12 Notable Moments From The Pyramid at the End of the World
Mark McCullough makes his choices from the seventh episode of Series 10.
This week’s episode follows on from last week’s wonderful Extremis, picking up right where the story left off. Whilst it may not reach the heights of its predecessor The Pyramid at the End of the World is another wonderful episode that takes Peter Harness’ strengths and Steven Moffat’s input to create something special, barring a few minor complaints.
12. The Health and Safety Nightmare
11. President of the World
The only other critical point towards the episode is the inclusion of the Doctor resuming his role as President of the World, first introduced in the finale of Series Eight. Whilst not something I am completely against, I think it worked last time because of UNIT’s involvement. However this time, with the iconic organisation absent, it doesn’t sit quite as well. The character of the Doctor is one who helps without reward, shows virtue even in Extremis and someone who I would suspect would be opposed to the very notion of there being a President of the Earth.
9. Standing Together
On the previous point made, I will concede that it does give rise to some excellent moments in the episode. The one that I want to touch on in particular is the moment where the leaders of the various armies decide to go against any orders they are given and work together to fight the Monks. This is possibly one of the most powerful messages the show has ever given: that together the human race can achieve more, that fighting and conflict is holding us back, and that by putting aside our differences and respecting everyone we can create a better world for all. This message is particularly prevalent in a week where a lot of hatred has been given towards those who don’t deserve it, so hopefully this week’s Doctor Who can drive this message through for some.
8. Nardole Gets Ill
Nardole’s role this week was a little bit of a reduction in contrast to what the narrative afforded him last time out, which is a pity because I find myself really enjoying Matt Lucas’ character. He does however get one of the key scenes this week as entering the lab puts him in danger due to his human lungs. The result of this is him passing out in the TARDIS with his fate left as one of the mini cliffhangers of the episode. It was also key that the narrative did something with Nardole to take him out of play for the final act of the episode otherwise the Doctor would never have been stuck and Bill would never have struck the deal with the Monks.
7. A Glimpse of the Future
The technology that was used to create the world in which last week’s episode was set comes to the fore again here as the protagonists are allowed to use it to view the future. The scene itself is short but depicts a bleak future where all living creatures on Earth are dead. Obviously the Monks are in control of the simulation, and have run multiple, so have chosen this as the bleakest outcome and the most likely it achieve the outcome they want. This proves to be highly effective as it motivates the characters into action and the audience guessing about how things end up there.
7. Purity of Consent
A particularly interesting point raised by the episode is a discussion on consent. This is framed through the lens of the Monks requiring the consent of those in power to allow them to save Earth at the cost of the freedom of the planet. The concept is expanded upon whenever those in power do decide to consent with the introduction to the idea of purity of consent. The logic behind this is that for consent to be valid it has to come from the right place and for the right reasons. In the constraints of the narrative this allows for some tense scenes and an establishment of the physical threat of the Monks. In a wider sense however it approaches a very important principle of life and does so in a mature and thought provoking way.
6. The Doctor Gets Trapped
There is a horrible moment where the Doctor is able to save the day and destroy the bacteria by blowing up the building. The only catch is the fact that in order to properly escape, he has to key a code into the door, which obviously he is unable to do because of his inability to see. This forces him to confront something he has been putting off dealing with since it happened. It’s great to see the show take something that has an impact on the Doctor and stick with it for a few episodes and then having it develop into something that becomes relevant to the story. It represents a more mature and realistic writing style where the characters are not guaranteed to come off scot free as per usual.
5. The Monks and the Pyramid
After their brief appearance last week, how this episode addressed the Monks and gave detail on creatures we knew next to nothing about was always going to be one of the most interesting parts of the episode. Conceptually they are fantastic creations, higher powers which chose an image compatible with the species they deal with, but do so in a way that invokes fear without being too unfamiliar. The concept of the pyramid is equally as impressive, an ancient structure that appeared overnight designed entirely to pique interest and get the people in power to pay attention to the Monks.
4. Show of Strength
If there was ever a scene where I was glad the plans of the protagonists did not work out, this was it. The decision to bomb the pyramid was questionable at best, and does not align with what the character of the Doctor should be about. The result of the scene where the pyramid is able to disable anything that humanity threw at it, is actually a sliver of sympathy towards the Monks, especially when it is later revealed that they don’t intend to act violently towards humanity. We also have to consider the fact that they extracted the pilots of the plane and the submariners that were responsible for the attack only to release them unharmed. In doing so they invert Humanities show of strength into their own, and a sense of moral superiority with it.
3. The Contrasts
Following on from the last point the episode offers a unique comparison between the Doctor acting in his capacity as President of the World, and the Monks who make the offer to save it. Both are highly intelligent alien species with the ability to prevent disaster and keep a planet alive. The main difference comes from their motives behind this: the Monks use their abilities to earn a right to rule, essentially preying on other species when they are at their most vulnerable; the Doctor on the other hand, offers his help to those who need it without ever asking for anything in return, yet it is he who is offered the position of ultimate authority by the human race. This contrast settles any muddying of the waters that events of the episode throw up and ensures the Doctor is seen as good and the Monks as distinctly evil.
2. The Doomsday Clock
A countdown is always an effective, if clichéd way of injecting tension into a narrative, and this is something that was definitely required here. It feels wrong to say that because I’m not criticising the episode for that fact, given its nature it was always going to slow-burner. To circumvent the cliché to an extent, Harness opts to play on the concept of the Doomsday Clock, a countdown to midnight that tolls the world’s end. Having run their simulations last week, the Monks are well aware of what this will be, but it’s my reading of the episode that the Doomsday Clock doesn’t count for what we expect. Any simulation would have showed the Doctor could have saved the day, as it would have for any other invasion. My take is that they chose now because of the Doctor’s blindness, and that is what ultimately serves as their way in.
1. The Monks Take Over
The end of the episode is one of the bleakest in recent memory. Bill has agreed to invite the Monks to rule over Earth in exchange for the Doctor’s eyesight to be returned. As mentioned in the previous segment this was most likely the Monk’s plan all along, and Bill’s guilt over the fact that she is the reason the Doctor is in this predicament in the first place can only have helped her make her decision. This cliffhanger represents the most intriguing set-up for the next episode looking more of a direct two-parter than the loose two-parters that have become more popular recently. If the next time trailer is anything to go by, it’s definitely worth the wait until Saturday!
