In the Forest of the Night Review
Clint Hassell gives his verdict on the tenth episode of Series 8.
Fairy tales are simple, economically written stories that could not possibly be true. They feature magic and fantastic elements, animals, and archetypal characters that are often involved in some sort of quest. They do not take place in actual times, and are “blessed with unusual happiness,” particularly at the end. Since the publication of the first volume of fairy tales by the Brothers Grimm, in 1812, these stories have been increasingly associated with children, and, since Victorian times, fairy tales have often included a moral lesson.
“In the Forest of the Night” makes several obvious references to established fairy tales. Upon seeing the forest, Ruby inquires, “We can’t have been asleep that long, can we?” a subtle allusion to “Sleeping Beauty.” The Doctor calls Clara “Red Riding Hood,” and Maebh leaves a trail of dropped items à la “Hansel and Gretel.” Further, little Maebh, wearing a red, hooded raincoat, is chased through the forest by a wolf.
However, “In the Forest of the Night” surpasses mere references and specifically incorporates all of the aforementioned traits of a fairy tale into the narrative, thus becoming a fairy tale itself. Unlike Series 7’s “Nightmare in Silver” (my review of which can be found here
The story behind “In the Forest of the Night” is simple – trees magically spring up overnight to protect the Earth from an encroaching solar storm. Clara and Danny lead a group of students on a quest to their homes, just as Maebh’s mother embarks on a journey to find her daughter. Tigers and wolves feature, and everyone learns and important lesson about the value of ecology and the power of maternal love, before the tale ends happily, with Annabelle’s safe return. The episode is even careful to hint that the episode takes place in 2016, rather than in the present day.
Adding to the dream-like quality, newscasts across the world show that people are not very concerned about how a global forest appeared overnight, but are more “curious, bewildered, and enchanted” as to how they will go about their everyday activities. “How will they explain this, tomorrow?” Clara asks, watching the trees fade into ephemeral sparkles, in the episode’s final minutes. “You’ll all forget it ever happened. . . . You remember the fear, and you put it into fairy stories,” replies the Doctor, providing an in-universe reason for fairy tales existing in the world of Doctor Who.* “It’s the human superpower, forgetting,” the Doctor moralizes, “If you remembered how things felt, you’d stop having wars.”
Yes, “In the Forest of the Night” lacks internal story logic. In fairy tales, nonsensical things happen, seemingly by magic, in order to move the story’s simple plot forward. This is the second time in two seasons that billions of items have appeared the world over, in one night, without being witnessed by anyone. The Doctor theorizes that the trees are fireproof because they are “withholding oxygen,” which would be like a person continuing to breathe, but exhaling any carbon dioxide. Save for the zoo enclosures and Nelson’s Column in Trafalgar Square, the sudden appearance of billions of trees doesn’t seem to have any lasting effect on societal infrastructure. Maebh outruns a pack of wolves. A glorified electronic lock pick generates an increased gravity field. The trees fill the atmosphere with excess oxygen, which somehow cushions Earth from the impact of the solar flare, rather than causing it to burn hotter and brighter. Again, it’s a fairy tale, and not science fiction, so the rules by which this story is critiqued are different.
The economy of the episode’s concise narrative does lead to a couple of issues. Mrs. Arden’s quest to find her daughter receives little screen time, and both Ruby’s pointing out that the trees remarkably have flowers and nuts, and Bradley’s nut allergy are red herrings that never pay off. The twist ending is immediately obvious the moment the government workers are unable to burn the trees. The question of how Maebh knew to call the Doctor is never answered, leaving the audience to wonder if she might have some low-level psychic abilities. Worse, the episode never explains where Annabelle has been. Did she run away? Was she kidnapped? Has she been resurrected from the grave?
Naturally, as a fairy tale, “In the Forest of the Night” is associated with children. Award-winning children’s author Frank Cottrell-Boyce fills his script with archetypal kids: Ruby worries and talks too much, Bradley is a troublemaker, Samson is cool. It is the kids who provide the episode’s funniest moments – Ruby “finding” x in Danny’s math class, and Bradley’s line, “This is stressing me. When I get stressed, I forget my anger management,” being particular standouts. Also, the children are clever. None are surprised by the bigger-on-the-inside TARDIS, and Maebh responds to Clara’s frantic request that the Doctor help lift her over a fence by walking five feet to the right and opening a gate. More importantly, the episode positions the children as the heroes of the adventure. It is Bradley’s flashlight that distracts the tiger, and, in a scene seemingly pulled from The Sarah Jane Adventures, the entire class saves the Earth by working together to complete a homework assignment.
