REVIEW: DOCTOR WHO – 9.12: Hell Bent
First rule of Doctor Who fandom is Moffat always lies. Second rule is things are never as they first seem. So Clara’s not dead, well kind of is but isn’t; will be but not quite yet. Series finale ‘Hell Bent’ raised as many questions as it answered but, was one hell of a ride.
‘Hell Bent’ was another strong episode in what has been a fantastic series. Steven Moffat’s story was well written with strong dialogue. It can be hard to make a sci-fi script feel natural but not one actor seemed to struggle with what had been written for them. Like the whole of series nine it felt like old ‘Who’ whilst still feeling contemporary. There were some great references throughout for the ‘Whovian’ in us to get excited about. One of these lead to a painful moment for the Doctor as he had to recall the wiping of former companions Donna Noble’s mind in the forth series finale ‘Journeys End’.
Peter Capaldi once again showed that this was the role he was born to play and from his well documented fandom he might have been preparing for most of his life. Jenna Coleman will be missed but, I can just see a spinoff in both the books and maybe radio plays for her’s and Ashildr’s adventures. The strongest performance of the episode went to Donald Sumpter as Rassilon. A character not seen since Timothy Dalton played him in 2009 Christmas special ‘The End of Time’. Sumpter’s performance was perfect. You really felt his world crash around him as he lost control of the situation to the Doctor.
So let’s ignore the tabloid press. There is no crisis. The audience share has stayed consistent with previous seasons and has doubled overseas. Season nine was one of the strongest series of the modern ‘Who’ era and with the show being commissioned until 2020 there seems little chance of it going anywhere. I just wish I had a TARDIS so I didn’t have to wait so long to see this years Christmas special.
Rating out of 10: 10
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