Last week I wrote that Steven Moffat had Moffated last week’s episode of Doctor Who. “Extremis” was a good episode, but felt like it got a little too cute and a little too confusing. With “The Pyramid At The End Of The World,” though, Moffat proved me wrong.
“Extremis” left me confused, but “The Pyramid At The End Of The World” answered all of my questions and gave me so much more. The Doctor got to be the Doctor, saving the world while scolding humanity. We also learned a lot more about Bill and how she makes decisions.
From the preview of next week’s episode, “The Pyramid At The End Of The World” set up what will hopefully be an intriguing arc for this season. Here are some other thoughts I had while watching this week’s episode of Doctor Who.
Fear
Fear was a common thread throughout this episode of Doctor Who. The Doctor says that once fear rules you, you’re even afraid to admit what’s scaring you. The Monks are convinced that the only way to rule the world is through love and want nothing to do with fear. When I was younger, my biggest fears had to do with vampires and aliens. They were irrational fears, but they were my fears nonetheless. Now I’m fearful about my future: finances, family, employment, fulfillment; not irrational, but still out of my control. God tells us not to fear because he loves us and cares for us. Fearing the future is another way of not trusting in God.
Traps
“Every trap you walk into is a chance to learn about your enemy.”
Thankfully I’ve never felt like Admiral Ackbar or the Doctor walking into the pyramid. The only trap in which I’ve ever found myself is probably a Chinese finger trap. Temptation is somewhat of a trap, one that we should avoid with every ounce of our strength. We shouldn’t take the Doctor’s advice with the temptation trap. We don’t need to learn more about our enemy; the Devil is a deceiver completely opposed to God. His only desire is to pull us away from God so his misery can have some company. Giving into temptation does allow us to learn more about our enemy, because it pulls us further and further away from God.
Submission
The Monks are super creepy, perhaps even as creepy as the Silence. They’re simple desire is to rule the world, but they want humanity to choose submission. For them, ruling by fear is incomplete; they want people to willingly give up their freedom. Jesus is a lot like the Monks in that he wants us to willfully submit our lives to him. However, unlike the Monks, Jesus has our best interests in mind. We were created by God so that means that Jesus knows what’s best for us. The Monks were serving their own selfish ambitions; Jesus only cares about serving our deepest needs.
“The Pyramid At The End Of The World” was a great episode of Doctor Who. I really did enjoy it and can’t wait to see next week’s episode. Peter Capaldi appears to be having fun in his final season as the Doctor and I’m glad we’re all along for the ride.
What did you think of “The Pyramid At The End Of The World?”
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