Review: The Eaters of Light overall good, but hit clunky notes
The Eaters of Light came to be all about taking the time to hear the music. Did the episode play well, and hit all the notes? Or did it get a bit out of tune. Let’s look at some key parts of the episode that may have had an impact.
Credit: BBC
Bill
At this point, we’re 10 episodes in, and most people have made up their minds about Bill. I don’t think my issues with Bill are anything Pearl Mackie is doing, but the writing. How did she just realize that there was help with languages? She’s met aliens, did she think everyone spoke English? This is what I mean when I’ve mentioned before that I find her a little thick.
However, I do have to give her credit for the fact that she somehow figured the entire thing out by herself. It’s a little unbelievable, but maybe after spending time with the Doctor for awhile, you come away with things like that.
The other issue I have with the way Bill is written, is that it seems like the only thing we really know about her is that she’s gay. We haven’t learned anything else. For a companion, she’s very two-dimensional. We get it, Bill likes girls. And that’s great! Good for her! But give us some more information about her. Let her be more than the token gay character on the show.
Pearl Mackie is a great actor, and there are many times that I love Bill. It hasn’t been like other characters where I disliked them throughout the whole season. I just feel like, unfortunately, she fell into either bad writing or writing that didn’t give her justice. I actually feel bad, because I think Mackie has the potential to be a fantastic companion. If we could just get over the fact that, yes, she’s gay, and maybe enjoy the ride and not question every thing?
The Storyline
I don’t know what happened with the general storyline. It seemed incredibly rushed. I don’t know if this is because they wanted to have a good chunk of time devoted to Missy and why she was there, or what. To be honest, maybe they were playing to the audience. How many of us were waiting for something to happen with Missy?
Maybe they knew that Missy and the Master would be on our minds, but even so, the storyline wasn’t really memorable. It was rushed, and the big moment that the Doctor always does, the “go home and let me do this” moment was even rushed. Most likely, you barely heard it happen. I will say the episode ended on a great note, where the crows remember Karr’s name. It was a nice ending to an episode that felt very “Doctor Who”.
The Missy storyline is great and is going to be incredibly important. But it seems like an episode wasted, especially after such a great and solid episode last week.
Credit: BBC
The Acting
This is where I go off on a tangent. The acting in this episode was incredible by the entire cast.
Capaldi was fantastic throughout the episode, funny yet serious, the Doctor we’ve known him to be. The end scenes with Missy were where he really shone. First of all, the chemistry with Michelle Gomez is off the charts – it’s almost palpable when they’re on screen. When the Doctor steps away from Missy, and obviously still doesn’t trust her enough to be his friend, I wept for both of them. I wept for the Doctor that needs someone, and Missy, who is trying so hard to be the person the Doctor has always wanted her to be.
That brings to Michelle Gomez. That woman can steal the show with any material given to her. But a heartfelt scene between Missy and the Doctor? I forgot anything else happened in the episode. We mostly see Missy being funny, sarcastic, or witty. To see Gomez tear off the outer layers of Missy and show her at one of her most vulnerable states – with very few lines – is art that you don’t see on television anymore. It was a brilliant scene for both actors, but Gomez, as always, stole the show.
I absolutely love Matt Lucas’s portrayal of Nardole. I know he’s a background character, but whenever he’s on the television, I just have to laugh.He’s hilarious and does a great job at trying to be serious and controlling when he knows Nardole will never, ever control the Doctor. He’s been given so little throughout the series, but I think he’s done great with what he’s given.
B. . Doctor Who. S10E10. The Eaters of Light
I’m going to give this episode a B rating. Despite its faults, the ending was fantastic. Even though the storyline was not the greatest, it had a good lesson at the end, and I have to give credit to the amazing acting.