Espen Roee Please, tell me: What factual story and/or plot points did I spoil, exactly? It's my favorite Capaldi moment, so logically (for me) it's all downhill from here (again, for me). What's YOUR favorite Capaldi moment? Be as vague as you like, as to avoid "spoiling" anything.
Gnome Saiyan Amigo you didn’t spill anything, she said season 9 has some of Capaldi’s best acting moments and that he’s hit his stride. You stated basically what she’s seeing, what we all see Peak Capaldi! Agreed👌🏼
TheGaroStudios one of the reasons I look forward to new doctor who seasons is because obviously new doctor who is amazing but also because the Garo studios will have more content to make new videos
This for me completely solidified Capaldi as the 12th Doctor for me he absolutely destroyed any complainers and cynics about his portrayal and delivered the finest solo performance in Doctor Who which hasn’t been surpassed to this day
Note the lines: "That's when I remember! Always then. Always then. Always exactly then! I can't keep doing this, Clara! I can't!", immediately after he thinks about what the word 'Bird' means. Then later: "I can't keep doing this. I can't! I can't always do this! It's not fair! Clara, it's just not fair! Why can't I just lose? Just this once." And "But I can remember, Clara. You don't understand, I can remember it all. Every time. And you'll still be gone. Whatever I do, you still won't be there." The Doctor, after reaching room 12, remembers every loop before, hence the entire 4 billion years.
He doesn't remember every loop. Even he would have gone stark raving mad after the millionth iteration. No, he just realizes the implications of what is happening to him and what his choice really is. An immensely heavy burden, an inhuman burden, yes, but to actually remember all that time would have too much for even The Doctor.
The one that gets me that I barely ever hear anyone talking about is "How long can I keep doing this? Burn the old me to make a new one." I've always interpreted that not just as him talking about this episode, but about his life. 'Burning the old me to make a new one' sums up regeneration to a tee. For as much as 12 was the rockstar uncle Doctor, he was hiding a weariness underneath; a weariness at how long he's lived and how much longer he may have to keep going. If that weren't basically the exact story surrounding 12's regeneration, I might not have noticed it.
When he jumps out of the window and is falling, I love how he's using all the little observations to calculate the height, gravity, etc. and just calmly mentiones, "I work with this stuff, you know." It's all observational science that any college level (or even high school) student should be able to do with time to take careful measurements and make calculations. But *he* does it on the fly in his head. He does complex physics in his head as easily as we add 2+2. You don't often get to see just how brilliant he (and Time Lords) are compared to humans, but as an engineer, that moment really stood out for me.
After over a decade of Murray Gold i'm sooooo nervous about a new composer. I'm sure he will be great, but damn, i'm so attached to Murray. My favorite composer of all time, period. It's going to be hard to lose him.
Here's an interview with Steven Moffat about grief in Doctor Who and Heaven Sent in particular. I think you might be interested to read it. Usually, big dramatic things happen in Doctor Who, then the next week everyone’s absolutely fine. I never found a way to have Amy and Rory grieve over their lost baby, and I still don’t know how I would do that. I could never work out how to write that. I’d think, ‘Well, hang on, they don’t lose the baby. The baby turned out to be two other people they already know and love - that’s not the same as losing a child. You can’t say ‘They’ve lost their baby,’ because people watching who’ve actually lost babies would, understandably, think ‘No, your baby’s fine. Your baby’s safe. That’s not the same.' You can’t portray that fantastical, whimsical sci-fi bereavement as the real thing, when the real thing has been endured by people in the audience. You’d be trivialising real-life tragedy. So I just cut forward several months, and rather ducked the issue - they processed that not-quite-loss off screen, which I wasn’t crazy about. In The Snowmen I tried to do the aftermath of the loss of Amy and Rory, but that's rather a romantic one, isn't it? It's the Doctor on a cloud with a spiral staircase. It 's a movie mourning. It's not like real despair. It's the greetings card version So getting that kind of aftermath - loss and grief- right in Doctor Who was on my To Do List. Or on my Failure List. at any rate. They're both very long lists - I get them muddled. ”The problem is, Doctor Who is always about the new adventure, not the aftermath of the last one. Structurally, that's incredibly important to how the show wotks. So you have to make grief the centre of the story, not a hangover from last week getting in the way of a new adventure. Grief has to be the new adventure. I thought, 'If the Doctor loses Clara in the most horrific circumstance, a circumstance where events pass out of his control, but which is partly his own fault because he’s made somebody think that they can act like him, and they can't...' Essentially, l was thinking, ’What is grief? How do I make grief the monster of the week in Doctor Who?’ I thought, 'People always talk about grief as being alane,’ so I made the Doctor absolutely alone. Grief comes and finds you every time you stop or rest, so I gave him the Veil. And grief is , waking up to the same pain every day, and trying to smash through it, so I gave him a diamond wall to punch for the rest of time, Basically, he wore away a mountain with his tears. So that was an attempt to do aftermath: an insane, sci-fl, operatic version of the Doctor's grief at losing Clara and trying to move on. I can see why people would think it was a gimmicky episode , God knows, I love a gimmick - but I was aiming for poetry. Tried for poetry, ended up with a gimmick. I’ve defined myself. "That said, a guy I know wrote to me and said that his wife had died very recently. And then he had to sit through the Doctor punching the diamond wall in Heaven Sent, and ‘It’s all the days they stay dead'.., but he wrote this long email to me about how important that was for him to hear. ‘The day you lose someone isn’t the worst. It's all the days they stay dead.' What he said was, ‘It’s nice that somebody gets that it’s shit’. lt‘s just shit. That’s what loosing someone is like.’ “So I think we did something worthwhile there. There were probably enough people watching Heaven Sent saying, ‘What is this show? ls Doctor Who back on next week?’ Most people would probably have preferred the 'cut to several months later‘ option, so they could get on with the next adventure. But as an attempt to do aftermath and grief in Doctor Who, I felt that it was pretty good. That episode was a brave thing to do.” He takes a breath, “And look, we had spaceships the next week, so it's all good."
Polina Sigma - Thanks for that. I can see how a diamond wall can represent grief. You can't climb over it, you can't get around it, but the Doctor turned his anger on it and smashed it. I can see how grief can turn to anger. The Doctor used that emotion to his advantage, instead of feeling sorry for himself for losing someone. Still, it was a punishing episode.
I think, as is often the case with Moffat's Who, _time_ is the key. What do people tell you when you're grieving ? "It gets better with time", "Time heals all wounds". Well, 12's wound needed time to heal. A _lot_ of time.
Ras-Al_Him If we get the best of Chibnall then it might well be (interviews with others have hinted that he's going to try something bold with the direction of the show). I'm still worried about getting the _worst_ of Chibnall though ("Cyberwoman" anyone ?).
It goes without saying that Heaven Sent is a true masterpiece and a beautifully portrayed battling of grief, loss and fear with a triumphant resolution. Everything about this episode is pitch-perfect; Steven Moffat delivering his best story yet, Rachel Talalay's direction is flawless, Murray Gold's music is superb, the pacing and structuring works perfectly, plus the Veil was truly bloody terrifying! However, this was Peter Capaldi’s finest hour and he earned it big time. Plus, it delivers one of the best cliff-hangers in the show's history. For me, this was not just the standout story of the series, but it was Moffat's best story, Capaldi's best story, the best story of Modern Who, and quite possibly, the best Doctor Who story of all time.
@@georgelinford5576 It's easier to relate to Capaldi because he's on screen. Moffat and Gold worked on Who for years so are known for the purposes of the conversation. Rachel Talalay is in full because she's not been associated with Who at a previous point in the conversation.
Lapis Android 17 Park Ranger Hell Bent isn’t actually bad. It just ruins the emotional impact and message of Heaven Sent, which makes it the worst. All because it ruined the Best episode.
I realize it's been 3 years since your question, but I wanted to point out this episode was submitted to the Emmys for Peter Capaldi's consideration for Best Drama Actor. Unfortunately being a science fiction show, it was very unlikely the site would receive a nomination and it did not. Peter Capaldi was nominated for an Online Film and Television Association Award for this series of Doctor Who.
Peter Capaldi was put up for “Outstanding Lead Actor in a drama series” in the Primetime Emmy Awards but lost and whoever decided that needs to be put in a confession dial !
