The Witch's Familiar

Dear Gary—

The Witches Familiar is one of the most richly entertaining episodes of the New Who era. It doesn’t rely on the spectacle or production or epic storytelling for its wow factor; rather its strength lies in its acting, with a nod towards directing.

I’ll start with the Missy and Clara show.

“Can I have a stick too?”

The super confident Clara is continually kept off balance by the indomitable Missy. The episode starts with Clara literally swept off her feet, hanging helplessly upside down while Missy spins her fascinating tale of the Doctor. Missy is in complete control and there is nothing Clara can do about it. This sets up a dynamic that makes Clara more approachable as a character. Her spunk and spirit shines as she continually picks herself up off the mat to battle on. When unchecked as she so often is with the Doctor, or when indulged by UNIT, Clara has a tendency to take on an air of untouchable conceit that isn’t always warranted. Clara needs the counterbalance of Missy to keep her grounded, even when left dangling in the air.

“Make your own stick.”

Meanwhile Missy revels in both challenging and torturing Clara. Missy always has the upper hand, yet Clara isn’t about to roll over for her. Clara keeps Missy sharp. Together they make a classic team.

What they are not is necessary—at least not for rescuing the Doctor, even though they deem themselves as such. They provide a delightful distraction and give context to the Doctor’s ultimate solution, but the “we do” proclamation as to what happens when the Doctor assumes he is going to die is nothing more than hot air. This calls the whole confession dial and last party and the bulk of the previous episode into question, but since it all results in some engaging television I’ll let it pass.

Clara’s and Missy’s foray into the Dalek sewers is amusing and informative. We learn that Daleks never die (that’s a big reveal and a bit of a head scratcher and has multiple implications for the Doctor Who historical record, but it comes in mighty handy for this particular story) but rather exist in some sort of gelatinous state lurking around underground just itching for the chance to swell up in an angry mob of seething blob to engulf a vulnerable Dalek in its casing. We also learn that Daleks channel emotion through their weapons system, using their constant “Exterminate!” rant as a means to reload. This new data is divulged during some extremely enjoyable comedy routines by our dynamic duo.

We also get an education in Dalek translation. ‘I love you’ equates to ‘exterminate’ in Dalek speak, as does ‘you are different from me.’ One’s name comes out as ‘Dalek’ and apparently Daleks cannot articulate contractions. Missy has loads of fun as she induces Clara Dalek to demonstrate this for us.

Everything that Clara and Missy uncover in the sewers serves as vital components to the dramatic conclusion, all packaged neatly for us in their comical escapade. Interspersed with this fun sideshow is the compelling dialogue between the Doctor and Davros that forms the heart of the narrative. Both actors are superb as these two ancient enemies face off, and the heartfelt exchange holds a little bit of everything for us.

It starts with a bang—the Doctor in Davros’ chair. “Admit it. You’ve all had this exact nightmare.” What’s not to love about that? It doesn’t last long, just long enough for the fun factor to kick in; although I am a bit disappointed with the Doctor’s illogical conclusion that Clara’s extermination was a hoax. That the Doctor would hold out hope that Clara is alive is believable, but that the Daleks of all creatures would have played such a trick and spared Clara’s life is not. This smacks of desperation that is not characteristic of the Doctor (but unfortunately much too characteristic of New Who). Also disappointing is the Colony Sarff angle. By employing Colony Sarff Davros, creator of the Daleks, is admitting that he is helpless without the aid of an alien being; his Daleks are useless against the Doctor, yet Colony Sarff can effortlessly slither in and save the day.

No matter. What follows is classic as the war of words begins.

Their concepts of mercy and compassion shape the conversation. Not surprisingly, Davros considers mercy a defect and compassion a cancer whereas the Doctor “wouldn’t die of anything else.”  Davros plays upon this perceived weakness of the Doctor masterfully, and I am sucked in just as easily as the Doctor seems to be. Julian Bleach does the impossible of infusing this evil character with sympathy, vulnerability, and pathos. When Davros sighs plaintively, “I wish, just once, we had been on the same side,” I genuinely believe him, and his last wish to look upon the sunrise with his own eyes appears sincere.

Like two old friends chatting long into the night, their discourse at times takes on moments of levity.

Davros: “Then we have established one thing only.”

Doctor: “What?”

Davros: “You are not a good doctor.”

And it contains moments of revelation.

Doctor: “There’s no such thing as the Doctor. I’m just a bloke in a box telling stories.”

The Doctor sounds weary as he makes this confession; a far cry from previous incarnations that proudly and emphatically proclaim, ‘I’m the Doctor.’ The title is not a badge of honor for him; it is something to which he aspires: “Sometimes, on a good day, if I try very hard, I’m not some old Time Lord who ran away. I’m the Doctor.”

And like two old friends with past grudges and historical enmity, there are the moments of truth or consequences:

Davros: “Genocide in a moment. Such slaughter, not in self-defense; not as a simple act of war. Genocide as a choice. Are you ready, Doctor?”

And then the ultimate dare: “Are you ready to be a god?”

The one sour note for me is the hint of the hybrid. I hate when New Who tries to tamper with the mythos. But I’m not going to let myself get bogged down, Gary.

Then everything comes together, much too conveniently but so very entertainingly, and I therefore forgive it.

The Doctor has been playing along with Davros and outwits him in the end. He was never in doubt—the Doctor, as Missy pointed out at the start, has always assumed he would win. Again, this calls into question all of the preceding last day to live nonsense, but who cares?

Time Lord Regeneration Energy (really, the Doctor in New Who treats this great power very carelessly, but oh well . . .) has renewed Davros and his Daleks and, by the way, the angry Dalek globules lurking in the sewers. With super Dalek power the blob mob explodes throughout the planet engulfing the hapless whole Daleks. Luckily they bypass Clara Dalek and never think to go after Missy or the Doctor.

Michelle Gomez as Missy is in contrast to Julian Bleach as Davros. Whereas Julian Bleach portrays Davros with subtlety and with depth, Michelle Gomez runs with the over-the-top nature of Missy. Both succeed admirably; and while we can sympathize with Davros and almost believe there is a spark of goodness deep within his soul, we never doubt Missy’s depravity yet we love her for it, even as she spurs the Doctor on to kill the Clara Dalek.

This is where the mercy angle comes full circle and takes us back to that long ago hand mine field with the boy Davros; and this is where the show cops out and lets the Doctor off the hook. That opening dilemma from The Magician’s Apprentice that held such promise is compromised. That haunting question, “Doctor, what have you done” is answered with the lamest of all rejoinders.

“I’m going to save my friend the only way I can.”

The Doctor doesn’t save the young lad out of compassion or mercy; he doesn’t turn his back on the small boy in cold blood; neither does he spare Clara Dalek nor murder her; he never has to make those life or death decisions. He simply goes back in time to alter events so that Davros will instill mercy into his Daleks that will ultimately lead the Doctor to recognize Clara inside of the Dalek.

“I’m not sure that any of that matters: friends, enemies. So long as there’s mercy,” the Doctor says as he leads the boy Davros home; but he is merely hardwiring the codeword into the lad.

No Classic here. But what we have in The Magician’s Apprentice and The Witches Familiar, Gary, is some of the most entertaining Doctor Who of the new era.