Written by John Edward BetancourtTHIS IS THE EMERGENCY SPOILER ALERT SYSTEM...YOU ARE ADVISED TO READ AT YOUR OWN RISK...It truly seems as though Doctor Who is trying to reinvent itself for Peter Capaldi's final year in the TARDIS. After all, we've seen a vastly different style of storytelling since series ten premiered a few weeks ago and when you take that new style and combine it with the fact that the first few episodes of this season have in essence been tightly tied together, one had to wonder what surprises would be in store for us in last night's tale, 'Thin Ice'. Because this seemed like a prime opportunity to give the Doctor and Bill another wild and unique adventure as they traveled to London in 1814 where a Frost Fair atop the frozen Thames harbored a darker side to the carnival atmosphere since people were disappearing into the ice, leading Bill and the Doctor to uncover the fact that a large being was living beneath the ice and eating the poor people above and while that seems like a pretty standard non-reinventive Who storyline, that was simply not the case. Because what made this episode so downright fascinating was the fact that this story turned out to be quite the hybrid by combining some of the monster magic of old along with series ten's new way of thinking. For example, let's take a closer look at the monster. Sure, it was massive. Sure it ate people, but there was quite the twist to its story, in that, this wasn't some voluntary decision on the creature's part where it settled into the Thames and realized London meat was a delicacy. This poor being was chained to the bottom of the river, forced to be fed and fed well in order to help out an energy magnate named Lord Sutcliffe, who used the creature's waste to provide London with a powerful fuel so that he could line his pockets with buckets upon buckets of money, and this twist in the tale is what made the show so interesting, because for the second week in a row now, the true villain of our story relates to humanity and Sutcliffe's decision to have zero compassion for any life at any level was our true monster of the week. If anything, a lack of compassion for life and our fellow man seemed to be quite the recurring theme this episode and if Sutcliffe served as the worst case scenario for it by letting people die without any concern, the Doctor served as his foil, with a catch of course because this was the episode where the all important moment between the Doctor and his new companion, where said companion discovers that the Doctor has done questionable things arrived, and it played out in vastly different fashion this go round. Sure Bill was appalled by the fact that the Doctor has taken lives and that he sometimes barely ponders on the ones he loses...but her ability to catch on quick this season helped plenty when it comes to making peace with that. She came to understand what horrors the Doctor has seen over his two thousand year run and that moving on from those painful moments is key and while he's not always flawless at leaving the hurt behind, he does find a way to go on and make wonders happen and it was equally impressive to be reminded how he honors the dead by making life better for others by reminding men like Sutcliffe that their way is the wrong way and let's be honest, it was pretty awesome to see him smack the man square in the face for pulling out the race card and disrespecting Bill as well. But perhaps the most beautiful moment of this tale wasn't in the fact that they saved the monster, countless lives and gave a group of underprivileged kids a new chance at life, it was that the Doctor gave credit for every ounce of their success to Bill and having that kind of wonder on her mind is clearly changing her for the better. Either way, I really enjoyed how this episode blended two eras of Who together and its fascinating exploration of the human condition and how the Doctor fits into it and I really hope the series continues to dig into such matters. I'm also thoroughly enjoying how Bill keeps pointing out the potential for trouble with the timeline when it comes to their actions, and how smoothly the show lets her concerns slide. However despite the uplifting nature of this one, there was one disturbing element to be found, the knocking coming from the Vault in the final few seconds of the story leaving all of us to wonder, who or what would be awful enough for the Doctor to lock up in a vault as complex as this one. Time will tell of course, but I know I'm not the only one who was wondering in the back of their head whether or not Missy is potentially waiting behind those doors...until next time.
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