Doctor Who Recap: 'Before the Flood'

Prentis (Paul Kaye) seems a little confrontational for a Tivolian (Credit: BBC)

Time to wrap up another two-part adventure on Doctor Who this week. First, let’s catch up on where we ended with last week’s episode, ‘Under the Lake’: Clara was trapped underwater in the mining base known as “The Drum” with Cass and her sign-language interpreter Lunn, while the Doctor traveled back in time with Bennett and O’Donnell to uncover the mystery of the strange alien spaceship and the markings it contains. Peering out the base windows, Clara spots another ghost: the Doctor.

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‘Before the Flood’ begins with the Doctor… speaking directly to us. It’s an unusual scene, but it works as an interesting way to explain a bootstrap paradox without awkwardly inserting it into the episode’s dialogue. Basically, if the Doctor traveled back in time to meet Beethoven, but then learned there was no such person as Beethoven, and then published Beethoven’s sheet music himself, who wrote that music? The Doctor ends his explanation with an electric guitar rendition of Beethoven’s Fifth, which leads directly into a guitar-fueled title sequence (which should totally be made permanent, by the way).

The story proper takes us to the past with the Doctor, Bennett, and O’Donnell (who knows a surprising amount about the Doctor, due to her time in military intelligence). It’s the year 1980, and the village they’re in bears all the signs of being in Russia, despite the Doctor’s confirmation that they are indeed still in Scotland. It’s the height of the Cold War, you see, and the village was used to train soldiers for an invasion on Soviet soil.

They immediately hit upon the spaceship, which has a sheet-wrapped body inside; the Doctor quickly deduces that the ship is actually a hearse, and it’s not longer before they meet the undertaker. It’s the top hat-wearing ghost from back at the base, only clearly still alive at this point. His name is Prentis and he’s a Tivolian — the body is that of the Fisher King, an alien warlord who conquered Tivoli for 10 years. The Doctor demands to know how he’s turning people into ghosts and for what purpose, but Prentis has no idea what he’s talking about.

The Doctor rushes back to the TARDIS to call Clara on her cell phone (in the future). She tells him about his ghost, which is not repeating the same coordinates as the others; instead, it’s repeating a list of names — their names. Soon, the Doctor’s ghost enters the base and uses a control panel to free the other ghosts from the Faraday Cage. The Doctor asks to speak to his ghost, it’s of little use. After upsetting Clara by announcing that this means he must die, he asks to speak to her alone. He tells her that he cannot change the future, and he’s already dead there. He has no choice but to face his end.

In the meantime, Prentis returns to his ship to find the body missing. He sees the now-familiar writing on the wall (get it?) just before an ominous growling shadow approaches him.

The Doctor instructs Clara and the others to return to the Faraday cage and to put her phone outside within eyesight (the cage will block the phone’s signal, so it cannot be taken inside). Bennett, O’Donnell, and the Doctor venture back outside and find Prentis’ dead body in the ship. Before long, they hear the growls and screams of the Fisher King (thanks to Slipknot’s Corey Taylor, by the way) and run for cover. Losing ground, O’Donnell suggests splitting up and runs in a separate direction. The Doctor and Bennett hide in a locked room, while O’Donnell takes shelter behind a wall. Sensing the coast is clear, she steps out but is approached by the same ominous growling shadow.

Bennett hears her screams and runs after her, the Doctor in pursuit. They find her only moments before she dies. Bennett confronts the Doctor, realizing now that the names his ghost are repeating represent the order in which they will all die. Clara is next on the list, and he knows the Doctor will change history to save her, even though he did nothing to save O’Donnell. The Doctor reluctantly admits that Bennett is right.

O’Donnell’s ghost then conveniently makes her appearance back at the base and steals Clara’s phone. Realizing that Lunn is the only one who didn’t read the alien message, Clara tasks him with retrieving the phone. Despite protestations from Cass, Lunn agrees to go, hoping that Clara is correct in her assumption that they won’t hurt him. He makes it to the phone, but the ghosts lock the doors, trapping him inside the room.

