Doctor Perseus Reviews: Doctor Who S10E7 "The Pyramid at the End of the World" · 9:46pm May 29th, 2017
I had some interesting expectations for this episode aside from its continuation of the Monk Trilogy. This episode was penned by Peter Harness, a writer who has written at least one episode or story for each of Capaldi's seasons so far. From what I've noticed each of his episodes has a political undertone to it. His Series 8 entry, Kill the Moon, was a heavy metaphor for the abortion debate and his Series 9 2-parter, The Zygon Invasion and The Zygon Inversion, used the Zygons has a heavy metaphor for terrorists and ISIS. So I was interested in seeing what sort of subject he would tackle with his entry for the Monk Trilogy. But aside from a fun jab at a certain "orange" president, it's hard for me to pin down what message he may have put into this story. Consent is a running theme so could it be about consent? Could it also possibly relate to the refugee crisis? Or maybe there's nothing and I'm overthinking things. Either way, I really liked this episode regardless.
After the interesting set-up we got in last week's episode, I was definitely interested in seeing how the next step of the Monks' invasion would play out. Last episode, the Monks were more of a scary threat. In this episode, we learn more about them. They're still intimidating and mysterious but not as scary. Mostly because they're not chasing after our heroes like they were previously. Though their power is still shown quite well in how they can immobilize planes and submarines in a heartbeat and turn people to dust in a flash. I also think it's worth noting how the Monks themselves aren't responsible for the main problem in this story: the super-bacterium. They're just there to watch and let things play out until they're allowed to step in and take over. An interesting move for a Doctor Who villain, I must say. I look forward to seeing their full plan in action in the next episode.
As always, our main cast is splendid. It's nice to get more of a proper trio dynamic. One of the downsides to last episode is that the wonderful interactions between Bill and Nardole never happened in reality. Regardless, the two companions get some nice moments together and I expect to see them work together more in the coming episodes. We also get to see the Doctor continuing to work in spite of his blindness. And it just goes to show how truly amazing he is in how he manages to almost save the world with "his eyes shut". Unfortunately, it isn't enough and he's finally forced to reveal his blindness to Bill at the worst possible moment. And Bill makes her toughest decision yet as she hands Earth over to the Monks in order to save the Doctor. Peter and Pearl's acting during this scene was amazing. A definitely highlight for Bill's character, even if is one of Earth's darkest moments. And next week is shaping up to be a huge Bill-centered episode. Similar to what Last of the Time Lords was for Martha Jones.
Speaking of side characters, the two scientists Erica and Douglas proved to be the most interesting of the bunch. Their interactions were enjoyable and it was nice seeing the Doctor and Erica work together to destroy to the new super-bacterium. The leaders of the American, Russian, and Chinese armies, while not bad, were simply your standard army personal that we've seen in countless Doctor Who stories before. So not much to write home about.
Overall, this episode was an interesting continuation of the Monk Trilogy and I can't wait to see how this arc ends in The Lie of the Land.
What did you think of The Pyramid at the End of the World?
I remember I was live tweeting this episode, and I tweeted something along the lines of "Don't you hate when you're on a gay date and the UN Secretary-General shows up".
I like how they paralleled the scene with Bill on her gay date just to make this joke.
Yeah, I think you're trying to read into this political thing because of the writer's past episodes. I didn't sense any political commentary either.
It's interesting that you've chosen to sometimes pay attention to the writers on Doctor Who. I feel like you picked that up from me.
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It's also a bit easier to follow the writers for each season given how Doctor Who seasons are way shorter than your average season of MLP.