12 Great Moments From Mummy on the Orient Express

Mark McCullough picks out twelve faves from the eighth episode of Series 8.

Note: Episode spoilers naturally!

When you come up against an episode that is almost perfect from the first moment until the last, it becomes quite a hard task to settle on just twelve great moments from the episode. But without further ado, these are the twelve I (eventually) settled on. Sorry if I’ve left out any you feel deserve a place.

12. The Orient Express / Foxes’ Cover

Foxes is one of my favourite singers (If you haven’t listened to ‘Clarity’, you should do something about that) so the scene where she sings was always going to make it onto this list. To see one of my favourite singers tackle on of my favourite Queen songs on my favourite TV show was a real treat. That said the scene itself would probably have made it onto the list anyway mainly due to the direction. The set design was beautiful and when the Doctor and Clara stepped onto the train, you got that sense of that this was the essence of the show.

11. One Last Hurrah

The Doctor and Clara’s heartfelt conversation about her decision to make this their last adventure was painful to watch. Last week’s argument scene was heart-breaking and it was inevitable that it was to be addressed this time out. Unfortunately it looked as if there wasn’t going to be a happy ending as Clara decided that she no longer liked the Doctor and as such this was to be their final adventure. What I found particularly interesting was the contrast in which both characters thought this would mean. For Clara it was just the fact she wouldn’t be travelling with him, but for the Doctor it was a total severance of contact. This shows how alien he is and the fact that to him, life means adventure. This scene has direct tie-ins with the conversation about Clara not wasting her hate on someone who she doesn’t like indicting the lasting damage to their relationship.

10. The Train’s True Nature/ Grief

As it transpires, the title Mummy on the Orient Express was a lie, although I suppose ‘Ancient Soldier on a Laboratory on a Space Train Made to Look Like the Orient Express’ would have been a bit of a mouthful. Joking aside the twist was one I did not see coming despite the hint that the passengers on the train were not entirely what they seemed. The reveal scene was executed very well and the change in set design fitted perfectly the shift in tone caused by the reveal. Another scene which was facilitated by the reveal was the one where Perkins questions the Doctor’s lack of grief for the deaths. The Doctor’s reply was quite a powerful image, that people with guns to their head don’t have time for grief. It seems that self-preservation is a strong trait in this incarnation of the Doctor.

9. Clara Talks About the Doctor

I quite enjoyed the conversation between Clara and Maisie where they discussed their lives and relationships with others. For Maisie it was her turmoil at her relationship with her (grand)mother for whose death she felt guilty. For Clara it was an opportunity to discuss her feelings for the Doctor and get everything out in the open following the aftermath of their falling out last week. I feel this scene was necessary as it was a little unexpected to see Clara follow the Doctor out of the TARDIS at the start of the episode, so it was good to address the so called elephant in the room. Some of the messages with the scene about liking the people you are supposed to and fairy-tales where also quite appropriate and something which resonated with me.

8. Follow the Rules

The real villain of the piece is anonymous using the screen-name Gus. Gus still remains an enigma with very little hinted in the way of his identity. All we know is that he has tried to entice the Doctor here before casting new light on the ending of The Big Bang. It’s quite tricky to make an anonymous antagonist scary, but Mathieson makes it look easy by having Gus use the computer systems to present a threat. Initially he establishes a situation where if the characters do not obey him in then they will eventually die as they are killed one by one by the Mummy. When the Doctor goes against Gus in other ways by persisting with his phone call to Clara, Gus stamps his authority as he starts killing what he perceives as lesser members of the crew.

7. Targeting the Weaknesses

The moment where the Doctor realises the pattern in the people that the Mummy attacks is very well executed. I liked how the information was held back about the illnesses of the crew members because it meant that we learnt things at the same time as the Doctor. Given the murder mystery aspect of the story, the tendency is for the audience to try to piece the clues together and guess the outcome before the protagonists. This meant that this particular revelation was impossible to reach early unless it was a complete guess. The real reason I loved it is because of the concept behind it, a monster that can sense your weaknesses and attack is utterly terrifying. Add the fact that these weaknesses don’t have to be just physical but mental problems are also targeted, and suddenly the audience becomes aware of their own vulnerabilities. Another interesting point which is drawn up here is the theme of natural selection which has been touched upon already this series along with the Heaven alternative. Potential foreshadowing anyone?

