[initial reactions] Doctor Who 11x08 - The Witchfinders

[grimorie]

I’ve been looking forward to this episode, especially when I found out more about Joy Wilkinson. Her previous and most popular work to date were about historical women boxers.

That’s right, women pugilists! “The Sweet Science of Bruising.”

London, 1869. Four very different Victorian women are drawn into the
dark underground world of female boxing by the eccentric Professor Sharp. Controlled by men and constrained by corsets, each finds an unexpected freedom in the boxing ring. As their lives begin to intertwine their journey takes us through grand drawing rooms, bustling theatres and rowdy Southwark pubs where the women fight inequality as well as each other. But with the final showdown approaching only one can become the Lady Boxing Champion of the World…

Anyway, that’s neither here nor there. Witchfinders and the Doctor! I’ve been looking forward to this because I suspected the Doctor will finally be confronted with the difficulties about being a woman.

And, y’know what, this episode did not disappoint!

I also mentioned in a tag for a gifset:

#one day though #in the future #this will be all too much #and the doctor who learned #to acknowledge endings #that endings must happen #might not be able to stand and just let events happen   

I’m not saying I feel vindicated but:

Third tiime’s the charm. In Rosa there’s absolutely nothing she could do, in The Demons of the Punjab Yaz’s fate and life is tied too much around her grandmother not staying and losing Prem.

This witch trials, which Graham tells the Doctor later, “I’ve down the old  Pendle Witch’s walking trail, nobody ever mentioned Bilehurst Cragg. Never heard of it, and she’s killed 35 people.”

There was time flux going on, and most importantly I don’t think Thirteen can stand to walkaway again. Especially since her guiding principle is helping people (and sorting out fair play).

Again, good utilization of the Companions with Thirteen trusting Yaz to do ‘family liasion’ with Willa and get the relevant information Thirteen needs, and then trusting Graham and Ryan to handle King James and Becca Savage (how appropriate!).

Leaving Thirteen alone for a long period of time, for the first time. And here’s the thing, I love the Doctor’s interactions with her team but I think it’s about time we get more of the Doctor.

Speaking of:

I was very amused at how King James was able to bypass the Psychic paper because of his sexism. The only other time I remember the Psychic paper not working was in Flatline, the man Clara used it on was so odious and to quote Twelve ‘What? It takes quite a lack of imagination
to beat psychic paper.’; with King James I bet it’s his utter failure to even acknowledge that women can be anything of consequence, or his overt sexism that changed the psychic paper to suit his reality.

Even Thirteen looked appropriately flummoxed at her psychic paper. I do’t think we’ve ever seen her as betrayed as she was by it than that moment.

Thirteen spent the whole episode getting more and more annoyed at James.

But man.

This episode also delivered with a scene where Jodie Whittaker finally has a really talented scene partner, not that her companions aren’t! But I also believe that the Doctor needs to be challenged, and for a long while now she’s been looking for that challenge, and this episode gave us a taste of it.

I don’t know how many times I rewatched the scene between Thirteen and James.

James: “I am King James, Satan’s greatest foe!”

Thirteen: “Yeah, yeah. I know. It must be comforting playing that role, hiding behind a title.”

James: “Just as you hide behind ‘Doctor’, perhaps?”

Really, the look Thirteen gives Jame. It was glorious.

Then Thirteen adds on with: “Who are you, really? Behind the mask? The drama?” 

This is my favorite thing Doctors do, where they’re talking to someone but also, actually partly talking about themselves. My most favorite example is Twelve in Deep Breath, speaking to Half-Face Man, and now we have this:

Thirteen:“’Evil be to him that evil thinks’. You wear it like a hero, even though you’re killing and scapegoating, and stirring up hate! And you wonder why the darkness comes back at you!”

This is like catnip to me! We know from Twelve and even before that with Eleven, the Doctor doesn’t like to think of themselves a hero but they’ve been guilty of acting like a hero a lot of times. And then that line: ‘You wear it like hero even though you’re killing. And you wonder why the darkness comes back at you!’

The amount of disdain there that only one who knows can carry. The Doctor’s disappointed themselves so many times. Like damn, this scene shows so much how Thirteen is consciously, consciously distancing herself from her previous methods.

Hitting too close to home gets the Doctor accused of witchcraft and a ducking and, as I mentioned I like seeing Thirteen alone for once, this also goes to show why the Doctor needs Companions: either to stop them from doing something dangerous and deadly (to other people) and to keep other people from doing something dangerous to the Doctor (Midnight comes to mind).

Then we get our second truly hostile alien species, the Morax! I really like the look of the Morax queen, also Becca’s actress is really good.

Then there’s Willa Twiston whom I adored too! I love that we got an arc for her character without Willa dying! She started out afraid and then in a moment of weakness gave the Doctor up and then she joins in Thirteen’s band against the Morax. She found her strength of character and insisted she join them by saying: “There are more powerful people here than kings and queens. There’s us. Together.”

Then at the end when Yaz asks Willa what she’ll do after all this, Willa says: “Find a new home. Take all of granny’s potions and be a healer.” A beat as she looks at the Doctor. “Be a Doctor.”

And I love the ambiguity on Thirteen’s face. She’s happy Willa’s moving on but more ambigous with Willa trying to be like her. In the Doctor’s experience the last person (Clara) who tried to be the Doctor died. Sure, Clara got better, still it must still be something the Doctor’s not really reconciled themselves with especially when they just got their memory of Clara back.

Also, Clara’s last message to Twelve was: “Run you clever boy and be a Doctor.”

Other things I liked:

- The music was fabulous!

- Learning a bit more about Yaz, and the bullying makes sense why she doesn’t have much friends and why she became a cop.

- King James dynamic with the Doctor flipping around. The chillier she got with him, the more he craved for her approval, finally promising the Doctor he’ll have Bilehurst Cragg stricken from the records.

- Ryan’s reaction to James’ flirtation. I liked that he didn’t act like a typical dude.

- Thirteen’s mounting frustration and annoyance at how they’re treated because they present as a woman now. And her jaw dropping at James’ blantant sexism, reminding me of Twelve’s reactions to the First Doctor.

At that moment, I bet the Doctor’s offering apologies to all women Companions they treated with condenscencion.

- Can we please, please have Thirteen’s hair less coiffed next season? I miss the sort of wild hair of Twelve and the last episodes show how much it’d fit Thirteen to have a less put together look.

Tiny nitpick: The last confrontation was a bit cheesy and I think its down to how it was shot. I wish there’s at least one hero shot there for Thirteen? The moment she drops the ‘lock’ on the tree trunk.

But the Doctor’s glare at James? Cutting. I loved it.