“The Lie of the Land” wrapped up a nice little arc in the middle of Series 10. I was unsure with “Extremis,” but I thoroughly enjoyed the Monk trilogy. These three episodes gave us a great creepy villain, an appearance from Missy and some eyebrow raising actions by the Doctor. Other than the end of Series 9, this was definitely Peter Capaldi’s best turn as the Doctor.
Here are some other thoughts I had while watching “The Lie of the Land.”
The Truth
In the world created by the Monks, people were forced to remember the truth. The Monks presented a false history in which they shepherded humanity from the beginning. The truth was harder and harder to remember as the Monks’ lies took a deeper hold. In our world, God’s truth seems harder and harder to remember. Our culture tells us that we’re all our own authorities and, as long as we don’t infringe on another person’s ability to do what they want, everything goes. The truth, though, is that God and his word are authoritative. Whether someone believes that or not doesn’t mean it isn’t true. In a world that constantly tells us there isn’t an authority other than our own desires, we need to remember the truth.
Freedom
The Doctor spent his time in the Monks’ new world trying to remind people of the truth. He said that “a glimpse of freedom is all you need.” When people saw the freedom of world without the Monks, they were more than happy to step into that freedom. The same is true with Christ. When we see the freedom that Jesus offers, that we no longer have to be slaves to our sin and desires, that glimpse is all we need. Sin is like the Monks, though; we’re convinced that life is better with sin and that we couldn’t possibly imagine life without it. Once we get a glimpse of the love, hope, beauty and freedom of Jesus, though, we never want to go back to our sin and death.
Mistakes
In spite of our faults and foibles, the Doctor keeps saving humanity. Bill reminds him that humans are doomed to repeat our mistakes, but the Doctor keeps coming back because of people like Bill. Thankfully Jesus keeps coming back for us as well, regardless of how far we go and how frequently we walk away. In spite of the freedom we experience in Christ, we’re still doomed to repeat our mistakes. Hopefully, though, the more grace we experience the fewer mistakes we’ll make.
We’re eight episodes in and Series 10 just keeps getting stronger. I’m still bummed that Capaldi is finished after this season, though I’m stoked he’s going out on a high note.
What did you think about “The Lie of the Land?”
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