6. Lie to Me

This scene is an interesting one in the context of Clara’s promise to Danny that she would speak up if the Doctor made her do something she wasn’t fully comfortable with. The general expectation was that this would be something drastic that put her life in danger, what happens here could easily apply to Danny’s warning. The Doctor asks Clara to go against her usual moral code and lie to someone who she has struck up a friendship with, even worse someone who was in a difficult place mentally. Clara acts as somewhat of a moral compass to the Doctor’s suggestion, yet still because of his influence decides to tell a lie which would an innocent woman’s life at risk.

5. The Mummy Murders

Each of these scenes could have had their own place on the list, but since it is so competitive this week I have grouped them together as one. You would think that the scenes would get a little repetitive, the Mummy even uses the exact same position in the final few appearances, but it doesn’t. Each time we see the Mummy, the circumstances are slightly different making it feel fresh and terrifying. The first instance in the pre-credits establishes the threat. The second coming is edited perfectly against the Doctor’s conversation with Professor Moorhouse about the Foretold and expands upon the threat by showing you can’t run from it. Likewise the third scene shows that you can’t fight it. By the time we reach the fourth murder, the true nature of the situation has been revealed and we see the Doctor try to manipulate the situation, but the Professor wants to control his own death. The final death is that of the Captain who tries to get the information necessary to beat it. Each of the five murders is tense and leaves the viewers on the edge of their seat wondering if anyone will escape, or if they will meet the mysterious Missy. Alas none of them did leaving the arc as vague as ever.

4. We Surrender

Soldiers are another recurring theme within this series. We have had Journey, Danny and now the Captain of the train who was also a soldier sent home with PTSD. What’s interesting is that the Doctor seemed to get on well with the Captain despite his soldier past. Perhaps Danny has changed his opinion on the matter slightly? However the Captain is not the only soldier in episode, the Mummy is revealed to also be a soldier still fighting a war which ended a long time ago. It was quite a fitting reveal and one which made sense in context of the narrative as the themes of life prolonging machinery and personal teleports had already been suggested. Due to some quick thinking on the Doctor’s part once he is able to work out the Foretold’s true nature, he is able to work out the words which are able to stop it and end the war. I suspect the soldier references are going to have a payoff later in the series. Personally I’m hoping for something Trenzalore related explaining the volatile nature of the incarnation born of that war.

3. The Doctor Switches with Maisie

Although I love the character of the Twelfth Doctor, at times I feel like he doesn’t really feel like the Doctor. The promise of the Doctor: ‘never cruel or cowardly, never give up never give in’ has been violated by Twelve on a few occasions most notably in last week’s Kill the Moon. However all Doctors have gone against it at times, Ten in The Waters of Mars and Eleven in killing Solomon. If we needed a moment to remind us that the Doctor was still the same man as always, this was it. In a situation where we expected ruthlessness, instead there was compassion as the Doctor placed himself in danger instead of Maisie. This is a true Doctor action. I’ll admit, I assumed he was scanning her energy changes and was about to let her die, so it was a pleasant surprise to see him act compassionately once again, even if this wasn’t entirely his motive.

2. The Heartless Man?

This scene is executed in a similar vein to the confrontation with the Half Faced Man in Deep Breath. Given that Clara is our audience surrogate, we are left with a gap in the story for the time that she remains unconscious. This is important, because it means that the Doctor’s word for what happened is the only thing which fills the gaps. We learn that the train exploded, but the Doctor was able to save everyone and drop them off at the nearest planet. However, one cannot forget “Rule 1”and the Doctor does jokingly offer an alternative scenario where he only saves those he cares about and adopts a cover story that he saves everyone. Which do we believe? Well the evidence is not enough to draw any firm conclusions as we only see Perkins again. (Sorry for not including any of his moments, he definitely deserved it.) So the ambiguity which the narrative creates relies solely upon the question raised seconds before: is the Doctor really that heartless? The answer unfortunately is whatever the audience (like Clara) choose to accept. In all honesty however it feels like the Doctor is keeping his cards close to his chest about what type of man he really is.

1. Clara Changes Her Mind

The hints at the damaged relationship may have made this scene come across as somewhat of a surprise that is apparently reversed here. Surely the conversation about the Doctor’s heart was not enough to change her opinion (and those of fans who haven’t warmed to the Twelfth Doctor) enough to warrant such as change of heart. And blaming it on Danny not wanting her travel with him also came across as more of an excuse rather than a reason. The real reason lies in the conversation moments before; Clara is addicted to travelling with the Doctor, plain and simple. What our titular protagonist is blissfully unaware however is that he is no seen as a necessary evil to facilitate the travel rather than as a friend how he used to be. There is also some ominous foreshadowing as the only condition Clara attaches to travelling again is to have her home safe. By my reckoning that’s almost as bad as nothing can possibly go wrong.