Doctor Who Episode 10 - Eater of Light (by Rona Munro)

[shadowkat]

Finally saw the latest Doctor Who which once again cut off the last two minutes. Dang it. That was the best part of the entire episode.

However, Doctor Who, Episode 10, Eater of the Light by Scottish playwrite and tele-writer Rona Munro, who also wrote the Doctor Who episode Survival in 1989, and is among the few female writers of the series, was actually among the better episodes to date.

I am, however, wondering why all the soliders in these episodes are dressed in red, and all the monsters seem to lizards or fish. (Yes, I know Roman soliders tended to wear red...but, not always, and why these soliders?) Maybe that's just me? Maybe it is coincidence? There were a few that weren't, not many, but a few. Maybe...there's some sort of metaphor relating to ancient Rome and the Scots that I'm missing because I don't remember the history that well? (I vaguely remember visiting Hadrian's Wall in the 1980s, and hearing the tale about how the Scots built it and kept the Romans back. Rome was able to conquer everyone but Scotland, in part due to the wall, in part due to the cold.)

There also seems to be an on-going theme about shutting out the light. Along with the agency/choice theme.

Not overly sure the episodic nature of this season works. With just snippets of an overall arc.

This was a metaphor heavy episode, as opposed to plot heavy, which I think worked better. Had a sort of fairy tale structure to it. Also worked better from a structural perspective. I actually prefer Doctor Who when it follows a more dark fairy tale style than sci-fi style. Mainly because I'm not sure these writers are very adept at sci-fi.
Am wondering if it is possible to do an episode without a monster of the week?



1. Liked the use of the soliders better this week. Apparently Rona Munro has a deeper appreciation of the Roman Legion and the Ancient Celts than Gatis does of the Victorian Soliders?

2. Also some fun throw-away lines.

Doctor: "They were killed by a lack of light, or the absence of light."
Nardole: "In other words, Death by Scotland."
Doctor: Not quite, require a great more removal than that.

or...

Doctor: The crows talk, people just don't listen to them so they are sulking."
Nadole: Maybe they aren't sulking and just remembering..."

or

Bill: I don't like men in that way only women.
Lucius: So you are restrictive much like Crocious.
Crocius: I like men, just not you.
Lucius: I like both, men and women, less restrictive. But it is okay, you can be restrictive if you want.
Bill: How very modern of you.

Somewhat true, the Romans and Greeks were a little less prudish and restrictive in some respects, but women also had less power back then.

Munro is much better at dialogue than the last three writers.

3. The eaters of light were interesting...a sort of metaphoric device for how the warring clans were removing the light from their world by constant conquering and warfare. When they join together -- they keep the devouring darkness at bay.

BTW -- why does the Doctor keep trying to sacrifice himself? Does he have a suicide wish?

4. I'm enjoying Missy this season, maybe because I'm getting so little of her or the character is played a little less cartoonish. Interesting he's pulled her out of her vault to aid him.

What I also found interesting was the emphasis on music. The music that calls to the little girl in the beginning to look at the stones. The little boy who warns her that the monster in the hill will eat her and destroy them all. And the pictograph of the tardis carved in the stone.

Then the music that the Doctor has Missy listen to, so she can understand, why they fight and it does not feel in vain. "Because of the music. With everything you seen or done, you've never stopped to listen to the music and it makes all the difference." She stops and hears the music...and cries. "I don't even know why I'm crying, and wonders if they can become friends again." There's always hope, he states (or he tried to before it cut out on me. As an aside so did my computer, it automatically shut off. Luckily DW automatically saved the post.)

Another metaphor -- music equaling light and kindness and empathy. Meaning in the void.

What I didn't like?

* I found it to be slow in places, my attention kept wandering. Also I didn't understand why they were hunting the Lost Roman Legion or the significance of the 9th Roman Legion, and I actually studied that period of Anglo-Saxon history. I've studied more ancient history than modern history, which is weird. Actually my historical interests are slightly jumpy. I loved ancient history, Druid, Celt, Roman, Greek, Bablyonian, and Chinese, along with the Native American cultures prior to and including Columbus. Then I jumped to around the Civil War period or 1800s. Then back to Elizabethan times, and Sir Francis Drake and Shakespeare, and the Renaissance. Absolutely no interest in Middle Ages, literature or otherwise, best forgotten in my opinion. Jump to WWI. Ignore WWIII. No interest in Victorian Age, or WII. But Korea - Vietnam War interested me. Then jump ahead to the future and science fiction.

Weird. I think it's because far too much time in school was spent on - The Tudors, Revolutionary War, World War II, and the Victorians, and not enough on everything else. I wanted to fill in the gaps.

*Anyhow. Also didn't like the monster. But I haven't liked any of the monsters this season. So at least I'm consistent. The only one I found halfway interesting was puddle.

Outside of that a better episode than the previous ones. This season started out okay, then sort of ....got really slow. I have to admit I haven't found the series all that interesting since Doctor River Song, Amy, and Rory left. But I'm apparently in the minority on that point.

Comments

[ex_peasant441]

I didn't understand why they were hunting the Lost Roman Legion or the significance of the 9th Roman Legion

It's famous because of a children's book The Eagle of the Ninth by Rosemary Sutcliff. When Bill says she read the book and loved the book, that is what she means. The Legion vanishes from the records, so there is a theory it was wiped out somewhere in Scotland and people have been trying to find out how or why ever since.

I vaguely remember visiting Hadrian's Wall in the 1980s, and hearing the tale about how the Scots built it and kept the Romans back. Rome was able to conquer everyone but Scotland, in part due to the wall, in part due to the cold.
The wall was built by the Romans, not the Scots. It was probably mostly intended as a customs barrier and to hinder cattle raiders since it would never have enough troops to prevent an actual invasion.

Rome could have captured Scotland had they wished, and indeed they did send occasional expeditions through which were mostly successful - proving that their army could have beaten the native tribes if it had been worth their while. But it wasn't worth their while. Scotland, unlike the rest of Britain, had very few natural resources of interest to the Romans. What they mostly cared about were the metal mines (tin, silver, lead, copper, gold) in the west of what is now England and Wales, and the east of England could be used as a bread basket to supply the slave labour required in the mines. If Scotland had had metals, they would have been up there cold or no cold.

What I also found interesting was the emphasis on music. The music that calls to the little girl in the beginning to look at the stones.
It occurs to me that this is reminiscent of the part music plays in Knock Knock.

wondering why all the soliders in these episodes are dressed in red
The British army historically wore red (with only a few exceptions) because of the two cheap dyes (blue and red) red was the brighter and less blotchy, and wasn't associated with poverty. The Victorians saw strong parallels between their own empire and that of Rome, therefore Victorian illustrators tended to put the Roman army in red - so the trope is very well fixed in the popular imagination.

Also the BBC gets its costumes from common stores and hire firms - even if they wanted Roman soldiers in a different colour, they probably couldn't get them cheaply. For the same reason practically every Napoleonic era British uniform you see will be red with yellow facings on the collars and cuffs - because hundreds were made in that style for the Sharpe series, and they flooded the hire shops afterwards.

There also seems to be an on-going theme about shutting out the light.
There is? I'm blanking on what other examples you might have in mind.