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[initial reactions] Doctor Who and the Haunting of Villa Diodati - 12x08
I really liked this episode, it had the proper creepiness of a ghost story and good mystery in the center.
And of course, the Cyberman appearing to find the Cyberium, the very epicenter of the Cybermen army.
But before this happens the Doctor and the gang are off to jaunt in Villa Diodati to witness the writing of Frankenstein and ended up more than they could have bargained for.
Also apparently the house really does have ghosts played with a brilliant trick that's very reminiscent of The Haunting of Hill House... which I just now got must be a reference to the Netflix adpatation.
And a subtextual confirmation that Yaz really is into the Doctor: "Or... you could try asking him." Yaz suggested to Claire Claremont, who she found trying to break and enter into Byron's room.
"I have. His answers only increase the enigma."
And then the most revealing of all, "I know someone like that."
Yaz tries to tell Claire that Mary Shelley might be right and should just move on but Claire counters with: "This enigmatic person of yours would you trade them for reliable and dull?"
"My person's a bit different."
So yeah, I think we can put down as confirmation about Yaz and her feelings towards the Doctor.
Also Byron is such a douchebag, pursuing the Doctor while being (semi)attached to Claire, but the Doctor was all: LOL. No.
"She is from somewhere much, much stranger." "The North."
And then it's revealed that something has arrived in Villa Diodati and that something is the Cyberium and with it the Lone Cyberman that Jack warned the Doctor about. As soon as the Doctor realizes it's about the Cybermen Thirteen determines to work this alone.
"One Cyberman but then thousands, Humans like all of you changed into empty soulless shells. No feeling, no control, no way back. I will not lose anyone else to that!" Thirteen might not have said Bill's name but its clear she's thinking of Bill Potts. Because Bill could feel but there was no way the Doctor could turn her back into a Human.
It had to be by deus ex puddle that Bill lived again and even then I don't think the Doctor believed the Bill they met in Twice Upon a Time survived.
And boy do I love Thirteen confronting the Cyberman, Ashad, the way she was just sitting as Ashad the Cyberman looked for the Cyberium.
It all culminates in the Doctor making a decision when she realizes that Percy Byshe Shelley's life is on the line and then she does her most flawed Doctor thing. The thing all Doctor's fall prey to, the burden they feel protecting the Web of Time and the singularity that provides: "Yeah. 'Cause sometimes this team structure isn't flat. It's mountainous, with me at the summit, in the stratosphere. Alone. Left to choose. Save the poet. Save the universe. People burn now or tomorrow. Sometimes even I can't win."
It's a choice between stopping the revival of the Cybermen again or the destruction of the universe by destroying history. This is Thirteen's speech about time and fixed time.
Mary steps up and tries to appeal to Ashad and we think she gets to him and the Doctor seems hopeful that she will be successful but it doesn't work. Ashad has bought into the superiority of the Cybermen, Thirteen uses a Time Lord trick, making Percy believe his death so the Cyberium is released.
After a brief struggle Thirteen gets the Cyberium, which has adapted to her Time Lord body (which to be honest I feel is terrifying, who knows what could have happened to the Doctor if it remained longer with her?).
Ashad threatens Earth again, and maybe Thirteen could have thought more clearly but Ashad threatened Earth, and the thing is it's not only the web of time that's going to be damaged but Earth as well. The Doctor's adopted planet. Also: LOL, at the Thanos reference.
Thirteen tells the gang that they have to talk and then tells them she will drop them off in 2020 but Yaz, fired up, wants to help and gives Thirteen the coordinates. They want to stay and they throw the choice back at Thirteen, who as Byron finishes reading his poem:
The waves were dead; the tides were in their grave, The moon, their mistress, had expir'd before; The winds were wither'd in the stagnant air, And the clouds perish'd; Darkness had no need Of aid from them—She was the Universe.
And Thirteen looks disturbed that these brilliant Humans she's with wants to join her.
LET'S KEEP MAXINE ALDERTON.
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Yaz's feelings, yay! I have thought so from very early on, but it's always nice to see some confirmation on screen (not that I ship it, since Time Lord/human is not a thing for me, but I definitely believe Yaz has a crush.) And I loved that the two ghosts were nothing to do with the rest of the story, except for bringing Graham a snack!
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I agree! He still spared the baby, the worse he did was hide it under a rug! I don't think he could actually do it.
I know it's terrible for Thirteen to go in that mode but man does Jodie play it so well!
Yaz's feelings, yay! I have thought so from very early on, but it's always nice to see some confirmation on-screen
Agree! These characters are so low key but it's nice to see all the subtle moments we noticed were deliberate and in text!
I loved the two ghosts too because it's such an awesome thing that feels natural and I like it that sometimes the show doesn't explain everything!
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I was also so into making Yaz and her feelings for Thirteen more text!
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"She is from somewhere much, much stranger." "The North."
Brilliant. :-D
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My favourite line, I laughed out loud.
This was a really good episode! Genuinely creepy, nice tension, and the Doctor making a great speech at the end.
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It's such a great use of the haunted house trope too! And god the speech was great, wasn't it!