Doctor Who Review: Episode 4, ‘Knock Knock’
Credit: BBC
Doctor Who’s fourth episode of season ten, Knock Knock, did its job — had us terrified throughout the episode, and even more confused at the end. Even without the 3D audio, it hardly took away from the episode. The acting was tremendous, the storyline was fantastic, overall, it was just a wonderful episode. Each episode this season seems to be topping the last.
Knock Knock:
In what is supposed to be the scariest and creepiest episode, Bill and her five friends are trying to find a place to live. However, being students and having not too much money, their options are limited to small and dirty flats. Honestly, I don’t see how this shows a ‘housing crisis’ in Britain, considering that seems to be how it is with any city and with any student budget. It definitely isn’t exclusive to Britain.
While they’re looking at these small and drafty houses, they come across a landlord (Suchet). Because…you should always trust a man you meet on the street telling you to come live in his house? They immediately begin to experience odd occurrences. While they shrug it off to an old house, the Doctor isn’t so quick.
My issues with Bill:
This is the first episode I found that I didn’t like the companion. In the past three episodes, she’s been great and brought out a new side of the Doctor. It’s been a remnant of Ten and Donna. But multiple things had me wanting to move on from Bill and get on with the storyline.
Doesn’t she know he’s a Time Lord? Are we still in the learning stage about the Doctor? We’re a month into the season! Come on, things to do, civilizations to save! Pick up the pace here!
This is primarily an opinion of mine, but I don’t like that the companions of 11 and 12 had lives outside of the TARDIS. I much preferred when they stayed with the Doctor the entire time. In the episodes where they are dealing with issues outside of the realm of time and space, it seems weird to have the main character (the Doctor) there at all.
But isn’t called Doctor Who?
Why Doesn’t The Doctor Want To Talk Regeneration?
Also, when we’re talking about being the Time Lord, the Doctor gets a look on his face that I didn’t like. This had a distinct “Moffat has done something and you don’t know what it is” feeling about it. Is it like David Tennant where 10 knew throughout his last season that it was coming? Or does he already know something? Either way, regeneration is on the Doctor’s mind.
Suchet’s best acting
As the storyline progresses, people start disappearing. Quickly, people begin to get eaten by the walls of the house and alien cockroaches. The creaking sound they’re hearing? People from inside the house.
The landlord explains that he has to feed people to help his daughter. When she was younger, he claimed to bring insects into her room, and they cured her sickness by turning her to wood. However, it’s Bill questions the story, saying it doesn’t make sense from the point of view from a father to a daughter, more likely through a son to a mother. As the wood nymph realizes that Bill is right, she has to take control of the landlord and take responsibility.
This brings us to Suchet’s best scene. It has to be hard to work with someone who is obviously CGI, but the acting as he tells the wood nymph that he’s been killing people for her made you want to cry. In the end, it’s the story of a boy doing everything to save his mother. Isn’t that what you would do for your mother? We don’t endorse killing, but he does a fantastic job of bringing the innocence of a child into his acting, despite his age.
What is in the vault?
What is possibly the most interesting scene is the last scene, where we go to the vault. This time, we hear a piano, and we hear Twelve talking to whomever or whatever is inside of it. It’s obviously someone he knows, obviously, someone he likes, and obviously someone who…enjoys a good story about people being murdered…?
The Master is too easy to believe, so I think the ending about people being murdered getting whomever interesting is a red herring. The piano has to be a hint, but what could it possibly be?
Moffat was right, if we had to wait for 12 episodes, I think we would go insane.
Easter eggs!
Did you notice the Easter Egg from Classic Who from one of the flatmates who is related to one of the older companions? Did you hear him ask who the Prime Minister was?
Next: Questions For Knock Knock