Reaktion Round-Up: What You Thought of Face the Raven

David Power is a writer at Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews - All the latest Doctor Who news and reviews with our weekly podKast, features and interviews, and a long-running forum.

Quoth the Quantum Shade, “Caaaw.”

First and foremost I’d like to file a formal complaint that the voting poll for this episode had no “I’m raven about it!” option, and publicly distance myself from this horrific oversight. So, moving on, we’ve got another Who newbie on our hands this season in the shape of Sarah Dollard, whose previous writing history includes some work with Who oldie Toby Whithouse. What did this fresh face bring to the table in Face the Raven?

Utterly captivating 51.61%  (208 votes) 

Another solid Who! 31.51%  (127 votes) 

Average, really 6.95%  (28 votes) 

Good cliffhanger – shame about the rest 3.47%  (14 votes) 

Terrible! 6.45%  (26 votes)

Well you lot seem pretty much in agreement that Sarah Dollard knocked it out of the park with this episode. Managing to write for four returning characters (the Doctor, Clara, Me, and Rigsy), all of which she had never written for before; managing to capture their voice and suggest progression from when we last saw them was by no means a small feat, and I for one am already hoping we see a return for Sarah in Series 10.

I realised after I had seen Face the Raven, that even if that finale hadn’t happened (I’ll get there, give me a second), I still would’ve really enjoyed that episode. A trap street refugee camp was a wonderful concept for a Who setting, and it was very well realised by the production team. Seeing Judoon, Ood, and Cybermen alike scattered around the town really contributed to the believability of this idea in the Who universe.

Now, that ending. I was never a fan of Clara. She slowly grew on me over the years, even though I felt she had stayed too long, and I never formed an attachment to her in the way I had to other companions, but wow, what a stellar ending for the character. Incorporating the idea of a companion staying longer than they should have into the shows narrative was a brilliant idea. Given how her last attempt at a normal life ended up with the death of her love Danny Pink; showing the affects of too much TARDIS travel on Clara was a fascinating view on how destructive the Doctor’s life is to other people. The final dialogue between Clara and the Doctor was poignant and underplayed, really emphasising how long these two characters have actually been together. The whole scene was also accompanied by stirring score from Murray Gold, shying away from his usual bombast of tragic farewells. Oh how nice it was to have Doctor Who really stir my emotions again, for the first time in quite awhile.

Ratings had quite a boost this week. The overnights rose from 4.00m to 4.42m, and the overalls also rose from 5.61m for Sleep No More to 6.05m for Face the Raven. This solid jump was accompanied by quite a leap for the Appreciation Index score, increasing from Sleep No More‘s 78 to 84, putting Raven on the same Season 9 tier as The Magician’s Apprentice, Under the Lake, and The Zygon Inversion.

So, what did you birdbrains think?

 

So starting next episode we’re into a period we haven’t seen the Doctor in since 2012’s The Snowmen: companionless.

How will this Doctor fare alone? Will we see the Oncoming Storm? The Predator? Will Capaldi have his Time Lord Victorious moment? Will I make it to the end of these Reaktion Round-Ups? Tune in next time!

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