Doctor Who Review: The Witch’s Familiar – How 7 Characters Reveal Their Relationship Status
A sizzling two-parter finale that shines so bright you’ve gotta wear shades.
WARNING! SPOILERS: This post contains spoilers and speculation for the Doctor Who series nine episode “The Witch’s Familiar”.
“The Witch’s Familiar” is one of those rare Doctor Who two-parter finales that not only lives up to its predecessor but succeeds it. Steven Moffat’s script careens between horror, hilarity and heartbreak leaving the audience on the edge of the sofa with eyes riveted to the screen. The scenes between Peter Capaldi’s Doctor and Julian Bleach’s Davros are suffused with crackling energy and an undercurrent of sly manipulation. This is a true battle of wits and the Doctor is at his finest as he maneuvers his way through Davros’ minefield.
While the action is sublime what gives this episode such depth is the exploration of character relationships. It is a fascinating journey into the complicated connections that form between both friends and enemies and how quickly one can change to the other. The balance between Davros and the Doctor, mirrored by Missy and Clara, is in a state of constant flux as we wind our way through a story filled with delicious subtext.
Characterization is a key factor in the success of this rich and satisfying episode. Let’s explore the strengths, faults and fears that brought each person, colony and shared intelligence to life.
7. The Daleks
The Daleks are bad parenting taken to a horrifying extreme. Davros’ refers to them as his children and they in turn acknowledge him as the father/creator. This is the result of the emotional abandonment, physical abuse and neglect inherent to the lives of children impacted by war. Davros raised an entire race of sociopaths. He brought them to the table then fed them nothing but hate and now that is all they can taste, hear and see. He allows them no escape as even death is removed from their grasp. They are born imprisoned and doomed to rot for eternity.
When a Dalek is no longer useful it is literally flushed down the toilet. Their sewers aren’t graveyards for those are repositories for the dead. These are tunnels built out of sentient beings, prisons of living flesh. This is a torture chamber. The Dalek’s lack of compassion for those who outlive their usefulness is destined to come back to haunt them. They are trapped in a circle of destruction, a snake eating its own tail.