Doctor Who Season 10: 7 Big Questions After 'Extremis'
3. Where Does Extremis Sit In The Religion Vs Science Debate?
One of the most overlooked features of Steven Moffat’s time
as showrunner is the emphasis on the religious. Doctor Who has often shied away
from such controversial territory (with notable exceptions including The
Daemons and The Curse of Fenric) and when the show returned under the guidance
of committed atheist Russell T Davies, religious allusions focused on the
Messianic qualities of the Doctor (The Last of the Time Lords) and on faith (Gridlock),
rather than the institutions and traditions that mediate them.
Not so Steven Moffat who has made great play on organised religions, with the likes of the Aplans of Alfara Metraxis, the Church of the Papal Mainframe and the Silence. Religious themes abound in Extremis and go well beyond the conspiracy territory of Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code.
Moffat has been careful not to offend the Catholic church, even suggesting that the Doctor is in need of forgiveness, but nonetheless religion isn’t let off the hook. There is a subtle criticism of the church’s anti-gay stance in the irony of Bill telling Penny she has nothing to feel guilty about just before the Pope walks in. Later, the simulant priests respond in fear to the Veritas, denying the reality yet still believing in heaven and hell, whereas the scientists at CERN (with a few exceptions) are positively stoic about their fate as they toast the end.
Ultimately the Doctor sides with the scientists’ worldview over that of the priests, but there is ambiguity here. The Doctor reasons out the truth, but is motivated by faith: faith in himself, even faith in Missy. Elsewhere the Doctor points out that religion and science are not necessarily mutually exclusive: “'When do a bunch of scientists ask for prayers?' 'The same time anyone does, when they're very very afraid. Particle physicist and priests'.” So whilst on the surface some of the scientist simulants seem to be taking death in their stride, they are simply responding to fear using different defence mechanisms.