Recap: Twice Upon a Time, the goodbye episode for a Doctor Who Era
No matter how you view Twice Upon a Time, it was still the goodbye episode for a prominent era in Doctor Who’s New Who’s series. The episode did very well to remind us everything of the changes between the episode that would tie into this one – The Tenth Planet, over 709 episodes ago.
Last Time on Doctor Who (709 episodes ago)…
Not many (if any!) shows can have an opener that reminds people just how long Doctor Who has been on the air. With a starter of the original footage of the Tenth Planet, marked “709 episodes ago”, we show the brilliant William Hartnell as the first Doctor. The screen changes, now in Technicolor, and it’s David Bradley playing the role. After a brief moment seeing Ben and Polly, the Doctor leaves on his own to find his TARDIS, all the while not wanting to regenerate.
One (as in, the First) bumps into Twelve (Peter Capaldi), who is also refusing to regenerate. The Twelfth Doctor remembers himself regenerating at the South Pole for the first time. He notices One’s regeneration has already started and states that’s why he looks different. (Bravo for everything being done to not replace Hartnell!) We all know the craziness that can happen mid-regeneration.
Once One doesn’t remember, Twelve realizes that they’re in trouble. If the First doctor refuses to regenerate, the next 12 won’t happen!h This means that the timelines are (say it with me…) out of sync (as what happens in every special). Time is frozen… literally frozen around them.
Meanwhile, a World War I captain (Mark Gattis) is in the midst of a standoff between him and a German soldier. He gives a solemn monologue about how he doesn’t want to kill the other soldier, but he would for self-defense. But what is self-defense if you don’t speak the same language? Just as he’s about to pull the trigger, time freezes around him as well.
Do any of you happen to be a Doctor?
As he stumbles around the frozen area, he sees a Glass figure. Walking up to it, we get glimpses of a tower while a voice says “timeline error”. He then shows up in the South Pole, out of sync with his timeline as well. He finds the Doctors, and One graciously invites him into the TARDIS, expecting Twelve’s to be the same.
As Twelve is explaining what’s happening, he lets slip that this is only World War One. This brings a reaction from The Captain enough to make any viewer’s heart drop when he says “What do you mean, one?” Ooooops.
BBC
Redecoration!
As we know, Twelve’s redecorated a bit, and as with many previous regenerations, One was not happy. Apparently, dim lights are only good “for the French”. Of course, we get the iconic Doctor Who bigger on the inside line which never seems to get old.
Then we begin to see the changes between the two Doctors. This is especially relevant with the comments made about the female Doctor, as the One makes constant remarks about women. How women should be cleaning the TARDIS, how women can only be nurses, and how they’re made of glass. Twelve tries to get One to stop saying things like that, but unfortunately, you can’t change people — as people in the Doctor Who fandom are finding out.
There are other bits that recognize the differences, such as the sonic screwdriver. Since the first sonic didn’t make its way into the Doctor’s hand until the Second Doctor, One is completely confused. Also, the sonic sunglasses are the last straw for the First Doctor, who chooses to use a classy monocle.
As the tiffs continue, the TARDIS is lifted up into a ship. A voice calls out, “Exit your ship, the chamber of the dead awaits you.” As One steps out, the voice says “You are known to all here, for you are the Doctor of War.” Since One is still roaming the universe generally trying to stay out of the way and has no idea what’s coming for him, he refuses this title.
The voice says that if they return The Captain, they can speak with “her” again. Classic fans may have gotten excited at the possibility of this being Susan, but they meant Bill. Which could be a good thing! Who knows if Susan’s even dead?!
Enter: Bill
BBC
Bill walks out, asking for the Doctor. Twelve runs out and the two embrace. (“I knew you couldn’t stay dead, you don’t have the concentration!”) But soon Twelve changes, knowing that Bill’s dead and changed into a Cyberman and then killed to save the small farm. Bill also can’t remember how she got there, only that at one point she was saved by Heather. Heather’s nowhere to be found, and she doesn’t remember coming to the chamber of the dead.
