That was powerful and awesome. The Doctor was caught off guard. Both him and Donna were caught in a cross fire. Their histories being exposed; their secret resumes on display.
This was arguably one of the scariest scenes of the entire series. No aliens, no tricksters, but just the Doctor utterly bewildered, not in a funny way, but obviously internally terrified. Space travel hadn't even been considered then, but he's being told about his planet, his home, and things that they shouldn't even understand. There's no scientific reason he can see, no aliens that are hiding. The Doctor with no fight or argument, rational or irrational, is more terrifying than anything. He has no plan, not even the makings of a plan or response, just utter confusion.
Indi Heaton I thoroughly disagree, the episode midnight has all the confusion and fear to an even extremes level, plus the monster never in doctor who history has ever been found out, it was a silent episode needing no dramatic music... it makes this look like a kids show, if you haven’t watched it do! I’ve watched it dozens, the way the creature learns and possesses even the Doctor is truly frightening and the fact that we never figure what it can do, even more so. The only monster that the Doctor has no clue of existing. All in one small room.
Doctor Who is always, and has always been at its best when it has a Twilight Zone quality to it. That's what makes this scene so excellent and what makes "Midnight" one the greatest Who episodes ever.
Are you stupid? The mother of the sibiline sisterhood is alien in nature (pirovile) so of course the prophecies and understanding showed here is alien in origin even if lucius and evelina are human
@@eternalbyzantium262 No, so I obviously phrased it wrong. I meant, there's been nothing suspicious or overly wrong that appears even vaguely alien in nature. It's just humans being... terrifying. Obviously, afterwards, yes, we find out aliens have taken over Pompeii, but at this point, just humans being freaky.
Also strange to see Karen Gillan in this episode. The episode worked as a strong audition tape! Be interested now to see them at the table doing the read-through.
"Daughter of... (long pause) London..." He was able to figure out where the Doctor is from so easily, yet figuring out where another Earthling lives took him so long...
Well that's the thing, Gallifrey was known to the Pyroviles before they crashed in ancient Pompeii, London wasn't called London until the 5th Century AD, this is 79AD, it would be known as Londinium to them.
Have an idea also that if you see something completely FOREIGN you can then accept and trust an idea about it fairly quickly/easily. However, if you're shown, told, etc. something about something you already feel you comprehend or know or are closer to... It then takes more effort and thus more time to consider and put into perspective with your preconceptions (previous ideas and notions about the thing). Just a conceptual idea put into practise, but still it is largely assumed.
The writing and small details of this scene was so masterful and foreshadowing, The fact that Lucius was able to easily identify the Doctor's homeworld but took a pause to determine London because the Pyroviles would know of Gallifrey before they crashed and connected with the Romans in Pompeii and so have heard of it but at that time London was known as Londinium and wouldn't be known as 'London' for a very long-time so Lucius connected to the Pyroviles had to literally scan an entire time stream to connect to Donna's time and a completely foreign place (London not Londinium) to know where she was from hence the pause he took, scanned the time stream in a few seconds.
@@AdalHRivera yeah and the ood ep when they sing for the doctordonna and we all assumed they meant them both and how thr doctor donna would never be forgotten and them and their children and their childrens children would sing of her and like damn if i wasnt bawling when i first saw the ep now i just think about the scene and how much more gravity has after we know the true meaning and its like hysterically sobbing haha. I love the magic of the old series though i felt like it had a lot of easter egg type foreshadowing to i mean even they reference this when capaldi becomes dr and like other repeat actors and the rose and thorn pub and bad wolf of course it felt so throughly well done and considered. Like theres so many of those things and while moffat did do that with some things like melody pond being river song translation etc and all that it never felt as interwoven and across time type stuff as the previous doctors ones all had.
3:32 I love that sandwiched into the visions, hinting at Turn Left. When i rewatched it I was wide eyed since it’s such a throwaway line until you see Turn Left where everyone is obsessed with looking behind Donna at the time beatle. Gosh these seasons were frickin top tier
Was a thing RTD liked to do ever since season 1 with bad wolf being mentioned throughout the season, I would expect such things to come back in the next few seasons with RTD back, only lets see if we can notice them before the finale is revealed
Lucius’ speech was so surprising, but Evelina gave me goosebumps. The beautifully tragic and dramatic way she described the doctors life in such a short sentence is beyond extraordinary.
