'Doctor Who' Recap: 'The Eaters of Light'

Written by John Edward Betancourt

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

As I settled in to watch this week's episode of Doctor Who, an unfortunate realization washed over me...the end of the Peter Capaldi era is drawing incredibly close and that added a touch of melancholy to last night's viewing. Because this has been, hands down the best season of the Capaldi era and to know that the end is near is tragic and heartbreaking to say the least. Which is why I'm extremely thankful that 'The Eaters of Light' recognized all of this, and offered a little fun our way before we get down to the somber business of saying goodbye.

Granted, one wouldn't be able to recognize up front that this particular episode was going to have any level of fun, because this story took us back to Scotland in the Second Century, all in the hopes of settling a bet between the Doctor and Bill as to how the Ninth Roman Army disappeared from the face of the earth and well...what they found put them in the middle of one wild adventure. Because death was everywhere in this place. The majority of the Ninth Army lay slaughtered, transformed into literal sacks of meat without any bones and the native Scots know the cause for this, an ancient creature from another dimension that consumes light and anything it touches in humans and it is up to the natives, and the remnant of the Ninth Army to save humanity from these awful creatures. 

As you can see, this story did feature a dark and brooding plot, one filled to the brim with scares and tense moments and at this point, you're likely still wondering what made this episode fun and worthwhile and several key elements made that happen...one of them being Nardole. Matt Lucas has been an absolute delight and wonderful addition to the show period and last night, his comedic chops are what brought the fun to this episode, and quite frankly, if it wasn't for Nardole's jokes and gags...we'd be discussing Series Ten's outright darkest story. But in addition to Matt Lucas bringing the smiles, another wonderful element when it comes to this story, is the sheer sense of adventure it provided us with. We learned about the Eaters of Light a little bit at a time, their mystery unraveling through the Doctor playing detective while visiting various locations, which built everything up to a grand finale, and I truly appreciated the fact that this was a slow burn story that took us on a journey and didn't spoon feed the audience obvious answers.

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But really, there was one element above all that truly made this episode special and enjoyable...the message of unity that it carried. Throughout this entire story, we are witness to fear and uncertainty, primarily from the remnant of the Ninth Army and from the Scottish Warrior Kar as they struggle with the events that have unfolded around them, and as the Doctor unravels the mystery of the Eaters of Light...he also helps these poor souls face their fears and also realize that the pettiness that led them to said fear, is worthless and silly in the specter of death and in the process, these two armies unify to save the greater good and when all is said and done, what an uplifting little twist to the story, and it was just wonderful to see everyone working together for a common cause.

In addition to that wonderful little moment, the story also found a way to integrate something that 'Empress of Mars' left behind...the Doctor's desire to once again play the true hero and put every task upon his shoulders because he's been out of the game for far too long, and the fact he was itching to travel through time to settle a bet with Bill merely scratched the surface over the conflict brewing within his soul. The oath is causing all kinds of internal strife to the point where he was ready to sacrifice his new set of regenerations to play the hero and the pain that came with not being able to take the center stage and enjoy that sense of heroic satisfaction...is what brought the story crashing back down to earth. Because his desire to be back in the thick of galactic and temporal chaos nearly cost him his sight at Chasm Forge and it would seem the Doctor is temping fate once again, especially by letting Missy serve as Chief Engineer aboard the TARDIS.

Sure, this is just another example of how he's trying to integrate her back into the universe and that perhaps giving her a sense of purpose or normalcy might help her shed her evil ways. But even the Doctor seems skeptical of her newfound tears and remorse, and while he's hopeful to see her recover, he's still keeping her at a distance and let's just get this out in the open...the man is playing with fire. He knows he can't have it both ways, it's either focus on the universe or focus on Missy and I get the funny and bad feeling that his push to be the universe's everything is going to lead to trouble and considering that it once again came into focus last night, and that next week is part one of the Series Ten finale, it seems this storyline is about to come to a head...and result in the downfall of the Twelfth Doctor. So, in the meantime, we should savor the wonder of this episode and the sense of fun and adventure that it sent our way...for the beginning of the end draws near and soon...the Doctor will fall. Until next time.

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