That's okay. Peter Capaldi is an Oscar winner already. In fact, the only actor to play the Doctor who is an Oscar winner. Nothing tops that! Says she who was named after an Oscar winning actor who played another Doctor! Who? I hear you ask! That would be telling! I know who he is, when he's not the Doctor!
12 definitely comes into himself this season. In season 8 he was struggling to adjust, unsure of who he was, fresh out of Trenzalore, and had his barriers all the way up. This season he's become more comfortable with himself. This episode in particular is a work of art and very few actors could pull this off. 55 minutes of Peter Capaldi talking himself is an incredibly captivating piece of television.
This episode really shows just how amazing of an actor Capaldi is. Without trying to put down any of the other actors to play the Doctor, with the exception of perhaps Troughton, I don't think any of them could have carried an episode like this nearly this well.
With the exception of Capaldi, the only actors that I think could've carried this episode are Patrick Troughton and Colin Baker. No other doctor could've carried it IMO.
MyAbridged Actually after listening to Big Finish audios, I think McGann can also be the only actor besides Capaldi that can work on his own in this kind of episode. That might also be because 8 is my favourite Doctor and this story is somewhat based on Scherzo.
Honestly, I think a number of them could. I mean, sure, most of the ones I'm thinking of gave me that impression while listening to the audios, but still, most of them have *really* impressed me with their acting. Colin Baker really gave me a pleasant surprise, for example. Haven't made it to Ten's audios yet, but I've seen David in many, many other things, and I think he'd also do fabulously. Still, Capaldi was the one who was given the chance, and he *rocked* it.
Fun fact: This episode frequently ranks in the top three of the entire series, with at least one recent fan poll rating it as being _the_ highest-rated episode of the entire series, narrowly edging out "The Day of the Doctor".
I've been waiting for like what seems like 2 billion years (see what I did there?) for this episode ever since you started Peter's run as the Doctor! This is in my opinion Peter's definitive episode as 12, he works well with others on screen, but this episode really gave him a chance to shine as an individual! Fun fact: Each and every one of the skulls in the episode are modelled from Peter own skull! And as always, great reaction from you. :)
Simply the most beautifully crafted episode of Doctor Who to date and one of the best single episodes of any show. Everything about this episode is is nearing perfection. The music, the pacing, the cinematography, the imagery, the everything. But most of all Capaldi’s performance is masterful. And then they cap it with that Gallifrey reveal.
Nothing like being inside the Doctor's head. Blimey! Always remember Rule 1. That being said, This Doctor going thru everything he did in regard to death has helped me in my own journey through grief. I lost my husband to a hemorrhagic stroke in 2015. Capaldi is my Doctor like Smith is yours. I wish I could thank him.
I think it's what the Doctor learned from Clara who, like the Doctor said in The Zygon Inversion, was in his head. The fact that he's not the only person to have lost someone. She told him to stop feeling sorry for himself, to get up off his arse and win. That should be encouragement to anyone who is bereaved.
Going from Matt Smith to Capaldi wasn’t the easiest of transitions for me but this is the episode I finally embraced Capaldi fully as The Doctor. Great reaction!
I know I'm late to the party, but: There were several parts of this series where Capaldi not only got to shine, but also got to put feedback in the stories. His 'Zygon Inversion' Speech was an experiment to see how long Capaldi could hold the audience without any music (and if you notice, most of that 10 minute scene is silent other than PCap). He also was able to shine the brightest in this "trilogy" (FTR, HS, HB). This, along with the rest of Capaldi's era, was what I consider to be peak Doctor Who.
Last year I rewatched this episode before Peter's last & tweeted my praise for her fabulous direction including Peter's stellar performance & she gave me a like and my Christmas was made! :-)
Dylan C That's cool. I was very pleased she saw it as I truly believe her work a dedication with limited budget should be commended. I was randomly watching a documentary on the nightmare on elm street films a few weeks ago and guess who was part of production on the first film & appeared on my screen. Right :-)...I believe also Rachel was a frequent visitor to the DW Experience when she was in the bay and would surprise people alongside Peter from time to time. She seems lovely.
