'Doctor Who' Recap: 'The Pilot'

Written by John Edward Betancourt

THIS IS THE EMERGENCY SPOILER ALERT SYSTEM...YOU ARE ADVISED TO READ AT YOUR OWN RISK...

Change is unfortunately, inevitable, and if there is one television show out there that rams that point home as often as possible, it's Doctor Who. After all, regardless of how much we come to know and love a particular Doctor, we know deep down, their day will come, and they will regenerate into a new iteration of...the Doctor. It's a painful and heartbreaking process for the fans and alas, the end of the Twelfth Doctor, one who has been played brilliantly by Peter Capaldi, draws near, for Series 10 will serve as his swan song and often times, the final season of a Doctor, is a bittersweet experience.

David Tennant's final ride built to a tear filled crescendo in 'The End of Time' and Matt Smith's farewell tour was filled with awe inspiring speeches that let the spirit soar for a brief moment before sinking our hearts with the realization we would be enjoying his manic/boyish charm for only a little while longer, and it will be a difficult goodbye for Peter Capaldi when the time finally arrives. Because Peter has been the perfect Doctor of the new era, blending the energy of the new guard while channeling the knowledge and power of the old guard which means that Peter's final season should be equally as bittersweet and heartbreaking...right? Well...apparently not, because last night's series/season premiere, 'The Pilot', turned out to be a downright amazing episode that let us know that Twelve is going to go out with a bang and we are going to enjoy every last second of his farewell.

This particular tale in the Time Lord's story brought us back to earth where we find the good Doctor is teaching at a University in order to keep quite the low profile. But one particular person on campus, Bill, finds his lectures to be incredibly different and incredibly brilliant, and well, despite wanting to stay out of the limelight, the Doctor simply can't resist taking her under his wing and it's a good thing that he does. Because an alien stranded on earth takes control of Bill's crush at school and this hybrid being chases Bill and the Doctor through time and space in the hopes of fulfilling a final promise and there's a reason I'm glazing over the plot because while it was fun and filled to the brim with throwbacks to Doctors of yesteryear, this was an intimate story for the Doctor served upon a grand platform and it was absolutely brilliant to say the least, and it needs to be celebrated.

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But before we get too far into that, let's take a moment and thank the BBC and Steven Moffat and everyone involved with the show for giving a big time sci-fi show an LGBTQ lead in Bill, and for not making her character a gimmick or utterly cliché. Who she loves is who she loves and the fact that she wasn't in love with the Doctor was a welcome change, and only helped enhance the story further considering that she was able to reach the Doctor on a supremely personal level and help him see the light and error of his ways, which means that we may spend this year getting to know one incredible companion, something the series has been lacking for some time now.

Which brings us back to our favorite Time Lord, because this was quite the somber tale for the Doctor. A man who once saved entire planets, is okay with hiding behind a desk and has in essence settled. He's now content with merely changing one mind at a time through education and while that's not a bad thing, let's be honest...it's not what the Doctor does. He's a true champion of the universe and all of time and space, he inspires entire cultures and worlds and the joy he finds in that was reinforced by the glimmer in his eyes that appeared once the plot started chugging along, but what I loved the most about this somber direction for Twelve, is that the Doctor was more human than ever in this episode. He's trapped by grief, unable to let go of his pain and move on for fear that releasing said anguish will somehow diminish the memory of Clara and River and that he may open himself up to experience that kind of pain again.

All it took to snap him out of it...was Bill's wild wonder. She knew deep down from her brief but thrilling jaunt across time and space that while the universe may be a dangerous and rotten place at times, it is also filled with incredible beauty, and the chance to experience that, outweighs the bad that comes with it...and makes it worth the risk. Either way, we are truly in for an incredible treat this year, because if the stories that follow last night's premiere are this strong and this thoughtful we may see a two-thousand year old Time Lord find a new appreciation for the universe he has protected to the point of exhaustion and leave it to a show like this, to remind all of us that the adventure is worth the risk and I cannot wait to see Twelve redeem his soul this season...and also find out what the heck is locked in that pesky vault. Until next time.

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