‘Doctor Who 9×10: Face the Raven’ Review
Doctor Who is a show that can make me swear at my television, because it can be so very annoying at times. With Doctor Who 9×10: Face the Raven, I knew what was coming as it was evident that one of my biggest grievances with Season 9 was about to cause issues for Clara and The Doctor…
When Rigsy (Joivan Wade) calls Clara (Jenna Coleman) in an emergency she and The Doctor (Peter Capaldi) answer his call for help. With a tattoo on his neck counting down to zero it soon becomes clear when it reaches zero it will result in his death. Looking for a way to save him it leads the trio to a trap street and the reappearance of Ashildr (Maisie Williams) as well as a very stupid move from an arrogant companion.
I can’t say much more than what I have above without spoiling the episode, and I do have to try really hard to not do that. The fact is Face the Raven annoyed me, but for very good reasons, and they all revolve around the character of Clara.
Once again she is foolhardy and too arrogant in her own belief that she is invincible and that leads to a very stupid action that she believes she can get away with, which is nothing new. Even the Doctor says it is an “ongoing problem” before things finally come to a head in some very emotional scenes. With the fact we are now in the second half of the season prepare for the darkness to arrive, and the next episode looks very impressive indeed.
While I say that Clara annoys me in this episode, it is not Jenna Coleman’s acting that I found poor, but it was the character herself. Finally, we get the answer about why she is so arrogant, it was all leading up to this moment with reasons for these actions. I’d say it was brave as Doctor Who as a show to start this story arc so soon in the season to get to this point, I know that I for one didn’t like the way both Clara and The Doctor were finding too much fun in danger and now it’s come to bite them in the butt.
With the return of Ashildr my view on the Doctor’s actions have also come to fruition, even though what she does isn’t intentionally evil. As always this is down to what The Doctor has done, and he knows he has caused what is to come, and I think it is safe to assume that he is going to go through a few changes leading up to the end of this season. Doctor Who 9×10: Face the Raven is a pivotal episode, and if you’ve read any spoilers as to what is coming in the finale, then this is where it is all beginning.
Doctor Who 9×10: Face the Raven is an episode that is not without its problems, but it will hit Doctor Who fans with all the emotions. There are exciting things to come, especially with The Doctor as you can almost feel the change in him, and the anger brewing. I won’t spoil what happens, because that is for you to watch. Just be prepared, because things are going to get very interesting from this point on.
****½ 4.5/5
