2nd Opinion: Dark Water

David Selby and John Hussey both give their own verdict on the 11th episode of Series 8.

David’s Verdict

Dark Water served largely as a testament to Moffat’s promises of an unremittingly grim series, with both a premise and an execution that form an utterly dismal episode, and by far one of the darkest instalments in the show’s history.

Last week I wrote an article

speculating on the outcome of introducing an afterlife into the series. One of the comparisons I made was to Torchwood, wondering whether the two shows would form a cohesive mythos or whether one would contradict the other. Initially, I was ambivalent to the continuation of Torchwood’s bleak depiction of death and happy for the show to overwrite it. The end result was indeed something of a ret-con, but, shockingly, an alternative even more upsetting than what Torchwood offered.

Dark Water at least appears to have established that the dead, whilst physically cut off from the world, are able to retain – or from the perspective of their own free will, unable to relinquish – their sensory experience of the world. Whilst the inconsistent science can be tolerated, I find the implications of this too disastrous and upsetting to even begin to explore. It has been said that Doctor Who cannot hold itself back by appealing to an audience which is sensitive to a number of issues, and I agree – to an extent. Death is the ultimate issue. Death is something which we all, at some point in our lives, encounter. It leaves a cruel, painful mark upon us and leaves us sensitive and vulnerable to the world around us.

There will be a number of viewers who have recently experienced loss in their lives and will not appreciate the themes or ideas raised in the episode. Indeed, death is unavoidable in television, and I have no qualms in it being discussed or experienced. To explicitly suggest, however, that by cremating one’s relatives, you are condemning them to quite literally burning in hell is horrendous. Although viewers are able to distinguish between the real and fictional world, such a concept is as grotesquely unsettling as it is downright unnecessary. Similarly, I failed to appreciate the distasteful organ donation jokes, especially considering that there’s such a problem getting people to donate already. And I won’t even start on the impact on terminally-ill viewers, especially younger children who look to the show for hope and are already doubting what is to come at the end of their lives. I hope next week disproves these theories because frankly, the messages are appalling.

It was also revealed after a great deal of secrecy that Missy is, in fact, the Master (or, as she is now known, the ‘Mistress’). I have a number of issues with this reveal. Firstly, there’s the nature of the Master becoming a woman. Immediately I’m worried that this is a trial run to see if the concept is effective enough to work on the Doctor (and at this stage, I’d rather it went wrong and proved that it should be a road not taken). The gender-flexibility of Time Lords is, in my opinion, unnecessary. I would rather settle for the idea that their gender identity is as varied as that of our own species, a comparison which would not be unearned bearing in mind the parallels between Earth and Gallifrey established previously. I would rather have a recurring transsexual character who is trans by our human understanding of the concept.

Secondly, and what is for me the most significant issue: I see no reason why the Master should be brought back. Yes, he is a recurrent character, but no more significant than any other past figure. The fundamentals of Doctor Who were established in the first Doctor’s era, and anything from that point is flexible. A writer can choose whether or not they want to include, say, UNIT, in their interpretation of the show. The Master is a character whose exit, in my eyes, was served aptly in The End of Time. As this is the second time events from my favourite episode have been effectively undone, I am beginning to wonder where the supposed ‘new direction’ of the next fifty years is going to kick in. Thus far, it’s been all about putting a spin on old ideas rather than introducing new ones.

With all this said, Dark Water did have one of the best first acts of any Doctor Who episode to date. Danny’s death was beautifully simplistic and brutally realistic, terrifically-released by a silent phone-call. The subsequent scenes featuring Danny were all superb, especially the macabre flashbacks to his military days. I’m glad the character has been a straightforward human being with complex human issues rather than another ‘timey-wimey’ plot device. For this reason, he is one of the finest characters Moffat has crafted. Clara’s grief made for an heart-breaking viewing, movingly responded to by the Doctor with: “Do you think that I care for you so little that betraying me would make a difference?” The dialogue between the pair was the defining exchange in the series and has given me confidence that the character of the Doctor is in safe hands, regardless of where certain others may be heading.

It’s a shame to discuss these faultless aspects of the episode and then reach such a cynical conclusion, but the lasting impact has stemmed from the more memorable anti-climaxes. I am convinced that Moffat could have written a better ‘twist’ in his sleep. Once again, an initially strong series has left me unimpressed and disconcerted in its second half, but now to the extent where it is tainting my perception of some of my favourite episodes. It is at this point that I must say, with regret, that if the show does not improve soon, it will lose a fan – although in a number of respects, it already has.

