Well if that doesn't make up for last week then I don't know what will. Giving Dark Water a score is difficult; I don't really want to give this a full five stars when it's only half of the story, but at the same time, there is nothing here that can be faulted. I've made it no secret that I have adored Doctor Who's eighth series (bar last week's middling installment), and Dark Water is setting up what could finish as one of the show's best finales. Moffat's script is potentially one of the best he's ever written, Capaldi, Coleman and Anderson all give outstanding performances, the story is dark and is fitted appropriately for its 45 minute run-time and the ending twist is brilliantly devised and played out. In a series full of potential classics (Listen, Kill the Moon and Mummy on the Orient Express shall never be forgotten), Dark Water extraordinarily finds its place among that top tier. It is just that good.
Moffat is a polarizing writer. Whilst almost all viewers consider his work pre-showrunner to be sublime, there are frequent issues that have arisen since he took control of the show. Sometimes these issues are over-complication, sometimes these issues are based around poor logic, and sometimes these issues involve sheer absurdity. Back in my review for Deep Breath eleven weeks ago, I said that I wanted a darker yet simpler series of Doctor Who, and Moffat has done just that. Nothing here is overtly complicated, nothing here struggles in terms of logic, and nothing here is particularly absurd. But then, after "the moon is an egg", what even is absurdity in Doctor Who? Dark Water is expertly written, from Danny's death scene in the episode's opening scene to Clara's immediate reaction, all the way to the reveal of Missy's identity in the episode's climax, not one word feels out of place. The story flows from beginning to end, leaving us on three cliffhangers, none of which I have any idea what will happen next. Moffat may not always get it right, but when he does (as this proves), the result is a knockout.
Along with Moffat's script, Dark Water looks great visually, too. Pretty much every episode this series has been directed with precision and control, and this is no exception. The opening scene is effectively shot; not seeing Danny get hit by the car heightens the emotional effect we feel for Clara. Even though any mildly intelligent viewer would know that Danny was coming back later in the episode (I'm pretty certain we were meant to), we need to react emotionally to sympathise with Clara, and the writing and direction enable this perfectly. Clara's TARDIS keys sequence was also excellently framed, as were the shots and visual appearance of the skeleton tanks further in. Dark Water is not only a fantastic piece of television, but one of the best episodes of British TV I've seen all year. I'm struggling to fault any aspect of this episode, but everything from the writing, to the acting, to the score, to the direction was about as flawless as it comes. Capaldi, Coleman and Anderson are all reliably brilliant again, but this episode is stolen by Michelle Gomez, who's portrayal of Missy is fantastic enough, even before that twist.
And what a twist it is.
Moffat is a polarizing writer. Whilst almost all viewers consider his work pre-showrunner to be sublime, there are frequent issues that have arisen since he took control of the show. Sometimes these issues are over-complication, sometimes these issues are based around poor logic, and sometimes these issues involve sheer absurdity. Back in my review for Deep Breath eleven weeks ago, I said that I wanted a darker yet simpler series of Doctor Who, and Moffat has done just that. Nothing here is overtly complicated, nothing here struggles in terms of logic, and nothing here is particularly absurd. But then, after "the moon is an egg", what even is absurdity in Doctor Who? Dark Water is expertly written, from Danny's death scene in the episode's opening scene to Clara's immediate reaction, all the way to the reveal of Missy's identity in the episode's climax, not one word feels out of place. The story flows from beginning to end, leaving us on three cliffhangers, none of which I have any idea what will happen next. Moffat may not always get it right, but when he does (as this proves), the result is a knockout.
Along with Moffat's script, Dark Water looks great visually, too. Pretty much every episode this series has been directed with precision and control, and this is no exception. The opening scene is effectively shot; not seeing Danny get hit by the car heightens the emotional effect we feel for Clara. Even though any mildly intelligent viewer would know that Danny was coming back later in the episode (I'm pretty certain we were meant to), we need to react emotionally to sympathise with Clara, and the writing and direction enable this perfectly. Clara's TARDIS keys sequence was also excellently framed, as were the shots and visual appearance of the skeleton tanks further in. Dark Water is not only a fantastic piece of television, but one of the best episodes of British TV I've seen all year. I'm struggling to fault any aspect of this episode, but everything from the writing, to the acting, to the score, to the direction was about as flawless as it comes. Capaldi, Coleman and Anderson are all reliably brilliant again, but this episode is stolen by Michelle Gomez, who's portrayal of Missy is fantastic enough, even before that twist.
And what a twist it is.