Story: The Lie of the Land
Written By: Toby Whithouse
Length: 45 Minutes
Year: 2017
The conclusion to the "Monk Trilogy" showcases the Earth as completely taken over by the Monks, not only do they have complete control of the present, but they have also changed history and/or done some mass brainwashing to make the populace believe that the Monks have always been there and cared for them, which helps in preventing too much resistance...any resistance shown or anyone spouting the truth that the Monks only arrived 6 months prior gets them quickly arrested and sent to jail.
Nardole returns to Bill and helps her track down the Doctor, who has only been seen on the TV presenting the Monks' propaganda. Bill is convinced that the Doctor is only biding his time to take down the Monks rule. But is really?
The episode is a solid conclusion to an arc I personally think has been great Who. This final entry has fairly relevant topics of derision, much as "Oxygen" seemed quite critical of extreme capitalism and making people pay for basic bodily functions, this episode takes on the topical world problems of fascism, propaganda, and the so-called "fake news" issue. It also solves it all in a fairly Doctor Who fashion, with love triumphing over all. While some may decry that the ending was too easy, I think the setup of the Monks only being able to take over the world with the pure thought, using something like love as the solution makes a sort of sense to me...and the fact that Bill's mom and her love for her lost parent have been set up and played into the background throughout the season make it all work out nicely for me.
If only we didn't have to now end this lovely run of episodes with next week's Mark Gatiss penned return of the Ice Warriors. I don't care for his scripts usually, and the Ice Warriors have never been terribly interesting. Can't say my hopes are too high.
NEXT TIME: Lady Ice Warrior
Written By: Toby Whithouse
Length: 45 Minutes
Year: 2017
The conclusion to the "Monk Trilogy" showcases the Earth as completely taken over by the Monks, not only do they have complete control of the present, but they have also changed history and/or done some mass brainwashing to make the populace believe that the Monks have always been there and cared for them, which helps in preventing too much resistance...any resistance shown or anyone spouting the truth that the Monks only arrived 6 months prior gets them quickly arrested and sent to jail.
The episode is a solid conclusion to an arc I personally think has been great Who. This final entry has fairly relevant topics of derision, much as "Oxygen" seemed quite critical of extreme capitalism and making people pay for basic bodily functions, this episode takes on the topical world problems of fascism, propaganda, and the so-called "fake news" issue. It also solves it all in a fairly Doctor Who fashion, with love triumphing over all. While some may decry that the ending was too easy, I think the setup of the Monks only being able to take over the world with the pure thought, using something like love as the solution makes a sort of sense to me...and the fact that Bill's mom and her love for her lost parent have been set up and played into the background throughout the season make it all work out nicely for me.
If only we didn't have to now end this lovely run of episodes with next week's Mark Gatiss penned return of the Ice Warriors. I don't care for his scripts usually, and the Ice Warriors have never been terribly interesting. Can't say my hopes are too high.
NEXT TIME: Lady Ice Warrior
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