Doctor Who Series 10: Ranking Every Episode From Worst To Best
6. Thin Ice
"I am 2,000 years old and I have never had the time for the luxury of outrage." - The Doctor
This customary historical outing for the new companion opens with some truly joyous scenes between the Twelfth Doctor and Bill. Playfully the Doctor reassures Bill that she should relax, forget about temporal paradoxes and just enjoy the adventure as if it were a holiday. For the Doctor of course, it was exactly that, having been stuck on Earth for decades to guard the vault.
It’s hard to tell who’s having the most fun but then things take a decidedly dark turn as Bill witnesses the death of a street kid named Spider. The story develops into a heavily moralised tale with a distinctly anti-capitalist bent. The villain of the peace is the powerful, privileged and corrupt Lord Sutcliffe and the Doctor literally pulls no punches in challenging his overt racism and exploitation of both the poor and the whale in the Thames.
Bill has to learn that it’s not the ripples in time created by her actions that she should be afraid of, it is the Doctor himself. Travelling with the Doctor is dangerous not because he is a bad person, but because of the choices he is forced to make as this self-proclaimed saviour figure.
At the heart of this beautifully shot story is a salient message about what kind of hero the Doctor is, but it never become overly preachy or sanctimonious.