Doctor Who: Davros in Series 4’s finale – How well was he used?

It wasn’t David Tennant’s third series as the Tenth Doctor that Davros finally returned on-screen. Was his return worth the wait?

Image credit: Doctor Who/BBC. Image obtained from: BBC Press.

After a gap of almost two decades, Davros finally returned to Doctor Who on-screen in Series 4’s epic two-part finale. But how well did that story use Davros?

After reviewing many stories featuring Davros in both the Classic Series and Big Finish’s audios, (which mostly recently looked at his role in the Time War,) we come to his huge return in the New Series. However, unlike previous Davros stories, I won’t be reviewing the two-part story The Stolen Earth//Journey’s End. This is partially because I covered most of my thoughts in two reviews back in 2018 – reviews that celebrated ten years of Doctor Who‘s thirtieth season overall.

However, there is another reason why I didn’t want to review this story. At least, as a Davros story. Upon rewatching these two episodes, one thing leapt out: this finale is big. It features a huge number of companions, and even features characters appearing from not one but two other shows.

On top of all of that, we also have some extremely impressive effects shots (for Doctor Who, at least,) countless Daleks, and an incredible cliffhanger. There’s no question that this story packs in a lot, and goes for a truly epic sense of scale.

Which honestly makes me ask: was it too much? At least, too much when you’re bringing back an enemy as big as Davros?

Davros’s role

It’s easy to overlook, but as fantastic as Julian Bleach is in this story – feeling extremely close to Michael Wisher in terms of performance, at least – he surprisingly isn’t given too much to do. He’s kept in the shadows for over half of the first episode – which makes sense, especially as a way of building up to the reveal. Even though it’s extremely obvious who it is long before that point, it is a good way of adding impact to the moment. (Well, for fans who were even slightly aware of who Davros was, at least. Something that isn’t necessarily guaranteed, especially for new fans watching outside of the UK.)

And I can’t deny that the reveal has genuine impact. The fact that we see Sarah Jane’s reaction is perfect – it’s another huge reminder of how much history this villain has, and not just with the Doctor. It’s nicely carried over to the next episode, when Davros remembers Sarah Jane being on Skaro at the Daleks’ creation.

Going back to The Stolen Earth, what also stands out about Davros’s major reveal is how much we find out about his role in the Time War. What Russell T Davies does so brilliantly in this scene is how he reveals so much yet so little. We know that Dalek Caan rescued Davros from “the jaws of the Nightmare Child”. But we have no idea what that was. (At least, not on screen. The short story anthology Twelve Angels Weeping does explore it in more detail.)

Naturally, Davros has an even bigger role to play in Journey’s End, especially once he captures the Doctor and Rose. It’s with their shared scenes together that the epic two-part story feels the closest to being a Davros story. We hear him gloat to the Doctor, focusing not just on how he’s already won, but also revealing the flaws and even hypocrisy of the Doctor. Moments like these – where the conflict between the Doctor and Davros feels truly personal – harken back to similar moments in Genesis of the Daleks and Terror Firma, and it stands out as the highlight of the episode.

A change in character?

Davros’s goal to destroy the whole of reality seems a little overreaching, in some ways. After all, Davros always wanted to simply conquer the universe, not destroy it. In fact, the character usually worked best when, despite his truly horrific crimes, he ultimately believed that he was doing some good for the universe. Suddenly wanting to wipe out the whole of it almost seems a bit of a stretch.

Having said that, in some ways, it does fit in with his character. In Genesis of the Daleks, the Doctor asked him that if he created a virus that would destroy all other forms of life, would he use it? And Davros – for all his words of claiming that the Daleks were a force for good – stated that he would unleash such a virus. (A virus that he eventually made in Terror Firma, of course.)

We should also remember that he’s directly responsible for the destruction of his own race. Why? To prevent anyone from investigating him and shutting down the Dalek project. So either way, we know he’s certainly not afraid to make the most terrible of actions, even when those actions almost seem to go against his own goals.

On top of that: the Davros we see in The Stolen Earth/Journey’s End is one that’s been through the Time War. Like many others, he’s seen the horrors that both the Time Lords and the Daleks inflicted. So it’s easy to imagine why he wouldn’t want to go through such a war ever again. And while that doesn’t stop him from creating a new army of Daleks, it does lead him to decide that the best way to prevent another war is to ensure that there’s no one else in reality to fight against.

More Davros?

It still would have been nice to have seen a lot more of Davros in Series 4, perhaps by giving him another episode. While he does play a key role in the two episodes he appears in, he’s also easily overshadowed – not just by the many companions and spin-off characters that feature, but even by his own creations.

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It’s especially easy to see how reduced his role is when comparing it to the Master’s return in Series 3. No matter what you think of the three-part finale, one thing you can say is that the Master feels central to it. Something that isn’t true of Davros in his epic finale. The fact that the story has not one but two Daleks that stand out – specifically, Dalek Caan and a new Supreme Dalek – draws attention away from their creator even further.

But, while The Stolen Earth/Journey’s End isn’t my favorite Davros story and he doesn’t seem to have quite as much depth as previously depicted, he still works relatively well. On top of that, Julian Bleach is nothing less than amazing in the role – while Terry Molloy is undeniably brilliant in his own right, Bleach’s Davros feels like a closer match to Michael Wisher’s original performance. So I was certainly eager to see more of him in the role. And we only had to wait 7 years for him to return…

How well do you think Davros worked in Series 4’s finale? Do you think he could have been explored better? Or do you think he fitted the story perfectly? Let us know in the comments below.