Questions we have for the ‘Empress of Mars’
With a new episode upon us with nothing to do with the Monks or taking over the world, it seems like it’s been forever since we have no idea what to expect in this episode. Doctor Who TV has give some teasers, but really, the questions we have are, admittedly, kind of random. We know the synopsis of the episode, but what questions do we have when we look at the teasers? We’re one episode closer to what is a huge turn of events for the Doctor, so hopefully we have a one or two adventures where things are normal.
But with the Doctor, what is normal? First, let’s look at the synopsis of the episode just to make sure we know what we’re dealing with.
"Written by Mark Gatiss and directed by Wayne Yip.The Doctor, Bill and Nardole arrive on Mars, and find themselves in an impossible conflict between Ice Warriors… and Victorian soldiers. As the Martian hive awakens around them, the Doctor faces a unique dilemma – this time the humans, not the Ice Warriors are the invaders. When Earth is invading Mars, whose side is he on?"
As throughout the season, it looks like the doctor is going to face a moral dilemma that he has to work through. This episode was originally written before Nardole was cast, so there won’t be much Matt Lucas in the episode, for those who are fans of him.
Let’s go through three things we want to know throughout the episode based on teasers, synopsis, and quips we’ve heard.
(C) BBC/BBC Worldwide – Photographer: Simon Ridgway
How did the Victorian Londoners get to Mars?
It’s no secret that Gatiss seems to enjoy writing about the Victorian times. Many of his episodes take place within that time period. I think the first question that should be on everyone’s mind is how did Victorian people get to Mars?
Sure, we can argue about the planet of choice (especially as why an Ice species would make Mars their home planet), but mostly, how did they get there? If this is truly Victorian London, and not a future-Victorian time, which it doesn’t seem to be, how did they get to the planet?
Most probably, there was a glitch in time, and Victorian times got access to spaceships and decided to colonize Mars. It does seem a bit out of their league though. Practically, how would they be able to control some place so far away, when they couldn’t control 13 colonies across an ocean? No wonder the Ice Warriors want to their land back!
Many people should know that this is the home planet of the Ice Warriors, which means, unfortunately, we’re gonna get a bit political. There’s going to be the parallel between people saying that the way the Victorian London people showed up is the same way that the London people invaded other countries. Especially considering they seem to be serving the humans.
We’ll save that bit for an after-episode post.
(C) BBC/BBC Worldwide – Photographer: Jon Hall
Who really lives there?
Well, this is the question the episode is asking as a whole. The Doctor is faced with the conundrum of who should live there. The Ice Warriors, who are villains he’s faced all throughout his lives, or the Victorian Londoners, who really shouldn’t be there at all.
In this episode, who is going to end up being the antagonist? Is it possible that after everything, the Doctor is going to have to fight on the side of the villains, to give them their homeland? This isn’t the first time the Doctor has done so. It looks like, from the picture given, that the Ice Warriors are their servants, perhaps until the Empress wakes up, awakening the hive?
In the Magician’s Apprentice, the Doctor worked on behalf of the Daleks, and he’s also worked on behalf of the Silurians, although they became an ally. The Ice Warriors have been one of the longest standing villains in Doctor Who history, and one of the scariest as well. I don’t think anyone thoght the Doctor would ever have to work to help them get their home back.
On the other hand, we know the Warriors won’t politely ask for their land back. It’s definitely going to be a battle which we already know London won’t give up easily. The Doctor will most likely help the humans, only to tell them that really, they should be going home.
Mars is a bit hot, but maybe it’s a dry heat.
(C) BBC/BBC Worldwide – Photographer: Simon Ridgway
The Vault, again….again.
Yes, I thought that our pictures of the Doctor wth his ear pressed up against the vault would be over too once we found out who it is. Alas, we were all wrong, and the Doctor is still pressing his ear to the wall like a young boy.
The last we saw Missy, she was enduring the stresses of going from evil to good, or, if you like, a good therapy session. And as anyone who’s had therapy before knows, sometimes you’re not always stable after things being dredged up. Maybe the Doctor is checking on Missy? Maybe he’s worried about his friend?
Or, maybe Nardole’s small “important” role, Gatiss has been quoted saying, will be to say that Missy needs help. We can’t count on Missy continuing to be good if she’s going to team up with the Master. (More on that later, in a different post)
Either way, the vault was important enough to come up in the promo pictures for the episode, so I know it’s going to be important. However, it’s hard to do much with just a door without an actress to say lines. Also, isn’t the Doctor tired of looking after the vault? He’s done so for over a thousand years!
So really, our questions for this episode are pretty vague, and the same ones the Doctor will have. How did this happen, Who deserves the land, and What the heck does the vault need now? However, we don’t have much clue what will happen, so at least we’re in for some surprises. It’s always better to go in completely unaware of what might happen than to know kind of what might.