Doctor Perseus Reviews: "Mummy on the Orient Express" *SPOILERS* · 2:52am Oct 12th, 2014
In this week's episode of Doctor Who, the Doctor brings Clara on board a futuristic Orient Express in space for one last trip. However, an unstoppable creature known as the Foretold is slowly killing off the passengers one by one. With the mummy only being able to be seen by those who it's about to kill and its victims getting only 66 seconds to live once they see it, the Doctor must work fast to please the demands of the mysterious Gus and discover the Foretold's true meaning. Start the clock...
I was really looking forward to this episode. It had a creepy monster, a great setting, and an interesting situation between the Doctor and Clara going for it. And, in the end, I ended up really liking this episode!
Let's start with the Doctor. Man, and I thought he was cold in last week's episode. Capaldi's Doctor is really finding a solid foothold on his personality and quirks and it's something really interesting to watch. After this episode, I see the Twelfth Doctor as a good man at his core and yet still somebody who follows the "the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few" mentality. He knows when to be cold and distant and when to be friendly and kind. Even though the Doctor wasn't flying solo in this episode (more on that in a moment), he still got plenty of time to shine on his own. I especially liked the scene where he transferred the Foretold's focus from Maisie to himself and then slowly figured out the Foretold's meaning as the seconds ticked away. I also really liked the ending of the episode with him and Clara (and Perkins too). Overall, I really enjoyed the Doctor in this episode and, as always, I'm looking forward to seeing how he further develops.
Now let's talk about Clara. When the episode started, I was a bit disappointed to see Clara back so soon after the falling out she and the Doctor had in last week's episode. A part of me was actually hoping that the Clara we were seeing was actually a figment of the Doctor's imagination, which would go to show just how much the Doctor misses/needs Clara by his side. However, as the episode progressed, I became fine with Clara's presence in the episode. For one thing, she and the Doctor are separated for a good duration of the story. This gave Capaldi's Doctor some time to shine on his own while also giving Clara some alone time to think about her current situation with the Doctor and how she wanted to move forward from here. While Clara didn't have a whole lot to do in this episode, I was still pleased to see the repercussions from the falling out further explored upon here. And I'll admit that I was happy to see Clara make up with the Doctor at the end...or did she? Is it just me or did something feel...off about that ending? Like the flip of a switch, Clara seemed to fully accept the Doctor again while simultaneously acting a bit too...enthusiastic. I dunno. It just felt like Clara was hiding something from the Doctor. When Clara ended her call with Danny, for a moment I thought he had proposed to her or something due to the look on her face (though, that idea is kind of stupid on my part because who would be tacky enough to propose to someone during a phone call?). As was the case last week, I'm interested to see how Clara's relationship with the Doctor moves forward from here. Oh and Clara looked really hot in that 20's getup she was wearing...just thought I'd say that.
The supporting cast of the episode was decent enough. Frank Skinner portrayed an enjoyable sidekick to the Doctor in Perkins and Maisie was, at the very least, a somewhat sympathetic character. In fact, I was kind of hoping for Perkins to accept the Doctor's offer to stay on the TARDIS to work on it. The Twelfth Doctor, Clara, and Perkins would have definitely made an interesting TARDIS team. The rest of the cast was enjoyable and given enough depth for me to enjoy their characters but, in the end, they were far from one of the greatest supporting casts this show has given us.
The Foretold was a great monster. I loved its design and its appearances never grew old for me. The timer placed at the bottom of the screen was a nice touch and it really added some welcome suspense to each appearance by the Foretold. I also really liked the reveal that the Foretold was really a soldier trapped in a constant loop of draining energy from living people; and I liked the bit with it saluting the Doctor before dying (again). I must say, however, that I'm very interested in finding out who this "Gus" is. Apparently, he (or she) has been trying to get the Doctor onto the Orient Express for quite some time (which gave way to a nice reference back to the ending of The Big Bang). My guess is that "Gus" is either connected to Missy or is an even larger entity who could potentially act as a major player in another huge Moffat story arc that will span the rest of Capaldi's tenure. Time will tell, I suppose.
Lastly, I'd like to note how much I adored the design of this episode. I really like learning about the 20's and it was cool to see 20's clothing and sets mash with futuristic ideas and technology. And it's thanks to that we got to see Clara dress as a flapper (which I'm sure Danny wouldn't mind seeing *wink*). The planet the Doctor and Clara landed on at the very end was also designed very well.
Overall, I found Mummy on the Orient Express to be a great episode with some nice development for the Doctor and Clara, an enjoyable supporting cast, a great setting, and a spectacular monster. Next week's episode is Flatline!
I just thought I'd agree.
I was actually surprised to see Clara here as well. I was under the impression she wasn't supposed to be in this episode at all. I did like how over the course of the episode she did make her peace with the Doctor, and I for one am glad she will be continuing to stick by his side. I also liked the counter in the corner when the Foretold would show up.