REVIEW: Doctor Who: ‘The Woman Who Lived’

credit: whatsontv.co.uk

This week was part two of Doctor Who‘s “Ashildr” story with Game of Thrones actress Maisie Williams. Last week, the Doctor and Clara headed back to the time of the Vikings and helped a village remove the growing threat of an alien race called the Mire. In the process, young Ashildr was killed and the Doctor revived her using a Mire medical kit, which had the side effect of making her immortal.

In ‘The Woman Who Lived,’ the Doctor is traveling without Clara when he meets Ashildr again in 17th century England. She no longer goes by the name Ashildr, though, and has changed significantly since last they met. So how was this latest Doctor Who adventure?

If you’re a regular reader, you’ll know that we’re taking a different format for our episode reviews this year. Rather than post one long review from a designated writer, we’re collecting the thoughts of our entire staff and posting them all together as a sort of round table review. So let’s begin…

Next: The Effects of Immortality

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Ashildr (Maisie Williams) and her lion-faced friend. (Credit: BBC)

David Hill – Co-Editor

In ‘The Woman Who Lived,’ Doctor Who took a look at immortality from a completely different angle. We saw what spending all of those years never changing or growing old would look like from the vantage point of those who have to watch everyone they care about die off. It must not be easy.

As could be expected, Ashildr covered her heartache and sorrow by ceasing to care about anything aside from herself, going so far as to call herself ‘Me.’ Naturally, by the end of the episode, the Doctor got through to her, teaching her that it is still perfectly acceptable to care about others.

In doing so, the Doctor and Ashildr save the world from potentially being conquered by the Leonians, a group of lion faced aliens whose agent on Earth was named Leandro. The lack of subtlety aside in the naming conventions, one has to wonder exactly why these beings were brought in to the episode. They simply were not needed.

The struggle of Ashildr in trying to rediscover her humanity despite her immortality would have been enough. The plot involving the Eye of Hades could have even remained, as seeing someone about to die a horridly painful death brought back those feelings of humanity.

Leandro, on the other hand, felt like a tacked on sterotypical villain who just happened to be alien. Even his laugh was that generic evil being laugh. This was the supreme bad guy, and the one who helped Ashildr realize that she still cared? Right….

The Woman Who Lived was utterly brilliant in every aspect except one – the inclusion of a villain who was so one dimensional it was painful. Let’s forget that the Leonians existed and focus on the rest of the episode.

Next: Foreshadowing and a Useless Villain

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The Doctor (Peter Capaldi), complete with sonic sunglasses and a new gizmo. (Credit: BBC)

Leah Tedesco – Assistant Editor/Staff Writer

In ‘The Girl Who Died,’ we had the head of a god appear in the clouds to talk to people on Earth. In ‘The Woman Who Lived,’ in regards to the Black Death, we had the line, “. . . I got better.” How delightful that we were treated to two Monty Python and the Holy Grail nods in one Doctor Who story! If you noticed any more, let us know.

Speaking of treats, how about that foreshadowing? Boy, do Whovians love them some foreshadowing, and ‘The Woman Who Lived’ is jampacked with it. From it being unclear whether or not Sam Swift will be immortal, to the mention of Captain Jack Harkness and how “he’ll get ‘round to eventually,” to Ashildr being coy about who told her about the Doctor, to her saying that she will “be the patron saint of the Doctor’s leftovers” and appearing in the background of the selfie, to her warning him that Clara will inevitably die and his sad face at the end when she says “I’m not going anywhere” — the show’s story arc is being set up for all sorts of future excitement.

Oh, Leandro, you poor, unfortunate, two dimensional plot device of a character. The writers seem to have simply gotten lazy with your dialogue and story arc while being distracted with making everyone else’s parts fantastic. So we’ll give you a pass on this one, Ariyon Bakare. That stilted villain laugh, however… well, that’s on you, man. At least you looked really cool.

Also, did Maisie Williams in this episode remind anyone else of a very young Bernadette Peters?

Next: The Redemption of Maisie Williams

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Ashildr (Maisie Williams) in her new identity as the highwayman called The Nightmare. (Credit: BBC)

J.R. Frontera – Staff Writer

WOW!

When it was announced during the off season that Maisie Williams had landed a role in Doctor Who, I knew she’d do a great job. As a fan of the Game of Thrones series, I was well aware of her talents. However, when she appeared on “The Girl Who Died” last week, I found myself a little disappointed. I couldn’t quite put my finger on what it was about her performance that didn’t exactly sit well with me, but there was just something about it that seemed beneath her true abilities.

This week, in “The Woman Who Lived”, I think I realized what it was about last week that didn’t seem right.

Last week, as Ashildr, she was a generally happy, upbeat, positive young girl.

This week she was a dark, menacing, brooding immortal soul in the body of a young woman.

I now know why Maisie Williams was cast to play the part of Arya Stark … she can positively nail the darker roles. Maybe what didn’t seem right to me last week was her cheerfulness! Perhaps I had seen her too often as Arya Stark, so Ashildr’s kind of bubbly (although fierce in her own way) character just didn’t seem to fit right.

But goodness, as Lady Me, I was absolutely blown away. I cannot believe how well she played that part. She went toe-to-toe with Peter Capaldi and owned every scene she was in. I was enthralled by her performance in this episode, and thoroughly enjoyed pretty much everything else about it, too. I loved the parallels between Lady Me and The Doctor and how they were brought to the fore without seeming forced and fake.

