Doctor Who Review: ‘The Twilight Kingdom’ (Audio)

The Eighth Doctor and his companions find themselves in the middle of a civil war, as his third season ends with ‘The Twilight Kingdom’.

And so we reach the end of the third season. Is this a suitably epic finale that matches up to ‘Neverland’?

Well, no, not really, and it would be unfair to compare the two. ‘Neverland’ isn’t just one of my favourite finales. It was also the finale to the whole story arc that began in Charley’s first season with ‘Storm Warning’. Which is understandable – for a series to really have an effective “arc”, it usually needs to develop over more than just four stories. (Well, unless it’s Sherlock, of course.)

It’s very much the same case for ‘The Twilight Kingdom’. It isn’t a story that resolves the Divergent Universe arc, because there’s still a great deal more to develop. So it would be unfair to judge it as a “finale”. As a standalone story in its own right, though?

There are a lot of elements here that feel very familiar. The Doctor and his friends caught between two sides in a war. For a lot of the story, they spend it underground in caves. There’s a monster lurking within those caves. A lot of this feels reminiscent of the mid-eighties. Especially one of my favourites, ‘The Caves of Androzani’.

Not to say that this story is as strong as ‘Caves’. In fact, it’s almost unfortunate that it is so reminiscent, as it’s really hard not to make comparisons.

‘The Twilight Kingdom’ has some really interesting ideas, but for some reason, it’s not a story that grabs me. Maybe it’s to do with the characters. They’re ok, but they don’t grab your attention like the very best characters do, whether they’re heroes or villains.

Or maybe it’s how the main characters are themselves that make ‘The Twilight Kingdom’ difficult to love. Particularly the Doctor himself. While Paul McGann is still my favourite, the direction his Doctor took during the Divergent Universe arc is one of my least favourite depictions of the character.

When Eight began, all the way back in the TV movie, one thing came across very clearly: he was passionate. Keep in mind, I’m not just referring to his Doctor kissing Grace. It’s more in the way he acted. Whether he was serious, or fun, or hilarious, he looked and acted at everything with such strong emotion.

In this story, however, he’s noticeably subdued. He’s a Time Lord in a universe without Time, exiled from not just his own universe, but a crucial part of who he was. It’s an interesting story to tell, but McGann’s Doctor just comes across as so passive.

It’s not that I want “my” Doctor to be super happy all the time. In fact, what I’ve enjoyed most about Eight is the darkness and pain that he goes through. But when it’s done right, he’s full of fire and rage, or even deep sorrow. It’s a big reason why I love ‘Scherzo’ so much. Here, however, he’s almost emotionally dead. And this direction isn’t something I’m really keen on.

‘The Twilight Kingdom’ is far from a bad story. It’s certainly much better than ‘The Creed of the Kromon’, at least. It just comes across as too familiar and too bleak.

Next: How To Throw Your Very Own Doctor Who Watch Party Because You Totally Deserve It

If there is one thing I really liked about it, it’s how it pushed the arc forward. I mentioned earlier that it’s not a finale, and it isn’t. It is a story that reveals a lot more clues and hints and pushes things forward, at least. The closing moments – in fact, the very last word of the story – still gives me chills. ‘The Twilight Kingdom’ ends not with a bang, but with the promise of greater things to come. More than that: the promise that, very soon, the Doctor will find a way home…