The pre-credits sequence is a good example; Missy (Michelle Gomez) and Clara (Jenna Coleman) were both apparently disintegrated last week, but we open with them out in the desert, Clara tied up and Missy nonchalantly sharpening a stake. The BBC released a short video in which star Peter Capaldi discussed working the chair. But (rather like the Seventh Doctor in a number of episodes) we learn that the Doctor had known why Davros really summoned him, and had a plan. Judging by Clara’s experiences here, they would never survive for long. Missy pretended like Clara had died and that Dalek that was in front of them was an actual one. The title of this episode is no more self-explanatory than the previous one.
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I always assumed Davros’ chair moved via the operator’s feet, just like the Daleks. At one point, the fact that each time she said her name, it would come out as Dalek, almost got her killed by The Doctor himself.
Given a far more complex and nuanced characterisation than in the 2008 two-parter “The Stolen Earth” and “Journey’s End,” where he was mostly stuck with playing a ranting megalomaniac, Bleach is magnificent in conveying a whole range of emotions through the heavy Davros prosthetics and makeup. He then tells The Doctor to get close and decides to reveal his eyes and look at The Doctor closely. This is a true battle of wits and the Doctor is at his finest as he maneuvers his way through Davros’ minefield. The balance between Davros and the Doctor, mirrored by Missy and Clara, is in a state of constant flux as we wind our way through a story filled with delicious subtext.
This post contains spoilers and speculation for the Doctor Who series nine episode “The Witch’s Familiar”. Yet the Doctor, at the end of the episode, chooses Clara over Missy. But when the Dalek, Clara, says mercy, he figures out that Daleks don’t say that and knows its Clara.
Among the intriguing references for long-term fans of the show are the reference to a time lord prophecy about a hybrid race being created, with the possibility that that is why the Doctor went on the run; and also Missy’s reference to her daughter, and a broach the Doctor gave her. For those interested in the show’s religious themes, the explorations of compassion and mercy, as well as prophecy, are interesting.
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Next Week: The Doctor and Clara visit a futuristic submerged base haunted by ghostly apparitions, in “Under the Lake”.