I was originally just as irritated as Lady Me that The Doctor wouldn’t take her with him … who would make a better companion than she?! I kept thinking. Except for when The Doctor explained … “the Mayflies remind us of what’s really important.”

WHAT. WHOA. Since I began watching Doctor Who, I’ve wondered more than once what The Doctor’s true fascination with human beings really was. WHY is it, really, that he just keeps picking one of us up as a companion when they are *so* many other options out there in the big, wide galaxy?

And this episode managed to bring out one of his biggest reasons: humans keep him grounded. They keep him from turning unfeeling and numb, emotionless. They keep his perspective in check, and remind him of what’s most important: life. Love. Devotion. Companionship.

I loved it. This episode far exceeded my expectations, and Maisie Williams was absolutely incredible in her role as Lady Me. The best thing is, I think, that it appears she’s still out there for later appearances. As with Missy, the occasional sprinkling of Lady Me could be great fun.

And did you catch the reference to Captain Jack? “He’ll get around to you eventually.” PLEASE tell me this means he’ll swoop in for a cameo sometime this season!

We can only hope …

Next: A Complimentary Standalone

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Ashildr/The Nighmare’s mysterious accomplice. (Credit: BBC)

James Aggas – Staff Writer

One thing that came across instantly with ‘The Woman Who Lived’ is that plot-wise, it isn’t the second half of a story. There’s a new time period, a new threat and even a new writer. Plot-wise, I thought that like last week, it was mostly harmless fun, a nice story of highwaymen and aliens, but once again, the plot wasn’t really the focus of the episode. The only continuing thread from ‘The Girl Who Died’ is Ashildr, or as she refers to herself in this episode, Me, as we see how she’s changed hundreds of years later. But I think there will definitely be a benefit from watching ‘The Girl Who Died’/’The Woman Who Lived’ back to back.

The biggest reason is the sheer contrast between Ashildr and Me, thanks to both the writing and to Maisie Williams’s performance. Last week, she was playing a young girl with a big imagination and a short temper, but this week, she’s a woman who has lost a lot of the kindness and compassion that she once had. I loved the sheer anger she had at the Doctor, not for making her immortal, but for nottaking her with him and trapping her on one world. Once again, this provides another chance into looking at not just the people the Doctor affects on his travels, but also the Doctor himself.

The whole time during the episode, I couldn’t help but think, “Wouldn’t an immortal companion be ideal for someone like the Doctor?”, so I liked the explanation at the end that someone who didn’t have to worry about death wouldn’t give him the perspective he needed. I also really liked that the episode clearly sets up Me’s return, at least. So overall, another pretty good episode that focused more on character than on story.

Next: Less Action, More Insight

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Rufus Hound as Sam Swift. (Credit: BBC)

Joel Getter – Staff Writer

Remember when the Doctor arrived somewhere, faced an impossible threat, saved the day, and then rushed off to the next adventure? ‘The Woman Who Lived’ is not that type of episode. Instead, we get an episode where the pace is slowed down considerably in order to question some heavy moral dilemmas. Thankfully, we have two leads that pull this off beautifully. Both Peter Capaldi and Maisie Williams give standout performances. It’s just too bad that the plot and alien menace in this episode are complete rubbish.

I thought Maisie Williams gave a standout performance, showing a completely different personality than she played in the prior episode thanks to her centuries of immortality. I liked how she was able to go from hating the Doctor to that disappointment when she learns that he didn’t arrive just for her. She definitely takes top prize for title of The Girl Who Waited. I also loved how she can’t remember everything about her past, thanks to the limits of human memory. This was a different take on being immortal which was interesting.

I hope Capaldi continues to play the Doctor for a long time. He perfectly captures the weight of playing the Time Lord, and goes from strength to strength. At first, I was disappointed at the absence of Clara, but this allowed more direct one-on-one interaction between the Doctor and Ashildr, who now just goes by “Me.” I’m interested to see where this goes and how it connects to the overall narrative of the series, particularly as our immortal friend is apparently stalking Clara. I’m guessing this won’t end well.

Unfortunately, we are once again given another forgettable alien menace, this time in the form of Leandro, a creature that looked like the love child of the Cowardly Lion and Ron Perlman’s character from that Beauty and the Beast series from the 80’s. I mean he breathes fire, so that’s kind of cool right? Like the Mire from last week’s installment, we will most likely never see these aliens again.

Next time, it appears the pace will pick up with the return of the Zygons!

Next: What Did You Think About 'The Woman Who Lived'?

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So there are our thoughts on ‘The Woman Who Lived,’ but what did you think? Take our poll and tell us:

Next week, a new two-part adventure begins with the return of the Zygons. Here’s how Steven Moffat described the episode to Radio Times:

"A long time ago, the Doctor made a deal in the Tower Of London. 20 million Zygons walk among us, in human form, living undetected in peace and harmony. But cracks are showing in this delicate peace. Humans and Zygons are disappearing. In city apartment blocks, lifts are going missing, and far below the streets of Britain, alien pods are growing in secret caverns. Unit’s scientific advisor, Osgood, sends a desperate message to the Doctor – but since Osgood is long dead, how is that even possible?"

And here’s the trailer for ‘The Zygon Invasion’:

We’ll have a preview for the new episode later this week, followed by a full episode recap after it airs, and another round table review on Monday. For more on all the upcoming episodes, read our guide: Doctor Who Series 9: Everything There is to Know So Far.

What did you think about ‘The Woman Who Lived’? Any theories or other thoughts you’d like to share? Post your remarks in the comments below.

Next: Is Captain Jack Set to Return?