12 Notable Moments From Extremis
Mark McCullough makes his choices from the sixth episode of Series 10, with help from Michael Shotton.
I find myself in the amazing position of analysing what is most probably Steven Moffat’s last ever standalone episode that is not a special during his tenure as serving as showrunner. As such the expectations are high, and true to form Moffat delivers a script that engages his audiences and has them thinking long after a Saturday night to discover the intricacies of the episode. It’s a true Moffat classic that deserves to be up there with his best.
12. The Executioner
11. The Vault Reveal
Following on directly from that last point is the actual vault reveal itself, or rather the explanation of how Missy survived the execution and was placed in the Vault. The fact that the Doctor intervenes to save her is completely as you would expect, however what poses a much more interesting question is what happened after. Having scared off the executioners – in a scene that was a wonderful call back to Moffat’s last standalone non-special story, Heaven Sent – and saved Missy the Doctor did not have to fulfil his promise. So the question that has to be asked is why did he still decide to effectively keep Missy as his prisoner in the vault knowing she would be trapped and fully conscious, this is something I assume will be addressed later in the series. The reveal also allowed for one of the funniest lines of the episode
10. Bill’s Date, A Perfect Simulation?
The scene with Bill’s date features not only one of the more comical scenes of the episode where her poor date walks in on the Pope and Cardinals assembled in Bill’s bedroom, but it also offers some discussion on whether the simulation is perfect or not. One of the more pressing issues present is the absence of the TARDIS translation system most notable when the Pope is speaking Italian and it is not translated. This poses the question about the perfection of the simulation if it doesn’t mirror the reality of the TARDIS’ powers. This could provide a plot hole later in the episode if we consider that the monks are not able to perfectly simulate technology.
9. Nardole
Nardole gets a lot of room to shine as some of his back story is revealed detailing the reason behind why he and the Doctor have formed an unlikely relationship. The crux of the situation is that River Song, sent Nardole to look after the Doctor and ensure he doesn’t do anything stupid. This is a pretty fitting backstory and gives River even more agency despite the fact the character is already dead. We also see Nardole step into the Doctor role as he tries to take authority with humorous effect when alone with Bill. It great to see the character gain the respect he should have within this unlikely but ultimately wonderful TARDIS trio.
8. The Library of Blasphemy
Another interesting concept is the introduction of the Library of Blasphemy, a hidden library held in the Vatican where the documents that the catholic church deem to be contradictory to their teaching. This sets an interesting and creepy backdrop to the episode and keeps the tension throughout. Within this library is the Veritas, the book that drives the narrative of the episode as the Doctor seeks to read it and find out why anyone who reads it kills themselves shortly after.
7. CERN
Point 8 feeds into the wonderful scenes in the CERN laboratories where the scientists have learned the truth of the Veritas and that the world they live in is a mere construct. To escape this, they orchestrate a group suicide where they all die in a bomb in the canteen. This is a highly disturbing scene made all the creepier by the concept of the inability to create a random decision as Nardole and Bill pick the same numbers as the head scientists. This is later explained by the Doctor as the reason you can tell the reality the characters find themselves in is actually a fabrication.
6. A Higher Power?
The framing of the episode is an interesting one, there is a lot of religious imagery with the Pope, Cardinals, Vatican and the Monks as the villains. This positions the episode to make a commentary on religion which it does to an extent with the Doctor’s remarks on the layout being designed to confuse newcomers. This is particularly interesting when you consider the environment from what the critique comes from, within a simulation that was created by an intellectually superior race. In essence the episode offers a position on religion where the narrative actually suggests a higher power and divine control over events. This is highly effective because it allows the viewer to take on their own interpretation in keeping with their beliefs.
5. The Doctor’s Blindness
The fact that the Doctor’s blindness at the cliffhanger of Oxygen had not yet resolved meant that it would have to be addressed head on by Moffat. As it transpired he was able to do this using the Doctor in a way that is completely new to the show: physically weakened and not able to do what he would normally do. This creates some difficult situations within the episode where the Doctor struggles to actually read the Veritas so has to use his wits to come up with a way to bypass this. There’s also an interesting scene where the Doctor thinks the Monks approaching are his Cardinal Friends and only realise very late after a tense scene that they are in fact more antagonistic.
4. The Windows to the World
With an episode that opens with the Doctor getting a message opening into the title sequences and the story being within that, there’s always going to be a metatextual reading of the episode. Perhaps one of the moments where this is most evident is when Nardole and Bill are able to pass between locations via the projector room. It’s hard not to see the entire thing as a metaphor for the show itself where the viewer is able to dip in and out of adventures and completely withdraw from these. It would have been great had the number of doors match the number of episode in a series but unfortunately that didn’t happen. That said the meta-textual analysis could be a lot more detailed and one could write an entire article detailing this.
3. I am the Doctor
One of Moffat’s favourite topics when it comes to the characterisation of the Doctor is the exploration on what it means to be the Doctor. In a scenario where the Doctor is not actually the Doctor, but a copy of the titular Time Lord designed to test his abilities, it raises the question once more. As per his wonderful grasp of the character, Moffat sticks with the concept of the Doctor as an idea rather than an individual. The Doctor is someone who follows the promise: “Never Cruel or Cowardly, Never Give up Never Give in”, and anyone who follows that promise is the Doctor whether he legitimately is or not
2. Virtue is only virtue in Extremis
One of the great talking points of the entire show comes in this episode. Previously I have written an article on this site detailing some of the lessons we can learn from Doctor Who, the message from this episode is something that would feature on such a list. The quote that details the lesson is: “Goodness is not goodness that seeks advantage. Good is good in the final hour, in the deepest pit without hope, without witness, without reward. Virtue is only virtue in extremis” and it is used several times in the episode to ensure the message is deliver. Basically what Moffat is saying is that when a person is most desperate you see their true colours and those who seek to do good should do so only with the intention of doing good, for no personal gain and because it is the right thing to do. When you think about it, this is essentially the Doctor’s promise only in a more proactive form and one which encourages him to approach conflict more than before.
1. Schrödinger’s Cat
For anyone who isn’t familiar with the story of Schrödinger’s Cat, a simple version is to consider a cat in a closed box, with poisoned food. The thought experiment asks us, is the cat dead or alive? It’s impossible for an observer to tell whilst the cat is inside the sealed box, so we have no way of knowing how the cat would have behaved. So what on Earth does this have to do with this episode of Doctor Who? With the cat scenario, the conclusion was the observer effect: that nothing is set in stone until observed. In short that’s what happens in the narrative of Extremis, the monks essentially open the box by getting involved in their own simulation, and thus undermining the entire situation. The simulation is no longer a closed environment and therefore the Doctor has the chance to communicate outside the parameters of the experiment by the connection between the two sets of Sonic Sunglasses.
