This week’s episode of Doctor Who, titled “The Eaters of Light,” will take the TARDIS and its occupants back to ancient Britain when it was under the thumb of the Romans.
According to the official synopsis from the BBC, the Doctor (Peter Capaldi), Bill (Pearl Mackie) and Nardole (Matt Lucas) arrive in Scotland 120AD and discover that a Roman legion has vanished from the face of the Earth. They find out that there’s a monstrous creature lurking in the mist and that it might just mean that they’re facing another end-of-the-world scenario.
For more, be sure to flip through the gallery below to get a taste of what’s to come.
What’s interesting about “The Eaters of Light” is that the episode is inspired by a little-known but intriguing real-life mystery. According to the history books, the Ninth Legion of the Imperial Roman Army marched deep into Scotland and were never heard from again – which is pretty spooky considering there were five thousand of them.
“The Eaters of Light” is also a notable outing for the show as it’s written by Rona Munro, acting as the scribe’s second Doctor Who story – her first was 1989’s “Survival,” the final broadcast episode from the series’ original 26 year run. This makes Munro the first ever writer to pen an episode for both the classic era of the show and its modern incarnation.
After this week, we only have two more outings until we reach the end of the line for Peter Capaldi’s Doctor. Though he is scheduled to appear in the upcoming Christmas special, it’s heavily rumoured that he’ll regenerate at the end of season 10, with showrunner Steven Moffat teasing that we should expect something “slightly different” this time around. Colour us intrigued.
Doctor Who “The Eaters of Light” airs on BBC America this Saturday at 9 pm.