The film technique when Lucius says ‘doctor, she is returning… and you, daughter of London, there is something on your back!’ is only secondary to the building climactic music… one of the best pieces of film work in the entire show… hands down!
I Understand Turn Left now... "There is something on your back" meaning the bug on Donna's back.... "She is returning" meaning rose... They prophisized The final 3 episodes of this series... :D Neat.
Lucius said to Donna: there’s something on your back; meaning the bug thing on her back in ‘turn left’ ‘series 4’ Lucius also said: “she is returning”meaning that Rose Tyler is coming back
This scene was brilliant! Lucius and Evelina spouting off things they could not possibly know. The Doctor's had experience with seers/telepaths before (like Gwyneth in The Unquiet Dead), but this is on a whole new level. And I *love* that Lucius offers a hint at what is still to come for both of them - for the Doctor, it's the return of Rose, and for Donna it's her upcoming experience with the beetle that will make itself at home on her back. *squicks* Very well done!
This scene is so good, Peter is underused here though (which is probably a good thing, he is my favorite doctor and if he were more prominent he likely wouldn't have gotten cast) but he really pulls some 12 comedic timing with "He's Celtic".
Loved Peter Capaldi. From his season's trailer, I thought he would do more to make up for the mistakes of his past. Certainly dealing with Davros as both a child and when he's dying was as close as he could come in that regard. Also, was glad to find another example in the running gag of them speaking a Latin phrase ("status quo") and the locals hearing it as Celtic (Welsh).
New headcannon: The Doctor needed a rebound from Clara so he started a family in Pompeii and when his younger self stepped in, he was like, "Oh, I remember being you. This is gonna be funny when you look back on it. "
He said in an episode that he finally remembered seeing his face before. Perhaps it was a reminder to always try to save someone he meets. He gets a little dark and callous in the "Mummy on the Orient Express" such that a survivor doesn't take him up on the offer to travel with them.
“And you you call yourself noble, And you daughter of London” my god this is scary two sides of the same prophecy just interpreted with the gift both women and men had perception
this is what i love about the writers that wrote the scripts for doctors 9 to 12, everything was connected and the story was all integrated, even across regenerations, that is sadly not present in the 13th doctor, she is an entertaining actor but she has been let down by the script.
Anyone know the name of the music that is playing while the 2 soothsayers are having their little contest? Especially the part that plays just as Lucius tells the Doctor 'she is returning'.
I have another theory During Tennant's and Ecclestons Tardises the inside of them the round things on the wall are what you would see on the inside of the Daleks Armor ( the balls) I'm not disputing the history But Davros created the Daleks. He "regenerates" them from his body, he's a genius. We've seen other Dr's with the Dr. (Tennant, Davidson, matt smith) so he can be in the same times, he can't kill Davros its s paradox, its the evil version of the Dr. The Doctors name is Davros, the fires if Pompeii "your name burns in the centre of the Medusa cascade itself" then Davros and the Daleks were there. I'll always think this.
Chib's run is it's own separate thing. New Who is from 9-12. And now, we're getting a soft reboot for Disney's New Who from 14-15. Ironic that 13 is unlucky.
obviously unintentional but he uses the word "lost" in fire not destroyed, burned or gone but lost. Given what we know now everything he said was 100% accurate.
1:21 I don't think I caught Tennant's derisive expression after Lucius spouts more pompous word salad the first time I watched this episode. Brilliant.
Little thing I picked up on - Just about each time one of the 'soothsayers' said something about the Doctor and Donna, it was usually preceded with a rumble. That rumble is a Pyrovile from underneath saying what they know about them.
+A name is but a cloud upon a summer wind -But the wind is felt most keenly in the dark +But what is the dark other than a omen of the sun - I concede that every sun must set, and yet the son of the father must also rise
3:20 Now I know it's probably about Rose, but my interpretation is something I want to throw out there. Since Lucius was literally talking about Gallifrey to the Doctor right before ("Your home is lost in fire"), I think that's the "she" he's referring to. Conversationally, it makes sense. Lucius talks to the Doctor about Gallifrey, talks to Donna, answers her question, and continues the conversation in the same spot. Like if you and someone were at a restaurant and then interrupted by the waitstaff asking if you want a refill of water and they asked where you got your earrings. Respond, answer their questions, and get back to the conversation at hand.
Eve was much more believable as what a real seer would be like. Lucifer talks as though he knows things he shouldn't. He shouldn't even know what gallafra is let alone know it's name. Same with knowing London.
