Doctor Who – “The Woman Who Lived”: Who Me?

“What happened to you?”

– The Doctor

“You did, Doctor.”

– Me

I liked the idea of this episode much more than the execution.

Looking at what Ashildr had become after the Doctor brought her back to life was an intriguing setup. And I liked her asking the obvious question of why he wouldn’t take her with him, since they are both essentially immortal.

But the actual plot seemed a bit thin. Her partner in crime, Leandro, wasn’t so much a fully-formed character as he was a pretty cool looking lion man who spit fire. And I can’t be the only one who felt like the ending was oddly reminiscent of The Avengers (though on a TV budget).

Perhaps it was a case of the conversations the Doctor and Me were having being more interesting than the actual plot, but the episode just felt lackluster. I like the character of Ashildr/Me and think it is intriguing that she is an even-more depressing version of Amy Pond, a girl who must wait hundreds of years to see the Doctor again.

But again, the actual plot of this week’s episode just didn’t really do it for me. It just felt like very little happened. Even with the sky opening up at the end, the stakes seemed pretty low the whole time. We already know that the Doctor and Me can’t be killed and none of the mortal characters really seemed interesting enough to worry about their safety.

I did think it was clever that the other, unused piece of Mire technology was what saved the day. (Also, from a character standpoint, the fact that Me never deemed anyone else worthy of being immortal with her speaks volumes to where she’s at as a person.) And I’m happy that Me lives on to hopefully show up again at a later date. I just wish this episode had been a better use of her.

And another thing …

• I can’t be the only one who got excited that they name dropped Captain Jack this week. That gives me hope that we might actually see him again. It would be particularly great to see him cross paths with Me, since he is so lighthearted and fun and she is so dark and brooding.

• Speaking of Captain Jack, we now have him, River Song, Missy and Me as characters out in the world who can cross paths with the Doctor at random times. Plus, the Doctor’s daughter is still out there somewhere, though she seems long-forgotten at this point.

• Even with this week’s episode feeling a bit lackluster, I still really like the season overall. I think Peter Capaldi has really settled into a groove playing the Doctor and the show has found its footing with him at the helm.

• I know all of you Clara haters must have been excited to see her sit this one out. I was fine with her not being involved since the episode didn’t really need her, but I must admit I was excited to see her at the end. I do enjoy her dynamic with the Doctor, particularly her referring to him as “Daft Old Man.”

• As Fontina Turner pointed out to me, Maisie Williams is 18. Clearly, she isn’t aging, which is good news for the character.

Written by Joel Murphy. He loves pugs, hates Jimmy Fallon and has an irrational fear of robots. You can contact Joel at murphyslaw@hobotrashcan.com