Writer: Steven Moffat
Director: Hettie MacDonald
Cast: Peter Capaldi, Jenna Coleman, Michelle Gomez, Jemma Redgrave
Synopsis: Clara is forced to team up and travel through time and space with Missy when the Doctor goes AWOL, leaving behind a single clue – his last will and testament!
Verdict:
Just when you think Doctor Who (and to a larger extent showrunner Steven Moffat) can no longer surprise you in the way it once did years ago, along comes an episode like The Magician’s Apprentice. An episode that pulls the rug from under you so many times, there’s barely a trace of the wooden floor left beneath it, having been worn away by the constant aforementioned rug pulling!
It’s without a doubt one of the most confident series openers we’ve had in recent years, no doubt due to the added bonus of being the first part of a two-part story (god, have we missed those!), allowing for a greater scope and depth to the drama. The Doctor is confronted with that age old question, of whether you could or should end the life of a child who is one day destined to do something truly evil. In this case, it’s Davros, the twisted, deformed genius who will one day give birth to the entire Dalek race!
This is big complex storytelling, not just down to the twisty, layered narrative, but also to its adult themes and suggestions, many of which were similarly explored in classic Doctor Who stories such as Genesis of the Daleks (1975), but not to the extent they are here. This is dark stuff indeed, expertly told with genuine emotion and pathos, all of which serves to challenge the viewer and make them question themselves, as well as the Doctor. Its certainly an episode that could only work with Peter Capaldi’s colder, more logical incarnation of the Doctor, who really has developed into a wonderfully complex and tortured character in just the space of this episode alone.
The episode is a masterclass in big ideas and bigger reveals. The identity of the battlefield child, the mystery of the frozen planes, the various cameos, the Doctor’s big hilarious musical entrance, the monstrous identity of Colony Sarff, the return of Davros (superbly played by the amazing Julian Bleach, returning to play the role for the first time since 2008) and the big impossible return of the planet Skaro – the surprises keep on coming throughout! The sheer scale and magnitude of the action and emotion on screen is phenomenal, almost as if this were the big end-of-series finale as opposed to Episode 1. Hats off to Blink director Hettie MacDonald, who plays a huge part in pulling the whole thing off with her dynamic yet intimate direction.
Likewise, the cast here really sell the whole thing, with great performances all round. Capaldi IS the Doctor, no doubt about it. His performance here cements it, from his massive entrance atop a tank to his emotional reunion with Clara, then right through to his tense stand-off with the dying Davros and the final shot of the episode! Veering between comedy, dark angst and powerful downbeat sentiment in the blink of an eye, it’s a joy to watch him play the role, every time!
Much has been made elsewhere of the return of Missy (A.K.A the Master), played as before by Michelle Gomez. Here, the character takes on more of a companion role alongside Clara, yet still retains the insanity and murderous vigor of the character we’ve known and loved for the past 40-or-so years. Gomez is on top form, hilarious in the role and at times slightly disturbing, especially when murdering innocent UNIT agents just for the sake of it!
We’re also incredibly glad that the brilliant Jenna Coleman has stuck around for another series. In fact, without her or an already well-established companion character like Clara, it’s certainly possible that a story such as this would be impossible to tell. Her chemistry with Capaldi is as great as it ever was; perhaps more so thanks to the excellent material they both have to work with here.
Of course, being a part of a larger two-part story, we can’t really judge the story as a whole just yet. But based on this opening installment, it’s certainly a fair statement that Doctor Who Series 9 is on track to be one of the biggest and best series of the show in years. Emotionally complex, dark, confident and epic in equal measure, The Magician’s Apprentice certainly sets things up for not just a similarly superb and engaging concluding episode, but also an excellent, intricate and well-rounded series altogether!
Next week can’t come soon enough!
Best Bit 1:
Choosing is hard, hence two major moments make up our picks this week. First off, that amazing pre-titles sequence – the awe-inspiring battlefield scenes, the creepy Hand-Mines, the death of the soldier, the sudden arrival of our hero, his excellent speech, and then that big reveal! Perfect drama the likes of which only Doctor Who can pull off!
Best Bit 2:
“Exterminate.” Black-out. End credits. Chills! Brrrrrr!
Best Line(s):
The Doctor: Your chances of survival are about one in a thousand. So here’s what you do… you forget the thousand and you concentrate on the one!
Doctor Who returns next week at 7.45pm on BBC One – as does our Doctor Who Blog, right here on THN!
