Doctor Who S8E08 - Mummy on the Orient Express

This is late because I have been feeling ill and haven't had the energy to write, but I did like this one.

The preview last week made me assume Clara was not going to be involved, so at first I could not figure out why she was there. I thought we would see the Doctor going off on his own, let Clara blow off some steam and then maybe they'd have a confrontation and Clara would be back. But it seems she cannot stay away.

So this week has nothing to do with Agatha Christie, which is slightly disappointing, though understandable since they have already done a Christie-episode. But I still like the idea of the Orient Express in space. The train holds some fascination over me and I admit, I would love to get a chance to travel in it, so it is still a fun premise for the story.

And then Clara and the Doctor's discussion reveals that this is the last trip. And this is why Clara is smiling sadly; she is going to miss this. She says that she hated the Doctor and that she cannot deal with his way of solving things. Which suggests that she would love to continue traveling if only the Doctor would change his approach to things. She even sounds disappointed in the fact that there might be no danger onboard.

I have to say, Clara, do you really think the Doctor is going to pop in for a dinner? He might be your friend now, but he is not that kind of friend that stays in touch. And, while Eleven might have been more comfortable with the idea of domesticity, Twelve is hardly the domestic type. And, while he says he will come over, I don't really believe him at all.

The Doctor goes to a professor to ask few questions and he seems to have a very clear idea of what is going on. This really confused me on the first viewing, but of course on the second one it makes perfect sense since the Doctor had some idea what to expect when boarding the train. So we learn that the mummy is something called the Foretold, a creature one can only see when it is coming to kill you. 

Then we learn that the people on the train are there for a reason. They all are there because of this mysterious Gus, who wants them to study this Foretold, find out what makes it tick, and capture it. And the Doctor feels his best choice is to follow Gus' orders and use the people who can see it to figure out how to defeat it. His approach is very clinical and impersonal and showcases Twelve's cold and rational way of solving problems and it really is Peter Capaldi's time to shine. He portrays the Doctor in such alien way and it will be interesting to see how far they are going to take this.

The Doctor realises Maisie is next and so he demands that Clara gets them to the lab, it does not matter how she does it. Clara, while not okay with this, still does as she's told. Again, Clara has been pushed into doing something she does not want to. And then the Doctor tells her that he knew what he was walking into, or at least suspected. And Clara is not happy and tells him that this is why she is leaving and I thought that would be it. Clara would not be okay with the Doctor lying and manipulating her again and this time she would stay gone.

In the final scene Clara and the Doctor talk about addictions. He says he does not know if he is addicted to his way of life since he has never given it up. And then it's all made clear, he's not the addict, she is. As much as she might like to stop, she can't. And now she is lying to Danny and the Doctor about it all. This can't end well. And when it does blow up, I'm going to feel very bad for poor Danny.

I like Perkins. He has nice banter with the Doctor and he is obviously smart. He would have made a nice addition to the TARDIS crew, but he has seen the Doctor in action and understands what traveling with him would mean. So he rejects the offer. And maybe he made the right choice.

So yeah, I thought this episode would push Clara into giving up the traveling, but it seems she is not ready. It will be interesting to see if future episodes will continue to push Clara to a point where she will finally say, "okay, that's enough, I can't do this anymore".