WARNING: Due to the nature of this episode, this review will contain spoilers - I recommend reading it after you watch the episode if you do not wish to be spoiled from any of the major plotlines present in this and the following episode.
Fun fact: a massive bulk of Doctor Who's promotional material has been centred around the reported mystery of guest actress Maisie Williams' character and how she, like countless other characters over the last few years, seems to already know the Doctor. Yep, big shocker. And while I have no quarrel with Williams as an actress, the entire gimmick of her character is one that has been overplayed to the point where approaching another one is dreaded rather than anticipated. And with this and next week's The Woman Who Lived building up the mystery while combining the overrated forces of head writer Steven Moffat and last year's newbie Jamie Mathieson (who wrote the iffy Mummy on the Orient Express and admittedly-enjoyable Flatline), this should really be an episode to dread looking forward to. But as something that is supposedly key to the current season and to the 'ongoing' question as to why the Doctor has Peter Capaldi's face, could an episode which practically sums up an era of Doctor Who appeal to those excited and those not?
Following an off-screen escapade, the Doctor and Clara (Jenna Coleman) arrive on the outskirts of a Viking village – with the horned helmets and everything – and quickly become powerless against them; deserted from the TARDIS by two miles of water and the dreaded sonic sunglasses dispatched with a single snap. Upon arrival, the duo discover that the village people are in awe over supposed Norse God Odin (David Schofield, introducing himself into the episode as if he were in Monty Python and the Holy Grail), a bit of misdirection leads to the weakest remaining townspeople having to go up against the Mire – apparently one of the biggest fighting races in the galaxy. Oh, and there's this girl called Ashildr (Williams) who the Doctor is instantly interested in because reasons. Wait no, she is the reason as to why the battle is engaged, but that's about it.
This episode can be split into three segments – the first consisting of a typical Doctor Who starting point and all systems go with a premonition about the end and standard plot set-up headlined mostly by the blend of "Who's Maisie Williams?" and "Yay, the Sonic Glasses are dead! Kinda!"; a middle where comedy is placed first and foremost with "I speak baby"; and finally a third part which blends both comedy and typical Who fare. So in short, nothing particularly special right? And just an over-hyped episode as per usual? Well, not exactly. For starters, it's well paced for the majority of it, with an ending that doesn't feel rushed as per usual nor with a dull saggy halfway point, and while the comedy doesn't hit in quite the same way as this version of the show did in its early days it doesn't feel misplaced – unless it's an aspect which never really hit it off, such as the glasses and the baby talk. And while recurring aspects of the show of mysterious girls and revivals seems less of a novelty and more of a chore these days, it was at least handled better than the most recent cases. The Mire as a species are something of a blend between generic robots, the Vikings they intend to mimic and the Sontarans – a race that have been largely absent in their truest form despite a recurring role for Dan Starkey's Strax. While a little nice in design and execution, they inevitably succumb to being a necessity and something to battle as opposed to a legitimate incursion, and some of the ideas planned for them seem to have been left on the cutting room floor for extended time with blacksmith Lofty (Tom Stourton) and his child, such as what must have been a planned reveal of the Mire's true form in all its glory. A nice enough idea, but never realised to its full potential.
While the majority of the townsfolk are largely forgettable outside of their various nicknames – including Ashildr's father, to the dismay of Ian Conningham – thanks to practically having no other means of identity (wait no, Barnaby Kay was scared of blood!), there was at least Ashildr; a dreamer who spearheads the whole affair and becomes her own prophecy thanks to the Doctor inadvertently staring at her when he arrives (god, that sounds creepy), and the entire point of this here episode. Performance-wise, Williams does as good as she can with a somewhat limited role which may or may not be borrowing heavily on her infamous character in Game of Thrones (maybe, my knowledge on said show is hazy), and at times she can simply blend in with the background. Maybe her elongated role next week as a hybrid of human and Mire (is Hybrid the theme this year? First the Daleks and now this?) will show promise, but we'll see.
As for the Doctor and Clara, it's business as usual, with more "I'm worried for you Clara" discussions and a topsy-turvy personality for the Time Lord. Both are good in their roles as is the norm, and there's not much more to add there – except for the revelation about why the Doctor chose that particular face – one we saw in 2008's The Fires of Pompeii where he was saved by David Tennant's Doctor (and another who shot his family and himself in 2009's mini-series Torchwood: Children of Earth, but don't expect that being brought up just yet). After being built up since Capaldi's casting, the final result is a tad disappointing. It couldn't be anything better than that, but having it be a reminder of a singular case so that he should just break the rules is a tad...off. Like an enforced answer to save Williams for future episodes while shutting fans up about all those theories. While The Girl Who Died is riddled with the typical conventions of an era that should have been bygone by now, it still has some form of charm, with at least some enjoyment to be had. Set up well and only slowing down when the Doctor needs to talk baby, it is a first half that works...here's hoping it goes down better than the last time we had a good first half. 7/10.
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