Hey whadda ya know, it is possible for a Doctor Who episode to go by without being confusing. This is The Witch's Familar, the second part of last week's episode where The Doctor, Clara & Missy were taken captive by the Daleks on Skaro. Now, Clara & Missy who were supposedly killed last episode are revealed to have just teleported away and are now trying to make their way back to The Doctor, speaking of, The Doctor spends the majority of the episode with his arch-nemesis Davros as he is slowly dying.
*Spoilers Ahead*
So let's talk about that, Davros is dying, and in his dying hours he seems to have changed, he now shows remorse and even empathy for The Doctor's situation. I feel like some classic fans will hate this because, well it's Davros, he's evil in a wheelchair. But that's what death can do to some people, knowing you're going to die can cause change, make you rethink of your life and the people around you, you could even turn to your greatest enemy and beg for help. And it's not like this is out of the blue, we see him as a child, when he's still innocent and changing, they set up a believable way for us to sympathise with him and make him more complex. Then some would complain about The Doctor helping him...except that is exactly what The Doctor would do. The Doctor is compassionate, forgiving, and well...A Doctor. He's tried to help his enemies multiple times in the past, including Davros and if Davros came to him, pleading for help and showing that he's changed, The Doctor would help, no question. Of course that doesn't mean he's stupid. When Davros betrayed him-because even if he's sympathetic he's still evil in a wheelchair-The Doctor had a plan of course, because even when your greatest enemy is dying and you're helping, you don't let your guard down. Then they end it in the most perfect of ways, Davros and The Daleks defeated but The Doctor still doing what's right. He goes back in time and saves young Davros, showed him compassion and mercy, a lesson so simple it could alter the course of history, because that's what The Doctor does, he saves people, he saves as many as possible.
Then there's Missy & Clara, this was also a lot of fun, Missy is as evil as she is helpful, both her and Clara have the same goal in mind but Missy is not only sinister but clever, she tricks Clara, threatens her and even at one point tries to kill her, but well, Clara has no choice, she's her only chance of getting out of there and saving The Doctor. She always keeps you on your toes and you have no idea what she's going to do next. Though i do have issue with the way they end her story, she tries to trick The Doctor into killing Clara and the only punishment he gives her is a warning, but to be fair he knows it's gonna be trouble for her to get off Skaro on her own, but then when she is surrounded by Daleks she says she has a "very clever idea" and then cuts away; that feels more like the writers saying "ehhh, we'll figure it out later".
Also best joke of the night "Proposition: Davros is an insane, paranoid genius who has survived among several billion trigger-happy mini-tanks for centuries. Conclusion: I'm definitely having his chair." I have to say, this season of Doctor who has been really funny so far and we're only two episodes in. I really feel like they've finally found a good blend for Capaldi's Doctor, still grumpy and impatient but also comedic and confident, and of course, always has a plan at the last minute to save the day.
This was a really good episode, in fact it might be one of the best episodes in that past few series, the conversations between Davros and The Doctor were great, the jokes were hilarious though leaving Missy's conclusion a little too open ended. I'm giving The Witch's Familiar a 9/10.
-Danny
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