(Continued on next page)

Next: PAGE TWO: Death and Deception

Peter Capaldi as the Doctor, facing off against the terrifying Fisher King in the Series 9 Doctor Who episode ‘Before the Flood.’ (Credit: BBC)

The Doctor and Bennett return to the TARDIS and the Doctor announces his intention to go back to the base and rescue Clara. Timeline be damned, he’s not going to die and Clara will be saved, and there’s no one who can stop him — except the TARDIS. She refuses to let him leave, transporting them back only one hour to when they first arrived. Bennett and the Doctor hide to avoid running into their past selves, but when Bennett attempts to warn O’Donnell, the Doctor tackles him and rips his coat, matching the rip Clara spotted on his ghost. The Doctor realizes now that there’s no avoiding it — he has to die.

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Entering the church alone, the Doctor confronts the terrifying Fisher King. The alien confirms that he is using the message to create beacons, who will beam the coordinates to his people. Soon, an armada will arrive and free him from the suspended animation chamber he is preparing to enter. The Doctor tells him he’s already changed history, removing the message and preventing anyone from coming to his rescue. He shoves the Doctor aside and races toward his ship.

Back in the future, Cass and Clara set out to find Lunn and find themselves being rounded up by the ghosts. In the past, the Fisher King enters the ship and finds the message still intact — the Doctor lied. There is a missing power cell, though (which we knew about from last episode). The Doctor has placed it under the dam and set it to explode. The dam crumbles and the Fisher King prepares to meet his fate.

The TARDIS senses the danger and initiates an emergency protocol, whisking Bennett away inside as the Fisher King is swept away by the flood. Back on the base, Clara, Cass, and Lunn are corralled near the suspended animation chamber as it finally opens: inside is the Doctor. He pops out and puts his sonic sunglasses into a port on the base controls. His ghost leads the others back into the Faraday cage before disappearing. It was all a ruse; the Doctor was never a ghost, it was a hologram projected by the sonic sunglasses and broadcast by the station’s wifi signal.

With the Fisher King long dead and the ghosts contained and ready a UNIT pickup, it’s time for the Doctor and Clara to leave. First, a grieving Bennett goads Lunn into confessing his love for Cass — something Bennett never had the chance to confess to O’Donnell.

Back on the TARDIS, the Doctor explains to Clara that he only created the hologram and gave it the instructions that it gave because Clara had told him about it — it’s the same bootstrap paradox the Doctor introduced in the intro. With a knowing smirk, the Doctor looks into the camera and shrugs.

Best lines from ‘Before the Flood’:

“Google it.”
“My first proper alien and he’s an idiot.”
“The regeneration is a bit of a clerical error anyway.”
“Doctor! Such an honour! I’ve always been such a huge fan.”
“Has traveling with the Doctor changed you, or were you always so willing to put other people’s lives at risk?”
“Maybe it will be that the universe is ruled by cats or something in the future.”
“Don’t kiss me — morning breath!”

While not as tense as ‘Under the Lake,’ ‘Before the Flood’ made for an excellent second act. The whole thing felt like one long Doctor Who movie — probably the closest we’ll ever get to a real Doctor Who movie.

Stick around on Monday morning when we’ll have our round table review of this week’s episode from the entire staff. Next week, the Doctor is off to the Viking age and a meeting with Game of Thrones‘ Maisie Williams. We’ll have full coverage all week and another recap next Saturday.

For more on all of the upcoming episodes, check out our frequently updated guide: Doctor Who Series 9: Everything There is to Know So Far.

What did you think about ‘Before the Flood’? Any thoughts or theories you’d like to throw out? Tell us about it in the comments below!

Next: REVIEW: Doctor Who: Tip of the Tongue by Patrick Ness (Short Story)

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Doctor Who Recap: ‘Before the Flood’

By Barry Rice | Oct 10, 2015

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