‘Doctor Who’ Recap: ‘Ascension of the Cybermen’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

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

For the most part, Series 11 and 12 of Doctor Who have featured some fairly hopeful stories. The kind where the Thirteenth Doctor has been steadfast in showing Team TARDIS what the best of humanity looks like, all while teaching them that hope can help anyone beat the odds when it seems like they’re in the midst of an impossible situation. But it would seem that goodwill can only go so far in a chaotic universe, since the next episode in this storied franchise brought about quite the hopeless tale, one that provided the Doctor with a difficult task that she might not be able to accomplish; beating the Cybermen at their highest point.
 
Because ‘Ascension of the Cybermen’ ventured into the painful aftermath of the Great Cyber Wars, where humanity was on the brink of extinction, all because this was the Doctor’s last opportunity to save the future from the Lone Cyberman and his quest for galactic domination. But what was truly heartbreaking about this particular tale, is that it started out in hopeful fashion. Because the fam had a plan in place to defeat these cybernetic monsters shortly after they arrived upon a devastated world, the kind that involved some creative devices that would zap, confuse and outright drop the Cybermen to provide a show of force. But it didn’t take long to see that the Cybermen were ready for anything and that put the plan into utter chaos.
 
For the survivors that Team TARDIS were working to protect on this world, quickly found themselves vulnerable and several lost their lives during a fierce assault, and seeing the devastation and being reminded of the weight and the atrocities of this ugly time in human history was enough to put the Doctor in a tough place mentally. One where she recommended that the team make a run for it and get off world quickly, a recommendation that only half worked out since Ryan was separated from the others while Yaz and Graham were propelled into space with the remaining survivors, who hoped to reach a rendezvous point that would allow them to escape the galaxy and start over fresh in a Cyber free one.
 
But unfortunately for them, their journey didn’t get them all that far. Because their ship was badly damaged to begin with, and rattled beyond repair and eventually, the engines gave out, stranding everyone in the void. But rather than surrender to the end, as these folks were willing to do, Yaz and Graham made a point to try and inject hope into the situation and remind them that sometimes you have to go down swinging and take every action possible to try and see another day. And the discovery of a decimated Cyber fleet, complete with a massive ship, helped them to reinforce their point and they prompted this motley crew to make a desperate attempt to board that monstrous vessel and wouldn’t you know it, their gambit actually worked.

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​Yet while a quick pit stop aboard a ghost ship should have brought about joy and relaxation, the discovery of thousands of warrior class Cybermen put everyone aboard the ship in great peril, and things only got worse when the Lone monster and his loyal cohorts dropped by as well in the hopes of bringing every last one of these soldiers back to life. All of which added a horrifying sense of urgency to survivors’ quest to get to the planet known as Ko Sharmus, and while they dealt with this terrifying ghost ship, the Doctor and Ryan and their new friend were dealing with chaos of their own. For they were also lost in space for a short period of time after stealing a Cyber shuttle and whilst in the void, the Doctor was able to make some unsettling discoveries.
 
For starters, she came to learn that her enemy is nothing more than a vengeful monster, one that cannot reconcile its humanity being contorted into something so vile, and it will stop at nothing to end all life in the universe in order to enjoy some semblance of superiority and relevance and to complicate matters further, mankind’s last bastion of hope; leads to nowhere. For she came to discover that the mythical Ko Sharmus, wasn’t a planet at all, but a man who shepherded countless people into a portal beyond, and that very portal led to Gallifrey. And in the closing moments of this tale, wherein the Doctor faced the destruction of her world once again and with her friends lives hanging in the balance; the Master returned at last to offer up more mystery and well, that’s a heck of way to set up a grand finale to Series 12.
 
Yet before we wrap up this recap and react to one fast paced and nightmarish episode, we would be remiss to not discuss the fascinating side plot that played out in the background of this tale. Because to break up the action and the chaos, we were treated to the story of an orphan named Brendan, who grew up fine and did noble things. But his body defied the norm since he could heal from and survive horrific injuries, and in the later stages of his life, those close to him seemingly betrayed him, wiping his mind for reasons unknown and really it was fascinating to dive into the life of a simple man who clearly has extraordinary abilities and ponder upon what exactly he means to the finale.
 
Is he the Lone Cyberman? And his powerful healing abilities are why his upgrade didn’t quite take? Or is he someone else, entirely? The Timeless Child perhaps. Time will tell of course but for now, all we can do is take a moment and breath after one relentless episode. Because this one was dark and intense and filled to the brim with action and adventure and well, this is it, we’ve reached the end of an epic season and at last, we will finally come to understand the legend of the Timeless Child and how that young one relates to this perfectly timed confluence with the Lone Cyberman. And of course, we will finally learn how the lie surrounding that mysterious child, motivated the Master to turn upon his own people and well, get ready. Because the wait for next week’s Series 12 Finale is going to be a tortuous one, since we are all eager to see how all of these fascinating mysteries, are going to come together. Until next time.

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