Doctor Who: Under the Lake (9x03)

Wow! This is going to sound unbelievable coming from me, but I wasn't annoyed by a single thing in this episode. It was really, really amazing! Let's dive in to a few little nitpicks, and then I'll just sing the praises of everybody who worked on this.

Cons:

A few little things that the Doctor said rubbed me the wrong way... I just hate it when he's a total jerk. I miss the Doctor who saw the wonder and goodness in all humans. This one is disdainful of anybody who isn't as smart as him - which, by the way, is everybody. I wish we could see some more nuance with this. Even the little joke about the notecards, where the Doctor apologized for his callousness by reading off of cue cards that Clara had prepared for him, didn't really hit the spot.

There was a conversation where the Doctor warned Clara not to become too much like him. He says this because Clara is thirsting for adventure. I'm not sure what they were trying to get at here, but it didn't quite work, because Clara has always been interested in adventure. I don't really see that as being part of the Doctor's corrupting influence.

There was one character who was basically "disposable greedy money-grubber," and he was rather bland. He got killed off about halfway through the episode, and I couldn't even pretend to care. I wish he could have had a bit more meat to him.

Pros:

The plot. This episode reminds me of so many other solid, fun episodes of this show. It takes place in a contained location - an underwater scientific base - with a small group of interesting and distinct characters. It involves a simple, straightforward monster and an excellent amount of atmosphere. Essentially, the entire plot is that there appear to be ghosts in the underwater base, and they seem to have a secret of some sort. They are trying to kill our heroes, and they must work out what it is that they're after. It has something to do with the underwater city and a mysterious space craft that's been pulled into the base. We don't get all the answers, because this is actually part one of a two-part episode.

The cliffhanger at the end was outstanding - the Doctor goes back in time to try and figure out how this all began, bringing a couple of the people with him. He leaves Clara and two others behind, promising to come back to get them. Then, Clara sees another ghost floating through the water outside the base. It's... the Doctor! Oh no!

I mentioned atmosphere earlier - this whole episode has an intense feeling of enclosure, almost claustrophobia, as our cast of characters are trapped in a small base with these creepy ghosts. You constantly feel the reality of their isolation and remoteness. The design of the ghosts was really awesome. They didn't go overboard with the scariness, but went for a rather simple design, with sunken eyes and an occasionally translucent appearance. They were super scary, actually, especially when they started mouthing soundlessly. There was a chase sequence, where everybody ran and tried to lead the ghosts into a trap. Lots of intensity, good buildup, and good payoff.

Then there are the characters. Each one of them was distinct and interesting, and they all had a reason to be there. I particularly liked Cass, played by Deaf actress Sophie Stone. It was so awesome to see a Deaf character on TV! I know American Sign Language, which is obviously different from what Cass and her interpreter were using, but it was still fun to see if I could recognize any of the signs. I liked that we saw Cass sign, and we saw her interpreter actually sign for her when other people were talking. That was awesome. She's also the smartest person out of the group, and takes charge very nicely.

Clara and the Doctor were also nicely characterized here. I mentioned the weird scene where they talked about Clara's dangerous penchant for adventure, but other than that I really enjoyed the friendship and how it was portrayed here. There was a really fun moment where Clara grabbed the Doctor's arm and said "run," pulling him down a hallway. That was a nice role-reversal from the famous "run!" that the Doctor always says to his companions. The sweetest moment for the two of them was at the end, when they get separated and the Doctor says he's going to go back in time to figure out how this all started. Clara and the Doctor both put their hands to the glass of the doors they're separated by, as the Doctor asks Clara if she trusts him. Clara nods. Next time we see the Doctor, he's a ghost. Uh oh!

This whole episode was impeccably paced and structured. There were moments where we could get a breather, but the tension never stopped mounting. I can't wait to see next week's episode!

9.5/10