Doctor Who: The Pyramid at the End of the World (10x07)

Wow! I'm pretty damn happy with this one. The bulk of the episode was nothing all that remarkable, and it definitely reminded me of other episodes of Doctor Who in the past. It wasn't exactly offering anything all that new. However, the ending definitely offered something quite new, and the buildup to it was excellent. Let's take a look!

Cons:

Like I said, there were elements of this episode that felt like I'd seen them before. Aliens show up and threaten to destroy the world, the Doctor says no I'll stop you, and it all comes down to a few key humans making the right decision to prevent disaster. The Doctor is always right, the humans are always wrong, and they fail unless they listen to his advice. In this case, it's the heads of the three largest armies in the world: the U.S., Russia, and China. They decide to work together, which is good, but they decide to capitulate to the aliens, which is bad, and they all die for their trouble. A little simplistic.

We also have this moment where the Doctor encourages the three powers to strike against the mysterious pyramid that has shown up in their midst, to show their strength against this alien threat. Nardole and Bill both act shocked and appalled that the Doctor would want them to try a violent tactic. Okay, yeah. The Doctor is a pacifist and so any hint that he might be violent is seen as a crazy deviation from the norm. Sure, except for I feel like I'm being asked to be shocked about the same thing over and over and over again. Moffat's Doctor frequently resorts to violence, or at least doesn't stop others from trying it. Bill's outrage in particular kind of rubbed me the wrong way, because I feel like we haven't seen enough of Bill learning the Doctor's "code" as it were. Does she really know him well enough yet to understand that this behavior deviates from the norm?

Pros:

This episode is a continuation of the truly creepy happenings in "Extremis," and I love seeing this play out so immediately. The aliens who ran the simulation of Planet Earth have shown up. They declare that the world is going to end, and that they can save everybody but only if they consent to being controlled by the aliens. The Doctor doesn't want anybody to consent, but it looks like some of the other powerful leaders might be considering it. At first, everybody assumes that the end of the world will be World War III, started by Russia, the U.S., and China. But indeed that doesn't seem to be the case - they all agree not to fight each other, and yet doom is still imminent according to the aliens.

I like the misdirect, I like the creepy alien monks, and I rather like the three military leaders, and how they ultimately stand by each other. Sure, they make the wrong choice, but humanity does not fall apart because they start squabbling amongst themselves.

While all of this is going on, we see the real reason that the world is going to end. A scientist named Erica and her lab partner discover some sort of biochemical disease. It kills Erica's lab partner, and she works to contain it before it can get out into the atmosphere. The Doctor finds this lab by figuring out what the monk aliens are surveying. He shows up in the TARDIS and comes up with a way to save the world: he just needs to blow up the lab and destroy this biochemical disaster before it ever occurs. Oddly, this actually works. We see that the monks have determined that the world is no longer about to be destroyed. However, the Doctor ends up trapped in the room, and he can't see the combination lock due to his continued blindness. Bill finds out that the Doctor is about to die, so she makes the deal with the monks. If they bring the Doctor's eyesight back, she will give them the world.

It's so very rare to see an episode of Doctor Who where the Doctor and his companion fail. The entire objective of this episode was to prevent these weird monks from gaining power, and in the end, Bill hands over the fate of the entire planet. What an interesting moral failure from Bill. This just makes things all the more fascinating going forward. I really do hope that this is what we're dealing with for the rest of the season, because it makes for a nice examination of the Doctor and Bill as characters. Would the Doctor have let Bill die to save the world? Honestly... probably. But at the same time, we can all understand Bill's weakness in trying to save her friend. She doesn't know what the consequences will be. Maybe it won't be that bad. And isn't it worth the risk? The Doctor would say no - giving up free will isn't worth saving his life.

I really liked Erica, and I hope she can reappear. She was really sharp, and focused, and I actually had an emotional response when her lab partner died right in front of her. Even the Doctor was impressed with her ability to keep up and get to the right conclusions.

This episode ends with Nardole's fate rather nebulous, which freaks me out just a little bit. I'm surprised by how much I've come to like him, and how much he's begun to add to the stories.

Bill gets a second chance at a first date with Penny, and it appears to be going pretty well, until an important UN official bursts in and asks for her help in contacting the Doctor, or as he says: "The President of the World." Penny is scared off again. I kind of like this recurring joke, and I like that we get to spend a bit more time with Bill while she's on a date. It was also lovely to see the Doctor taking an interest, asking Bill how the date went and actually taking the time to listen to her answer. I'm definitely a fan of the Doctor wanting Bill to be happy.

Another cool aspect of this episode is the "consent" thing. The alien monks say they will save the world, but only if "power" decides to "consent." This consent must be "pure." When the various world leaders attempt to consent, it is out of fear or strategy. This is deemed impure, and they are killed. Bill's consent at the end is to save the Doctor. This consent comes from love, and is deemed pure. I find that to be a really interesting concept, and I can't wait to see what it means moving forward. What a terrible thing Bill has just done! What a terrible, interesting, amazing thing.

I really liked this episode. Much more than I was expecting to, honestly. It started off sort of standard, boilerplate, and I thought at most we'd get one more piece of the puzzle and move on to next week. Instead, we're jumping the plot forward in a big way. I was surprised last week that the inhabitant of the vault was revealed to us so early. I was surprised again this week that the alien monks have already succeeded in their objective of world domination. It makes me endlessly curious to see where things go from here!

8.5/10