Doctor Who – The Doctor is still haunted
The penultimate episode of Season 28, Army of Ghosts, is a fantastic beginning to the two-part finale. All the concepts and mysteries from the previous episodes are culminating, much in the same way that the two universes are crashing together. This collision is both beautiful and chaotic.
In this chaos there is order and predestination. Fate has brought Rose and the Doctor to a place where their previous adventures are converging – this day has been coming, there have been signs foretelling it. Perhaps the Bad Wolf is still acting behind the scenes. It was mentioned in Love and Monsters as having deleted Rose’s information from the Torchwood archives after all.
Finally we have seen Torchwood and are able to get an understanding of what Queen Victoria’s vision has developed into since Tooth and Claw. This is another instance of the monumental effect the Doctor’s actions can have on history – Torchwood obviously never existed before, but now they are determining the direction of the British Empire.
I was quite certain at the end of The Age of Steel that we would see Mickey again at some stage, but I wasn’t sure how they would accomplish this. I didn’t want it to be some hackneyed ‘tear in the fabric of time’ crap which he just happened to stumble through. I wanted it to be deliberate, to have a purpose. I certainly got my wish.
The Army of Ghosts is certainly appropriate. Ghosts are a memory of a time past – an image and a feeling that haunts you, that cannot rest. It returns because it has unfinished business. It is fitting that the ghosts turned out to be Cybermen, as they are an enemy of the Doctor that has arisen several times. They are haunting him, following him from one world to the next, attempting to complete their unfinished business – destroying humanity.
As well as this, the Doctor is haunted by the people he couldn’t save. As he has said many times this season, he’s sorry, so sorry. While Jackie thinks that it’s wonderful that the departed are returning, he thinks that it’s horrific. Perhaps it’s because he doesn’t want to hear what they’ll say.
The scenes with the plastic sheeting were reminiscent of scenes in both Alias and Buffy. The former is in the episode Conscious when Sydney was relieving her abduction by the Covenant through dream therapy.
The latter is in the episode Nightmares when Xander is confronted by his childhood fear of a clown.
Both these episodes deal with two worlds – the dream and the real - coming together and blurring the edges of reality. This is a great parallel with Army of Ghosts – the ‘real’ world (which depends on which universe you live in) is colliding with another. Things exist which shouldn’t be there; reality itself is being altered. I would guess that this shout-out is deliberate; if not, it's quite a large coincidence and would certainly make one rethink walking through any plastic-sheeted hallways!
In terms of the season long themes, loneliness arises once again. The idea of people desperately wanting the ghosts to be those of their loved ones deals once more with those left behind. The void and the concept of nothingness also links with this theme, while conjuring up images of the Beast and the black hole from The Satan Pit – it is hell.
There were lots of great moments in this episode, but I absolutely cracked up at the ghost on Eastenders. It was also fantastic to see two such iconic Doctor Who villains together – they, much like the worlds, have crashed together.
An interesting scene was when Jackie spoke of Rose losing her humanity if she continued life with the Doctor. Perhaps Rose has already passed that point. She has had the time vortex travelling through her and she was able to perceive all of space and time. She is the Bad Wolf. What effect has that had on her humanity, and what effect will it ultimately have on her mortality?
Only the next episode will tell, and I eagerly await it. I never thought I’d say that I am looking forward to Doomsday....
In this chaos there is order and predestination. Fate has brought Rose and the Doctor to a place where their previous adventures are converging – this day has been coming, there have been signs foretelling it. Perhaps the Bad Wolf is still acting behind the scenes. It was mentioned in Love and Monsters as having deleted Rose’s information from the Torchwood archives after all.
Finally we have seen Torchwood and are able to get an understanding of what Queen Victoria’s vision has developed into since Tooth and Claw. This is another instance of the monumental effect the Doctor’s actions can have on history – Torchwood obviously never existed before, but now they are determining the direction of the British Empire.
I was quite certain at the end of The Age of Steel that we would see Mickey again at some stage, but I wasn’t sure how they would accomplish this. I didn’t want it to be some hackneyed ‘tear in the fabric of time’ crap which he just happened to stumble through. I wanted it to be deliberate, to have a purpose. I certainly got my wish.
The Army of Ghosts is certainly appropriate. Ghosts are a memory of a time past – an image and a feeling that haunts you, that cannot rest. It returns because it has unfinished business. It is fitting that the ghosts turned out to be Cybermen, as they are an enemy of the Doctor that has arisen several times. They are haunting him, following him from one world to the next, attempting to complete their unfinished business – destroying humanity.
As well as this, the Doctor is haunted by the people he couldn’t save. As he has said many times this season, he’s sorry, so sorry. While Jackie thinks that it’s wonderful that the departed are returning, he thinks that it’s horrific. Perhaps it’s because he doesn’t want to hear what they’ll say.
The scenes with the plastic sheeting were reminiscent of scenes in both Alias and Buffy. The former is in the episode Conscious when Sydney was relieving her abduction by the Covenant through dream therapy.
The latter is in the episode Nightmares when Xander is confronted by his childhood fear of a clown.
Both these episodes deal with two worlds – the dream and the real - coming together and blurring the edges of reality. This is a great parallel with Army of Ghosts – the ‘real’ world (which depends on which universe you live in) is colliding with another. Things exist which shouldn’t be there; reality itself is being altered. I would guess that this shout-out is deliberate; if not, it's quite a large coincidence and would certainly make one rethink walking through any plastic-sheeted hallways!
In terms of the season long themes, loneliness arises once again. The idea of people desperately wanting the ghosts to be those of their loved ones deals once more with those left behind. The void and the concept of nothingness also links with this theme, while conjuring up images of the Beast and the black hole from The Satan Pit – it is hell.
There were lots of great moments in this episode, but I absolutely cracked up at the ghost on Eastenders. It was also fantastic to see two such iconic Doctor Who villains together – they, much like the worlds, have crashed together.
An interesting scene was when Jackie spoke of Rose losing her humanity if she continued life with the Doctor. Perhaps Rose has already passed that point. She has had the time vortex travelling through her and she was able to perceive all of space and time. She is the Bad Wolf. What effect has that had on her humanity, and what effect will it ultimately have on her mortality?
Only the next episode will tell, and I eagerly await it. I never thought I’d say that I am looking forward to Doomsday....
Overall Rating
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Cane Toad Warrior
How good was that cliffhanger though? Sends chills down my spine every time I watch it!
It was definitely a gripping cliffhanger. I absolutely loved this two parter. I was a bit worried it wouldn't live up to my expectations after Bad Wolf/Parting of the Ways last year, but I was very impressed.