Ultimately, The Doctor makes his choice to leave Davros in his peril, a decision itself that perhaps later influenced the maniac to create his race of ruthless killers, and returns to the TARDIS. Soon Clara, contacted first by UNIT and then by the returning Missy, is tasked with finding the absent Time Lord and tracks him to a wacky scene in 12th Century Essex.
It’s here that the heavy tone of the early scenes relents, and Doctor Who fans experience some remarkable whimsy from Capaldi, who’s found playing electric guitar and introducing the term “dude” to common vocabulary long before its actual inception. These moments offer further examples of how humor and exploration have to act as the coping mechanisms of a traveller tasked with some of the toughest choices in the universe.
Unfortunately for The Doctor, however, the party had to end sometime and the news that Davros is supposedly now dying and demanding the presence of the Doctor brings the episode’s early events back to the fore.
Things progress with a superb pace in the premiere – something that many in season 8 failed to do – and set the tone for a far more successful set of episodes than those we saw in 2014. Notable advances include, many other things, the revelation that The Doctor has presented his Confession Dial (think Last Will and Testament) to his frenemy Missy, who is once again masterfully played by Michelle Gomez. Just what this means for their unpredictable relationship remains to be seen…
The eventual cliffhanger of “The Magician’s Apprentice” offers Doctor Who fans further encouraging signs going forward, but with just the slightest hint of concern in the mix. The two-part episodes are regularly the best that the series produces, and the early suggestions are that this season will be featuring more of them; this means far less chance for terrible one-offs like that Robin Hood episode from last year.
The only thing stopping me from feeling wholeheartedly convinced by the season so far is the familiar feel to the drama of the cliffhanger. So many times we have seen the stakes hit their highest at the end of one episode, only for problems to be easily rectified within minutes of the next. Doctor Who can do drama as well as most shows, but there’s perhaps an even greater sense that things will all work out in the end than there is with others.
But, hey, maybe that’s what we all love about the adventures of everyone’s favorite time-traveller…