It is evident that Cottrell-Boyce understands children at this stage of their development, and he writes them every bit as “furious, fearful, [and] tongue-tied” as deserved. “I find everything confusing, nearly, so I don’t say anything,” Maebh admits. Note that the kids don’t like being referred to as a “team,” because they are at an age where they are trying to establish their individuality, yet, after a long, confusing day, all would rather return home than visit outer space.
One question: with this episode’s increased emphasis on children, where is Courtney? True, she is slightly older than the kids in this group, so it would be a stretch to have her present. However, early episodes of Series 8 pointedly highlighted her in several cameos, so that her increased presence in “Kill the Moon” was not unexpected, only to never show her again. Her not appearing in this episode is a missed opportunity to show how she’s changed, even matured, since “Kill the Moon.” Perhaps she could have been a student leader on the museum field trip, keeping the younger kids in line with her acid tongue, and still old enough to share concern for Earth’s well-being with Danny and Clara?
Despite its remarkable Doctor Who-as-fairy tale format, and its characterization of children, “In the Forest of the Night” is most impressive where it ties together narrative threads from the previous three episodes. “Don’t worry. It’s a thing he does: he pretends he’s not interested and then he has an idea. He’s playing for time,” Clara states, revealing that she understands how the Doctor operates much better after the events in “Flatline.”
In the episode’s most important scene, Clara realizes that the only way to return the Doctor to the TARDIS is to lie to him about her intentions – the same trick he used to ensure Maisie’s cooperation in “Mummy on the Orient Express.” “If you can’t save them all, save what you can. The TARDIS, it’s a lifeboat, isn’t it? Not everybody has to die.”** Is Clara’s lie more acceptable here, as she is leading him not to his demise, but to his safety?
“This is my world, too,” he says – a marked difference from “Kill the Moon” – “I walk your earth, I breathe your air.” The episode subtly reinforces this fact when, despite Clara’s statement that he is “going home,” the Doctor is never actually seen to leave the Earth. Further, after viewing the solar flare from space, the two return to Clara’s balcony to view the aftereffects from a rather Earth-bound point-of-view.
Note that Clara only turns to look at the TARDIS after the Doctor is inside. The pained look of regret on her face shows that, in addition to lying to the Doctor, Danny, and the students, she may also be lying to herself. Does she really mean her statement that she does not “want to be the last of [her] kind,” especially knowing that Gallifrey still exists and that the Doctor is not the last of the Time Lords? Or, is this a thinly-veiled insult intended to encourage him to leave without question?
“In the Forest of the Night” also utilizes Clara’s dishonesty to question her relationship with Danny in a way as yet unseen in Series 8. In the episode, Danny realizes that Clara has been slipping away with the Doctor, behind his back. Not only has she left the student’s schoolwork aboard the TARDIS – a plot point from “Flatline” – but she doesn’t greet the Doctor, even after the two have been separated “for months.” Danny’s reaction is uncharacteristically subdued, and he barely asks for an explanation. Why? After his ultimatum in “The Caretaker,” he should have ended their relationship. What does Danny see in Clara, at this point, that justifies his forgiveness?
Further, why does Clara want to date Danny? Offered a trip into space to watch the solar storm, Danny declines, surprising Clara. “Coronal ejections, geomagnetic storms – how often do you get a playlist like that?” she inquires. “I don’t want to see more things, I want to see the things in front of me more clearly,” he answers, “One person is more amazing . . . than universes.” While the sentiment is sweet, and true to Danny’s character, it demonstrates that he is diametrically opposite to Clara and her desire to see the wonders of the cosmos. By focusing only on their fundamental differences, and on Clara’s continuing to lie about her involvement with the Doctor, the show has neglected to effectively convey the couple’s common qualities that would serve as a foundation for their relationship. Surely, they are not dating merely because they both love children – or worse, because she still feels guilty about accidentally altering his adult timeline, in “Listen.” Does “In the Forest of the Night” pointedly demonstrate that a “fairy tale ending” is not possible for this couple?
* This explanation of how elements of legend can have “real world” origins is the exact type of justification that is sadly missing from “Robot of Sherwood.”
**Finally, after five years, a great emotional payoff to “The Fires of Pompeii,” also starring Peter Capaldi. Coincidence?
