Doctor Who Series 10: 7 Big Questions We're Asking After 'Oxygen'

Doctor Who continued its run of fine form on Saturday night with one of the scariest episodes in years. Penned by fan favourite Jamie Mathieson, who brought us Flatline, Mummy on the Orient Express, and The Girl Who Died, Oxygen is a classic base-under-siege story, placing it firmly in the territory of the kind of stories Doctor Who does best.

It will be long remembered for the fear factor, and the disturbing final twist of the Doctor's blindness, but at Oxygen’s heart is a social and political commentary on the value of human life over capital. It’s a very timely affair given that it’s election season in the UK again.

The message is drummed in with a righteous indignation from the Doctor, that like the stand out Series 9 Zygon episode, is something of a throwback to the days of Jon Pertwee and Tom Baker when writers such as Robert Holmes and Malcolm Hulke were overtly political.

Once again Capaldi and Mackie shine, and we get to see a little bit more from Matt Lucas as Nardole. It’s about time that among the other questions this episode poses, his mysterious character is thrown into the spotlight, while for once the vault takes a back seat.

Before setting off, the Doctor gives a lecture on the dangers of outer space, including a graphic description of how exposure to the void would kill you. It’s all very prescient for Bill who to the Doctor’s delight recalls the lecture when she’s left without a space helmet.

It begs the question, is this just a poorly written coincidence or an indication that the Doctor had been orchestrating the whole thing? He’s supposed to be lecturing on crop rotations, so the change of subject is quite deliberate.

There are times in the new series where the Doctor has come across as a godlike figure, controlling the destinies of others, and there’s a hint of that here too, from the grand opening voiceover, to his throwaway biblical reference “Oh death where is your sting?”

The Doctor is not at all surprised that the events on the Space Station became a catalyst for the collapse of capitalism. Whether he knew they would survive his suicide bluff at the end is another matter, but the Doctor is convinced from the outset that their involvement will be necessary and critical.

Perhaps it’s all a narrative set-up to deepen the shock of the Doctor’s blindness (notice the contrast between the omniscient opening narration and the black screen at the end), but it certainly appears as if the Doctor has been playing everyone from the start. Just like the relief ship, he was already reacting to the crisis before the distress signal went out.