Doctor Who: Thin Ice

That was alright.

This episode isn’t really anything special. It broadly re-uses premise from The beast Below, but flips it so the villain is actually evil instead of desperate.

Despite the claim that Smile would help solidify the Doctor and Bill’s dynamic, this episode does that task quite well.

Bill is shocked by the Doctor’s disregard for death and the casual way in which he moves on after watching someone die. The best part of the resulting exchange is that we as the audience are on the Doctor’s side; we expect to see someone die to show how serious the situation is. Like him, long-term viewers of the show are simply desensitized to it.

The Doctor’s reactions to Bill’s criticisms are also quite refreshing. He’s dismissive in typical Twelve fashion. He doesn’t attempt to avoid the issue or act out in childish way like his predecessors, but instead points out that if Bill doesn’t pull her head out of her own arse and stop being self-righteous, far more people will die. I really hope that we see more of this side of the Doctor’s personality.

There are some definite downsides to this episode. Sarah Dollard seems to favour the moustache-twiddling villain (this being the first time she’s created a villain rather than using an established one). I understand that it’s easier for children who are watching if the villain is obviously evil, but Lord Sutcliffe comes across as cartoonish. He’s taking pleasure in causing pain; as a general rule, villains work best when they either have a warped perspective of reality (like Missy/The Master) or believe that the people they’re harming are an acceptable sacrifice. Sutcliffe has one throw away line about moving the British Empire forwards, but beyond that doesn’t really justify his actions and further than “I’m the bad guy.”

We get the sting at the end, with the contents of vault knocking, seemingly aware that the Doctor isn’t paying them as much attention as he should. This tells us that whatever is in there is able to at least take on humanoid form and is innately aware of the Doctor’s actions. Is it possibly one of the Time Lords’ self-aware weapons (like the Moment) or could it be a future version of the Doctor himself (The Valyard, possibly having adopted one of the Master’s old faces). Who knows? I only hope it won’t be as disappointing as the River Song and Missy reveals.