Previous episode reviews:
Episode 6: The Caretaker
Episode 5: Time Heist
Episode 4: Listen
Episode 3: Robot of Sherwood
Episode 2: Into the Dalek
Episode 1: Deep Breath
Summary:
In the year 2049, something is seriously wrong with the Moon. The Earth is wracked with devastating tidal disasters, and the remainders of the space program need to head to the moon to destroy it. Who should stumble across this situation then, but The Doctor and Clara? But after this adventure, is Clara that willing to be The Doctor's friend anymore?
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In a franchise about traveling in space and time, it was inevitable that traveling to our own native satellite would be the subject of an episode. In the 50+ years of Doctor Who, the Moon has been the subject of a multitude of stories, whether on TV, in books, or in audio stories. As such there are bound to be inconsistencies with how the Moon is portrayed in the show. In addition, there are also bound to be weird things that happen to the Moon. For example previous episodes would have the Moon be colonized, or home to alien species, etc. It's just another day for Doctor Who. But as far as weirdness goes, I think this latest episode of New Series 8/Season 34, takes the Mooncake.
Kill the Moon...
This episode was REALLY good...until the ending, which bogs the whole thing down for me. This episode is also a hot topic among fans and discussions because of an extremely sensitive issue some "claim" this episode talks about. Combine this unnecessary reading between the lines and this really polarizing ending, then this episode which is really good is just "plain good" in my mind. Which is a huge shame, because this episode had The Doctor and Clara be good per usual, the side characters memorable, the message and underlying theme a good one, and a very creepy and foreboding atmosphere.
Our episode once again starts out great. Presumably a short time after the events of The Caretaker, Clara tells The Doctor about Courtney Woods, the delinquent student from last week who discovered The Doctor & the TARDIS. Ever since their foray into space in last week's episode, The Doctor told Courtney she was not special and she took it extremely hard, drinking and complaining. To shut her up, The Doctor decides then and there to take Courtney and Clara to the Moon so Courtney can feel special as the first woman on it. This is a great scene as it continues to build up on events of last week.
As always, the trip isn't all what it seems, and instead of the Moon in the present, the faulty TARDIS takes them to a space shuttle heading for the Moon in the year 2049. They come across three astronauts with an arsenal of nuclear weapons to, as the title of the episode says, kill the moon.
No, not THAT moon. But I can imagine that people want this moon dead as well.
The moon is supposedly the cause of various tidal catastrophes that are bring the Earth to near-ruin, and the astronauts have been tasked to discover why this is happening and to destroy it. Once again, The Doctor's leadership skills are called into question, as the other two astronauts are pretty quickly killed off by an unknown alien entity. The Doctor's uncaring nature for it again builds upon the earlier episode and ties into the theme I'll be explaining. Reaching an abandoned mining base, they discover its previous inhabitants all dead and preserved in cobweb. They also discover pictures of the moon's landmass radically altered and conclude that the Moon is disintegrating. The supposed source of this calamity? Alien moon spiders. LOTS of alien moon spiders.
Courtney is, understandably, unnerved, and wants to head home even after she uses detergent to kill one. The Doctor, being busy (or uncaring) just tells her to stay in the safety of the TARDIS. The detergent being able to kill the spiders though gives the Doctor an idea, and he, Clara and the other astronaut go to once of the moon crevices. Clara confronts The Doctor on this, knowing that in the future The Moon is still around. But The Doctor is just as lost as she is and can only find out what's happening after they go to the source of the moon's collapse. After diving into the crevice, The Doctor and the others reunite with Courtney at the moonbase and The Doctor drops a bombshell.
What they thought was the Moon is actually...an egg. That's right, the moon is an egg. What we thought was the moon forming billions of years ago was actually an alien laying an egg, and by 2049, it is hatching into an alien creature thingy.
...
Eh, still not the weirdest thing this show has done.
Anyway, we then get into one of the strongest points of the episode, yet also one of the most frustrating. The Doctor argues about how what they're doing is basically killing an innocent creature, which the astronaut intends to do for the safety of humanity. Courtney, still young, wants to save the creature without hesitation, while Clara is unsure. The Doctor gives an ultimatum, to Clara's shock. The Doctor, not from Earth, cannot simply decide for them. He simply departs in the TARDIS to say that the decision is in their hands, and whatever decision they make will be a monumental one.
