Warning: There will be some spoilers for this week's episode below.
Planes around the world are frozen in time and Clara heads to UNIT to figure out what's happening. Missy is sending a message to get Clara's attention. It turns out that the Doctor left a Confession Dial (basically a will) for Missy. The Doctor is going to die soon. The two have to team up to find him. It turns out it's all a plot by the Daleks to get a hold of the TARDIS as Davros has brought back the planet Skaro. The Daleks want to destroy the TARDIS. Everything is looking down for the Doctor.
Time and time again, the one thing that Doctor Who overdoes is the Daleks. However, writer Stephen Moffat, surprisingly, puts a new twist on a Dalek invasion story that hearkens back to the Tom Baker story "Genesis of the Daleks." The majority of the time, the Daleks are invading and exterminating, but we get a stationary enemy and a really dark and depressing side of Davros, as he remembers the time he was a boy where the Doctor went to save him, before he became the creator of the Daleks.
Everything about this episode goes back to the older Doctor Who series where the Doctor had chance after chance to kill or end the Daleks, but never did for numerous reasons, and most of those reasons where the Doctor didn't want to be a murderer, responsible for the destruction of a whole species of alien. As you might think, that came back to bite him in the butt as the whole planet Skaro returned, a reveal at the end of the episode which was an incredible surprise. Then, at the very end of the episode, the Doctor makes a decision to end it all.... by going back in time and possibly killing a young Davros. It's unexpected and a nice cliffhanger for next week.
While Moffat has shied away from two-part stories that aren't the conclusion, compared to Russell T Davies, who embraced it much more. We actually open up with a two-part story. The problem with that is that the episode doesn't start moving until the last 15 minutes. The slow-moving pace isn't necessarily problematic, but it will make the audience wonder why it took so long to set-up the last ten minutes of the episode. Frankly, it's refreshing to see this series open up with a two-part story since many opening series episodes, under Moffat's run, feel like nothing more than a throw-away episode. It leads viewers to believe this is a really good start to a new series.
Moffat seems obsessed with the death of the Doctor and his companions. Frankly, it's getting played out. With all the infinite possibilities this show could have, traveling through space and time, it all comes back to the Doctor and death. This whole episode kicks off with the Doctor's will and his upcoming death in the next day. However, the real plan is for the Dalek's to take the TARDIS and destroy it, but that's overshadowed so much by death that it really doesn't feel impactful.
The Doctor's entrance into the episode was by far the most ridiculous entrance ever, riding a tank and playing a guitar. It hits the view over the head trying to remind them that "the Doctor is cool." Thankfully, he didn't sing Roy Orbison's "Pretty Woman," he just played the opening riff.
Regardless of that incredibly over-the-top entrance, Peter Capaldi still does a fantastic job at playing the role of the Doctor, especially in the moments where he's confronted by Davros. It's only been a season, but Capaldi seems to have really grasped the character incredibly quickly. I simply love what he's doing with the character here, except for the whole riding a tank thing. He truly has range of the character and really made it his own. I always felt like Matt Smith was trying to be David Tennant but a bit more cool. Capaldi does have some of those "look at me, I'm cool moments," but he feels like he's added his own spice to the character without straying too far from who he is.
Overall, "The Magician's Apprentice" was a solid kick off to series 9. Moffat does utilize some over-used elements in the Doctor Who universe, like death and the Daleks and gives it a nice twist. It was extremely nice to see the series open up with a two-part story, as the audience will feel a bit more invested with the rest of the upcoming episodes.
Quick Note:
While Missy and Clara were searching for the Doctor on the computer, the "Sound of the Drums" could be heard in the soundtrack. That was a pretty sweet callback. Or I'm just going nuts and the sound of the drums is always playing in my head... Call me The Master.
Questions of the Week:
- How many times has Jenna Coleman said she's leaving the show prior to a season?
- Where did Clara and Missy actually go?