Doctor Who Series 9 Reviews - The Woman Who Lived (E6)

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 episode.

STAND AND DELIVER! As the quasi-sequel to last week's The Girl Who Died – an episode which was rather flawed but still rather enjoyable – The Woman Who Loved offers a rare treat...a female writer! Yes, despite a 50 year-long history, the show has only hired a small number of women – and even in terms of the more modernised viewpoints of the 21st century, we're now only on two (Helen Raynor was the first, writing the similarly mixed Daleks in Manhattan/Evolution of the Daleks and the underrated The Sontaran Stratagem/The Poison Sky during the David Tennant era) with Catherine Tregenna having a knack at continuing the story of Ashlidr (Maisie Williams) in a new setting in an episode which would probably have benefited from taking place later on in the series.

With Clara (Jenna Coleman) off doing her own thing back with her occupation – you know, at that place which we'll soon know and love as the home of Class – the Doctor (Peter Capaldi) is left to his own devices in a literal sense, as he arrives in 17th century England just in time to get in the way of one of the Knightmare's robberies, only to discover that it is in fact Ashildr, who after centuries of being alone has lost a lot of care for other humans and resorted to being a faceless adrenaline-seeking loner with very few people for company over the years. With the duo both seeking a priceless alien artefact, they team up to seek the object; but it seems that the Knightmare has a secret plan with it, and it may have something to do with her mysterious ally...

When I mention that The Woman Who Died would have suited a later airdate, I mean it in the case that having Williams return so soon in an episode which partially focuses around hinting that Clara will go soon (just like practically every episode since Under the Lake) via means of death and with the Doctor avoiding the subject, alongside how there appears to have been some time for the Doctor since the events of last week. If it benefited from airing after the upcoming Zygon two-parter and at least two weeks before Face the Raven (which I predict the deed will actually occur), it might have elevated the episode higher in quality...not that it matters though, as even despite this nitpick comes a story which works as both a sequel and on its own. The comedy is at least more bearable and worked into the plot for once (giving use to guest star Rufus Hound) and the story itself is well-paced and well-written for the first time since Flatline. 

Without Coleman to bounce off from, Capaldi manages to strive even more in his performance, returning back on track with limited humour and focus on what's going on around him, and even with the guitar and sunglasses returning he manages to stay in character, and it stays even when Clara returns for a quick payche-I mean cameo. And in turn, Williams going in the companion role does suit her well, with her desires to escape her mundane if not eventful lifestyle on Earth making sense if her later decisions. While I doubt she'd suit it on a weekly basis like many fans probably would - I imagine her motif would tire as quickly as fans realised that Clara lacked a personality – as a semi-regular character I imagine it'd work well, and while the hinted romance between her and Sam Swift (Hound) does come across as a little creepy based on appearances and the fact that he previously knew her as a man, but at least it's not as important as past weird romances Doctor Who has had. 

Outside that duo comes Hound's likeable Swift, who doesn't exactly amount to much but at least isn't as bad as previous comedy guest stars nor as wasted (looking at you, Bill Bailey); Williams' handy butler Clayton (Struan Rodger) doesn't amount to much but is far from dislikeable, and the multiple other characters don't amount to much either. As for the villainous Lion-o, leader of the Thundercats, there's...wait, I mean Leandro, played by Ariyon Bakare, as the Lion-looking alien who's come to allegedly go home, but instead has his own little ploy. Sidelined for the drama, the brief moment of focus on it does at least lend to an interesting conclusion in the same sense as the blend of drama and action in 2010's Vincent and the Doctor, and the character design on the not-so Cowardly Lion is quite nice, but it is a pity that he was underused to make way for some of the chunkier moments of Williams being bored by everything. 

There's not much really to say about this episode, because for the first time this series I really liked it. Good performances, not a single dull moment and a Doctor who isn't lending himself to cheap jokes or gimmicks without it actually being necessary to the plot. It's never rushed, and even the occasional delve into Moffatisms is at least played out well without it being under his hand. I really hope Treganna returns at some point, as the series has a high point now. 8/10.