Doctor Who: Four Questions for ‘The Eaters of Light’
Well, it’s finally here. Good or bad, excited or scared, we’ve reached what is basically the end of season 10. This is our last one-off if you can even call it that. The end will connect to what is the beginning of the end (do I sound dramatic enough?).
I don’t know about you, but I’m pretty excited. We spent most of the week talking about last week’s episode, and not much talking about this episode. So here we go, let’s list the questions we have coming into this episode and the rest of the season. (Don’t worry, we’ll still do questions for each episode coming up as well)
Here’s the synopsis for this episode:
"Written by Rona Munro and directed by Charles Palmer.A long time ago, the ninth legion of the Roman army vanished into the mists of Scotland. Bill has a theory about what happened, and the Doctor has a time machine. But when they arrive in ancient Aberdeenshire, what they find is a far greater threat than any army. In a cairn, on a hillside, is a doorway leading to the end of the world…"
Now that we know about the episode, let’s go on and think about what we want to know about this episode!
Credit:BBC
What Will Missy Do in this Episode?
Michelle Gomez is listed as being in this episode. We don’t know how for how long, but we’ll definitely expect her to be in it.
So this question is not so much as will she be in the episode, but how much trouble will she cause? Will she go back in the vault willingly, or will this be the beginning of her trying to find the Master/the Master arc? Remember, even though this is technically a one-off episode, it still most likely going to be the very beginning of the exposition into the two parter.
She doesn’t seem to be in any of previews, but we can no longer trust previews or Moffat (not that we ever could). They completely shocked us with Missy last week. For all we know, John Simm could pop up and surprise us.
But the big question, beyond the questions of the storyline, is what will Missy do? Will she go back in the vault willingly, or will she put up a fight? Will she spend most of the episode in the TARDIS, allowing for any vault-drama to happen in the end, leading to the two-parter?
The answer to these questions is, obviously: we have no idea. We don’t know anything about what’s coming, and it’s probably best to just keep our minds to this episode. But it’s so much fun to guess, right?
Credit: BBC
What’s up, Doctor?
I’m so sorry, I am so sorry, but the opportunity presented itself to write ‘what’s up, Doc’ and I had to take it. I’ll go put myself in the DWW official corner of shame.
But seriously, what’s going on with the Doctor? Missy obviously knows something’s wrong, but the question is, why was she the only one who noticed? Bill has been with him the entire time, as has Nardole. They surely would notice if something was wrong. Nothing has been pointed out as being wrong with the Doctor.
Does this mean that it’s something only Timelords can detect? We posted a fan theory about what could be happening as well as my own, but the fan theory was somewhat easy to find things against it (and I never bet on myself).
But something has to be going on, and hopefully, we’ll see more of that this week in the episode. Just hopefully nothing that comes in a bad time that could put them all in danger…
Who am I kidding.
Credit: BBC
What DID happen to the ninth legion of Rome?
It looks like for Capaldi’s final one off, we’ve also gone back to the Classic era to when the Doctor Who was all about history. This episode, as per the synopsis, is about Bill’s theory of what could have happened. And, well, what else would you do if you had a time machine?
For people who aren’t history buffs (or maybe just learned about this googling the episode), here’s a small lesson of what has baffled historians for years.
From BBC themselves:
"The disappearance of Rome’s Ninth Legion has long baffled historians, but could a brutal ambush have been the event that forged the England-Scotland border, asks archaeologist Dr Miles Russell, of Bournemouth University. One of the most enduring legends of Roman Britain concerns the disappearance of the Ninth Legion."
We don’t really get a glimpse of the monsters, besides the fact that they obviously are eaters of light. Doctor Who is once again facing white-washing of time when we see an African American soldier. (But don’t worry, people who have had enough PC, just enjoy the ensemble cast) It has been nice that we’ve seen the writers and directors of Doctor Who make sure we see people of all races throughout time (and space!). This episode seems to do just the same.
BBC
Will we hear anything about Amy and Rory?
Rory was obviously not part of the ninth legion, nor were his Romans in Scotland, so don’t expect a cameo, Rory fans. However, a couple lines about him wouldn’t be out of the question, would it? I don’t think so. I hope that before the drama begins, Moffat gives a farewell to Rory the Roman and Amy the best he can. He already seems to be doing so by giving us an episode about the Romans.
You can’t tell me this isn’t somehow a farewell or a calling to one of the most iconic characters in Moffat’s era. We’ll never forget the Boy Who Waited. Especially because Amy Pond was of course, from Scotland. Even if this is a true historical issue, I’m calling it an episode dedicated to our favorite human couple.
Final thoughts
My final thoughts about this episode are: most likely, unless the Romans and pigs have a really great story line, I’m not expecting much from this episode. Most of us are too excited as to what Missy has up her sleeve, what’s going on with the Doctor, and when will we see John Simm. Last week’s episode was surprisingly good, but I’m not coming in thinking that they’re going to be able to pull off two episodes that are going to distract us.
Whovians are pretty much known for wanting the drama and wanting it NOW.
Also, where is the thirteenth doctor reveal?