REVIEW: Doctor Who: ‘Hell Bent’

‘Hell Bent’ – the Doctor on Gallifrey, credit: bbc.co.uk

Just as we predicted in our review of ‘Heaven Sent,’ things have permanently and drastically changed in the Whoniverse… now even more so than we imagined would have happened.

Yay, it’s weekly staff review slideshow day!

When Steven Moffat predicted that viewers of ‘Hell Bent’ would be “a tiny bit devastated,” he certainly aimed for the low end of the devastation scale. Reactions have differed from fan to fan, but many are proverbially up in arms. Our staff are no exception as, in varying degrees, this general sentiment is expressed in a common vein throughout our following reviews. It is not that ‘Hell Bent’ is any more sad than the myriad of other sad episodes in the history of Doctor Who. It is that, in this case, our emotions were manipulated in a very big way. The fact that Clara has come back from what everyone thought was a sure death has united both adoring fans and disgruntled haters of the Impossible Girl.

Whovians love to imagine Moffat the Troll sitting in a dark cave, or a high tower, fingers steepled, cackling in pleasure as he first conceives of his soul crushing concepts all the way through to witnessing the devastating effects after the final products air. In the example of ‘Hell Bent,’ some of us begrudgingly adored the result, while others were sorely disappointed.

Next: To New Beginnings

‘Hell Bent’ – the Doctor in Nevada, credit: bbc.co.uk

David Hill – Co-Editor

Series Nine of Doctor Who was utterly brilliant. It hearkened back to Classic Who at multiple points, and, at the end of ‘Hell Bent,’ even wrapped up several of the loose ends that had been dangling. Yet, for some reason, Series Nine was detested by some. This confuses me.

Today, the reason for such a reaction to this series struck me – this was not an episodic season. Instead of having loosely tied together stories that lead into a dramatic climax at the end of the series, this one had far more of an overarching plot. In it, the Doctor and Clara were continually reminded of the consequences of their actions, up to Clara’s eventual (and inevitable) demise.

This decision to treat Series Nine in this manner had two effects. First, the more casual fans of the show may not have fully understood what was happening, given the numerous references to the past. Second, Steven Moffat set Doctor Who up for a bit of a revamp, Series Nine had sort of the same feel as Series Four, although the former was superior in storylines.

‘Hell Bent,’ with the epic storytelling and the ending where Clara and Me escaped to further their own adventures, was the perfect close to a brilliant season. Most of the loose ends were tied up, and even though the Doctor does not get his happy ending, he has a clean slate. Series Ten, much like Series Five, may lead Doctor Who in a different direction.

Next: An Unsatisfying Ending

‘Hell Bent’ – Clara is extracted moments before her death, credit: bbc.co.uk

James Aggas – Staff Writer

It’s such a shame that possibly the most frustrating episode of the whole of Series 9 of Doctor Who turned out to be the finale. That’s not to say that ‘Hell Bent’ is a bad episode. In fact, overall, I thought it was 99% a great episode. But it was just that 1% that came close to ruining the rest of the episode for me.

Of what I did enjoy from the episode, which was plenty: I adored the whole space western feel we got with the Doctor’s return to Gallifrey, particularly Capaldi’s silent performance, which said so much with so little. As a fan of the Classic Series, it was also incredibly rewarding to see the Doctor finally dealing with Rassilon and the High Council in a big way, and also how much respect the Doctor is finally receiving from the rest of them.

Was I disappointed about Clara’s return after her dramatic death in ‘Face the Raven’? Surprisingly, no, at least not for most of the story. I actually liked how the Doctor saving Clara wasn’t presented as a miracle or a good thing, but as something selfish, incredibly reckless, and even dangerously obsessive. The episode made it clear that the Doctor’s relationship with Clara was always going to be a far from healthy one, considering that the Master, the Doctor’s greatest enemy, was the one who set them up.

So the episode seemed perfectly set up to become a story about grief, loss, and the importance of acceptance. Along the way of telling that story, I am not ashamed to say that there were moments when I genuinely cried, even before the Doctor said goodbye to Clara one last time.

And then the ending happened.

After an hour of telling us how important it was for Clara to die and Clara actually being ready to accept her fate, at the very last minute, we see her practically ignore everything she and almost everyone else had been saying for the entire episode and risk the safety of the universe by taking advantage of “wiggle room”. Not only did it feel like a massive slap in the face of the drama of this episode, but of ‘Face the Raven’ and the excellent ‘Heaven Sent,’ too.

It’s a great shame, because if the episode had been changed to Clara just simply accepting her fate, this would have been a much more satisfying ending to Clara’s story.

Next: A Very Satisfying Finale

‘Hell Bent’ – Me, credit: bbc.co.uk

Joel Getter – Staff Writer

Another season of Doctor Who comes to a close. Although not a perfect hour of television, Steven Moffat does manage to deliver a finale that is both epic and deeply emotional. It’s an episode that says goodbye to the Impossible Girl (again) while welcoming back Gallifrey and the Time Lords.