The group of Enchanted Glass people called themselves Testimony. They go around taking the memories of the dead and archiving them. The Captain was interrupted and changed time streams, and now needs to go back to die. For that, they can have Bill. But of course, Bill won’t let anyone be sacrificed for her. The Doctor, still unsure who she is, asks her what to do. (“Bill Potts would tell me what to do.” “Do what you always do, serve at the pleasure of the human race.”)
The four escape down the chains holding the TARDIS, eventually leaving that TARDIS for Testimony. Cause hey! They have a spare! They go into One’s TARDIS, and a wave of nostalgia comes over all of us. The bright space certainly is a change, and The Captain stays blissfully unaware of everything that’s happening around him. (“These police boxes are ever so good, aren’t they?”) …Didn’t they have police boxes in World War I? Didn’t he recognize police boxes weren’t supposed to be like this? Either way, Mark Gatiss and comedy is a great OTP to have.
Into the Dalek…again!
Since the Doctors realized that being representing Testimony had an asymmetrical face — well, One did, Twelve was too busy with sunglasses — they realize they need a database to look up who it could be. They go to a destroyed planet, where the Doctor insists he has a friend. It turns out to be Rusty the Dalek, who we met in one of Twelve’s first Doctor Who episodes.
After disarming himself, the Doctor uses the Dalek Hive Mind to find out who Testimony is. It turns out to be Helen Clay from New Earth. Testimony harvests the memories so that they can live on with their memories as glass people. Not evil! The Doctor is thoroughly confused, not knowing what to do now.
It turns out Bill knew exactly what she was, and maintains that she is Bill Potts. She has all the memories of Bill Potts. “I’m Bill Potts and I’m back.”
Meanwhile…
While the Doctor is learning of the plan, Bill is with One, talking about why he left. But she doesn’t want to know what he was running from, but what he was running to. One goes into an explanation that by his analysis, evil should always win. Good isn’t “practical”, as it requires self-sacrifice, loyalty, and love. So, why does good continue to prevail? What keeps the balance?
Bill responds with “Perhaps there’s just a bloke.” Of course, she means the Doctor. Who else does this describe so well?
BBC
Farewells
The two Doctors bring back the Captain to his original place where he’s supposed to die. It’s here where we finally find out the Captain’s name, Lethbridge-Stewart. He’s the father of Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart, one of the Doctor’s most known companions and part of UNIT. As the time resumed, the other soldiers started singing Silent Night in German, followed by the British soldiers joining in. It turns out to be the Christmas Armistice.
The Doctor saved The Captain by adjusting the time by just a few hours. (“So that’s what it means to be a Doctor of war.”)
One finally decides he’s ready to regenerate. We go back to the original film to see the Doctor regenerate into the Second Doctor. (“Here we go, the long way ’round.”)
Twelve asks Bill to go for one more stroll, but when he admits he still doesn’t believe it’s her, she decides to show him how important memories are. She turns into Clara, and all of his memories of Clara have returned. She tells him not to go forgetting her again, because “quite frankly, that was offensive”. For anyone who was hoping for a good cameo with Clara, your wishes were granted.
We also got a surprise with a cameo from Nardole. He tells the Doctor not to die because “if you do, I think the entire universe might go cold.” Matt Lucas is still able to deliver some laughs with only a few scenes, and now the Doctor is on his own.
Regeneration
"“Never be cruel, never be cowardly, and never eat pears! Remember hate is always foolish and love is always wise, and never tell anyone your name. No one would understand it anyway. Except, children. Children can hear it. Sometimes, if their hearts are in the right place, and the stars are too. Children can hear your name.Laugh hard. Run fast. Be kind.”"
As the Twelfth Doctor says his final words “Doctor…I let you go”, we first see Thirteen’s eyes. We see the TARDIS through her eyes, and then watch as she looks into a mirror. Jodie Whittaker is now the Thirteenth Doctor. She says her first words as she realizes she’s turned into a woman “Oh, Brilliant.”
Then, like Matt Smith’s opening, the TARDIS seems to be in ruins, and the last we see is her pressing a button which tilts the TARDIS sideways, sending her flying out.
To Be Continued, Doctor Who will air in Autumn 2018