John’s Verdict

‘Dark Water’ really did show Moffat display some really good ideas and created both a tragic and epic story that left you engaged from start to finish.

I loved the concept behind the Nethersphere. The whole idea that the deceased were still connected to their actual bodies was a chilling thought and really gave the episode an edge. Also it was great of Moffat to really cast his own stamp on the principles of Heaven in a way that made it feel one with the show’s characteristics and scientific tone. Seb’s character for instance really did show off a cold and manipulative manner that had Danny suffering from the moment he arrived in the land of the dead. Not only did he greet him with the concept of feeling his corpse, he also made him confront the boy he killed during his time as a soldier followed finally by making him choose between suffering with his emotions or taking them away through deletion. This entire side of the story made for a tragic journey for Danny and really opened up his character throughout.

Clara and the Doctor’s friendship was truly tested throughout the episode. Pushed by the grief of Danny’s death, Clara took it into her own hands to force the Doctor into granting her wish of bringing him back. This scene was powerful beyond all believe. It left you feeling tense due to the raw energy that Capaldi and Coleman’s acting unleashed. The volcano also acted as a perfect setting that replicated Clara’s feelings as an unstoppable force that was erupting from within. It was then thought that Miss Clara had done the unthinkable and permanently locked the Doctor out of his TARDIS after he constantly said no to his companion’ wishes. Even after trying to take the high-ground by owning superior knowledge he was unable to prevent the erratic Clara from completing her agenda.

The crafty and manipulative Time Lord however fooled everyone by revealing that this scene was in fact a dream in order for him to see how far his friend would go. The powerful part about this entire scenario was that the Doctor still wished to help his friend after he’d potentially seen her betraying his trust and everything he stood for. For the first time it showed the Twelfth Doctor as a noble man and a true friend to Clara, perhaps even the friend she didn’t actually deserve. It showed that the old him was still there and that despite everything they’d been through this series and the dark decisions he made that inflicted upon Clara he still cared about his close friend. This really showcased a massive development within their characters and their story-arc.

I really loved the fact that Moffat stuck true to his promise of creating a scenario that brought about a chilling tale for the Cybermen to play with. Cybermen created by the minds of the dead uploaded from cyberspace into pre-prepared bodies was just sinister. It is the darkest Cybermen plot to date I reckon. For the first time in a long while the Cybermen were depicted as a threat which is what I also loved. The Cybermen are preparing for an invasion of Earth and judging by the trailers for next week’s instalment they are not to be taken lightly and it would appear the Doctor will have to think carefully about how he will stop them this time. There is also the dilemma of the fact the creatures are created by the mind’s of the dead to which leaves the question of whether the Doctor is willing to decimate the deceased in order to defeat his deadly foe? Also I loved the references to ‘The Invasion’ and ‘The Tomb of the Cybermen’.

Now we come to the most controversial part of the episode: Missy=Mistress=Master. I will happily put my hands up in the air and say I was saddened to see this happen. I felt like his character had been destroyed and my respect in Moffat had been somewhat betrayed. A lot of people are fine with this idea of the Master being a woman, I am not. I’m not sexist or anything along those lines but I for one have the old fashioned idea that the Master and the Doctor are males, and should remain so. This idea didn’t thrill me but instead left me with an empty hole of dread towards the show I love. For once I was disappointed in the Master’s return because the character I love wasn’t there and instead replaced by mockery. Part of me was excited by his return because he is my favourite villain but the rest of me was just utterly confused in all the wrong ways.

I personally hope that this weekend’s conclusion will bring about a satisfactory reasoning behind this change to which I can begin to accept. Then again with all this speculation of “everything we know isn’t what it appears to be” just opens more questions than answers, leading me to believe that the reveal was a ruse and that the real Master might still be in need of an unveiling. Either-way ground breaking truths are on the way and like many I am interested in seeing how ‘Death in Heaven’ plays out. My cards are still on the table for Missy lying to the Doctor about her identity in order to keep the true Master a secret until the right moment but I guess we’ll have to see. If Missy is the Master then I hope that in this next episode her characteristics change in order to suite that of the Master’s actual traits and then maybe I might be able to start accepting this radical change with more ease.