'Doctor Who' Recap: 'Oxygen'

Written by John Edward Betancourt

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

Inside each and every one of us, resides a calling if you will. That sense and feeling that we belong somewhere else in the world, doing something so special and so wonderful that nothing else in the universe will ever make us happy. Some of us answer that call, some of us do not, but when we feel it, the draw that comes with it, is incredibly strong.

It is the power of that calling that just so happened to be at the center of Doctor Who last night because the good Doctor was feeling the need to do what he does best...travel the universe and do wonderful things and it just so happened that a distress call from the stars sent him, Bill and Nardole on a fresh adventure that took them to a terrifying place floating about the void, and what happened after their arrival there made 'Oxygen' the most Doctor-centric episode of series ten to date, one that spoke to our purpose/calling in life, and what happens when we are deprived of that purpose.

But before we get too deep into the Doctor's personal and painful journey in this story, we need to highlight the fact that this particular tale took a page from last week's episode, 'Knock Knock', by once more peppering in some lovely genre blending by bringing horror back into the mix once again, delivering hints of Alien since something sinister was waiting in the shadows of Chasm Forge, the mining station where this episode was set. But instead of something big and slimy and scary waiting in said shadows, the show's second homage turned out to be Dawn of the Dead in space by giving us walking corpses who worked to add more unfortunate souls to their ranks with a mere touch, causing a twisted malfunction of a person's space suit and well...believe it or not, zombies in deep space work well on screen and I love the fact that the series continues to mix up the genres, and that this episode kept with the 'man is the monster' theme we've been seeing all year since it was a corporation that made these nightmares come to life.

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All of that aside however, the Doctor's journey, and that calling I made mention of a moment ago, were the centerpieces of this episode and well...it was quite the sight to see the Doctor struggling in this story. The Oath he's taken, and the need to stay on Earth that comes with it, is truly starting to rattle him, to the point where he is fumbling when it comes to his own powerful lectures, and to see him staring out at the night sky full of wonder as to what adventures might be happening out there without him was downright heartbreaking. To be out there, in the middle of the void, making miracles happen as only he can is the Doctor's true purpose in life, and it's calling to him in powerful fashion, so it makes sense that he didn't hesitate to answer the distress call from Chasm Forge.

However, what made this storyline so incredibly fascinating, is that the Doctor is rusty. Sure we've traveled through time and space over the past few weeks, and we've even seen a little danger during these adventures, but nothing like what we found at Chasm Forge. There was a real risk that Bill, the Doctor or Nardole could have met a horrible end in this awful place and well, the Doctor was completely unprepared for what waited for him aboard this station. He made mistakes because he was a little too headstrong on wanting to immediately save lives and relish in the rush that comes with it, and sheer adventure for that matter, and this speaks to what happens when someone is robbed of that sense of purpose in their life; when the opportunity arrives to be back in the thick of it, they jump right back in, without a care in the world that consequences may come about from leaping without thinking.  

In the end however, I really enjoyed this episode. It once again balanced the scares in masterful fashion, while providing us with a fascinating mystery and adventure, but what really blew me away this go round, was Peter Capaldi's performance. Over the course of an hour, he was able to convey his need to be out amongst the stars and the frustration that comes with feeling rusty when you haven't done something for quite a while that used to be second nature, all with a simple look, and that speaks to Capaldi's skill as an actor and his understanding of how to play the Doctor since that mix conveyed a man who knew that mistakes were being made, but he had to remain confident and vigilant to keep people alive. Either way, it should be interesting to see what kind of long term repercussions come from this episode's events, after all...there's the whole matter with the Doctor's sight and the mystery of the Vault seems to be looming large over the whole story now. Until next time.

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