The Doctor’s return to Gallifrey was a bit mixed for me. The scenes down in the Cloisters were a little underwhelming, as I thought the Cloister Wraiths were yet another forgettable monster. Speaking of monsters, I found myself rather annoyed that we had to have guest appearances from all of the top monsters (a Dalek, a Cyberman, and a Weeping Angel walk into a bar on Gallifrey). On the flip side, we have a shocking moment as the Doctor shoots down the General in order to escape with Clara. I applaud it as this scene shows just how far the Doctor has dropped since ‘Face the Raven.’ Then, I went into complete fanboy squealing as the Doctor and Clara take off in a copy of the original TARDIS, complete with door noises and television monitor.

Over the course of Season Nine, we watched Clara Oswald continue to evolve more and more into the Doctor. Her arc comes to a highly satisfying conclusion as she literally becomes a Doctor, complete with her own companion and TARDIS. At first, I was bothered that Moffat didn’t leave Clara’s death alone. A second viewing, however, led me to the realization that this is the only conclusion that truly made sense. I thought that the parting of the Doctor and Clara was a nice twist on the Tenth Doctor and Donna goodbye. As the Doctor takes off in the TARDIS in his velvet jacket and new sonic screwdriver, we feel the close of one chapter as a new one begins. Overall, this was an emotionally satisfying close to one of the best seasons of Doctor Who we’ve had in years.

Throughout this season, Capaldi has truly come into his own as the Doctor. Here’s to the next season when he can take his performance even further. Now it’s time to run you clever boy… and be the Doctor!

Next: I didn't want to like it, but I love it.

‘Hell Bent’ – The General, Gastron, and Ohila track the Doctor, credit: bbc.co.uk

Leah Tedesco – Assistant Editor/Staff Writer

First of all, I would like to say that, like ‘Heaven Sent,’ ‘Hell Bent’ instantly became one of my favorite Doctor Who episodes. As much of Doctor Who and, particularly, the Twelfth Doctor’s run has been, ‘Hell Bent’ is one of the most subversive episodes, eclipsing even ‘Heaven Sent’ in how much it shook up the Whoniverse. That and its scope made for an overall fantastic escapade.

The meta nods that the show gave to itself were great. The best of these (in no particular order) were 1) Me and the Doctor discussing various theories about the identity of the Hybrid, 2) the Doctor playing ‘Clara’ on his guitar, and 3) the Doctor saying, “Four knocks… It’s always four knocks.” We miss you, Wilf.

I enjoyed the way that Gallifrey was depicted, especially the contrast between the Time Lords and the peasant population. With the space western element, other franchises such as Firefly, Outlaw Star, and Trigun come to mind. The elderly woman was an amusing character, as were the rest of the peasants as they gathered to watch the Doctor eat soup. I loved the moment when he wordlessly drew a line in the sand.

As for the Time Lords, I was super psyched to see the General‘s regeneration, which not only involved a change of sex, but also a noticeable difference in skin color. It is the first time in the show’s history for these two things to happen on screen and was an appreciated nod to those of us who feel that it was long overdue for a show with such open possibilities. What makes it even better is that only one of the General’s incarnations had been male. This turns the notion – that “male” is a default state of being and “female” is a novelty – on its head. With examples such as the General (with Gastron registering only mild surprise), Missy, and the Corsair, it is time to acknowledge that regenerations such as these are fairly normal for Time Lords. As a side note, it gave me a laugh that the General’s regeneration produced eye makeup… reminded me of Jenny‘s birth.

The scene in the Cloisters was intensely disturbing, the most gut-wrenching aspect being the Dalek repeating “Exterminate Me!” After hearing Clara call out the Time Lords as being monsters, I wonder what she has in store for them when she returns to Gallifrey. I image that she and Me will probably run into Rassilon at some point, as well.

Much to Clara’s chagrin, the Doctor did not recognize her despite his declaration that he surely would if he saw her. What seemed rather odd to me was that he did not question the fact that she was taking everything that he was saying in stride. Why would a random human waitress not only believe everything that he was saying, but discuss it with him with such ease? Perhaps he was still a bit confused by the recent neural block. Speaking of that, I am not sure how he remembered anything about her as a story. It could be due to something going slightly wrong with the process as a result of Clara trying to reverse it.

My Glob, does Moffat know how to troll his audience! After watching the entire episode, I am somewhat cross with him, but cannot bring myself to be fully so. Here’s why: Those of us who love Clara were still in the grieving process in regards to her death. This was cheapened by cheatingly snatching her back from the brink, possibly even forever. Alternately, those of us who dislike her were thrilled to see her go. Her return was an annoyance, at best. I was not always, but this season put me in the former camp. I can respect how others feel about her, though.