Can Rachel talalay direct every episode of doctor who??? She’s amazing, Murray gold what a loss what a legacy, Peter capaldi I have no words apart from two, My doctor! Twelve and Clara, and Steven Moffat what an era! God I love series 9
Hope this dosen't get taken down. This is probably one of the most wanted reactions but it hardly exists on RU-vid. People usually think the episode is cursed.
Great reaction. This episode was amazing. At the end of Day of the Doctor when 11 says that he is heading "home, the long way around", that was referenced here when 12 tells the kid that he came the long way around. This episode was great for the look into how 12's mind works.
Until this episode, I still wasn't sold on 12. I thought he was simply grumpy and arrogant. Damn did that point of view changed after this emotive and driven solo story. Peter showed us exactly how determined '12' is when he has a plan to either find someone, potentially exact revenge, simply escape and when especially driven following 'Face the Raven'. He also showed us exactly how scary The Doctor can be when he looses his control. Clara had expressively asked him not to go down this route. The Daleks, Cybermen, weeping Angels and 'Me/Ashielda'.... would all run if they but knew of his intentions after loosing Clara as he's literally capable of anything or everything. It does echo 10's 'The waters of Mars' "Time Lord Victorious" sentiment, but with a far more profound and personal attachment, rather than saving his own life/regeneration. The Doctor powered by anger.... is something that's hard to comprehend. And dread. Throughout the episode, it just feels as if you're on the journey with The Doctor and I find myself fighting very strong emotions with but the simple mention of 12's loss of Clara, his confessions, his desperation to live, desire to win yet willingness to loose combined with his sorrow to have to win, the sheer emotional and physical pain he enures and realisation that it takes him millions of attempts and years to chip away at such a literal barrier to over come all these.... and simply get out. And in this case, ultimately home. I now believe he wasn't just grumpy or arrogant. He was merely trying to keep people at a distance, for their own good and avoid this attachment he develops for others, fearful of his own capabilities and loosing people. But also lets face it.... he's allowed to be a little arrogant being so brilliant/incredibly lucky. Steven M, Peter C and the entire cast/crew. Thank you for this episode, my personal highlight of 12. Thank you for reviewing this episode, and for some of the future greats coming up too ;)
I just realized after all these years the symbolism. "How long can I keep doing this Clara? Burning the old me? To Make a new me?" He wasn't just talking about this but himself. About regeneration. It seemed to me like his refusal to regenerate into 13 seemed to be a last minute development to me but no he was tired of it all long before
Don't worry about having misgivings about 12 in Series 8. That's him at his rawest and most angry. Series 9 shows him recovering nicely, and I think next series is him at his most focused. No spoilers!
An interesting note, just before he hits the wall for the first time and realisation strikes him, in his TARDIS mind he says to Clara that he remembers every time. I don’t know if it’s a Time Lord thing but I think that he does indeed access repressed memories of each reset
He absolutely remembers every iteration i'd say (that's why he loses it in his mind-TARDIS) and I think we're left to assume it's a Timelord ability we haven't directly witnessed before. Worth remembering that _time_ hasn't been reset, he's not in a time loop, he's repeating the same thing over and over so maybe it's related to how Timelords usually seem to just _know_ which events are fixed in time and which can be manipulated.
Actually, I don't think he literally means 'I remember it all' - but I do think it's at that moment when the full horror of what is happening dawns on him and he realises what's happening. Actually remembering what's occuring would mean the entire premise of the loop (there's a copy of me in the teleport, exactly as I was when I arrived) doesn't work...
I dunno, he's fairly unambiguous I think: "But I can remember, Clara. You don't understand, I can remember it all. Every time." but there's always room for interpretation (he might mean "every time" he strived to win). I'd say the copy of him in the teleport _doesn't_ remember, it's a realisation/"memory" he comes to later. The how has a few possibilities e.g. it's a Timelord ability to "sense" events that have occurred, even if strictly speaking "you" never experienced them (the Doctor has seemed to have some sort of instinctive grasp of space-time events before so it's arguably not _too_ much of a stretch). Or maybe it's some sort of telepathic imprint that he gets from the wall room (we don't see it too often but don't forget the Doctor is a sort of touch telepath). Or maybe the energy he uses to create the teleport copy somehow conveys information about his past copies that he doesn't immediately grasp. There're probably others (the first one was my initial assumption, the others i've read since). It's arguably about the closest to a full-on plot-hole the episode has IMO but i'm happy to give it a bye since a) few plots beyond the most trivial can't be nitpicked and b) everything else is so good.
