LogFAQs > #965198508

Just to finish this write-up, because I've now talked a LOT about the Clara/Danny story, but the episodes themselves are pretty strong. There are some weak excursion, I will admit. But even though I'd say "Deep Breath", "Robot of Sherwood", "In the Forest of the Night", and even "The Caretaker" to a certain extent, are subpar...none of them reach the lows of the truly heinous episodes the reboot has to offer.

And to contrast those, you have some amazing entries. "Into the Dalek" is basically a rehash of the already-solid "Dalek" from series one (which kicks off the running theme of the Doctor's dislike of war and soldiers, which adds even more complexity to his dynamics with Danny). "Listen" is extremely fun and interesting, offering a little bit of the Doctor's backstory in a way that doesn't feel forced, while simultaneously adding a mysterious new entity to the franchise that you could theoretically bring back at any thing. And "Time Heist" is an extremely fun bank robbery story, with emotional stakes, and Clara's hottest outfit (if I'm being shallow like that).

But then you get to the back half of the season, and it shines brightly. I love "Kill the Moon" for its campiness, but also for the emotionality of those final scenes, where the Doctor opts to leave the fate of humanity in the hands of humans themselves. Are the logistics dumb? Yeah...but who cares. Even if you don't like "Kill the Moon" though, the back-to-back stories of "Mummy on the Orient Express" and "Flatline" are spectacular. Both introduce monsters with specific rules for fighting them (my favorite), and offer solid, emotional stories, including that turning point in Clara's character, where she gets fed up with the Doctor's cavalier attitude in "Mummy", only to be forced to take on his role in "Flatline".

There's a blip with "In the Forest of the Night", but that finale is SOLID. Rachel Talalay's direction of Peter Capaldi's three finales was amazing across the board, but Dark Water is phenomenal. The emotion of that episode, and the concept of trying to rescue a deceased loved one (without playing it for laughs or shock value the way Rory's deaths were often handled) leads well into the big reveal of Missy as the new Master. And while "Death in Heaven" is a bit of a step down, the ending is still great, and we get a solid resolution to the Danny/Clara/Doctor storyline. If this had been Jenna's last season, I would still feel confident ranking her either second or third (solidly third if I count her whole body of work instead of just this season) in terms of companion quality.

I know I haven't talked much about him personally, but Peter really sells his role in this season. His detached dickishness gives us that insight into why Clara might not feel completely onboard with their continued relationship. Yet he's still a Doctor trying to be the hero, even though he's still more detached and more alien than we've seen from him in a long time. And I love about him as an actor. He took the reins this season and gave us an amazing season of television.