Doctor Who Series 8, Episode 7 Review: Kill the Moon - Child Actors and Doctor Who
- doctorbrick
- 6 days ago
- 3 min read
What did you think of this episode?
Sonic!
Good!
Bumpy-wumpy!
Exterminate!
Kill the Moon is an episode with a lot going on, but it doesn't quite land everything it sets out to do. While it's far from a disaster, it’s probably the weakest episode of Series 8 so far.
The story sees the Doctor, Clara, and irritating twat Courtney Woods land on the moon in the near future, where they discover something’s not quite right. The moon is gaining weight and has become dangerously unstable. What follows is a moral dilemma - kill the moon and a baby to save Earth, or let nature take its course.
Peter Capaldi is, once again, excellent. His Twelfth Doctor is enigmatic, cold, and increasingly alien, and this episode leans into that hard. His decision to step away from the choice at the heart of the episode and leave it to Clara and Courtney is controversial, but Capaldi sells the reasoning at the end in my opinion. Whether you agree with the Doctor’s decision or not, you believe that he believes it was the right thing to do.
Jenna Coleman is equally compelling, especially in the final TARDIS scene. Clara’s fury at the Doctor is raw and justified, and Coleman plays it with fire and nuance. It’s one of the best Clara moments in the show’s run and marks a real turning point in their relationship.
"Clara, there are some moments in time that I simply can’t see. Little eye blinks. They don’t look the same as other things. They’re not clear. They’re fuzzy. They’re grey. Little moments in which big things are decided. And this is one of them. Just now, I can’t tell what happens to the moon because whatever happens to the moon hasn’t been decided yet. And it’s going to be decided here and now. Which very much sounds as though it’s up to us."
But then we have Courtney. While the idea of giving a 'normal' teenager a trip in the TARDIS isn’t bad in theory, in practice it doesn't quite work. Courtney comes across as a stereotype of what a naughty kid is, and therefore is completely unrealistic. For some reason, Doctor Who has a spotty track record with child and teenage characters, often making them either too twatty or just acted shit (or both).
Considering kids are a key audience Doctor Who wants, why do kids in the show almost always act like complete cunts? I could name the kids I like in Doctor Who on one hand - actually I could do it with two fingers - Nancy from The Empty Child and The Doctor Dances, and Amelia Pond.
Chloe Webber, George, Cyril, Angie and fucking Artie, and the Peppa Pig girl, please meet Courtney Woods, your new irritating friend.
Yes, the Courtney who said possibly the shittest line since Huw Edwards (whatever happened to him?) wittered on about a beacon of hope.
"One small thing for a thing. One enormous thing for a thingy-thing."
God, I hated that!
Courtney seems to go from being scared to bored to uninterested and then rude all in a moment, it doesn't make sense to me.
This may be down to the pacing of the episode overall perhaps? We get the build up and then suddenly Earth is making the decision to kill the moon. Then Clara doesn't kill it anyway, and then the Doctor rocks up again!
I mean the ending is nice and all, but it is very Beast Below. A big creature that people want to kill to save themselves, a creature that actually will help if it's left to its own devices, a creature who has their fate voted for.
Kill the Moon is a bit messy, but it is still enjoyable enough. This is down to Capaldi and Coleman. Clara unleashing her fury on the Time Lord is a good watch at the end as well.
Do you think I am being harsh on all those Doctor Who children? Did you love the Doctor fucking off in this episode? Let me know in the comments below.
RATING: Bumpy-wumpy!
BEST LINE: "Tell me what you knew, Doctor, or else I'll smack you so hard you'll regenerate."
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