I'll chuck in that in The Pandorica Opens, the fake soldiers were made by reading psychic residue from Amy's house ("structures can hold memories, that's why houses have ghosts"). So there's a way to tune into that, and I'm guessing the Doctor does, from his hand starting to rhythmically make a fist as he approaches the diamond. If anything causes residue (and ghosts) it's a lot of people being murdered in the same room.
The Capaldi Era masterpiece. Peter Capaldi, Steven Moffat, Rachel Talalay and Murray Gold deserve all the world's applause for this episode. Rewatching this episode also made me realize how it has some elements in common with an amazing episode of the classic series... SPOILER ALERT! SPOILER ALERT! SPOILER ALERT! "The Deadly Assassin", since in both stories we have the Doctor in a strange universe, without a companion, being pursued by a mysterious murderer, and with a connection with Gallifrey.
I was gonna go to bed too but I've heard about the Heaven Sent reaction video curse so I'm not risking waiting until the morning in case the footage goes AWOL
Michael Pruden better be early than late, or the video might get blocked The video was uploaded when I was in school, but I was celebrate Eid Al Fitr at school, so have to delay watching this XD It's a good thing this video didn't get blocked!
I honestly love the ‘breaking the wall’ music. The series 9 soundtrack took 4 billion years to be released so people just called it ‘breaking the wall’ on their uploads of it whilst we waited for it to come out so I don’t even know what the real name for it is
A full episode speaking to himself and it was great.Loved how they used the " Sherlock's mind palace thing " in here too :) One of my most favorites with one of the best music theme
Between Heaven Sent and Matt Smith's episodes on the Sarah Jane Adventures this week was being good for her reactions. Don't want to give spoilers but more excited now for the Christmas Special then the next regular episode.
Holy moly indeed. My favourite Dr Who episode ever; a classic horror element of the veil, being the metaphor for death, the reveal of the confession dial and then Gallifrey! Capaldi is at his best here, a mainly solo act where he completely carries the episode on his monologue alone, his handling of situations and the grief of Clara’s death, and to punch through a 20 foot thick wall of the harder than diamond Banthium was an incredible montage scene, over 2 billion years! The music is great as well, at most times it was quiet but it really carried the emotions of suspense, panic, reflection and the transition from hopelessness to triumph at the wall scene was excellent. With it being my favourite, part 2 is...well a part 2, so then; Consider The Hybrid.
I know everyone says it. But I can't help but say that this episode is the best! And seeing one of my favourite reactors watch this is a match made in heaven. Amazing start to the morning. I never get sick of this amazing piece of beauty!
Hooray! The review of this episode didn't get lost or messed up like it did for some of the other reactors on RU-vid! Capaldi's acting has always been on point, but he's given some really meaty stuff to play this season, his Tete a Tete with Davros, his speech about war to the Zygons, his reaction to Clara's death and his one man show in this episode. I know some people who don't like this episode, but screw em cuz this is fantastic.
I glad you enjoyed it, along with the majority of fans. However "screw them" is a contender for the least graceful or intelligent comment of the week. It is, believe it or not, perfectly possible for people to disagree with your critical reaction without the need for abuse.
WolfGratz Allow me to clarify my comment further, I know (personally, friends of mine) who don't like this episode. But I say (in jest, knowing my friends sense of humor) screw em cuz I think this episode is fantastic I mean no disrespect to people whose feelings are so sensitive that they might take the off the cuff remarks of a total stranger that they came across at random on RU-vid as a personal affront. Hopefully this form of "abuse" doesn't cause them the sort of long term trauma that can be caused by other forms of abuse. I've also made remarks on especially hot days that it's"hot as hell" outside, but did not intend that to be disrespectful of people who are actually condemned to hell in the afterlife. When I've used the term"clowning around". It's not meant as an insult to professional clowns or people with a phobia about clowns. And I hope the things I've written in this comment are taken as the gentle teasing I intend them as and not as something that will require hours of therapy. If you really want to play the PC game, if I were someone who had been the recipient of physical abuse, sexual abuse or prolonged, systematic verbal/emotional abuse I suspect I would find it offensive to see what I endured being equated to someone saying, "I don't care that other people don't like this particular episode of a television show, whether it was said in a"graceless" manner or not.
