Previous episode reviews:
Episode 4: Listen
Episode 3: Robot of Sherwood
Episode 2: Into the Dalek
Episode 1: Deep Breath
Summary:
The Doctor decides to just spend a day traveling with Clara in the TARDIS. One phone call from the TARDIS later however, the two find themselves in an intergalactic bank with two others with no memory of how they got there. A mysterious being called The Architect has tasked them to rob said bank, said to be the most impregnable bank in all of creation. But there are still some fundamental questions: Who is The Architect? What are they stealing? Where in the bank is the item? When did they get there? Why are they stealing it? And how are they going to steal from the bank and its most powerful anti-theft weapon: The Teller?
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In the entertainment industry, one of the most popular genres is the "Heist film". The Heist film typically follows a ragtag group of experts and miscreants coming together to accomplish a robbery and loot some valuable treasure. I think everyone has seen a Heist film at one point or another, and they are usually characterized by the following:
1. The preparation of the heist; getting the gang together, setting up stories, planning the heist, etc
2. The partaking of the heist; seeing the plan put into motion
3. The peril of the heist; plot twists galore, putting the pieces together, various forces against the heist, etc
Even in non-heist movies these elements seem to be present. It really is one of those genres that transcends its origin, but it really is in actual heist movies where we see the full three-act structure put into motion. Despite heist movies following the same formula, what makes them so popular is just the amount of creativity put into them and how varied each of the three acts can be. One of my favorite heist movies of all time is Christopher Nolan's "Inception" where-in they need to steal an idea instead of money, and instead of robbing a bank, they rob a person's sub-conscious by delving into dreams. Creativity like that keeps the Heist genre alive, though of course standard Heist movies are good in their own way, like "Ocean's 11".
1963's It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World, an example of a comedy movie with heist elements
So what happens then when you cross this genre with Doctor Who? A rather creative scenario with science fiction elements, twists, an assorted group of misfits, a ruthless villain, and character evolution. While this episode is overall enjoyable, it does suffer the same problem that "Robot of Sherwood" had in that, in the grand scheme, this episode does not really progress the story. Not that it really matters since Doctor Who Series 8/Season 34 is not meant to have an arc compared to pats seasons. When you take that element out of the picture all you have is to just give an episode that highlights what's fun and creative about Doctor Who while showing our protagonists in a positive and enjoyable light. And unlike "Robot of Sherwood", I felt this episode did that loads better. It is rather hard to follow given the time-travel nature of this episode, but it's by no means bad if you're willing to give leeway on the confusing nature of time travel.
After another stinger that shows Clara continuing to bond with Danny Pink, The Doctor just barges into Clara's apartment after her date to just take her travelling. I just love how The Doctor unceremoniously waltzes into his companion's lives either to ask them for a favor or to just take them traveling for funsies. It goes to show how, for all the heroism The Doctor can do, his basic things like human interaction is severely lacking. Which is understandable since The Doctor isn't human anyway. Now one might think the companions would protest, but I'd like to think that they know its a moot point because The Doctor has a time machine anyway, and by their relative time would only be gone for a few seconds.
Anyway, they receive a phone call, but upon picking up the phone they find themselves in a dimly lit room with no memory of how they got there. With them are two other people, a cyborg-human hacker named Psi, and a shape-changing mutant-human named Saibra. Both also suffer memory loss, but they and The Doctor & Clara are brought up to speed by a device by The Architect, a man who has given them a mission: Rob the bank of Karabraxos, the most impregnable bank in the universe where the high class store their most valued possessions. Right away they are faced with a few problems:
1. They can't back out of the heist, they are already in the bank.
2. They don't know exactly what they are stealing.
3. They have no memories of how The Doctor and Clara met Saibra and Psi, so the pairs distrust each other.
4. The head of the bank, Ms. Delphox, and her secret weapon, the alien being known simply as "The Teller", who can reduce one's brain to literal mush.
The heist begins
As the heist continues and they get to various points using their abilities, the group finds more devices and useful equipment left by The Architect, including atomic shredder devices; used as a mercy killing instead of suffering a worse fate by The Teller. Throughout this we learn more of Psi and Sabira, like the former's cybernetic implants preventing him from recalling his previous life, and the latter's inability to have personal contact with others because of her abilities a la X-Men's Rogue. By the time they reach the main vaults, Psi and Saibra sacrifice themselves. To Clara's irritation, The Doctor doesn't feel much for their deaths, echoing similar sentiments as seen in "Into the Dalek". This again builds up on The Doctor's and Clara's relationship. To make things more interesting, while The Doctor can't muster sadness, he does muster hatred and curses The Architect for the waste of lives and the situation they were all put in.
Upon the bank being struck by a solar storm that makes the banks's electrical system go haywire, The Doctor realizes something. This isn't just a simple bank heist, it's a time heist. The Architect is from the future, and put them in the bank at that time in order to rob it when its at its most vulnerable. Furthermore, they discover that they are stealing more than one item; a card left by the architect reveals three vault numbers, one for Psi, one for Saibra, and one for The Doctor & Clara. The first two vaults contain items that are meant to help cure the two's problems, but The Doctor & Clara's is trickier because their item is in the more heavily-secured private vault. They are however too late, and are caught by bank security and brought to the bank head, Ms. Delphox.
It transpires that the solar storm is deadlier than they thought and will wipe out the whole bank. As Ms. Delphox leaves to put The Teller into hibernation, she orders the guards to kill The Doctor. As it turns out the guards are actually Psi and Saibra in disguise, and that the "suicide" devices were actually teleporters. Eventually the foursome reach the vault to discover the true head of the bank, Ms. Karabraxos. Ms. Delphox is simply a clone. With the bank almost destroyed, The Doctor has a sudden inspiration and gives his TARDIS phone number, telling a departing Ms. Karabraxos to call if she has any regrets in the future. With the bank almost deserted, all that are left are the gang and The Teller. The Doctor gives himself up to The Teller to get to the bottom of all that has happened and have his memories unlocked.
It's here where we finally see what happened. The mysterious phone call at the beginning of the episode came from an elderly and dying Ms. Karabraxos, full of regret and asking The Doctor for help. It turns out that The Doctor, in fact, IS The Architect, having prepared ahead of time where to place the necessary equipment, getting in contact with the best people for the job, and erasing their memories so that they'll have a less chance of getting caught by the guilt-triggering bank security systems and the abilities of The Teller. The key to the whole thing was The Teller himself, as he was needed to get to the final vault where the ultimate goal is. The item is a female of The Teller's species, meaning that The Teller was thought to be the last of its kind.
What a twist!
In the end, The Doctor leaves the Teller and his mate on another planet to repopulate their species, Psi and Saibra are cured and brought back home, and The Doctor and Clara have done another good deed, Clara happy that she's had a good day and is about to go on a good date with Danny.
Final thoughts:
All in all, "Time Heist" was enjoyable episode. Like Robot of Sherwood, it's self-contained and doesn't mean much in the overall narrative, and is probably an episode used to highlight The Doctor's status as a heroic individual. But unlike Robot of Sherwood, this one actually contains an interesting premise and greater twist to its story. This episode also does delve more into The Doctor's psyche, specifically his hatred. We've seen in previous episodes his hatred for the Daleks and his hatred against those who harm innocents, but it's an entirely different thing to see The Doctor declare his hatred for himself. Remember, The Doctor and The Architect are one and the same, so the complexity of the Doctor is still a mystery. Just how much hatred does The Doctor have in him?
And speaking of mysteries, once again, Missy is a no-show. Just who is she, why does she bring people who have died in relation with The Doctor into her fold? We can only continue watching.
My score: 4.4/5
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