2nd Opinion: Knock Knock
Connor Johnston & Gustaff Behr give their verdicts on the fourth episode of Series 10.
Connor’s Verdict
Doctor Who’s relationship with ‘genre’ has always been incredibly flexible. Often for the better, the series’ ability to jump into different worlds, settings and time periods naturally gives it the opportunity to appear quite diverse and engaging from both a written and visual point of view. This week, first time writer Mike Bartlett tackles the genre of horror with Knock Knock, an episode that endorses the use of unnerving visual effects, an unorthodox soundscape and a even more disturbing hidden premise to produce an experience for audiences that is claustrophobic, unpredictable and utterly impressive.
A great deal of time has been spent this year mentioning the strengths of scripts and the impressive nature of layered narratives – and while Knock Knock still maintains all the aspects of substance I’ve praised repeatedly this year, it also offered up the first time this year where I’ve been genuinely blown away by an actor’s choices in addition to their characters; through the performance of David Suchet as the Landlord. Stern, mysterious and genuinely disturbing, Suchet’s ability to both intimidate as the Landlord and capture simultaneously the disobedience and damaged nature of his character’s childhood has a remarkable impact both on how his character and talents were received.
In the context of a Doctor Who script, creative choices that aim to shock and distort the audience’s understanding of what they’ve assumed to be true can go one of two ways. The first of which is that they are seen as clever, unpredictable and most importantly effective in both challenging the audience and informing the narrative’s motivations to a logical conclusion. The second is that they sabotage the episode’s credibility, leaving audiences with a sour taste and in some cases even cheapening prior appreciation for the plot. Knock Knock’s conclusion (in which Eliza is revealed to be the Landlord’s mother) offers an ambitious, but fortunately successful twist that informs its villain’s motivations, awarding his character depth and substance. It also poetically compliments the emerging themes of loneliness, loss of a parental figure and finally how important having a figure of guidance is; be that a parent, teacher or friend – that Bill’s dynamic with the Doctor has unearthed.
Knock Knock not only meets the standard of entertainment and public appeal that has been consistent throughout the entirety of the tenth season so far, but reintroduces the notion of visiting genres (in addition times and places) that the show thrives on. Supported by a stunningly paced script and strikingly confident cast, Bartlett’s first entrance into the world of Doctor Who is nothing short of perfection.
Gustaff’s Verdict
Who’s there…?
Knock Knock continues the incredible streak set by its predecessors when it comes to production values. From the energetic opening scene with Bill and her friends to the Doctor’s “date” with whomever he has locked up in the vault, it’s safe to say that from a production stand point, Doctor Who has never looked better. Not only did it make inconceivably good use of its location, the Fields House in Newport, which should look familiar from that time it showed up in Blink and that other time it showed up in Last Christmas, but it also managed a well-earned visual homage to Ghost Light.
And while I did not get the opportunity to indulge in a special binaural version of the episode, I will still admit that the episode delivered when it came to sound work which helped the episode craft a highly effective, eerie mood at times and meshed very well with the sound track chosen to bring this creepy haunted house tale to life.
I confess that I’ve never seen David Suchet in anything before, but his portrayal of the Landlord as someone who just radiates creepiness wherever he goes was spot on. I thoroughly enjoyed his scenes with the rest of the cast.
Speaking of which, they didn’t really do much did they? Well apart from being cannon fodder. As a rule, whenever Doctor Who does horror, it either hits the ball out of the park, or misses it entirely. Knock Knock seems to be the exception that proves the rule, unfortunately. For as wonderful as the location, acting and especially the sound design is, Knock Knock suffers from unnecessary problems which, if removed, would’ve raised this episode’s standing considerably.
I’ve noticed over the course of Series 10 that not only is Doctor Who recycling old ideas, but it seems to be repeating itself within its own season. For the fourth consecutive week the plot revolves around Doctor and Bill encountering a monster that eats people, that isn’t really evil just tragically misunderstood, and which forms part of the environment they find themselves in: Puddles that eat people, robots that eat people, alien fish that eat people, and now walls that eat people.
This is a serious issue this season faces: Repetition. Not only that but this week it looks like zombies are up next. Remind me again: What do they like to eat?
Series 10s strength, as supported by Joshua Yetman’s recent article, has been its consistency. The blend between character dynamic, acting, music score and production value has served the series well in hiding whatever shortcomings it’s had so far, but one of the most disappointing aspects of Knock Knock, and it’s with a heavy heart I say this, is Bill’s characterization. Not only does it feel extremely out of character that she’d be ashamed to be seen with the Doctor, but the episode does not even attempt to justify this behaviour. The ‘embarrassing parent’ trope is a worn out one, but for the most part, at least it’s done correctly. Doctor Who fails spectacularly at this and damages Bill’s character in the process. It serves no narrative purpose whatsoever.
Not only that, but it feels like a cheap cop-out that all of Bill’s friends are allowed to return to life after being devoured. This deed might fit in well with the ‘everybody lives’ theme in the Steven Moffat era, but in an episode like Knock Knock, it would’ve served the story better to subvert expectations and kill ‘em all!
Lastly, while his appearance was again almost cameo-esque, Nardole’s presence in the episode did not go unnoticed by me. It’s clear from this episode, as well as Thin Ice that he’s more effective and engaging as a serious, determined character than he is as the Doctor’s plucky side kick. I do hope his resolve to guard “whatever” is inside the Vault does layer the character and the Doctor’s unintentionally cold treatment of him simply over doing his job results in conflict between the two. The seeds of resentment are almost showing in Nardole’s reaction at how casually the Doctor dismisses him from his post. It has the potential for a great arc.
