Series 9, Episode 6 | 1 part | First broadcast: 24 October 2015 | Writer: Catherine Tregenna | Director: Ed Bazalgette
Cast
- Peter Capaldi as the Twelfth Doctor
- Jenna Coleman as Clara Oswald
- Maisie Williams as Me
- Rufus Hound as Sam Swift
- Gareth Berliner as the Coachman
- Elisabeth Hopper as Lucie Fanshawe
- John Voce as Mr Fanshawe
- Struan Rodger as Clayton
- Ariyon Bakare as Leandro
Summary
Investigating a mysterious alien artefact, the Doctor, travelling alone, interrupts a highway robbery in 1651 England and discovers the notorious masked bandit known as “the Knightmare” is none other than Ashildr, eight hundred centuries older and now going by the name “Me” after losing count of her own memories, including those of the three children she watched die of the Black Death. Me has grown cold and self-isolating to cope with the endless grief of outliving everyone she loves, and has struck a bargain with Leandro, a leonine alien stranded on Earth, to use the artefact to open a portal off-world in exchange for bringing her along. When the device turns out to require a human death to activate, Me manipulates the Doctor and hands him over to be hanged as the Knightmare’s accomplice so she can sacrifice a rival highwayman, Sam Swift, instead. As Leandro’s real plan to unleash an alien invasion becomes clear and the crowd at the hanging is slaughtered, Me rediscovers her conscience, using a second immortality-granting device the Doctor once gave her to save Swift’s life and seal the portal, ultimately choosing to remain on Earth as a quiet guardian for those the Doctor inevitably leaves behind.
Interesting Facts
- This is Maisie Williams’s second appearance as the character now known as “Me,” continuing directly from her introduction as Ashildr the episode before, and she recurs later in the series in “Face the Raven” and the finale “Hell Bent.”
- The episode was written by Catherine Tregenna, best known for her work on Torchwood, marking a rare instance of a writer from that spin-off contributing to the parent show.
- The Doctor foreshadows the 1666 Great Fire of London, tying it to the Terileptils from the 1982 Fifth Doctor serial “The Visitation.”
- Struan Rodger, who plays the minor character Clayton, previously voiced the recurring mystery figure the Face of Boe across Series 2 and 3 of the revived series.
- The episode received some of the strongest critical praise of the season, with several reviewers calling it the best episode “thus far” and singling out Maisie Williams’s performance as a dramatic showcase, distinct from the more adventure-driven tone of “The Girl Who Died.”
No Responses