…Or also known as “The One That Screwed With the Canon. Again.” Steven Moffat’s scripting of this Season 8 adventure sees our favourite Time Lord and his companion work their way through a narrative which would ultimately leave the fandom divided and talking. We all know Moffat is at the top of his game when he’s delivering some utterly terrifying plot concepts (Weeping Angels, Vashta Nerada), so it seemed like a perfect opportunity to scare the daylights out of everyone who still thinks something/someone is under the bed when he went down the route we saw in this episode. The episode itself? Great foundation. Capaldi’s dialogue? On form, once again. Making Clara essentially responsible for the development of The Doctor’s ethos? Well, here’s where Moffat has gone and ruffled the feathers of many.
I’m not sure why “Listen” has gotten so many people in a tizz – establishing Clara as ‘The Impossible Girl’, saving The Doctor time and time again was a bold move. Surely it didn’t come as too much of a shock when the revelation came that it was she who comforted kid Doctor, used his future self’s words in doing so, and basically set him on the path he would eventually go on to pursue? It made events of “The Day of The Doctor” make some more sense and it re-establishes the importance of a companion to The Doctor, even if it was an extreme way of doing so. It’s certainly not the first time a showrunner has taken what many would perceive as the rooted concept of the show and made it their own – hint: Russell T Davies and his Rose-addiction.
Let’s look to the good points of the episode. Capaldi once again stands out as one of the finest Doctors we’ve had onscreen; his opening dialogue was delivered brilliantly, his interaction with the young Rupert Pink was wonderful and his quips about Clara’s appearance (once again showing how little of a clue he has about women) were excellently timed. The exploration of Danny Pink and where he can possibly fit into the wider scheme of the show is set up well here, though I’m afraid he won’t last more than one season, despite the plot seemingly establishing him as more than just a passing phase for Clara.
Which brings me to the amazingly styled Clara. Jenna Coleman has been given so much more lead in fleshing out the character and I’m really enjoying her act against Capaldi. The fact that she doesn’t travel with him all the time makes their relationship interesting – he makes inklings of attempts to feign interest in her life outside the TARDIS, while she goes away with him without batting an eyelid. It’s an interesting dynamic to explore. However in this episode, I didn’t know what Moffat was trying to do with her. She’s obviously a smart girl who comprehends the issues which come from crossing your own timeline, which makes her trying to save her date with Danny only to ruin it a bit of a “Really?” moment. Coleman was at her best in her attempts to comfort Rupert with the toy soldiers and the child version of The Doctor at the end of the episode, a kindness I think the character learned from the way the 11th Doctor handled such situations. Aside from some good moments scattered through the episode though, I found Clara to be a bit of a let down. It would have been better if it had been The Doctor who had encountered his younger self because, I don’t know, the show is called Doctor Who. But that’s this viewer’s opinion.
Some questions I was left with:
– Why did Clara continuously lie about her connection with Rupert/Orson? The Doctor isn’t that thick to not work out that the two of them are linked somehow. Or maybe he has…
– How did Clara pilot the TARDIS to pre-war Gallifrey? Unless I missed something major, the planet is time locked. Something to be revisited later, I hope…
“Listen” definitely has its ups. It’s a mature episode which dabbles brilliantly in dealing with psychological terror, plus the romantic element now being explored between Companion and Outsider is another example of the direction the show is moving in under the guide of Moffat (please God, not another tin dog scenario). On the downside, there wasn’t nearly enough Capaldi onscreen and Coleman was reduced to flitting between acting like a male-focused teen and, with a snap of the fingers, a doting maternal figure…in terms of her character development, some of the dots just didn’t connect as well as they did in the past few episodes.
Let’s hope it picks up the pace again next week.
Review Score: THREE AND A HALF STARS (OUT OF FIVE)
Doctor Who airs Sundays on ABC TV in Australia and streams on iView. Stay tuned to The Iris for weekly reviews, as well as our podcast “The Doctor Is In”!
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