Doctor Who Series 8, Episode 2 Review: Into the Dalek - Hello Rusty
- doctorbrick
- Apr 23
- 4 min read
What did you think of this episode?
Sonic!
Good!
Bumpy-wumpy!
Exterminate!
How does this series get such a bad rap? I truly do not understand it! Into the Dalek is another great episode, and I know there are plenty more to come as well. After the whirlwind of Deep Breath this episode instantly throws us into the thick of things with a fantastic premise - what if there was such a thing as a good Dalek?
I wonder if you could study this and look into the heads of certain people? Could I look inside the head of a Trump voter and find good? I am sure I could in some instances. I am not saying all Trump voters are bad people by the way, but I wonder if they have had their circuit to compassion turned off like this Dalek did with his hatred.
I don't think I could ever find good in the heads of all those YouTubers who lay into Doctor Who claiming the show is dead and calling Ncuti Shitty Gaytwa though. No chance, these people are evil cunts who must have the most pathetic little lives. Desperate for fame, or money, or both, that they choose to abuse someone because of the colour of their skin or their sexuality. I will say it again for the millionth time, these people can hide it all they like with their stories of being fans and the like, but the cold hard reality of it all, is they are using racism and/or homophobia to get eyes on their videos, and that is vile.
One thing I will agree with them on though, is that Peter Capaldi is a mighty fine Doctor! The show did not die when he regenerated, but this is my Doctor in action right here. No time for hugs or small talk, a guy that has a cat nap when other people are talking, this is my kinda guy!
This Doctor is brutal, and he is funny as fuck!
"Top layer if you want to say a few words."
Harsh Doctor! Very, very harsh!
So yeah, Peter Capaldi is fucking brilliant! He is cold, sharp, biting and absolutely hilarious in that grumpy old man way that just works. When he asks Clara if he is a good man he makes you think, he makes you worry, he makes you believe that the Doctor might be a bit of a bastard now and again. I like that. Sometimes the Doctor is always the hero, and sometimes that can be a bit tiring. That is why the Time Lord Victorious was a high point of the Tenth Doctor's run. At least I think it is.
Peter Capaldi is the Doctor, he just isn't the Doctor that we had been used to - and that is what makes him so good. That and the being a quality actor of course.
"Hmm. How do you get into a Dalek’s head?"
The Twelfth Doctor makes Clara shine as well. Jenna Coleman and Peter Capaldi are a great team, an underrated TARDIS team perhaps? I find Clara and Twelves dynamic much stronger than it was with the Eleventh Doctor. This isn't anything about Matt Smith, it is just the way Clara is written against Twelve more than anything. There is a deep respect, there is tension, and Clara challenges the Doctor. Last series I felt that Clara was more a bit of eye candy given far too much importance to the overall show. Here she is by the Doctor's side, giving him shit as well as helping him.
Whilst I love Clara with the Doctor on adventures through time and space, I am not so sure of her 'normal' life. In The Time of the Doctor her family was a tad on the ropey side, but I really did not buy her relationship with Danny Pink. Now I am autistic, so maybe I am completely wrong, but this relationship felt fucking weird to me. The dialogue just isn't dialogue normal speak to each other in? Maybe I am wrong, let me know in the comments below. This dialogue gets more problematic as the series goes on. So I will leave that topic for another day.
What about the actual bloody episode I hear you cry. Yes you, my only reader! Well, I loved it. This was a bit of classic Doctor Who meets dark sci-fi. The concept of shrinking down and entering a Dalek is cool as fuck, and although the insides are kind of similar to a Teselecta it is done a whole lot better. Entering Rusty was only a small part of Into the Dalek though, the main part is an exploration of morality, can you have darkness and be good? Can you have too much darkness? Not enough darkness? Is the Doctor a good man when he wishes the Daleks all die? How can you fight evil without becoming a bit evil yourself?
The parallels between the Doctor and the Daleks is genuinely scary, and when Rusty tells the Doctor he is a good Dalek it hits like a kick in the balls. I love shit like this!
"He’ll get us out of here. The difficult part is not killing him before he can."
Into the Dalek is clever, dark, and properly introduces us to the Twelfth Doctor in all his prickly, sarcastic glory. It’s philosophical without being slow, emotional without being cheesy, and pushes Clara into a role that finally makes her feel like a real person again.
Capaldi owns every second he’s on screen. This one’s an underrated gem. Love it!
What did you think of Into the Dalek? Who is a massive fan of series 8? Who thinks this, and the whole series, is vastly underrated? Let me know in the comments below.
RATING: Sonic!
BEST LINE: "Yeah. My carer. She cares so I don’t have to."
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