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| *dreamy sigh* |
The Monk Trilogy starts off with an engaging, complex mystery, but descends into a cesspool of contrivances and cliches with the second two parts.
WRITTEN BY
Steven Moffat, Peter Harness and Toby Whithouse. Three writers and not one of them could give a single reason for this story's existence.
PLOT
You know what? I don't know. I just sat down, watched these three episodes and I have no clue what the story here was supposed to be. So I'll just recount what happens:
Some alien Monks create a simulated Earth to experiment their invasion on(although all they really seem to do is try to prevent any simulated people from finding out that they're simulated, which kind of spoils the whole point if you asked me). The simulated Doctor gets a message out.
Then they try to bully the real Earth's leaders into adoring them unconditionally(because they apparently don't know cause and effect - love comes from actions, not because you ask). This somehow eventually works with Bill, even though she doesn't really care one whit about them.
After they instantly take over by brainwashing everyone(couldn't they have just skipped the consent BS and get straight to this?), the Doctor spends six months acting as their TV host until finally bothering to send Nardole to fetch Bill so he could check her brainwashing by faking a regeneration. I wonder if he did that with every single person he saved.
They find out that Bill's consent is the key to breaking the brainwashing, but she has to die. To prevent that, they hack into the "Fake News Center"(ha ha), but the Monks fight back. Until they don't, because Bill really loves her mom.
The Monks go away. The end.
ANALYSIS
And the moral of the story is...? No, there is none. Minor Donald Trump satire aside, nothing that happens in this entire trilogy is relevant to the viewers.
Let me tell you something about storytelling. It has one single reason to exist: to allegorise reality. Children who seek entertainment learn and remember from their experiences. Adults have their worldview expanded. It is an experience on a primal level. We all have our favourite shows, because we love getting to know these people, experiencing their emotions, their thrills and fears. As we learn about others, so we learn about ourselves.
This, as Shakespeare so eloquently put it, is sound and fury, signifying nothing. We are introduced to an alien race, and after two and a quarter hours, the writers haven't managed to tell us anything about them.
Our characters are sent through the wringer, only to realise again and again that it was all irrelevant. A simulation, a trick.
Dialogue is brought down to the most basic level - retarded even, if you'll pardon the word. The Monks speak of nothing, but their intentions to conquer Earth. The Doctor speaks of nothing, but stopping them and protecting Bill. Even tied up and with his friend about to die, all that this brainiac can shout is "Stop! I order you! I forbid you!"
His intention to rehabilitate the Master is laughable - it shows a fundamental lack of understanding in both characters on the writers' part. The Master was the Doctor's friend. Past tense. They are two Time Lords of infinite wisdom, both seeking to escape the narrow confines of their existence. The only difference is that one is selfish and the other is not. They see themselves as equals and regret said difference, but they are also defined by it.
The only reason why the Master's redemption in The End Of Time and Master was conceivable was because there, the stories were dealing with the pain and suffering his path had led him to. Midlife crisis, if you will. But this isn't such a story. It's not any story, to be honest. We are introduced to concepts for the sake of concepts and none of them benefit the characters.
The only pleasure to be gained from this entire adventure is from the first part, Extremis, since in that case, we are at least focusing on a competent mystery set in very intriguing environments - the Vatican and CERN. The simulation side of it also means that the characters can actually suffer somewhat.
But as often is with Steven Moffat, the competence is a fluke, because he is not a true storyteller. He is the guy who asks "but wouldn't it be cool if...?"
CHARACTERS
If you can detach him from the writing, Peter Capaldi gives an astoundingly good performance, even by his standards. His lanky frame and perpetually curious frown(as if he's not sure where he is) really help to sell how weak and vulnerable he has become without his eyesight. When he was running down the Haereticum corridors with the laptop, I was scared for the Doctor for the first time since I can remember.
On the flip side of the coin, he was spellbinding as the creepy, maniacal villain(though you only get a few scenes of it). Peter seemed to particularly enjoy that vibe, since he maintains a slightly lunatic act throughout the last episode.
Pearl Mackie doesn't stay too far behind though, and really cemented herself as a great actress in the fake regeneration scene. Her utter fury combined with fear and grief and longing to be safe with the Doctor again were palpable. A terrific showing that sadly was completely wasted.
Also, even though we once again had to deal with the infamous power of love, Mackie managed to express Bill's joy well enough to get make it almost work, and that's no small feat.
Sadly, I still can't quite get a grip on Matt Lucas. I'm just not sure what he's supposed to add to the show. I really liked when they were setting him up to be the Doctor's butler, but he's too independent for that. He's... a cowardly Frankenstein's monster(literally) who thinks he's as cool as Bruce Campbell and feels the need to mother the Doctor? Like, seriously, who the heck is Nardole anyway? Can we get a flashback episode or something?
Michelle Gomez goes for a more calmer(still kooky, though), emotional performance, which I do appreciate since I've thought Missy could do with more depth from the very beginning. But let's face it, it just made her even less interesting than usual. The only moment that seemed to be true to the Master's character was when she chastised the Doctor for believing that his morality is absolute.
It's no surprise that nearly all of the memorable guest actors came from the best episode...
Joseph Long was really funny and charming as the overwhelmed Pope, and his appereance in Bill's room was an LOL moment.
Corrado Invernizzi as Cardinal Angelo was 100% believable. Being religious myself(though not Catholic) and having grown up in that sort of environment, it was great to see something that I recognise in Doctor Who, and Invernizzi's naturalistic acting brought the story to life.