I really loved that, because it goes to show that, as much as the Doctor goes about righting the wrongs in the universe, there are some things he simply just cannot do because they're not his right. He leaves it up to actual human beings to make a decision about killing a newborn creature. Now some might chalk this attitude up to this version of him since previous incarnations might have reacted differently, but I don't like to think so. Just because The Doctor has a time machine doesn't mean he should change the past all the time. He cites some major moments in history, like Hitler, being so terrible, but he can't change them because of how much the course of the Earth is altered. This scene was just good and great, and the only complaint I have with it in relation to this episode is what happens in the end.
Where it gets frustrating though is when fans and reviewers read between the lines about what this episode's theme entails. Because the humans have an innocent, yet-to-be-born life in their hands, what do some people equate this to? Pro-Life and Abortion. Yes, SERIOUSLY. I won't and should not press this argument further because I admit I'm not versed in a sensitive topic like that, but I will say that, unless showrunner Steven Moffat or this episode's writer flat out admits that's what this episode is going for, I'm chalking this up as just a simple viewpoint, not to be taken seriously. Especially since, as much as I like Doctor Who, I don't think it's the right vehicle to talk about Pro-Life and Abortion.
But hey, even if they are talking about it, at least Doctor Who has more qualifications to talk about it than...
THIS.
Using the moonbase's communications array, Clara gives the people of Earth the rundown and activates the 40 minute timer for the bomb, saying that they have a choice: Turn Earth's lights off, and they detonate. Leave Earth's light on, they deactivate the bomb. When the time elapses, the Earth's response is to kill it. But Clara, at the last minute, shuts it off herself. This is apparently what The Doctor was looking for, and the takes them down to 2049 Earth to see the Moon hatch into the creature, and another, creature-less Moon is created in its place. The astronaut thanks The Doctor for showing it, especially since The Doctor says this is the moment where humanity sets its sights on the stars and heads back into space to colonize it.
Upon returning to the present, Clara says goodbye to Courtney before she angrily confronts The Doctor. And this is the point where the episode was nearly de-railed. Clara berates him for not helping when he could have, and why she had to be burdened with such a choice, nearly killing everyone present and herself. The Doctor's patronizing argument with her leaves Clara further rattled, and she lashes out at him, saying that The Doctor knows nothing about what it means to be human despite being with them for so long. Despite The Doctor's pleas, Clara leaves the TARDIS and ends their friendship, wishing to never see or travel with him again.
This ending was utterly terrible. It's understandable that Clara would be angry at being thrust upon a deathly situation like that, but the show's angle about this ending is that Clara is complaining about how The Doctor is not the same Doctor as before, and once again showing why Clara can't cope with this new version of him anymore. Uhhh...wasn't this argument resolved already in previous episodes? Furthermore, Clara has been traveling with the Doctor for some time now, both in his current and previous incarnations. Shouldn't she know better? Furthermore, this argument pretty much amounts to false drama because episode descriptions of the next few episodes still reveal that Clara is still with The Doctor. So by the end, what is this ending?
Well, OK, I snark, but it's not entirely pointless. It does lead to the scene which saves it. Clara composes herself in her empty classroom, when Danny Pink comes in and asks her what's wrong. Despite Clara saying otherwise, Danny tells her that the extent of affection she has for The Doctor still isn't gone because The Doctor can still drive Clara angry. He also advises her not to fully quit just yet, as he knew full well what being fully angry without a calm train of thought can make people do. Danny says that Clara can quit when she is fully ready to, and when she is calm, and dead certain.
Final thoughts:
Kill for the Moon started strong and plateaued, only for it to fully slide down the mountain and into the bottomless pit, only for it to be saved by the end and climb back to a reasonable height. It really is not a good sign when the ending makes you forget what exactly went on in the actual episode, and the good themes and symbolism people can see are buried and forgotten under possible false examinations and reading between the lines.
If not for Robot of Sherwood, I would rank this episode as the "least good" of the season so far. Everything was just so good, and the ending completely messes up that goodness. I hear how bad endings in any form of media are usually defended by "It's the journey, not the destination, that counts." It's one I can agree with, but just not this time, because the ending practically almost makes you forget that wonderful journey.
But hey, next episode looks to be tons of fun. The Doctor, possibly by himself, goes on a Victorian-era train where its passengers are stalked by a killer mummy that gives its victims 66 seconds to live. Oh, and the train travels not on rails, but in space.
My score: 3.9/5
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