Death in Heaven TV Trailer Breakdown

Clara appears to have escaped being cornered by the upgraded “Dr Skorosa”. However how she does so still remains a complete mystery. Finding herself in a graveyard comes as no surprise given her recent loss as well as the entire premise of the final episode. Regardless of what has brought her to this haunting setting, by the looks of things something is about to occur that might make her want to leave as soon as possible.

UNIT’s transport department has seemingly had a vast improvement in terms of aircrafts since the good old Whomobile!

Previously released material shows Missy also on-board the UNIT aircraft seemingly disconnecting some of the outer shell before the scene switches to returning character Osgood portrayed by Ingrid Oliver. Filming pictures revealed that Osgood has extended her range of Theta Sigma inspired attire, now wearing a bow tie, leather jacket and converse shoes. Some trailer breakdowns will incorrectly identify this shot as Osgood bringing the transformation of St Paul’s into a Cybermen launchpad to the Doctor’s attention, but rather this shot shows the UNIT personnel raising her arm in a Katniss Everdeen “I volunteer” fashion, nominating herself to fill the role of the next companion once Clara sadly and eventually departs….Shut-up! A man can dream!

The Doctor and the Mistress look up to witness the Cybermen taking off into the atmosphere. This shot showcases the incredible talent and strong realisations of their own respective characters that both Gomez and Capaldi bring to their roles through their completely contrasting emotions. The Mistress: a sense of victory, satisfaction and anticipation. The Doctor: a moment of absolute weakness and unadulterated dread.

“It’s happening everywhere… all over the world, right now!” states the Doctor to Missy. Notice the undercover agents just visible in the background. What follows is an incredibly fast set of “blink and you miss it” scenes only truly digestible when viewing the trailer at 25% of the intended speed.

A threatening Cyberman advances on a trapped Clara guns raised. Given our knowledge of the events of the scene (admittedly extremely limited) it’s clear what follows could perhaps be a desperate attempt to bluff her way out of a deadly situation.

In the red corner, measuring in at 5′ 3½: “Missy ‘the Mistress’ Gomez” preparing for an old fashioned round of fisticuffs! Her opponent currently unknown… (Please be Kate! Please be Kate! Please be Kate!!! Make your Papa proud Lethbridge-Stewart!!)

Returning to a shot of St Paul’s Cathedral, a thick black cloud has encompassed the sky – shifting some weight onto the Doctor’s previous concerns at the beginning of the trailer. I stated before that the trailer suggests that the Earth’s atmosphere is being used against the human race, corrupted, as a vessel to spread Missy’s and the Cybermen’s deadly plans worldwide. Knowing Moffat and his fondness for Nano-genes, could they perhaps be responsible for the upgrading of the millions of dead, conscious corpses?

The Doctor finds himself in assumingly the same graveyard as Clara from earlier in the trailer – he too looks like someone’s presence has unsettled him. Given the incredible amount of lives the Doctor has touched, there’s no shortage of deceased souls that can be resurrected and used against the Time Lord. Previously released footage of Osgood indulging in a puff of her inhaler and Missy aggressively awakening (Possibly immediately after regeneration?) follow.

The next 2 shots seem to show some kind of combustion in the world’s atmosphere – similar to the resolution of “The Sontaran Stratagem” 2 parter in Series 4. However given the context these could easily be doorways to the Promised Land or depictions of the Nethersphere transitioning into our world.

The Doctor leans back in shock against the TARDIS doors – obviously overwhelmed by the intensity of the trailer’s speedy scene transitions.

A split second shot of UNIT official Colonel Ahmed on-board the aircraft. A seemingly serious character surprisingly portrayed by guest cast member Sanjeev Bhaskar – the third British comedian earning a role on the show this series. Sandwiching this shot are already released shots of Clara in a graveyard, the TARDIS once again falling victim to UNIT’s notorious crane claw from “The Day of the Doctor” and yet another shot of the upgraded Dr Skorosa advancing on Clara.

Finally we reach the last, chaotic shot of the trailer – the Doctor apparently failing to grasp hold of anything secure after the Mistress disconnects the outer shell of the UNIT aircraft. Given our knowledge of various scene not shown in this trailer but earlier released in the “Next Time” trailer over a week ago, it seems the Doctor may have run out of luck this time: free-falling through the night sky.

Alas, all is fair in love and war. Based on this 30 seconds alone it seems we are in for an insane rollercoaster of emotions and receptions come the weekend. To quote the mysterious Seb “This is a bit exciting!” As the Doctor faces his greatest challenge, sacrifices must be made before the day is won. The Master is back and the dead are rising. The epic one hour Series 8 finale hits screens this Saturday, 8th of November at 8pm on BBC1.