WiC Watches: Doctor Who season 12

Episode 1207: “Can You Hear Me?”

This week, Doctor Who gave us what in my opinion what the least entertaining episode of the season. “Can You Hear Me” seems to serve to set up the two-part finale and not much else.

Nonetheless, there were some enjoyable moments that we can talk about, it just wasn’t an episode of the calibre I’ve come to expect from this season. Still, it was nice to see the companions go home for a little bit to spend time with friends and family, since we don’t see much of that anymore. Of course, it doesn’t last for very long because a literal bogeyman is haunting the dreams of their friends and family. And Graham is having visions of a mysterious woman. And this is all happening while the Doctor is traveling to Syria in the 1300s after being alerted to some alien activity. There’s a monster lurking about there that somehow connects directly to what the companions are dealing with in their own time.

I’d like to take a moment to talk about Yaz’s arc in this episode. Her visit home is somber, as she and her sister have dinner to mark the anniversary of what I’m guessing is some tragic event in their lives. I wouldn’t be surprised if we explore that more at some point.

What I did love about this week’s episode is the production design. There was a chaotic calm to it, and the TARDIS set is just magnificent. There’s all this intricate detail and color in it, making it unlike any other TARDIS we’ve seen before. I think it just might be my favorite look!

I think where the episode falls short is illustrating the fear that each individual feels from their very real nightmares. Based on what they’re seeing, they should be very disturbed and flustered. But the emotions don’t match up at all. I know the cast is capable of emoting in many different ways, so it was a let down to see them fall short here.

For example, Graham’s nightmare involved him finding out he had cancer again with only hours to live. And it was his late wife Grace that was giving him the news. He should have been all kinds of anxious after!

Now, let’s talk about this week’s villain: Zellin. He almost looks like a mix between Voldemort and Severus Snape. Basically, he’s been hanging onto everyone’s nightmares in order to keep his partner-in-crime, Rakaya, alive. She’s the same woman that Graham was seeing in his visions!

At this point, the episode gets messy as Zellin uses his fingers to drain nightmares out of his victims’ heads — so weird. Then we touch base with the Doctor and a girl named Tahira, whom the Doctor meets in the 1300s. I’m not sure what was going on here; there are some monsters drawn from Tahira’s nightmares and then…I don’t know.

Anyway, Zellin and Rakaya eventually capture the Doctor and her companions and trap them in their worst nightmares, but the Doctor manages to get out and save the day (no surprise there) by trapping Zellin and Rakaya in their worst nightmares with Tahira’s monsters.

And that’s about it for this episode. Like I said, it doesn’t give us much to reflect on, not as many callbacks and Easter eggs to discuss, and we still have no sign of that other Doctor. I’m hoping that as we get closer to the finale, we head back to our regularly scheduled amazing episodes of Doctor Who.

I mean, we do still have Cybermen to look forward to, and Frankenstein is a big part of next week’s episode! We just might be okay, Whovians.