Is every episode this season going to be two parts? Based up on the titles of the episodes this season I have a feeling they’re going to be. While “The Magician’s Apprentice” felt like it was spinning its wheels until “The Witch’s Familiar,” “Under the Lake” had enough excitement and action to be a great episode on its own.
I enjoyed the setting for the episode; an underwater station definitely brought some claustrophobia to the action. I also found the ghosts to be extremely creepy; they reminded me why I used to be scared of ghosts. I was also intrigued by how the Doctor wanted to protect Clara from his adventures, but was more than willing to push the station’s crew into danger.
Here are some other thoughts I had while watching “Under the Lake.”
The Cards
More than any of the other Doctors I’ve watched, Peter Capaldi’s seems the most unaware of human feelings. When he was excited about the ghosts he forgot that the crew had lost one of their own. The Doctor’s response cards were absolutely hilarious. While I’m no Time Lord, I sometimes feel unaware of others’ feelings. I’m not a strong feeler and sometimes it’s easy for me to forget about feelings. I can get so focused on accomplishing a task or communicating information, that I don’t take feelings into account. Perhaps I can get someone who is a feeler to write up some cards for me so that I know how to respond to specific situations.
Death
The Doctor wanted to believe that the ghosts were real because he wanted to believe that death had been defeated. He said that death was the only thing that unified every creature in the universe; something shattering that reality would be very interesting. That reality has been shattered, though, through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. And the Doctor is correct; Jesus is very fascinating as is his great love for us. I’ve been fascinated by Jesus my entire life and love that I can still learn something new about him every day. I’m also grateful that my resurrection won’t result in a creepy, eyeless version of me trying to kill my friends.
Raise the Dead
I loved that the power to raise the dead was found in the church. There were definitely a number of allusions to resurrection and even the cross, which made an appearance on the submarine’s camera. I always wonder how intentional allusions like those are and whether or not other people see them. Whether they’re intentional or not, it’s easy to see God’s narrative strewn throughout our favorite nerdclinations. People have always thought about death and their own mortality; God made a way for us to find eternal life. That is the overarching story of the universe, so it’s no wonder that it keeps popping up everywhere.
“Under the Lake” was another great episode of Doctor Who with strong supporting characters. I’m definitely intrigued by the twist at the end and can’t wait to see all the timey wimey stuff in the next episode.
What did you think of “Under the Lake?”
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