If anyone here watches Harry's Haunted House, his review of this episode was downright insulting. This review/reaction is so perfect and respectable because you actually understood the point of the episode. Great job 👍
I've re-watched this one episode so many times I sometimes think I'm in a time loop. The second time around it makes more sense especially when he says "I can remember all of it. Every time." Imagine in one single moment having 7,000 to 2 billion years worth of memories of being murdered over and over again flood your mind all at once and knowing it's going to happen again in a moment. You'd be asking why can't you just lose also!
The hand “burning” away was actually a bath bomb director Rachel Talalay came up with that idea and the Skull based off an X-rays of Capaldi actually skull 💀
Sometimes when watching a show I feel excited, enjoyed, annoyed or sometimes frustrated. However, when watching this, I felt something else, deep down I knew that I watched an episode which was truly special.
The Not-So-Diamond Wall is grief, you can't walk around it or climb it, you have to slowly wittle away at it, over an extremely long period of time, some make it through, others give up and allow The Veil (the other representation of grief) take them over. But The Doctor had been fueled by grief and anger for most of all his lives and he was not going to allow it to take him over again. He beat grief just this once.
A brilliant reaction to, for me, the greatest ever episode of Doctor Who, and the finest 55 minutes of television I've ever seen. Nothing comes close to it. A masterpiece.
I woke up to this notification so happy and then wept in bed 😅 This is by far one of the, if not the, greatest episodes ever. The music is phenomenonal!
As soon as i saw the twitter poll i got really excited, so thankful that you did this amazing My heart was pounding during this reaction as i knew what was coming, it did not disappoint. Your reaction when you saw the Citadel has been the best moment this season
Probably the best Capaldi story all in all. And one of the best and most gripping episodes of Doctor Who ever! Such a tour de Force performance from Capaldi in this story.
I have to admit that it took me some time to get used to Twelve after Eleven. 'Listen' was the first episode where I really said to myself 'OK, I get it now' and started warming up to him, but this one... this is where I really fell madly in love with him. The performance is truly outstanding but it still would've been nothing without the mind-blowing script by Steven Moffat, the masterful direction by Rachel Talalay and the out-of-this-world music by Murray Gold. I wish all film and tv-makers would take note and push for higher quality productions like this one. A true modern-day masterpiece that takes you on an emotional roller-coaster like nothing else. I still remember watching it for the first time alone, at night in my room. I remember the desperation and helplessness I felt when I realised the Doctor was in a never-ending nightmare of a loop, wondering how he could possibly get out of this one, would someone come and save him for once. And then, the burst of joy and amazement at the sheer genius of the whole thing, when I realised he was slowly but surely making his way out through the wall. Thanks to your reaction, I can re-live to an extent this amazing moment again :) I thinkg I can speak for everyone who follows your Doctor Who reactions by saying that we've been waiting for this one for a long long time! :)
Fab reaction. Really like the episodes that remind us that to the Doctor time isn't just something that happens, it's something he uses. Sometimes it's even his weapon, as here where he basically points it in the direction of his enemies and, well, throws a punch ;).
I absolutely loved this episode (and the next). Peter is an amazing actor and seeing his Doctor grow and come together episode by episode was a great journey. I believe season 10 is when we finally see Capaldi’s Doctor at his finest, and this two parter is the final step. I’m glad you liked this episode, can’t wait for the next ^^
And, for those who don't know, there's a double meaning to 'bird' - it's also British slang for the length of a prison sentence. - Like 'doing 2 years of bird'.. Or, several billion years. As the Doctor says, "That's one hell of a bird."
you know that ONE episode a Doctor has that only THAT Doctor can carry through? this was Capaldi's. i can't see any other Doctor in his place this episode.
