Doctor Who: Face the Raven (2015) - Written Review

Face the Raven is a story that will probably be mostly remembered for its ending. After all, this is possibly the most important episode in Doctor Who since probably Deep Breath last year. Everything since has been started and resolved, but this episode marks the conclusion to the arc of The Doctor and Clara's dynamic.

Despite all this though, I actually really liked what was going on elsewhere in the episode. So many great ideas were in this episode - the trap street, the alien refugee camp, Rigsy's tattoo and Ashildr and the titular Raven. It's essentially The Doctor, Clara and Rigsy finding the alien version of Diagon Alley from Harry Potter, which is very interesting as a premise. Couple this with a counting-down tattoo building to Rigsy's death by killer Raven and you have a creative little Who episode.

Also, Capaldi got a new costume - and it looks so much better.

Firstly, it was surprisingly good to see Rigsy return. I did worry he might just be returning for the sake of it, but he actually helped kick off the story without needing to set up some context for his character, and it is very fitting that Clara's companion in Flatline returns for her final episode. The countdown tattoo on his neck and the whole murder mystery element of the story was quite interesting and different, even if the explanation wasn't quite as detailed as I would like. That being said though, it seems they're saving that for the finale, given that Ashildr's dialogue seemed to be teasing a big future confrontation. He also provided the everyman character in the episode, fitting as an average audience's viewpoint into the story.

The trap street was a nice, whimsical Doctor Who idea that reminded me just how creative the show can be, even if it does draw parallels with Diagon Alley from Harry Potter. I liked the blend of futuristic technology in what looked like a very Victorian-esque street - a contrast that's worked in Doctor Who before and continues to do so.

 I'm not entirely sure on the whole 'refugee camp' idea for the street, but having Ashildr (or "Me" as the series insists I call her) being the Mayor with an iron fist was a very interesting idea, furthering the character's development on from The Woman Who Lived. In this episode, Ashildr is even more arrogant around The Doctor, and I'm really hoping to see her return just to explore how Clara's death affects the dynamic between her and The Doctor. It's a case of "I told you so" for Ashildr but also shows the consequences of her having too strong a will. Maisie Williams continues to impress in the role, even if I was rather annoyed that the actual background for her actions during the episode were being kept secret to get a big reveal later on in the series. Perhaps we'll get all this explained, and I'll appreciate this episode even more.

As for the ending though, it was a practically perfect conclusion to Clara's character on Doctor Who. In her efforts to be more adventurous, she stepped too far, not looking at the consequences of her actions, and paid the price. Not only this, but there was no coming back. The Doctor couldn't save her, he couldn't make Ashildr save her, and he could only just stand and watch her die. It's an incredibly tragic end for Clara, but definitely fits the theme of the series of what happens when you go too far. The Doctor went too far when he made Ashildr immortal, and now Clara finally goes too far and gets herself killed. If there is one criticism I do have with this ending was that it didn't provide much of a shock value. It was sad, yes, but didn't truly shock me as much as it should have. Or maybe I've been watching too many Joss Whedon shows lately.

I'm particularly interested to see how Clara's death affects The Doctor in the coming episodes. He promised not to lose himself to Clara, but considering Episode 12 is called Hell Bent, I'm going to assume that he might not be in the best of moods. I'm really hoping that we do get to see the Doctor pushed to extremities, without lots of sobbing or mourning, but with a real fury that would be particularly interesting to see with Peter Capaldi. I'm not very happy that the show has confirmed that Jenna Coleman will be making an appearance in the finale, with even a Doctor Who Magazine cover of her from the last episode, but perhaps it will all work within context. After all, it may not actually be the same Clara who was killed by the Raven. I mean, there still are all the other incarnations of Clara in time and space, right?

Face the Raven is an episode playing around with lots of interesting ideas, and while I do think it is missing some further exploration, the episode seems to be teasing this for the finale, so in this case I'll forgive it. The cast were all excellent, with Jenna Coleman and Peter Capaldi being obvious stand-outs, but Maisie Williams and Jovian Wade were also very good in their respective parts. Perhaps the story will lack a lot of its impact with the finale in perspective, but I really, really enjoyed it. The more I think about the episode, the more I find to love about it. Perhaps it could have been longer, but that's not to say what's here is rushed at all.

Overall though, I give Face the Raven a 9/10 - if the finale resolves this episode's minor problems, I'm sure it could get even a 10, but for now I can safely say that this was a brilliant turning point within the series and by far the best episode since its loose prequel Flatline last year. Now you know what I think though, what did you think of the story? Let me know in the comments section below and I'll see you all next time when a lone Doctor must face a mysterious figure in Heaven Sent...