PREVIOUSLY ON DOCTOR WHO: The Doctor and Clara went on a journey through Sherwood Forest with Robin Hood and his Merry Men! Well, at least that’s what we were led to believe. Together, they successfully fought against the Sheriff of Nottingham and his army of robots, and destroyed the ship with a golden arrow. And Now…
“LISTEN”
Written By: Steven Moffat
Directed By: Douglas Mackinnon
The episode opens with the Doctor in space, sitting on top of the Tardis, apparently meditating. Suddenly, he utters the word LISTEN, and immediately begins thinking out loud. Apparently, he is debating whether or not we are actually alone when we are by ourselves, or if we have a secret companion that is constantly around, hidden from us. It’s actually a pretty interesting theory. I know I’ve felt the feeling before where I am in a room completely alone, yet I feel like there are eyes on me somewhere. I’m interested to see where this goes.
Elsewhere, Clara and Danny Pink are on their first date, and it appears to be going…well…not so good. The two seem jittery around each other. That could always be chalked up to first date nervousness. The date appears to end with the both of them unintentionally offending each other. Once Clara arrives home, the Doctor is waiting for her in her bedroom. This scene in the bedroom is quite good. Capaldi’s questions about whether or not she was wearing makeup or why she has three mirrors instead of using just one and turning her head were hilarious! This Doctor is very critical of humans, something we haven’t really seen in Nu-Who yet.
The Doctor takes Clara onboard the Tardis, where he shows her the word LISTEN written on a chalk board, which would be completely normal if not for one thing: he didn’t write it. It appeared when he turned his back. He explains his theory to Clara about how he believes everybody has had the same dream of being scared and having a hand grab them from under the bed. To get the answer, he ties Clara into the Tardis’ telepathic link and wants her to go back to the time when she herself had that dream. I have to agree with the good Doctor here. I think we all truly have had a dream like that at some point in our lives. Maybe it isn’t someone under the bed for you, but it could be the fear of what’s in the closet or the dark corner. Or just in the dark itself!
They do go back in time, but Clara’s focus was shifted to thoughts of Danny, and they find themselves at a children’s home where Clara meets a young Rupert Pink, who would one day change his name to Danny. Together with the Doctor, they are able to fend off a creature that was created from Rupert’s fear, and rose from under the covers. Seriously, got some old-school Freddy Krueger vibes here. The creature rising up on the bed, right under the covers, is basically the same image we see at the end of the original “A Nightmare On Elm Street”. And while we’re at it, they defeat the creature by turning their back on it and taking away its power, yet ANOTHER nod to how Nancy defeated Freddy in the original film! Clara leaves a plastic soldier with Rupert/Danny before getting the idea to go back to the restaurant moments after she left and start new with Danny.
This, of course, ends badly when Clara accidentally calls Danny by his original name, Rupert, and Danny is sent into a tailspin of wonderment over just how she knew that name. As he storms out, from the back of the restaurant an astronaut in an orange spacesuit emerges, beckoning Clara to come with him. Clara, thinking its the Doctor, is shocked when the helmet comes off and a man who looks exactly like Danny is underneath. Once the Doctor arrives, we are told that this man is actually Orson Pink, one of Earth’s first time travelers who actually comes from an Earth 100 years in Clara’s future. I gotta admit, I felt a swell of nostalgic pride when I saw the orange spacesuit, as its the one that we witnessed David Tennant utilize quite a few times during his time in the Tardis. Orson has apparently been marooned at the end of the Universe, and the Doctor was able to venture out to a place that’s supposed to be further than the Tardis is supposed to go to pick him up.
The three return to this place, and the Doctor notices a big, locked door which is apparently holding back something that desperately wants in. Using his sonic screwdriver, the Doctor unlocks the door and demands Clara return to the Tardis with Orson while he sees the creatures. Things get hectic, and Orson saves the Doctor just before he is sucked out of the ship. The Doctor is now unconscious, and Clara uses the telepathic circuit to take off in the Tardis before the creatures find a way in. After landing, she finds herself in a dark barn, where she immediately hides underneath a bed when she hears someone coming. Two voices are heard arguing over what appears to be a little boy who’s crying on the bed, and the realization washes over us that we are on Gallifrey, and the boy is actually the Doctor! From what I’ve read, this is actually quite a controversial scene. Some people love that we get to see part of the Doctor’s childhood, others think the show just jumped the shark. In my opinion, I found it to be pretty decent, and it just adds another layer to this mysterious time traveler from Gallifrey that we had heard about, but never saw. Clara reaches out and grabs the would-be Doctor’s foot, which signifies the moment he became scared of what’s in the dark. We also realize that the word LISTEN also stands for the first time the young boy heard the sound of what would be his Tardis!
The Doctor awakens just as Clara steps back in the Tardis, and she makes him promise not to go out there and see, just to take off. He begrudgingly does so, takes Orson home, and returns Clara to her time, where she immediately goes to Danny’s apartment to apologize.
When its all said and done, I think this episode was pretty fantastic! Sure, it gets kinda convoluted at times, but this is Doctor Who, a universe FILLED with convoluted stories! I do agree with what some other fans are saying about Clara taking too much of a dominant role in each episode so far. I understand the role of the companion, and some of Doctor Who’s best episodes have dealt with something happening to the companion. But I do feel that Capaldi needs more screen time so that new viewers can really get an understanding of his take on this iconic role. This episode did feature the most time we’ve spent in the Tardis this series, and I really enjoyed all the little nods to Clara and Danny’s future, which obviously must feature the two starting a family together. If they didn’t, then Orson may not exist! We didn’t really get very much storyarch this time with the mysterious Missy and the place she calls “Heaven”. That’s okay, though. I’m sure we’ll get inundated with lots of that particular story in the weeks to come. Until next time…
