof that when it comes to Timey-Wimey, he is able to go toe to toe with Moffat himself and keep us guessing throughout. In truth all the answers were there for us beforehand and there were something that we could have got there, but even if we did, we would still have been asking when. The resolution to the episode was intelligent, yet still easy to follow and didn’t leave us with too many questions other than the one which I think was best unanswered: what exactly were the ghosts and how did they exist?

3. Cass Escapes the Ghost

Last year I wrote an article about how Doctor Who teaches us valuable lessons. In these one of my choices was how it shows us that sometimes you can turn your perceived weaknesses into strengths. This is something which this narrative does better than any that have gone before in how it deals with Cass. Whithouse could have taken an easy out, but he chooses to use the character to her fullest potential by Sophie Stone. The character becomes central to his narrative and her perceived weakness, lack of hearing becomes important in that it allows the Doctor’s plan to happen, and saves her own life from the ghost. As examples of representation go, you’ll struggle to see a better one.

2. Bootstrap Paradox

The episode opened with a monologue from the Doctor that took the fourth wall and absolutely smashed it. There is an argument that such an exposition should not be required, that it could have been boring, or that it detracted from the story. I struggle to see how this reception was possible given how well ‘consider the Doctor’ at the start of The Witch’s Familiar went down. If nothing else, the scene was a nice reminder for the fans of what a bootstrap paradox was, and a simple easy to follow explanation for casual viewers. All of course delivered in a way which just screamed Doctor Who. It was so good in fact that I would go as far as calling it basically a minisodes version of Listen.

1. Cass and Lunn get Together

Call me a romantic if you must, but I just adored the scene where Cass and Lunn became a couple. Throughout the story, I thought that they were very cute together, perhaps via the suggestion on her character profile on the show’s official site. It explains why she was over protective of him entering the ship, and going after the phone. I also loved how it was actually done too, using the sorrow of Bennett over the death of O’Donnell to ensure his friends did not make the same mistake. Powerful stuff.

Bonus. The Theme Tune

Wouldn’t have been right not to have mentioned that epic new theme tune, but at the same time it would have been unfair to give it a space as one of the moments. It was just superb, and I can almost imagine the Doctor himself playing it. Can we keep it please Mr. Moffat?