If there is one thing Doctor Who has become stellar at over the years, it’s throwing a spanner into the works, just when the audience is comfortable and thinks they know what is happening. “Flatline” is that point for Season 8. While it takes the ‘Doctor Lite’ format and shows off Clara more than ever as a strong and able companion, the episode also sees the return of Missy and leaves us wondering just how long this mysterious figure has been working behind the scenes.
The premise of the episode itself is deliciously unsettling – the threat of malicious two-dimensional creatures killing people as they enter the 3D world and the reveal that the victims become pieces of ‘art’ by way of wall murals and graffiti, is very creepy, without being too complicated to watch. The fact that the viewer doesn’t see physical manifestation of these creatures until the last scenes implies an even more sinister vibe and thankfully, the CGI/visuals department realised the brief convincingly. It doesn’t matter that they don’t last long once The Doctor finally gets out of the TARDIS, I’d hold ‘The Boneless’ up there with some of the creepier Who monsters since the reboot. I enjoyed that their menacing nature is directly commented on by The Doctor too – usually he is a figure who tries to understand the threat, to learn and to help the adversary, but in this case he makes it clear that these baddies are not to be messing with him – Earth is protected.
The shrinking of the TARDIS offered some fun moments – The Doctor using his hand to drag it off the train line was a good example. It also made for a perfect avenue for Capaldi to maintain significance in this episode, which was obviously more about Clara. “Flatline” is the culmination of everything we’ve been watching between the two leads since Episode 1. The back and forth between The Doctor and Clara and the clear development of her personal history and character has seen their dynamic only strengthen in recent adventures. The fact that she continues to lie to both her boyfriend and travel partner is put aside briefly, as Clara gets to don her Doctor hat and lead, with The Doctor tucked away in her bag for most of the episode. For everyone who has been complaining about this season being more about Clara than The Doctor, “Flatline” is the episode where it should be made glaringly obvious the effect that travelling with this man would have. It was the same when Rose was travelling full-time and it was the same when Amy was full-time. With Clara Oswald, she’s gone and embraced everything she’s spent the last few episodes breaking down over – the lying, the fly in the face risk taking – and has gotten one hell of an adrenalin kick out of it. The Doctor notices this too, complimenting her at times on her decision making and even commenting that she would make a very good Doctor.
She ticks every box.
Pulls together and leads a bunch of misfits through a series of obstacles? Check.
Lies to them confidently to give them hope and to keep them going to achieve her ultimate plan? Check.
Loses people along the way, but realises their deaths were for ‘the greater good’? Check.
Requires confirmation of talent and problem solving skills? Double check.
After she and The Doctor bid farewell to Rigsy and return to the TARDIS, Clara’s ‘Why can’t you say I was The Doctor and I was good?’ pushing leads to one of the more interesting exchanges between the two characters, one I hope continues to be fleshed out before the season ends. “You were an exceptional Doctor, Clara. Goodness has nothing to do with it.” he says, before leaving her looking slightly stumped. The exchange reminds me of the Season 3 finale when Martha Jones departs, finally confident in her own abilities – she can stand on her own without The Doctor there. It’s a nice scene between Freema Agyeman and David Tennant and comparing that to this little run of quips between Coleman and Capaldi, you can really see how Who has twisted and turned over the years and has really pulled back the layers of the companion-Doctor relationship. Here, Clara is confident in her abilities of ‘Doctoring’, but The Doctor doesn’t necessarily see it as a positive. It’ll be interesting to see how this one plays out.
Which brings me back to Missy. It’s now been made clear that she has more than a Season Big Bad interest invested in The Doctor. Her ‘choosing’ of Clara though, is another teasing thread now thrown into the mix. If it turns out that Missy has been integral in Clara’s positioning in The Doctor’s life (why, who knows?), then the rumours of Coleman exiting the show after this season could very well be feasible. It also sticks with the well-used move of having a companion around as to warm the viewership up to the new Doctor. While I hope we get to see more of Missy next week, I highly doubt it, with Danny and the schoolkids coming back to the fore.
Review Score: FOUR STARS OUT OF FIVE
Doctor Who screens on ABC1 at 7:30pm on Sundays.
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