Doctor Who Review: The Caretaker – 10 Clues To What The Doctor Is Doing

By Mary Ogle /

4. A Mindless Weapon

The Skovox Blitzer is representative of the heedless soldier just following orders. When encountering a human his solution to the potential threat is always to destroy. Once again, in a recurring theme from series eight, we are presented with a thing trapped within its programming. The Skovox is a manufactured monster that responds only to a recognized superior. It does not think for itself. It does what it is told. This mirrors the Doctor€™s current perception of soldiers. He looks at one and sees only a mindless killing machine. He is having a hard time peeling away the prejudice to see the person underneath. He€™s quick to condemn because he has yet to forgive his own past actions in the Time War. He sees Danny through a lens warped by his own self-hatred. What the Doctor doesn€™t realize is that he views soldiers the same way generals do. They are cogs in the military machine, a means to achieve an end. They are playing pieces not human beings and thus they are easy to sacrifice.