Doctor Who Preview: What to Watch For in The Witch’s Familiar
By David Hill
Peter Capaldi as the Twelfth Doctor in a promotional image from ‘The Witch’s Familiar,’ the second episode of Doctor Who’s ninth series.(Credit: BBC)
Well, Series Nine of Doctor Who is off to a tremendous start already. We have seen Missy return, and be her usual charming, yet murderous, self. The Doctor is seemingly at peace with himself, able to relax and cut loose instead of being the dour curmudgeon that he had been in Series Eight. Skaro has once again returned, and the Daleks may finally have the Doctor where they want him. Oh, and the cliffhanger at the end of The Magician’s Apprentice? Brilliant.
As with any excellent two part episode, there are a number of questions that still need to be answered. Right now, the Daleks would appear to have the upper hand on the Doctor, but can that really last? Will Davros finally get his revenge after all of those years?
These questions will be answered later today. But what of those other questions that are left twisting about our minds, those questions that we hope will be answered in tonight’s episode? There are so many things left unanswered, and that includes a different strategy from the Daleks.
So, in the hours remaining before Series Nine continues, let us take a look at those questions that we are hoping to have resolved when Doctor Who continues again tonight. If you have theories of your own, or if there is a question that you are hoping to have answered, let us know in the comments!
Next: Strategy from a Dalek?
credit: monkeysfightingrobots.com
Typically, strategy from a Dalek is quite simple – they appear en masse, proclaim their intention to exterminate everything in sight, and then commit genocide in their quest to expand the Dalek Empire. Of all the creatures on Doctor Who, subtlety and strategy are definitely not a strength of theirs.
And yet, we saw just that from the Daleks. The gladiator that the Doctor was set to fight proved to be a Dalek in disguise, sent back in time to find where the TARDIS was located. They appropriated the Doctor’s craft, bringing it back to Skaro for Davros to have one more thing to gloat about. And Skaro? Well, that was carefully hidden, making it look as though Davros was aboard a vessel floating through space, until the time was right to reveal how much trouble the Doctor truly is in.
Is this a new side to the Dalek menace? Have they become so much more than a genocidal race, looking to exterminate every other creature without thought? Are they now using more subtle methods, including subterfuge and spying, to scout out their enemies, striking at the perfect moment? Have the Daleks, after years of coming up short against the Doctor, have figured out that they need to be more subtle than the rampaging horde they had been?
The Daleks are using strategy. If this is going to continue, they could become an even more troublesome foe on Doctor Who.
Next: What happened to the TARDIS?
(Credit: BBC America)
We know that the Daleks have the ability to exterminate and destroy any creatures they run across on Doctor Who. They have been able to blow up walls and buildings using their rays. Yet, even with this ability, it would have seemed that the TARDIS would be safe from their disintegration beams. After all, it is built to withstand time and space.
That is why, when the Daleks focused their beams upon the TARDIS, removing it from existence, it was such a shock. Now the Doctor is truly at the mercy of Davros and his brethren, seemingly without a way to escape. Could the Doctor be stranded there on Skaro?
Even if the TARDIS is hidden away somewhere, this certainly brings up questions. Did the Daleks manage to transport it to another location? Or did the Doctor create another safe mode for the TARDIS, giving his craft the ability to become invisible if need be? Let us not forget that this occurred during an episode entitled The Magician’s Apprentice.
The Doctor certainly did a great job of looking convinced that the TARDIS was gone, taken away by the Daleks. Even if it was not, the question of what happened to the TARDIS will certainly need to be answered during the second part of the episode.
Next: Are Missy and Clara truly dead?
(Credit: BBC)
Prior to the TARDIS being zapped away to some other location, and presumably far from the Doctor, there was another shock. The Daleks, who were seemingly under orders to take away everything that matters to the Doctor, had exterminated both Missy and Clara, right before his eyes. Now, the Doctor is once again alone in the world, without help as he faces his greatest enemy.
Or is it that simple? While we know that Clara will be leaving, and is rumored to be killed off during the season, could that really happen during the first episode? Missy has presumably died plenty of times before, especially as the Master, yet continues to resurface. The Daleks could not have taken care of both of them that easily, right?
And yet, that is exactly what appears to have happened. Missy and Clara have been exterminated, or sent to some other area, leaving the Doctor to face this threat alone. Unless the Doctor was able to find a way to protect his friends, just as he would have needed to protect the TARDIS, he will not have the help it appears that he needs.
Will Missy and Clara return? Or have we seen the last of them on Doctor Who?
Next: Will the Doctor actually kill young Davros?
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It just seems wrong, doesn’t it? The idea that the Doctor could actually kill the young Davros would theoretically go against everything that we have come to know about Doctor Who, and remove the heroic mantle in which the Doctor is adorned. After all, how can one be the savior of the weak and downtrodden when he is killing those least able to protect themselves?
Yet, there is precedent for him to do so. As Leah pointed out yesterday, the Doctor did kill the Racnoss Empress’ children, drowning them in an act of cruelty. While this incarnation of the Doctor may struggle with the concept of whether or not he is a good man, his history does lend itself to the potential that he could pull the trigger and kill Davros.
While doing so would likely eliminate the Dalek threat throughout time and space, and could be taken as the means justifying the end, this could also be a terrible mistake. Remember that Peter Capaldi did state that the Doctor will make a mistake that will have “cataclysmic repercussions.” In killing young Davros, the Doctor would be branded as a child killer, one who killed a young lad when he could have saved him. In saving Davros, he could also make a mistake, keeping the Daleks from being enough of a threat to hold other forces at bay. Or, will he just leave well enough alone, and simply disappear?
The fate of young Davros could dramatically alter the past, present and future of Doctor Who. What will the Doctor do now?
Next: Why bring it up now?
(Credit: BBC)
“Davros knows. Davros remembers.”
Those lines, as vague as they were when first uttered, have proven to have had a dramatic affect upon the Doctor. It was this moment, out of everything that the Doctor has done, that has proven to be in the back of his mind, that nagging memory that he cannot suppress.
Considering the various battles that the Doctor has had with Davros over the years, why wait until now to make mention of this moment? Yes, the flashbacks depict the Twelfth Doctor, but that does not mean anything. Having the Doctor’s screwdriver, and just knowing what will happen, would seemingly be enough of a weapon against him.
Perhaps, now that Davros is dying, he feels that his is the perfect moment for him to have his final victory. Yet, one would have imagined that he would want to see this moment much earlier, as he could have neutralized the Doctor and expanded the Dalek Empire with less interference. Watching the Doctor be forced to stand by while the Daleks spread would have been the ultimate revenge for Davros.
Instead, he chose this moment as the one where the Doctor’s secret could be brought to light. Why now, in his dying moments?
Next: Will The Witch's Familiar Deliver?
credit: sciencefiction.com
There are many questions left to be answered in tonight’s episode of Doctor Who, more than we could mention here. However, these questions may be the most important, and could have the biggest impact upon Doctor Who going forward.
Of course, we may not get answers to every question that arose during the first episode. After all, there needs to be that overarching story line, one that may be difficult to determine based on the first couple of episodes. And, it is definitely like Steven Moffat to leave the fans asking questions, yet to not give them an answer.
Those five questions are the biggest ones left after watching The Magician’s Apprentice. In fact, the answers to these questions could, as Capaldi stated, completely alter the Doctor, as a part of those repercussions could have to do with how he is perceived by the universe at large. The Doctor is certainly in a tough situation, and not just because he is alone with Davros on Skaro.
What other questions are you hoping will be answered tonight? Let us know in the comments!