Doctor Who Recap: Witches, mud aliens and a VERY flirty King James… fans get a dose of murky history as The Doctor meets not-so magical foes
Doctor Who fans got a dose of good old-fashion history on Sunday night, as the TARDIS gang encountered the sinister Witchfinder trials of centuries old.
But of course all was not as it seemed, as the so-called witches had a far more sci-fi origin, in an episode, which saw Alan Cumming’s incarnation of King James I steal the show.
It came in an episode which touched on the dark times in England when thousands of women were wrongly tried for witchcraft under the staunchly Puritan rule, and one such person is our time-travelling heroine who is brutally ‘ducked’ herself.
Tense: Doctor Who fans got a dose of good old-fashion history on Sunday night, as the TARDIS gang encountered the sinister Witchfinder trials of centuries old
The episode began with our gang travelling to a remote Lancashire village in the midst of a witch-ducking ceremony, led by the sinister Mistress Becka Savage (played by Siobhan Finneran).
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Despite the Doctor’s best efforts, a young Willa’s grandmother is tried for the crime and ducked into the water where she drowns instantly, leading our gang to reveal themselves as official ‘witchfinders.’
As we discover the true fear that Satan can bring to such a small village dominated by a Puritan rule, King James I makes his arrival, even playing the Highwayman of sorts as he travels incognito.
Terrifying: The episode began with our gang travelling to a Lancashire village in the midst of a witch-ducking ceremony, led by Mistress Becka Savage (played by Siobhan Finneran)
Darker forces at work: Despite the Doctor’s best efforts, a young Willa’s grandmother is tried for the crime and ducked into the water where she drowns instantly
From the offset we see that the monarch is the true influence over the town who lives in fear of the devil, who they claim sends witches to make them sick and kill their crops.
The episode also pays homage to the rumours that King James was a homosexual, as he is seen endlessly flirting with Ryan – and later even offering him a job as his protector.
And in what has been a running theme throughout the series, we also see the brutal sexism of the era play out as His Majesty automatically assumes that Graham is the Witchfinder rather than the Doctor herself.
Sensational: Alan Cumming steals the show as King James, and the show even played on his rumoured homosexuality, as he puts on a flirty display
Unveiled: It is then revealed that an alien force is inhabiting those tried for witchcraft
We then get a glimpse of the alien force at work as a mud-coated tentacle emerges from the grave where Willa’s grandmother lies, before she herself rises from the dead clearly overtaken by the extraterrestrial force.
This leads to our weekly ‘The Doctor trying to convince the village they are in danger but they instead turn on her’ moment, leading our time lady to be tried as a witch herself.
As she is tied ahead of the ducking, a poignant moment unfolds when we see the Doctor deliver a rousing speech about how religion should be a driving force in moral thinking – relevant now more than ever in a world of religious extremism.
Don’t drown! This leads to our weekly ‘The Doctor trying to convince the village they are in danger but they instead turn on her’ moment, leading her to be tried as a witch herself
Transformed: But of course it is then revealed that Becka herself is behind the whole operation, as she herself was inhabited by an alien force
Creepy: With black tears dripping from her eyes the staunch lady is then unveiled to be a Morax – the leader of an alien army who has been trapped on earth
But of course it is then revealed that Becka herself is behind the whole operation, as she herself was inhabited by an alien force after chopping down the tree that has kept them imprisoned underground.
With black tears dripping from her eyes the staunch lady is then unveiled to be a Morax – the leader of an alien army who has been trapped on earth and are trying to escape by inhabiting the bodies of the dead.
With the tension at its peak, bizarrely the episode blacks out in the standard ‘time has passed and things happened off-screen’ moment, with the Doctor then explaining that the ducking tree is in fact the thing that will helped in re-trapping the aliens.
Big plan: Bizarrely the episode then blacks out, with the Doctor then explaining that the ducking tree is in fact the thing that will helped in re-trapping the aliens.
Of course the plan succeeds when King James pushes Becka into the fiery green vortex of alien matter, destroying her and sending the creatures back to their prison.
But as a man of death this ends the episode on a slightly murky note, as the Doctor clearly disapproves as she and the gang head back to their TARDIS, again seemingly robbing the show of some resolution and closing character development.
Doctor Who continues on Sunday 2nd December at 6:30pm on BBC One.
Fighting back: Of course the plan succeeds when King James pushes Becka into the fiery green vortex of alien matter, destroying her and sending the creatures back to their prison
Back soon: Doctor Who continues on Sunday 2nd December at 6:30pm on BBC One
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