Laurent Maurel was downright hypnotic as the unhinged Nicolas. There was just something bizarrely charismatic about his drunken, gleeful attitude towards finding out the truth, and his enthusiasm towards sharing it with Bill and Nardole. The whole CERN scene is a perfect slice of surreal horror-comedy.
And finally, I really liked Rachel Denning's Erica. By default, a compliment to whoever cast her for completely ignoring her stature and the actress herself was the best part of The Pyramid At The End Of The Clunky Title. She came across like a really witty, warm person and I wouldn't have minded trading Nardole for her by the end of it(sorry Matt).
NOTES
*Why is there a planet for executions? Would anyone with the death penalty really bother?
*How did Missy even end up there? Did they finally track down her picnic spot on Xeraphas?
*What was the deal with the female Pope Benedict(whose painting, according to the Wiki, is of Angelina Jolie)?
*As directors, both Daniel Nettheim and Wayne Yip have an annoying tendency to flash stuff like internet pages at the audience.
*The Doctor's oneliners have gotten so lame that he's started to nick them from Samuel L. Jackson.
*I'm really irritated by Nardole arguing with the Doctor about telling Bill the truth. For crying out loud, he's got every right to be private. Same with his idiotic "licence to kick the Doctor's arse".
*How did the priests not find the missing translator if he was in the Haereticum with the Veritas this whole time?
*The Monks look and act exactly like the Silence - they're even both a religious order! Same big arms, same Force Lightning, same distorted faces.
*Okay, one complaint about Extremis is that the Monks' plot is basically a rip-off of The Android Invasion. But it's definitely done better here.
*I don't care that they're all part of the same program, making several queries at once should still produce a variety(not random, but at least different) of numbers.
*Also, apparently every single thing in your computer is capable of email. So don't play Solitaire whilst you should be studying, because it'll tell your mom.
*Why does Bill tell Penny all about everything that's happened in Series 10? They really don't give a hoot about altering history anymore, do they?
*Murray Gold seems to have pretty much given up, his scores nowadays are just random variations on past themes.
*"I wouldn't have voted for him, he's... orange!" I'm no Trump fan, but what's the joke here?
*A few brownie points for sharing awareness of the Doomsday Clock to the audience.
*Apparently, the Russians wanted to destroy the pyramid with... a submarine torpedo? Eh?
*I wonder what they said at Douglas's funeral. "I forgive you for nearly melting the planet."?
*The biggest contrivance in the whole story is that the Russian officer wasn't scared of defying his leader.
*The whole reason why the military head out to give their consent was because they couldn't find another way. So why on Earth do they proceed to the pyramid after the Doctor discovers the laboratory??
*I refuse to believe the Doctor would just give up once he realises he can't see the numbers.
*Why does Bill make a real hot cup of tea for her imaginary mother?
*What would Richard have done if the Monks hadn't turned up? Bill would've realised he's on their side if he claimed their papers checked out and then the whole operation would've been blown!
*Am I the only one disturbed that the Doctor tricked Bill into trying to kill him?
*Capaldi's laughter is glorious.
*Shouldn't the Monks know about the Vault from the simulation? Why do they not try to move it or retrieve Missy, who is obviously a threat to them?
*What is up with this "last of the Time Lords" business now? Gallifrey's very clearly still out there, you don't get to use that title!
CONTINUITY ADVISOR
1) Missy does try to explain her surprise by revealing that she received info from the Daleks suggesting that the Doctor had retired on Darillium. Now, unlike most, I don't think we needed a follow-up to her "clever idea" in The Witch's Familiar. But this subtle reminder of her previous appereance was nice. And I suppose I can let go of the reference to The Husbands Of River Song, since it immediately becomes relevant afterwards.
2) River's diary(last seen in the Library) has somehow since ended up in Nardole's hands, who is revealed to have been tasked by River to accompany the Doctor. How The Return Of Doctor Mysterio fits into all this, I have no clue. I honestly preferred that episode's explanation, without all the arse-kicking.
3) The Doctor is still blind, following the events of Oxygen.
4) The Doctor swears an oath to guard Missy for 1000 years as a Time Lord of the Prydonian Chapter. This Rowling-esque House system was introduced to Gallifrey in The Deadly Assassin. A neat, but pointless callback.
5) Rather tiresomely, the Doctor is still President of Earth, as seen before in Death In Heaven and The Zygon Invasion. I hate this daft idea so much and hope it never comes up again. Still decent continuity though, so I guess I can't argue too much. And it works better without the UNIT nostalgia
6) Bill asks the Doctor whether he's double-locked the TARDIS doors. The only other time I'm aware of when that happened(instead of deadlocked) was in The Dalek Invasion Of Earth. I think this was the writers just subconsciously adding it in. But if it was intentional, it would've been better just to say deadlocked. Why introduce that word if you're just gonna use the old one?
7) The Doctor defends the Monks by comparing them favorably to the Daleks. Completely gratuitous.
8) Whilst discussing the Monks on TV, the Doctor mentions how they defeated the Daleks, the Cybermen and the Weeping Angels(cue clips from Into The Dalek, Nightmare In Silver and Blink that the Doctor couldn't possibly have). Also utterly forced.
9) This may not be a direct reference, but at one point, Capaldi rolls his r's, Sylvester McCoy style. That's really sweet.
BEST QUOTE
"Relax, do as you're told. Your future is taken care of." - the Doctor, being more like the Master in this episode than the actual Master has been in six.
CONCLUSION
A superb story run into the ground by unimaginative, jaded writers who took the easy way out every time.
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