While they haven’t been gone for long, the Doctor’s oldest enemies are back in Peter Capaldi’s second story. And despite being Doctor Who’s most regularly occurring villain, this episode proves that new and interesting ideas can still be done with the Daleks.
Contains spoilers
Once it became knowledge that the most loved Doctor Who villains, the Daleks were returning in only the second episode of series 8, many people were sceptical and with good reason. Seeing as the Daleks featured heavily in “The Day of the Doctor” and “The Time of the Doctor” episodes last year, it seemed more appropriate to give them some time off rather than bring them back just two episodes later. Not only this but it would have arguably been more logical to give the audience more time to get to new Peter Capaldi’s new Doctor before putting him up against his ultimate enemies. Nevertheless, despite these drawbacks, “Into the Dalek” is one of the strongest Dalek stories in years, although it is not quite the classic that many people were hoping for.
Taking place on a ship known as the Aristotle where a group of rebels are fighting a Dalek fleet, the Doctor arrives to discover he is required to examine a certain Dalek by getting inside its head, literally. But this isn’t any ordinary Dalek, this is a Dalek that wants to destroy its own kind, this is a Dalek that has turned good. While the concept of a good Dalek isn’t unknown to Doctor Who, this is the first time the concept has been explored to a significant degree; can a Dalek really turn good? Is it even possible? Questions like these run throughout the episode and invite insight into the nature of the Daleks in general. This in one of the many reasons that this episode is so impressive, while many Dalek stories in the past have simply used the villains as destructive pepper-pots, “Into the Dalek”‘s premise allows Steven Moffat and Phil Ford to remind us of what makes the Daleks unique and interesting by literally shrinking the Doctor down and putting him inside one.
The best Dalek stories have always been the ones in which their presence allows us to learn more about the Doctor and his relationship with his oldest foes. They can bring out both the best and the worst in the Doctor but only when they are written in the right way. Fortunately, Moffat and Ford have created an incredibly strong script here that does not waste its potential. The Doctor/Dalek relationship is explored in a way it has never been before and it’s clear that the implications of this episode will not be forgotten any time soon.
Still a magnificent Doctor.
While it is perplexing how sceptical the Doctor is to the idea of a good Dalek at first because he has encountered multiple examples during the classic series, nonetheless this concept offers a brilliant premise for the episode. The scene in which the Doctor first meets this moral Dalek sets the stage in a great fashion and allows Peter Capaldi to showcase more of his brilliant acting capabilities. The look on his face when he realises that this Dalek is not the typical kind is simply perfect. It’s incredible how after only two episodes, Capaldi is already shaping up to be a memorable, magnificent and much colder Doctor. While he definitely had his dark moments in “Deep Breath”, here the Doctor is cold and remorseless yet still filled with energy and glorious twinkles of humour. However we are still getting to know this Doctor, how far would he go to save the day? Is he really a good man? These questions cannot be answered in just one episode and it’s clear that it is going to take some time for the audience to gain a full understanding of what this incarnation of the Time Lord is like. Which brings us onto one of the major problems with this episode; its placement in the series.
This is definitely a significant episode as far as the Doctor’s character is concerned, not only does he literally explore the insides of a Dalek but he is exposed to the idea of a good Dalek and ultimately confronts it in a way in which he has never done, attempting to open it’s mind to the beauty of the universe. Being such a significant moment for the Doctor-Dalek relationship, it would likely have been much more effective if it came later on in the series once we had a better understanding of this Doctor. It is simply too early to put Peter Capaldi’s Doctor in such a defining situation for his character. Not to mention the “Am I a good man?” scene, which is definitely a tense and enticing scene yet feels too early in the series to occur.
Despite the episode’s placement series letting it down slightly, the overall quality of the episode cannot be ignored. To put it simply, this is a really great episode; it’s fast paced, fun and energetic and with plenty of comedic and tense moments which all makes it an incredibly enjoyable 45 minutes. However 45 minutes may be a bit short considering the potential of the premise. While it is brilliant to explore the insides of a Dalek, we rarely got much time to genuinely appreciate the spectacle of the scenario; with that being said the Dalek anti-bodies made for a very creative threat and the scene in which the Doctor confronted the Dalek creature itself was genuinely brilliant. Yet the experience could have benefited from some more time, which seems appropriate considering that a small chunk of the screen-time was devoted to introducing Danny Pink’s character to us.
A strong first impression.
Danny Pink makes a strong first impression and its clear that this is a character with an interesting back-story that I for one cannot wait to discover more about. Some friction between this character and the Doctor is also anticipated which should be entertaining. Samuel Anderson plays the character brilliantly and manages to make an impact in the short amount of time he has in this episode which is impressive. Let’s hope the intrigue surrounding the character pays off in future episodes.
Clara is also great to watch in this episode. While she doesn’t seem to have as much an impact on the plot as she did in “Deep Breath”, she still has many impressive moments here. The stand-out being her confrontation with the Doctor where she makes him realise that a good Dalek is possible. Jenna Louise Coleman is brilliant once again and it seems that Clara’s character is vastly improving now which is a relief. It’s a shame that the supporting cast aren’t particularly memorable this time around. While Zawe Ashton and Michael Smiley give great performances and their characters are by no means bad, the script gives them little material to allow them to be more than simple soldier archetypes.
“I am not a good Dalek, you are a good Dalek.”
Despite issues like these, Moffat and Ford have still created an impressive script here and their hearts are understandably in the Doctor-Dalek relationship aspect of the story, so it’s fitting that this is the best thing about the episode. The entire scene between the Doctor and the Dalek creature is absolutely brilliant and reveals so much on how the Daleks have made an impact on the Doctor. Capaldi nails the brilliantly written lines here and it is arguably his strongest moment as the Doctor so far. The moment in which the Dalek is overwhelmed by the Doctor’s own hatred of the Daleks was a genius twist that brings depth and complexity to the Doctor and his relationship with his oldest foe. The script as a whole is not perfect though. The final exchange between the Doctor and “Rusty” (if that’s what you want to call him) offers the brilliant line from the Dalek: “I am not a good Dalek, you are a good Dalek”. As brilliant as the line is as well as the implications of the line, it does feel a bit too forced and on the nose and could have been done in a more subtle and effective way. Nonetheless it hardly a bad scene and the way Rusty simply keeps looking at the Doctor afterwards was flat out chilling.
Ben Wheatley takes up directorial duties once again here and he proves that he is a creative force to be reckoned with behind the camera. His visual style fits in with Doctor Who perfectly and it’s clear that he has gone to much effort to fill every scene with atmosphere. The scene in which the Doctor and the others first enter the Dalek through the eye-stalk is a particular stand-out as the distorted visuals make it clear that the Doctor is going somewhere that he has never gone before. Let’s hope Ben Wheatley isn’t going anywhere any time soon.
While there are multiple problems here that prevent this episode from being the classic that it easily could have been, this is still a highly impressive episode that won’t be forgotten any time soon. It’s brilliant to see the Daleks be an interesting and threatening force on screen again and Steven Moffat and Phil Ford have written a unique script that shows that new and original ideas can still be done with Doctor Who’s most used and most loved villains
8.5/10
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