Doctor Who: Time Heist (8x05)

Oh gosh I'm really torn on this one because on the one hand the plot was so stupid and infuriating, but on the other hand everything was just so cute and silly and there were parts of it that felt like the goold ol' days. Great guest characters for the most part... but then a really awkwardly designed alien monster thing. I feel like this is one of those episodes where you could honestly feel either way about it... I happened to have a great time watching it, but I would totally sympathize with anyone who said it was crap. Sometimes, ultimately, a lot of Doctor Who feels that way. You just have to roll with it sometimes, or it'll leave you behind.

The plot! (I'll be honest with you, my summary is going to be lacking a lot of details. It got a bit complex there for a while).

So, Clara and the Doctor are trying to decide what to do (Clara insists that she has to go for a date, but the Doctor wants her to come along with him on an adventure). Suddenly, the TARDIS phone rings. The Doctor answers it, and -

Bam! Suddenly they're in a room with no memory of how they got there, with two other people: Psi, a sort of cyborg-like hacker, and Saibra, a shape-shifting mutant. The four of them get a message from the "Architect," which tells them they must rob the bank. Along the way, they meet a woman who is in charge of security at the bank, who reports to a sinister yet absent Director Karabraxos. They also meet an alien creature called the Teller, which can see into a person's mind and identify guilt, thereby proving their intent to rob the bank. That's why they wiped their minds - so they couldn't feel guilt over something they hadn't done.

As Clara, the Doctor, and the others make their way through the bank, both Psi and Saibra use atomic disintegraters on themselves to avoid being caught and mutilated by the Teller. However, later, when Clara and the Doctor have been captured, these two friends show up. Turns out, the disintegraters were actually for transportation. As the four of them finally enter Karabraxos' vault, they learn that she has been cloning herself to take care of discipline. The Doctor figures out what's going on just as the bank is going to be destroyed - he tells Karabraxos to call him some time in the future. Turns out, Karabraxos is the one who called the Doctor on the phone. The Doctor is the Architect - and this was never about robbing the bank. It was above saving the Teller from enslavement. Turns out, another of its species has been tied up at the bank to keep the Teller obedient.

Psi gets a device that will help him restore his lost memories of family and friends, while Saibra gets something to suppress her mutant genes and allow her to touch others without transforming into them. The Doctor then drops Clara off back at home so she can go on her date.

I sort of already told you how I feel about this episode at the start of the review...

The problems I have are mostly in terms of the twist at the end. Maybe I just wasn't paying enough attention, (it's definitely possible) but did anyone else feel a bit thrown? So, the whole thing was just to save the creature. I'm fine with that, but why on earth does robbery need to be involved? If Karabraxos regrets what happens so much, why would she ask the Doctor to rob a bank, instead of just asking him to bring her back in time and change her own fate? I suppose it might just be that I get a little sick of the "shocking" twists sometimes, and I totally knew from the first second that the Doctor was the Architect.

This is the tiniest nitpick ever, but it bothered me that when they were saying goodbye to their new friends, Psi said goodbye to both of them, but Saibra only hugged the Doctor. I felt cheated!

The design of the Teller was pretty weak. I'm putting this under "cons," but at the same time, I kind of enjoyed its overt campy-ness. Reminded me of some episodes from Eccleston's season, to be honest.

There were also a lot of strong elements to celebrate in this episode.

First of all, I love the creativity of Psi and Saibra. They both have cool powers that can help them during the heist, but at the same time, these powers have real drawbacks. When given a chance to change something about themselves, neither one of them hesitates, because it means they can be truly human. I also liked the interactions between Clara and Psi in particular. Nothing over the top, but you really got the sense of these characters' friendship.

I like the whole concept behind the episode, too, even if it felt a little bit familiar ("The Beast Below," anyone? Voluntarily forgetting something?). The idea of a bank heist is interesting enough, but then you throw in the fact that the robbers themselves don't even know why they are there or what they're looking for. That's an interesting concept.

Also, when we do find out why they're there, it's to save an entire species. I said before that I was annoyed by the twist, but at the same time, I like that the answer is something so good and uplifting. This season of Doctor Who has been seriously dark at times, and I liked to see that moral center that we've maybe been missing lately. And it's a happy ending, too!

The Doctor's "I hate him" speech was really interesting. Basically, he realizes that he is the Architect because he only knows one thing about the Architect, and that's that he hates him. Who does the Doctor hate? Himself, apparently. This was actually rather subtle, in that we never get it spelled out for us. And yet it's a great insight into how messed up the Doctor really is at this point. Now, I hope that the rest of the season can move us toward dealing with some of these issues... Eh. We'll see.

I'll leave it there. This episode was a bit silly, but that's okay. Sometimes that hits the spot.

7.5/10