So, here we are, episode 2 of series 8. Episode 2 of Peter Capaldi’s run as the Doctor. I was very excited for “Deep Breath” because it meant that new episodes of Doctor Who were starting up again. It was also what I was expecting as far as the Doctor adjusting to his new regeneration and being all weird. The first episode of a new Doctor always seems to be like that. You don’t really get a feel for who he is as a man in the first episode. At best, you might get a glimpse of it toward the very end. This was a big reason why I was maybe a little more excited for this episode. This is where we begin to see who this new Doctor really is. Not to mention this episode had the word Dalek in it. Let me just say, before I go any further here, this episode did not disappoint. Let me also just say that there may be spoilers ahead, so be warned.
“Into the Dalek” opens in the middle of some battle in space. Two people, a man and a woman are flying in some small fighter ship and are under heavy fire. During the fight, the man is killed and it looks like the whole ship is going to be lost with the woman in it. And then she opens her eyes to find she is in the control room of the TARDIS, and there is the Doctor holding two teas in to-go cups. They exchange a few words, and here we get to see a little bit about the Doctor’s character. He is really no-nonsense. She is upset because the man, apparently her brother, is dead. The Doctor simply points out that she is not, and she hasn’t thanked him for it. Just very straight forward. I kind of liked it. No apology for not saving her brother, just a statement of the fact that he did save her. We find out here that her name is Journey Blue, and she demands to be brought to her command ship. The Doctor obliges.
On the ship, soldiers and the commanding officer are there to meet the TARDIS shortly after it materializes in the ship. They thank the Doctor for saving Journey’s life, but let him know that due to security protocol, they are still going to have to kill him. Here Journey points out that he is a “doctor”, and they agree to let him see their patient. He follows them to a holding area, where he comes face to face with a Dalek. His first reaction is the same we have seen from all the Doctors, from Eccleston to today. He wants the Dalek destroyed immediately, and absolutely will not help it. He is unbending on this, until the Dalek pleads for help and says it must destroy all the Daleks.
The next scene is Clara, returning to school. Here she meets the new math teacher, Danny Pink, a former soldier himself. She is immediately taken with him, and why not? He is a handsome enough young fellow, who also happens not to be the Doctor. (Yay for love stories not involving the companion and the Doctor!) In addition to learning that Danny was a soldier, we also find out that he has some secrets in his soldiering past, some that he is not very proud of. He is also absolute rubbish when it comes to talking to women, as Clara is basically begging him to go to a party with her, and he refuses, brushing her off because he says he has some reading to do. Of course, he returns to his classroom, and recites to the empty desks what he should have said, and of course, Clara is there at the doorway to hear the whole thing. Good new for Danny in the end, because she still agrees to go and get a drink with him.
Right after this conversation, Clara goes into her classroom to find the TARDIS there. Apparently, the Doctor has finally returned with the teas he went to get, leaving her 3 weeks prior in Glasgow. Typical Doctor. He drags her along on this adventure and promises to bring her right back before anyone knows she is gone. They arrive on the ship and wisps her off to see the Dalek. At this point, the soldiers are asking who she is and we get a definition of what Clara is to this Doctor. She is his “carer.” She cares so he doesn’t have to.
To save the Dalek’s life, they are shrunk down and deposited into the Dalek itself. The rest of the adventure happens inside the Dalek for the Doctor, Clara and a small band of soldiers sent in to make sure the Doctor doesn’t end up being a spy for the Daleks. While inside, they battle some Dalek antibodies, to little success, and again we see that life may not be as precious to this Doctor as it has been for others. They ultimately discover what is causing the Dalek to be sick. His power source is leaking radiation, so the organic part is being poisoned to death by the radiation. The Doctor seals up the leak. This fixes the sick part, but it also fixes the malfunction that has made the Dalek “good.” The Dalek then breaks free for the equipment the humans have attached to it, and then goes to computer and alerts its ship as to where the humans are. The invasion force is now on its way to take over the ship and free the captive Dalek. The Doctor feels vindicated, because he suspected all along that the Dalek was not really good, and he feels like that is exactly whet they have learned here. Clara points out and helps him realize that what they have really learned is that you can have a good Dalek.
A new plan is set into motion at this point. The Doctor is going to go off and have a conversation with Rusty, the Dalek. Clara is going up to the memory vault to find a way to unsupress the memories the Dalek has suppressed. They are successful. Clara finds all the suppressed memories and unleashes them on Rusty, who begins to understand that no matter what the Daleks do, life will always prevail. Also, during this process, the Doctor lets Rusty into his soul. There Rusty finds life and beauty, but also hatred. Hatred for all the Daleks. Rusty latches on to this and decides he must still destroy all the Daleks because he now hates them. The Doctor is disturbed by the fact that Rusty latches on to that one fact about him.
This was a great episode. If I had a ranking scale, I would rank this episode toward the top of that scale. But I don’t, so I won’t. I will see that I would recommend watching this episode. If you have already seen it, go back and watch it again.
A couple of things to mention. This episode finds the Doctor and Clara having a conversation about whether he is a good man. It puts the audience in an interesting position because you begin to wonder if he really is a good man. We take everything he does at face value, but he has seen some dark things in his past. Can he really be a good man after all of that? Clara is unsure as well, but finally, at the end of the episode declares that he tries to be a good man, and in some way that is all that really counts. The other thing to mention is that we see Missy again, and “Heaven” when one of the soldiers dies. I am interested to find out what ll of this is about, but knowing Moffat, when he finally does reveal who she is and what this place is, it will only raise more questions.
That’s all for now. Again, I enjoyed this episode. I think it is a strong episode overall, and would definitely recommend watching it.
